Well known art auction house Osian’s is blazing a new trail with the first-ever Osian’s-Cinefan Auction of Indian Cinema memorabilia! Part of its 12th Osian’s-Cinefan Film Festival, the auction will be studded with vintage and rare items from Indian cinema history, sourced as they are from private family collection of veterans like Suresh Jindal, Neela and Shammi Kapoor, M.S. Sathyu, Muzaffar Ali, Wadia Movietone and Roy Wadia, Rakesh Kumar, Nawab Jafar Mir Abdullah, among others.
A few highlights include a rare album of 45 signed black & white photographic stills by the evergreen Dev Anand; Satyajit Ray-designed film posters of the 1960s; the turquoise silver ring set worn by Farooque Sheikh in Umrao Jaan; a cricket bat signed by Aamir Khan and the Lagaan team; and photographic stills and show cards from Aan, Mother India, Zanjeer, and other classic films.
The last unreleased song by Kishore Kumar — completed just three days before his death — is also up for grabs in terms of its rights. The auction will focus on the legendary Shammi Kapoor with his famous scarf from Junglee and the shehnai from his last film appearance in Rockstar going under the hammer too.
Speaking about this unique concept, Neville Tuli, Founder-Chairman, Osian’s elaborates, “Osian’s pioneered auctions of Indian film publicity material and memorabilia in 2002 with the landmark ‘Historical Mela’ Auction as part of the ABC Series (Art, Book & Cinema). Thereafter the interest and respect for Indian cinematic heritage related to its publicity artworks began. Today, the awareness has reached such a level that the public realises these items are rare but are not respected or valued vis-a-vis Hollywood and other markets. Thus a genuine opportunity exists especially if the film fraternity begins to participate like they do abroad. Film memorabilia is a major popular art form that needs immense support and nurturing. It has a vast potential mass support and great passion; truly obsessive collections can be built and the Osianama will hopefully show the way.”
The auction will be a part of the Osian’s-Cinefan Film Festival of Indian, Asian and Arab Cinema. In collaboration with the government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, over 175 films from 38 countries, from Gangs of Wasseypur 2 to Chitrangada, will be screened.
Bottomline : A treat for lovers of Hindi films!
Osian’s Cinefan Film Festival and Auction of Film Memorabilia
Where : Film Festival at ‘Osianama’ and ‘Siri Fort’; Auction at ‘Imperial Hotel’ Delhi
When : Film Festival from July 27 to August 5; Auction on August 31
