In a major acquisition of films in the 16mm format, the city-based National Film Archive of India (NFAI) has added 71 titles including, a number of Marathi language classics, to its burgeoning vaults.
50 among these titles are fresh additions to the NFAI collection, being previously not present with NFAI in any format, said institute director Prakash Magdum.
The acquisition includes 42 Marathi films, several of them commercial and critical successes including such notables as Varnecha Waagh (1970), a film based on the novel of the same name by eminent author Annabhau Sathe; Sant Gora Kumbhar (1967) directed by Raja Thakur and written by another renowned litterateur G.D. Madgulkar; Kela ishara jaata jaata (1965) directed by Anant Mane and V. Shantaram’s Pinjara (1972).
The films showcase not only the heyday of popular Marathi cinema, but are also emblematic of a time in the recent past when the 16 mm print used to be the mode of access to the celluloid world for people living in the country’s rural hinterland.
The collection, presented to the NFAI by a veteran film distributor Anna Deshpande of Satara district, also includes films by renowned filmmakers such as Dinkar Patil and Bhalji Pendharkar, who directed the Dada Kondke starrer Ganimee Kawa (1981).
“This collection is significant not only because of its titles but also because of the historical value of 16mm prints. In yesteryears, when film theatres were the luxury of cities, a parallel distribution system existed in the rural areas through 16mm prints where distributors travelled to every small village and town, carrying 16mm projectors and film prints,” said Dr. Magdum.
The films, shown all night long in the village on a white curtain acting as screen, have essayed a very important role in helping cinema reach out to geographically dispersed populations, he said.
Besides Marathi titles, the acquisition includes 29 Hindi films which includes a string of superstar Amitabh Bachchan’s hits in the late 1970s and 80s like Suhaag (1979), Andha Kanoon (1983) and Nastik (1983), and the Kamal Haasan starrer Ek Duuje Ke Liye (1981).
