Why Writer Arundhati Roy’s Cult Classic Film Is Still Relevant in India
14 hours ago | Share Save | Zoya Mateen, Delhi
The Film Heritage Foundation
Starring Arundhati Roy herself, this film delves into the lives of architecture students navigating the complexities of Delhi.
On a sweltering Delhi afternoon in the late 1980s, a group of architecture students inhabits a city that feels eternally unfinished. They are idealistic, impatient, and acutely aware that the system they are preparing to enter may not have much use for them. This is the essence of In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones, the groundbreaking 1989 television film penned by Booker Prize-winning author Arundhati Roy and directed by Pradip Krishen.
Nearly four decades after its original broadcast on India’s state broadcaster Doordarshan, a restored version of the film is set to premiere in the Berlinale Classics section at the 2026 Berlin International Film Festival. The Film Heritage Foundation, responsible for its restoration, will also release the film in select Indian theaters in March, with affordable ticket prices aimed at attracting younger viewers.
> We wanted it to be accessible, says Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, filmmaker and Director at the Film Heritage Foundation. It’s a significant film. The dialogue and portrayal of college life, along with the diverse characters, achieved something unique.
The Enduring Relevance of Arundhati Roy’s Film
Often hailed as India’s first English-language feature, Annie occupies a unique position in Indian cinema history: local in texture yet cosmopolitan in voice; modest in scale yet profound in its writing. Produced on a limited budget, the film chronicles a motley group of final-year students at Delhi’s School of Planning and Architecture as they meander their way toward graduation. Its title derives from a slang expression at Delhi University: to give it those ones signifies performing one’s usual antics—even if they involve bungles.
At the heart of the story is Anand Annie Grover, an endearing fifth-year student suspended between idealism and a chronic lack of focus. He keeps hens in his dorm room and dreams of audacious projects to transform India, such as planting trees along railway tracks, fertilized by the waste from passing trains. Years earlier, he had scrawled a joke about the dean in a men’s restroom; he has since failed every exam.
Surrounding Annie is a constellation of classmates—caustic, introspective, and restless—who discuss Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier, Karl Marx, and cigarette prices with equal fervor. Roy herself appears as Radha, a character who is sharp, self-assured, and embodies carefree defiance.
A Portrait of Student Life
The ensemble cast also features a young Shah Rukh Khan in his screen debut. What makes Annie stand out is its candid portrayal of student life: messy hostel rooms, friends lounging on charpoys, and engaging in spirited discussions about bureaucracy and exams. The students openly mock institutional authority, referring to their principal as Yamdoot, the Hindu god of death, showcasing a breezy irreverence toward the establishment.
In her memoir, Mother Mary Comes to Me, Roy recalls how the script emerged from “the wacky anarchy of that campus,” reflecting the dialect of English infused with Hindi.
The film’s reception was nothing short of electric. At its initial screening in Delhi, Roy noted that “students jammed into the hall, crowding the floor. Within minutes, the audience began to roar with laughter, recognizing themselves in the language, clothing, jokes, and silliness.”
Cultural Significance and Modern Resonance
Annie not only highlights campus life but also captures a moment in Indian cinema when state broadcasters were more open to youth culture and social critique. In the late 1980s, television offered a platform for satire that has since dwindled. While the film won two National Awards for best screenplay and best English-language feature upon its release, it gradually faded into obscurity after a quiet late-night showing on Doordarshan. Nevertheless, its status grew quietly through bootleg copies circulated among cinephiles.
“Until Annie, no one had really made a film about English-speaking students in India,” says Dungarpur. “Audiences weren’t accustomed to hearing English spoken so casually. But that’s how students relate to each other, and Annie captured that without self-consciousness.” He notes that audiences also connected with the film’s exploration of a country on the brink of economic liberalization, where a government job could signify both security and conformation.
The issues explored in the film—hierarchical structures, bureaucracy, and institutional power—continue to resonate today. “That’s why it still resonates; it hasn’t aged as one might expect,” adds Dungarpur.
The Restoration Journey
The restoration of Annie began almost serendipitously. While moving, Krishen stumbled upon trunks filled with scripts and materials that he almost discarded. A friend alerted Dungarpur, who seized the opportunity to revitalize the film. The restoration process was meticulous, requiring forensic-like attention to detail to restore faded colors and tackle audio challenges.
“There’s a scene towards the end where Roy wears a red sari. In the surviving print, that red had nearly disappeared. We had to determine: what kind of red was it?” he recalls.
Now, Annie feels like a prelude to Roy’s later life as a celebrated novelist and one of India’s most polarizing figures. Yet, this film is more lighthearted than one might expect. With humor and rambling narratives, it allows its characters to exhibit both foolishness and tenderness. As Roy explains, its dissent is expressed through tone rather than slogans.
> “Students were rebelling, but with hope and celebration, not anger. The film was about joyfully being oneself and declaring a refusal to conform,” says Krishen.
As Annie returns to the screen, younger audiences may catch a glimpse of a bygone era—flared trousers and fluorescent lights—but they will also recognize the enduring nature of the systems the film critiques.
> “They’ll see how cool that time was,” Dungarpur concludes. “But they’ll also realize how familiar so much of it still feels.”