In yet another treasure trove acquisition, National Film Archive of India (NFAI) has received the personal collection of prominent documentary filmmaker, renowned film historian and educationist Vijaya Mulay.
The collection includes rare books on diverse topics — from film criticism to cinema history — a number of 16 mm films, educational documentaries and a collection of World Cinema classics.
One of the pioneers of the Film Society movement in India, the late Mulay’s close friendships with such luminaries as directors Satyajit Ray, Louis Malle and Mrinal Sen afforded her a unique perspective on Indian film and documentary filmmaking. She was especially noted for her innovative documentaries on education.
The valuable collection was presented by her daughter, award-winning actor Suhasini Mulay.
“We are delighted and truly honoured to receive this substantial collection which will be of enormous use to researchers and historians. A highlight in this treasure trove is a 16 mm print of an educational film, Kishan And His Magic Chariot (1980) , which was produced by Vijaya Mulay. The film talks about ways of learning and teaching by emphasising on the need to unleash curiosity within students to explore the world,” said NFAI director Prakash Magdum.
The collection includes more than 200 books in different languages, films in 16 mm format, and multiple VHS tapes. The books range on a myriad of film topics — from Indian cinema to biographies of legendary filmmakers. They also include magazines, journals, film dictionaries, and official documents of film festivals across the globe.
Some films include a copy of the 1921 German silent film, The Indian Tomb , which was scripted by legendary filmmaker and director Fritz Lang, who helmed classics like Metropolis (1927) and M (1931). Others include Malle’s stunning documentary film Calcutta (1969), and Moving Pictures (2000) by Colin Law, another documentary which is a visual exploration of Law’s personal collection of war images.
“A highlight among the VHS tapes is a French TV series J’ai fait un beau voyage . The episodes in this series features interviews with the legendary Italian filmmaker Roberto Rossellini, who directed such masterpieces as Open City and Paisan . The series broadcasted from January to August 1959,” said Mr. Magdum.
The collection includes a documentary film directed by Suhasini Mulay, Tapan Bose and Salim Shaikh on the December 1984 Bhopal gas leak titled, Bhopal: Beyond Genocide (1986) .
