In one of the biggest film acquisitions in recent times, NFAI has added 162 films to its collection. The highlight of this addition is that more than 125 films are original/dupe negatives of the films (as opposed to release positives.) Almost 44 of these films are black-and-white films. Interestingly, the haul also includes 15 unreleased films. Apart from large chunk of Hindi films of various eras, 34 Gujarati, 15 Marathi and 6 Bhojpuri films have been acquired by NFAI. The collection also includes Nepali films.
Among the highlights of this collection is the original negatives of “Mahatma”, about 6 hour documentary footage of Mahatma Gandhi by Vithalbhai Jhaveri. Jhaveri was a photographer, filmmaker, and an associate of Gandhi.
The collection also includes films which NFAI did not previously possess prints of, in any format. These include the Hindi films Faslah (1976) and Amarsingh Rathod (1957); the Nepali film Maiti Ghar (1966) by B.S. Thapa starring Mala Sinha and featuring music by Jaidev; the Marathi film Aalay Toofan Daryala (1973) by Jaywant Pathare.
Other important films in the collection are original negatives of Sitara (1939) by Ezra Mir; Mani Kaul’s Uski Roti (1969), KA Abbas’ Saat Hindustani (1969), known for being Amitabh Bachchan’s acting debut; the Dilip Kumar starrer Kohinoor (1960); Kunwara Baap (1974), Prithviraj Chouhan (1959), Amber (1952) starring Nargis and Raj Kapoor, Gujarati film Jeevi Rabaran (1980); Marathi film Banya Bapu (1977); and the Hindi film Zindagi Aur Toofan (1975). The collection also includes Kon Ichikawa’s renowned film Tokyo Olympiad (1965), which documents the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Director of NFAI Prakash Magdum said, “The entire collection has come from Famous Cine Laboratory in Mumbai and we thank them for depositing these films at NFAI. This is one of the most important acquisitions at NFAI due to the fact that large number of films have come in original/dupe negative format. The film industry has reposed faith in depositing the material at NFAI. We appeal to filmmakers to come forward and emulate this example so that the cinematic heritage of our country can be preserved for future generations.”