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I was traveling to Prague
to meet with Jiri Menzel.
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00:00:11,083 --> 00:00:13,792
For me,
the trip was full of memories.
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00:00:14,083 --> 00:00:19,375
I remember the first time I sawTrains
Strictly Surveillance, as a student.
4
00:00:19,917 --> 00:00:23,167
And, after the film, leaving the cinema
and talking about it with my friends...
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00:00:23,250 --> 00:00:25,292
AFTER ONE YEAR AND 11 VISITS,
I GOT PERMISSION TO FILM
6
00:00:25,375 --> 00:00:27,208
WITH NAIR SAAB ON FILE.
ULTIMATELY, HE WOULD RETURN HOME.
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00:00:27,292 --> 00:00:29,542
...Santosh and Prabhu until early morning.
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00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:37,074
Advertise your product or brand here
Contact www.SubtitleDB.org
9
00:01:05,208 --> 00:01:09,625
Mr. Nair is, for me,
a symbol of cinema memory.
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There was an expression that said that cinema
has the life of a butterfly...
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DIRECTOR
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00:01:16,625 --> 00:01:17,667
...a very short life.
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The beautiful butterfly flies and disappears.
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And only some people, like him,
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00:01:25,958 --> 00:01:29,417
managed to preserve the butterfly
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00:01:30,042 --> 00:01:33,458
and keep the butterfly available
for future generations.
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00:01:38,417 --> 00:01:41,292
I think he's the guardian
Indian cinema.
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00:01:41,708 --> 00:01:43,792
He is not just a mere archivist.
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He was also a historian,
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00:01:47,250 --> 00:01:52,542
because if you don't have an archivist,
we don't have a history of cinema.
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00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:54,458
DIRECTOR
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00:01:54,542 --> 00:01:57,458
And if cinema is not saved
and if you destroy it like here,
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00:01:57,542 --> 00:01:59,958
because the memory of cinema has disappeared,
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00:02:00,292 --> 00:02:04,750
the cinema must be seen
as an art form.
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00:02:09,750 --> 00:02:13,208
At night, with exhibitions in the Main Room,
we used to eat quickly
26
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and we waited outside
by the arrival of P. K. Nair.
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DIRECTOR
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And then there was a frenzy:
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"Oh, Nair Sahib is coming."
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00:02:20,500 --> 00:02:24,417
It was as if the God of cinema
had arrived!
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00:02:26,833 --> 00:02:29,083
Light of Asia,reel number eight.
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00:02:29,333 --> 00:02:31,083
Kaliya Mardan, reel number six.
33
00:02:31,375 --> 00:02:33,500
Shiraz,reel number seven.
34
00:02:33,833 --> 00:02:35,583
The Blue Angel,reel number seven.
35
00:02:36,042 --> 00:02:38,458
Our Daily Bread, last reel.
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00:02:38,917 --> 00:02:41,500
Queen Cristina, reel number three.
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00:02:42,208 --> 00:02:44,875
Sant Tukaram, reel number four.
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00:02:45,292 --> 00:02:47,958
Barua, Devdas,
reels number three and six.
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00:02:48,042 --> 00:02:50,875
Hunterwali, reels number nine and ten.
40
00:03:13,792 --> 00:03:17,667
Cinema began as a marvel
and a magic.
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That's how I felt in my childhood.
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Then it became an obsession...
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00:03:27,417 --> 00:03:29,083
... and, finally, in a passion.
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00:03:30,917 --> 00:03:32,792
But now, looking back,
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00:03:33,792 --> 00:03:37,083
Cinema is a big part of me...
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00:03:38,583 --> 00:03:40,083
... and my life.
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00:03:41,708 --> 00:03:46,333
I understood much better
the world and people...
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...along my long journey
with cinema.
49
00:03:52,125 --> 00:03:54,792
The way I look
for cinema is the form...
50
00:03:57,167 --> 00:04:02,125
because I understand much better
people and the world,
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00:04:02,958 --> 00:04:07,708
and expanded my view of life.
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00:04:08,292 --> 00:04:13,333
I see cinema as part of life.
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00:05:13,500 --> 00:05:18,958
My guru, Henri Langlois, my mentor,
he told me once:
54
00:05:19,250 --> 00:05:23,583
"You have to watch the movies...
Treat them as if they were your children.
55
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You have to love them."
56
00:05:26,125 --> 00:05:31,292
And that's the feeling
what one should have for these films.
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He gave these films a human face.
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00:05:37,125 --> 00:05:40,542
I am often asked
when my love for films began.
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Sometimes I don't know.
It existed even before I opened my eyes.
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And when I opened them,
it was the first day at the Institute.
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00:05:50,125 --> 00:05:53,833
Trip to Tokyo, to the Gates of Hell,
Meghe Dhaka Tara,
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00:05:54,458 --> 00:05:57,417
Andrei Rublev surprised me.
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00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:01,583
We saw each other in those films.
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00:06:01,875 --> 00:06:04,625
It inspired us to become
next Tarkovsky,
65
00:06:05,292 --> 00:06:06,917
Fellini or Ray.
66
00:06:07,708 --> 00:06:11,208
I wanted to meet the man
which had made it possible
67
00:06:11,292 --> 00:06:13,625
our understanding of cinema.
68
00:06:31,125 --> 00:06:33,833
This is the room where I worked.
69
00:06:34,333 --> 00:06:35,333
You know...
70
00:06:36,292 --> 00:06:38,792
It's a very exciting place for me,
because...
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00:06:39,542 --> 00:06:43,417
...more than 20 years,
the second and third decades of the Archive,
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00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:48,417
everything was done in this place,
film collection.
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00:06:49,042 --> 00:06:53,667
Get in touch with people in the cinema,
both in India and abroad,
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00:06:54,208 --> 00:06:58,750
and also, many connoisseurs
from the cinema came to talk to me,
75
00:06:58,833 --> 00:07:00,833
and everyone sat in this room.
76
00:07:00,917 --> 00:07:03,917
There was a glass shelf
full of books,
77
00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:08,042
my favorite books
and festival brochures.
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00:07:08,667 --> 00:07:10,125
I kept them here.
79
00:07:10,708 --> 00:07:13,208
And when I was tired,
80
00:07:13,292 --> 00:07:16,542
used to look out the window
to the beautiful trees outside.
81
00:07:17,625 --> 00:07:22,583
This was one of my favorite places,
where he spent most of his life,
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00:07:22,667 --> 00:07:24,125
to build the Archive.
83
00:07:25,375 --> 00:07:27,667
I would like to know what happened to him.
84
00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:29,542
The way you keep it...
85
00:07:31,833 --> 00:07:33,667
Let's start with a man like Godard,
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00:07:34,125 --> 00:07:38,000
or Ozu, Fellini, Ray, Ghatak...
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00:07:38,083 --> 00:07:39,417
DIRECTOR
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00:07:39,500 --> 00:07:44,333
...Tarkovsky, Bresson...
The list is endless. Ozu.
89
00:07:46,292 --> 00:07:51,708
The list is endless, of participations
and movie views.
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00:07:53,167 --> 00:07:57,750
But the most important thing is to understand
that comes from another world,
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00:07:58,458 --> 00:07:59,667
that comes from another world,
92
00:07:59,792 --> 00:08:01,708
and suddenly came in
in the world of cinema,
93
00:08:02,625 --> 00:08:04,083
and suddenly you see...
94
00:08:05,417 --> 00:08:10,083
...the way other people
they see the world we live in.
95
00:08:11,833 --> 00:08:16,333
And when you're young, you get hooked.
We are on a trip.
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00:08:20,083 --> 00:08:24,833
SHREE PADMANABHA CINEMA
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00:08:46,292 --> 00:08:49,417
I was interested in collecting things,
98
00:08:49,500 --> 00:08:52,458
even when watching movies
in my school days.
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00:08:52,875 --> 00:08:55,333
Maybe I had some
archivist inside me,
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00:08:56,000 --> 00:08:58,500
because I didn't throw anything away, including...
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00:08:58,875 --> 00:09:03,542
My family didn't like it very much.
102
00:09:03,625 --> 00:09:06,167
At the cinema, we gave tickets,
103
00:09:06,250 --> 00:09:08,250
then they gave us half the ticket.
104
00:09:08,500 --> 00:09:10,708
I used to keep the tickets, and...
105
00:09:11,500 --> 00:09:13,667
I don't know why,
106
00:09:13,750 --> 00:09:17,583
I didn't like to throw it away
things related to cinema.
107
00:09:18,167 --> 00:09:22,375
But the only person who really
I understood my involvement with cinema
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00:09:22,458 --> 00:09:24,417
it was my younger brother Ramakutty.
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And he also helped me put things away,
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even though I never asked.
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00:09:56,125 --> 00:09:59,750
WATSON HOTEL, BOMBAY
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00:10:03,375 --> 00:10:05,792
CINEMATOGRAPHY
THE WONDER OF THE CENTURY
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00:10:05,917 --> 00:10:07,917
ADMISSION: ONE RUPEE
PREMIERE CINEMA
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00:10:08,667 --> 00:10:12,333
THERE WILL BE EXHIBITIONS
TONIGHT AT THE WATSON HOTEL.
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00:10:34,292 --> 00:10:39,542
Dhundiraj Govind Phalke, popularly
known as Dadasaheb Phalke,
116
00:10:40,250 --> 00:10:43,542
� often referenced
as the father of the Indian film industry.
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00:10:44,500 --> 00:10:48,833
Actually, he did the first one
Indian film, Raja Harischandra.
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PHENOMENAL SUCCESS
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Therefore,
when we started the Archive in 1964,
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00:10:52,250 --> 00:10:56,833
our top priority
it was looking for material,
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Dadasaheb Phalke footage.
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00:11:00,667 --> 00:11:02,042
This is Nashik.
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00:11:02,125 --> 00:11:06,458
When I arrived in 1969,
in a transport of newspapers,
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to come and look for films
by Dadasaheb Phalke,
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00:11:10,333 --> 00:11:12,333
from his son Prabhakar Phalke.
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00:11:12,417 --> 00:11:17,375
I came late, almost midnight, from Pune.
127
00:11:17,958 --> 00:11:22,458
I think it was one in the morning or something
like that and I got here first thing in the morning.
128
00:11:22,542 --> 00:11:26,708
He carried the daily newspaper, the Kesari.
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00:11:26,792 --> 00:11:29,167
The first edition published...
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00:11:29,583 --> 00:11:33,292
They wanted you to arrive early in the morning.
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00:11:33,667 --> 00:11:37,792
It was the normal newspaper route. I was asked
let me take care of the transportation...
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00:11:39,167 --> 00:11:43,417
... because when is it time to return,
it comes back almost empty,
133
00:11:43,708 --> 00:11:47,792
so that I could carry
the nitrate rolls with me.
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00:11:48,083 --> 00:11:50,917
In our cinema history,
encyclopedia of cinema...
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00:11:51,000 --> 00:11:52,375
SCREENWRITER / DIRECTOR
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00:11:52,458 --> 00:11:56,250
...or cinema archive
which he created in Pune,
137
00:11:57,583 --> 00:12:00,875
his name should be Dada Phalke.
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00:12:02,083 --> 00:12:04,292
Dada Phalke was the pioneer,
139
00:12:05,292 --> 00:12:10,417
but Dada Phalke was collected by him
and it went down in history.
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00:12:20,875 --> 00:12:23,917
This is where I came, in 1969,
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00:12:24,167 --> 00:12:28,708
where home used to be
by Dadasaheb Phalke.
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00:12:29,583 --> 00:12:33,833
I remember that Prabhakar Phalke,
your youngest son invited me,
143
00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:39,917
because he said he had
old Phalke movies at home.
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That's why I came from Pune
145
00:12:43,167 --> 00:12:49,792
and I was impressed
When I saw the door, it was wooden,
146
00:12:50,250 --> 00:12:56,500
and at the top was an insignia
recorded from a camcorder,
147
00:12:56,833 --> 00:12:58,667
very similar to that.
148
00:12:59,167 --> 00:13:02,250
It was noticeable that it was almost
a sanctified space,
149
00:13:02,625 --> 00:13:07,958
and he said he had a box
wooden with things,
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00:13:08,333 --> 00:13:12,833
Phalke stuff. I opened it,
151
00:13:13,375 --> 00:13:18,875
and I saw that a large part was there
from the film Kaliya Mardan,
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00:13:19,625 --> 00:13:24,250
and that's how we got it
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Phalke's only full-length film
to the Archive, until this moment.
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00:13:27,792 --> 00:13:30,792
KALIYA-MARDAN BY MR. D. G. PHALKE
THE PIONEER OF EAST CINEMA.
155
00:13:30,875 --> 00:13:32,625
MANDAKINI PHALKE,
DAUGHTER OF THE FATHER OF INDIAN CINEMA,
156
00:13:32,708 --> 00:13:33,833
IN THE ROLE OF SHREE KRISHNA.
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00:13:33,917 --> 00:13:37,208
I wish they would have kept it
as a museum.
158
00:13:37,292 --> 00:13:42,167
Either way, there will be something good
to remember in the future.
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Now everything is gone.
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00:13:46,417 --> 00:13:49,708
That's what happens when the world changes.
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00:14:25,583 --> 00:14:27,875
We are in a historic location.
162
00:14:28,208 --> 00:14:31,667
This is the place
where the first Indian film,
163
00:14:31,750 --> 00:14:33,792
Raja Harishchandra,was spun.
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00:14:33,875 --> 00:14:34,958
Yes.
165
00:14:35,042 --> 00:14:37,500
I think there have been changes, right?
166
00:14:37,583 --> 00:14:39,542
Yes, many changes have been made.
167
00:14:39,833 --> 00:14:42,625
Thank God
that the original structure still exists.
168
00:14:42,708 --> 00:14:44,125
GRANDSON OF D. G. PHALKE
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00:14:44,417 --> 00:14:48,708
- I remember we met in 69...
- Yes.
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00:14:48,792 --> 00:14:53,708
Yes, it was at the end of 69,
beginning of 71, 70...
171
00:14:55,667 --> 00:14:57,500
- My mother was with me...
- So.
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00:14:57,583 --> 00:15:01,125
...and she wanted to show my...
He had just gotten married,
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00:15:01,458 --> 00:15:07,625
and she wanted to show movies
from Dadasaheb Phalke to my in-laws,
174
00:15:08,208 --> 00:15:13,292
and you, sincerely
and graciously, he accepted.
175
00:15:13,375 --> 00:15:16,292
No, I really wanted to show him the film,
176
00:15:16,750 --> 00:15:20,958
because we had received a film
of Prabhakar a year before
177
00:15:21,333 --> 00:15:23,333
and it was all in pieces.
178
00:15:23,667 --> 00:15:26,083
It took a lot of work to put it together,
179
00:15:26,167 --> 00:15:29,750
in the order in which Dadasaheb
had done so originally.
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00:15:29,958 --> 00:15:31,708
STUDY OF FACIAL EXPRESSIONS
BY A GIRL OF SEVEN.
181
00:15:31,958 --> 00:15:36,458
I wanted to show it to Mandakiniji
so he could tell us the order...
182
00:15:47,500 --> 00:15:52,708
I waited until night,
I took the same transport back
183
00:15:52,792 --> 00:15:55,625
and said to them:
"This is very precious material
184
00:15:55,708 --> 00:15:58,500
and see, please
they drive very slowly."
185
00:15:58,750 --> 00:16:03,333
I left there again
around midnight
186
00:16:03,417 --> 00:16:06,417
and I got here early in the morning,
187
00:16:07,333 --> 00:16:11,792
to the shacks,
where we had a file cabinet,
188
00:16:12,250 --> 00:16:14,375
in '67 or something like that.
189
00:16:15,125 --> 00:16:18,958
So I took out the coils one by one
190
00:16:19,042 --> 00:16:20,750
and I saw that they were just parts,
191
00:16:20,833 --> 00:16:23,917
but from the same film, Kaliya Mardan.
192
00:16:24,458 --> 00:16:28,458
Since we didn't know the order of the film,
193
00:16:28,875 --> 00:16:34,250
the box somehow contained
a notebook,
194
00:16:34,750 --> 00:16:38,167
a handwritten note by Phalke
195
00:16:38,250 --> 00:16:42,583
with the order the coils were in,
196
00:16:42,667 --> 00:16:45,667
such as the content
of each of the coils.
197
00:16:45,750 --> 00:16:50,375
This helped a lot to put the pieces together.
198
00:16:50,875 --> 00:16:55,458
in the order in which, perhaps,
Phalke had them...
199
00:16:56,667 --> 00:17:00,125
There were damaged scenes.
We couldn't...
200
00:17:00,542 --> 00:17:02,750
At the time, there was no digital restoration.
201
00:17:03,083 --> 00:17:04,667
I hope they can do it now.
202
00:17:04,750 --> 00:17:09,083
But neverthelessKaliya Mardan
it became a full film.
203
00:17:09,167 --> 00:17:12,875
It was a six-reel film,
almost a feature film.
204
00:17:15,667 --> 00:17:19,792
During the silent film period,
between 1912 and 1931,
205
00:17:19,875 --> 00:17:22,750
more were done
of 1200 films in this country.
206
00:17:23,250 --> 00:17:25,875
But much of it was gone.
207
00:17:25,958 --> 00:17:27,833
They simply don't exist.
208
00:17:27,917 --> 00:17:29,958
With the exception of ten or 12 films
209
00:17:30,042 --> 00:17:33,583
that we can save or preserve
in the Archive.
210
00:17:33,667 --> 00:17:36,333
And even these are incomplete.
211
00:17:47,625 --> 00:17:52,042
MAHAVIR PHOTOPLAYS PRESENTS
212
00:18:02,583 --> 00:18:04,500
Any film made, say,
80 years ago, 50 years ago...
213
00:18:04,583 --> 00:18:06,333
"Welcome, professor.
When will you find a rich fool
214
00:18:06,417 --> 00:18:07,958
for my beautiful girl
to reward him?”
215
00:18:08,042 --> 00:18:10,375
... has something to give, something we have already lost.
216
00:18:10,625 --> 00:18:12,250
AUTHOR
217
00:18:12,333 --> 00:18:14,792
And P. K. Nair, I believe,
knew the importance of preserving,
218
00:18:15,083 --> 00:18:17,917
It's not just the films, but the memories.
219
00:18:18,167 --> 00:18:23,125
My first encounter with cinema
It was in the early 40s,
220
00:18:23,417 --> 00:18:26,292
when I was seven or eight years old.
221
00:18:26,750 --> 00:18:29,583
I still remember it fondly
222
00:18:29,875 --> 00:18:36,083
of my first association
to the cinema, sitting on the floor.
223
00:18:36,167 --> 00:18:40,833
It wasn't made of cement,
It was white sand on the beach...
224
00:18:41,208 --> 00:18:42,917
SHREE PADMANABHA CINEMA
225
00:18:43,167 --> 00:18:45,917
... and watching a Tamil movie
directed by K. Subrahmanyam, I believe.
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00:18:46,500 --> 00:18:49,750
It was a magical experience
for me, at the time.
227
00:18:49,833 --> 00:18:55,750
From the first time I saw him,
I was fascinated by cinema.
228
00:18:57,250 --> 00:19:00,083
Every day, at night...
229
00:19:00,167 --> 00:19:02,875
My family was opposed to this,
especially my father.
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00:19:02,958 --> 00:19:05,417
He was against cinema.
231
00:19:05,500 --> 00:19:09,833
I thought cinema were just bad things.
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00:19:10,583 --> 00:19:15,125
Somehow left home,
At night, after everyone has gone to sleep
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00:19:15,208 --> 00:19:19,958
and I hurried... in fact,
I ran to the nearest cinema,
234
00:19:20,042 --> 00:19:21,250
to ten, 15 minutes.
235
00:19:22,167 --> 00:19:26,000
And when I got there,
the film was almost halfway done.
236
00:19:26,583 --> 00:19:30,542
So, I started watching
first the second part of the film.
237
00:19:31,083 --> 00:19:35,458
And then, to get the beginning,
I went to the mornings,
238
00:19:35,542 --> 00:19:39,708
because it was the only possibility
what I had to see,
239
00:19:39,792 --> 00:19:41,917
and it could only be on Saturday or Sunday.
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00:19:42,208 --> 00:19:47,083
The first Hollywood film
The one I saw was a Western, Vigilantes Return.
241
00:19:47,167 --> 00:19:49,000
I don't even know the title!
242
00:19:49,750 --> 00:19:51,542
- It's a Universal film.
- Then.
243
00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:56,333
It's a Western Technicolor,
from the early 40s...
244
00:19:56,667 --> 00:19:59,292
- Was it in Chennai, or...
- No, in Trivandrum.
245
00:19:59,375 --> 00:20:00,542
- Trivandrum. Right.
- Right.
246
00:20:00,625 --> 00:20:03,458
And another movie was
Inconquerableby DeMille.
247
00:20:04,042 --> 00:20:05,792
Gary Cooper and Paulette Goddard...
248
00:20:05,875 --> 00:20:09,167
- Yes, this one arrived in New Empire...
- Yes.
249
00:20:09,250 --> 00:20:12,917
It's a film I still remember.
It was the first DeMille film I saw,
250
00:20:13,250 --> 00:20:16,333
because this particular cinema
it mainly showed Paramount films.
251
00:20:16,583 --> 00:20:20,875
Then, The Gypsy Witch,
Marlene Dietrich...
252
00:20:21,792 --> 00:20:25,292
In black and white, beautiful photography...
I still remember that...
253
00:20:25,542 --> 00:20:27,917
And then, of course, Ray Milland's...
254
00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:29,708
- How old were you?
- ... Human Fragment.
255
00:20:29,792 --> 00:20:31,417
How old were you at the time?
256
00:20:31,500 --> 00:20:34,292
- Maybe eight or ten...
- Eight or ten?
257
00:20:34,500 --> 00:20:36,958
- Eight or ten years.
- Amazing!
258
00:20:37,583 --> 00:20:42,292
I remember, at the time,
that there was a tent with a projection here
259
00:20:43,250 --> 00:20:45,792
and a cabin on that side,
260
00:20:45,917 --> 00:20:50,042
and that half of the cinema
it was full of sand...
261
00:20:50,833 --> 00:20:52,542
...something called an earthly ticket.
262
00:20:53,167 --> 00:20:58,292
Beautiful white sand on the beach
Shankumugham in Trivandrum.
263
00:20:58,625 --> 00:21:04,333
The white sand in Kerala
it had a royal appearance.
264
00:21:04,417 --> 00:21:06,125
It's very bright
265
00:21:06,500 --> 00:21:09,375
and is used
for special occasions, weddings
266
00:21:09,792 --> 00:21:11,292
and celebrations.
267
00:21:12,083 --> 00:21:14,667
So we never felt like...
268
00:21:15,500 --> 00:21:18,500
... we had the cheapest ticket,
269
00:21:18,583 --> 00:21:22,208
because of the fact
of me sitting on the sand,
270
00:21:23,042 --> 00:21:28,042
and so, the beautiful sand
associated with the celebration
271
00:21:28,875 --> 00:21:33,875
it was a wonder,
along with the images on the screen.
272
00:21:57,292 --> 00:22:00,333
There used to be just two sessions,
at the time, at 6:30 pm and 9:30 pm.
273
00:22:00,708 --> 00:22:06,208
And in each cinema, at 6 pm,
there was a speaker outside
274
00:22:06,542 --> 00:22:08,250
playing popular songs
275
00:22:08,333 --> 00:22:12,333
perhaps to attract an audience
to buy tickets.
276
00:22:12,792 --> 00:22:14,625
They used to start
with a song of devotion.
277
00:22:15,542 --> 00:22:17,917
"Gnanapazham", I believe,
by K. B. Sundarambal,
278
00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:19,583
in honor of God Muruga.
279
00:22:19,833 --> 00:22:23,458
And then later,
many Hindi songs followed
280
00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:26,667
by Kemchand Prakash and Naushad.
281
00:22:27,667 --> 00:22:30,167
And later, in this particular cinema,
282
00:22:30,250 --> 00:22:34,500
I used to come after the beginning
of the film and stood outside,
283
00:22:34,583 --> 00:22:38,667
because, at the time,
the projector was there and the screen was on this side.
284
00:22:38,750 --> 00:22:40,292
They were always changing.
285
00:22:41,083 --> 00:22:44,208
When I started watching movies,
the screen was here and the projection there.
286
00:22:44,292 --> 00:22:48,417
Then sometime in '44 or '45, I remember
287
00:22:49,583 --> 00:22:52,667
distinctly from the film, Kismet,
by Bombay Talkies.
288
00:22:53,125 --> 00:22:57,167
Used to stay abroad
and listened to the songs from the projector.
289
00:23:56,417 --> 00:23:58,917
If you don't have much of an audience,
290
00:23:59,250 --> 00:24:03,917
feel like touching the sand
and then watch movies.
291
00:24:05,167 --> 00:24:07,333
It was a kind of wonder,
292
00:24:07,542 --> 00:24:13,042
the type of stories
what I started getting involved in at the beginning.
293
00:24:13,625 --> 00:24:17,792
Most of it
from Tamil mythology or legends.
294
00:24:42,417 --> 00:24:47,250
Having all of this filmed is beautiful because,
295
00:24:47,708 --> 00:24:49,875
let's say, 100 years from now,
296
00:24:50,250 --> 00:24:51,458
can be seen
297
00:24:52,375 --> 00:24:54,708
a certain aspect of life...
298
00:24:54,833 --> 00:24:57,083
DIRECTOR
299
00:24:57,167 --> 00:25:00,833
... which only existed at that time.
300
00:25:01,958 --> 00:25:03,333
It means a lot.
301
00:25:04,583 --> 00:25:06,542
It means more than the Greek tragedy,
302
00:25:06,625 --> 00:25:11,000
where everything is magnified without comparison.
303
00:25:12,042 --> 00:25:15,458
But these things are so small
304
00:25:16,667 --> 00:25:19,708
manifest themselves beautifully.
305
00:25:21,167 --> 00:25:25,333
It is the soul of art.
306
00:25:28,792 --> 00:25:32,000
My view of cinema has changed,
basically, with two films
307
00:25:32,083 --> 00:25:33,833
which I saw in the early 50s.
308
00:25:34,042 --> 00:25:36,333
One wasBicycle Thieves
de Sica and the other was
309
00:25:36,458 --> 00:25:37,875
The Gates of Hell by Kurosawa.
310
00:25:38,083 --> 00:25:40,333
These two films had
a tremendous impact on me,
311
00:25:40,417 --> 00:25:44,542
because, until that point,
the type of cinema I was exposed to
312
00:25:44,875 --> 00:25:49,167
it was the school narrative, the best
from Hollywood and even Indian films.
313
00:25:49,542 --> 00:25:54,333
It was a form of cinema treatment
which was totally different.
314
00:25:54,875 --> 00:25:58,208
And did you know that cinema doesn't count
just stories, but it goes beyond that.
315
00:25:58,292 --> 00:25:59,583
BICYCLE THIEVES
316
00:25:59,667 --> 00:26:05,083
Then my interest and involvement
in cinema it became deeper
317
00:26:05,292 --> 00:26:07,500
and I wanted to learn how to perform
318
00:26:07,583 --> 00:26:10,750
and I didn't want to continue studying.
319
00:26:10,833 --> 00:26:15,417
My father thought
that I should do engineering.
320
00:26:15,750 --> 00:26:19,333
I was determined
to learn achievement.
321
00:26:19,667 --> 00:26:25,208
I had been exposed to Hollywood
322
00:26:25,625 --> 00:26:28,458
and Hindi films
before coming to the Institute.
323
00:26:28,542 --> 00:26:29,917
ACTOR
324
00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:32,375
I had sneaked out to see The Silence
325
00:26:32,458 --> 00:26:33,792
at the Max Mueller Bhavan in Delhi,
326
00:26:33,875 --> 00:26:36,167
mainly because there were scenes
of naked women,
327
00:26:36,250 --> 00:26:38,417
not because it's a great film.
328
00:26:39,375 --> 00:26:45,125
And we were shown the Gates
from Hellat drama school,
329
00:26:46,125 --> 00:26:51,750
with particular attention
to Mr. Mifune's performance,
330
00:26:52,792 --> 00:26:55,792
because I was interpreting
a similar character in a play.
331
00:26:56,250 --> 00:26:59,417
But my knowledge
of world cinema was zero,
332
00:26:59,500 --> 00:27:01,125
when I came to the Institute.
333
00:27:04,083 --> 00:27:10,125
I had been very influenced
by actors with very good speech,
334
00:27:10,417 --> 00:27:12,917
actors with a very good posture,
335
00:27:13,375 --> 00:27:17,583
that filled a screen or a stage,
336
00:27:17,667 --> 00:27:21,708
actors like Mr. Olivier
and the British masters.
337
00:27:22,667 --> 00:27:25,042
And some British actors too.
338
00:27:25,333 --> 00:27:29,958
But I had no idea there were so many
Great actors in other parts of the world.
339
00:27:30,333 --> 00:27:33,958
And one of the first movies I watched
at the Institute it was Bicycle Thieves
340
00:27:34,042 --> 00:27:38,292
and I couldn't believe my eyes.
341
00:27:38,917 --> 00:27:42,375
It was a complete enigma to me
342
00:27:42,458 --> 00:27:48,083
how the director got authentic people
to play authentic roles,
343
00:27:48,583 --> 00:27:49,875
because, as everyone knows,
344
00:27:49,958 --> 00:27:53,083
It's not easy to interpret us
ourselves in front of the camera.
345
00:27:53,167 --> 00:27:57,083
The moment a camera
It's pointed in our direction...
346
00:27:58,833 --> 00:28:02,208
... the grandfather takes off his glasses,
the uncle shrinks his belly
347
00:28:02,417 --> 00:28:05,208
and all women
They try to look as beautiful as possible.
348
00:28:05,667 --> 00:28:09,333
Therefore, people are still afraid
349
00:28:09,417 --> 00:28:12,208
because they feel very vulnerable
It's in front of the camera.
350
00:28:12,500 --> 00:28:17,083
So, Mr. De Sica's achievement was...
351
00:28:18,458 --> 00:28:22,625
... something unmatched to this day.
352
00:28:23,167 --> 00:28:25,000
And it was thanks to Nair Sahib's insistence
353
00:28:25,250 --> 00:28:27,292
that was shown to us
the Bicycle Thieves.
354
00:28:27,375 --> 00:28:30,417
Otherwise, the acting course
I wouldn't think it would be important for us
355
00:28:30,500 --> 00:28:32,333
watch films like Bicycle Thieves
356
00:28:33,167 --> 00:28:36,417
or Hiroshima, My Love,
or other films of the genre.
357
00:28:36,500 --> 00:28:41,833
I was fascinated by some directors,
mainly, Mehboob Khan and...
358
00:28:43,333 --> 00:28:45,750
... Bimal Roy, Raj Kapoor and Guru Dutt.
359
00:28:46,083 --> 00:28:49,542
I thought I should address it
one of these directors
360
00:28:49,875 --> 00:28:52,333
and try to work with them
as an assistant or apprentice.
361
00:28:52,417 --> 00:28:53,292
MEHBOOB STUDIO
362
00:28:53,500 --> 00:28:56,500
So, with that intention,
I came to Bombay in 1955
363
00:28:56,750 --> 00:29:00,500
and I went to Mehboob Studio
find Mehboob Khan Sahib
364
00:29:00,875 --> 00:29:02,708
and, at that time,
he was filmingMother India.
365
00:29:03,167 --> 00:29:08,000
He said: "I won't pay you anything but,
if you want, you can watch."
366
00:29:08,375 --> 00:29:10,875
Because he already had
six or seven assistants.
367
00:29:10,958 --> 00:29:15,875
Used to catch
the technical details of the realization,
368
00:29:16,167 --> 00:29:20,417
the character summaries,
continuity sheets, things like that.
369
00:29:21,625 --> 00:29:24,167
I spoke to the camera assistants,
not with camera operators.
370
00:29:24,458 --> 00:29:28,042
Faredoon Irani was unreachable...
371
00:29:29,250 --> 00:29:32,042
The camera assistant
he was a Keralite, a Malayalam.
372
00:29:32,125 --> 00:29:33,500
That's why I had long conversations with him.
373
00:29:33,583 --> 00:29:37,167
We were almost at the brink
of planning the making of a film.
374
00:29:37,250 --> 00:29:38,583
We had written a story...
375
00:29:38,792 --> 00:29:42,167
But, in a way,
through this process I realized
376
00:29:42,417 --> 00:29:44,167
that this wasn't for me.
377
00:29:44,500 --> 00:29:48,542
Because there was a concept
of what a good film should be
378
00:29:48,625 --> 00:29:53,208
and the way films
were being designed and planned.
379
00:29:55,083 --> 00:29:59,083
Somewhere along the way, I realised,
because of the way we planned
380
00:29:59,667 --> 00:30:02,500
make the film... I said:
381
00:30:02,583 --> 00:30:06,250
"I have the feeling
that I don't fit into this."
382
00:30:06,333 --> 00:30:10,667
The turning point was getting together
with Jean Bhownagary, in Mumbai.
383
00:30:11,000 --> 00:30:15,875
He advised me to sign up
to a position at the Cinema Institute.
384
00:30:16,625 --> 00:30:22,292
I applied, I was selected
and I came to Pune in March 1961.
385
00:30:23,167 --> 00:30:27,208
The place looks the same
to what it was 50 years ago,
386
00:30:27,458 --> 00:30:30,208
with the exception that there was
more wooden walkways,
387
00:30:30,292 --> 00:30:31,958
and also some of the equipment.
388
00:30:32,167 --> 00:30:37,042
This crane...
It's the grandeur of the old equipment...
389
00:30:37,125 --> 00:30:38,167
PRABHAT STADIUM
390
00:30:38,250 --> 00:30:43,167
...it's so robust
which can still be used today.
391
00:30:45,458 --> 00:30:49,000
And I remember there was a tank,
392
00:30:49,083 --> 00:30:54,667
somewhere here.
We can open the wooden platform
393
00:30:54,750 --> 00:30:58,083
and, inside, there is a tap.
We can fill it with water.
394
00:30:58,167 --> 00:31:01,000
I remember that,
in a film like Amrit Manthan,
395
00:31:01,083 --> 00:31:05,792
they filled a tank with water.
As if it were a garden with water.
396
00:31:07,458 --> 00:31:09,458
Nalini Tarkhad was there, I believe.
397
00:31:09,667 --> 00:31:12,667
There were few stadiums,
in Bombay, they had this thing.
398
00:31:13,500 --> 00:31:19,667
I was told there was even a zoo
with animals and also a jungle.
399
00:31:20,792 --> 00:31:24,125
This was all modeled
according to the best of Hollywood,
400
00:31:24,625 --> 00:31:28,083
thanks to the great pioneers
Damle and Fatehal.
401
00:32:07,375 --> 00:32:12,000
This place is exactly the same
to what it was 50 years ago,
402
00:32:12,083 --> 00:32:14,917
when I entered this sanctified space.
403
00:32:15,125 --> 00:32:20,000
The space where some
of the greatest Indian films have been made.
404
00:32:20,083 --> 00:32:26,417
A place where the brave
like Shantaram, Damle, Fatelal, Jagirdar,
405
00:32:26,667 --> 00:32:31,208
Vishram Bedekar started in realization.
406
00:32:31,458 --> 00:32:34,292
I was so excited to come in
407
00:32:34,542 --> 00:32:39,000
and for starting my long career
at the Cinema Institute.
408
00:33:11,500 --> 00:33:17,000
These rooms were the initial rooms
makeup artist at Prabhat Studio.
409
00:33:19,667 --> 00:33:23,000
The studio, the rooms,
were Shanta Apte's favorites,
410
00:33:23,833 --> 00:33:27,708
Nalini Tarkhad, Durgabai Khote
and Prabhat's big stars.
411
00:33:28,417 --> 00:33:33,583
One of these rooms was the room
of Madhubala's favorite makeup,
412
00:33:34,542 --> 00:33:39,292
when I was working
in a Prabhat film called Apradhi.
413
00:33:39,667 --> 00:33:45,917
I remember it was in that building
where were the makeup rooms...
414
00:33:46,500 --> 00:33:51,417
And the top floor of the building
It was also used for sound recording.
415
00:33:51,500 --> 00:33:52,583
DIRECTOR
416
00:33:52,667 --> 00:33:54,333
There was a sound stage there.
417
00:33:54,875 --> 00:33:57,542
I remember Professor Thakkar
used to sit there.
418
00:33:59,250 --> 00:34:03,208
That location became the Archive
for some time.
419
00:34:04,292 --> 00:34:10,208
This is the room where we start
the Archive in 1964.
420
00:34:10,417 --> 00:34:12,833
It was a small room where three of us,
421
00:34:13,375 --> 00:34:16,958
I, as Assistant Curator,
a laboratory assistant and another
422
00:34:17,292 --> 00:34:20,500
film reviewer,
We started the initial work.
423
00:34:20,750 --> 00:34:24,292
My first priority
was to look for the first Indian films,
424
00:34:24,375 --> 00:34:25,833
since the time of silent films.
425
00:34:25,917 --> 00:34:28,833
When I was a child, I used to
spend it with my father, then a director...
426
00:34:29,417 --> 00:34:30,417
PRODUCER / DIRECTOR
427
00:34:30,500 --> 00:34:32,292
... by a place called Famous Tardeo.
428
00:34:32,375 --> 00:34:39,167
It is said that there used to be there
a stadium that, unfortunately,
429
00:34:39,375 --> 00:34:41,708
suffered an unfortunate accident,
430
00:34:41,958 --> 00:34:45,333
in which nitrate films,
which were preserved there, caught fire.
431
00:34:45,917 --> 00:34:50,708
And the place was reduced to ashes, this
half of the burned house was still there.
432
00:34:50,958 --> 00:34:54,583
Something that always confused me
as a child he was
433
00:34:54,875 --> 00:34:58,625
How are those images so tempting,
434
00:34:58,917 --> 00:35:03,750
so fascinating,
Could they be the source of such destruction?
435
00:35:04,750 --> 00:35:07,167
The safes were on the other side...
436
00:35:08,833 --> 00:35:12,250
... where we kept the films,
but now I think they are no longer there.
437
00:35:13,042 --> 00:35:17,000
I was told they were destroyed
in a fire in early 2000.
438
00:35:17,792 --> 00:35:21,542
They used to store material in nitrate
here, what I never...
439
00:35:21,958 --> 00:35:24,500
In my time,
I have never stored nitrate in this area.
440
00:35:24,958 --> 00:35:28,875
There was a rare fire
due to the nitrate that was stored here,
441
00:35:28,958 --> 00:35:32,875
who destroyed a space where,
442
00:35:33,583 --> 00:35:37,417
not only was the Archive,
but also Prabhat's classics.
443
00:35:37,500 --> 00:35:39,958
The original negatives, image, sound,
nitrate negatives, everything is gone.
444
00:35:40,042 --> 00:35:41,917
MINISTRY BEGINS INVESTIGATION
TO THE FIRE AT THE INSTITUTE
445
00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:43,458
CRUCIAL PART OF HERITAGE
FROM CINEMA IS GONE
446
00:35:43,542 --> 00:35:46,542
In fact, it lasted from 1933 until 2000.
447
00:35:46,625 --> 00:35:51,083
As I remember, the director
at the time he even said:
448
00:35:51,167 --> 00:35:52,208
CINEMA CRITIC
449
00:35:52,292 --> 00:35:55,083
"What difference does it make?
We have copies, positives."
450
00:35:55,167 --> 00:35:57,333
Which is ridiculous to say,
451
00:35:57,667 --> 00:36:02,000
because if you lost the originals
nitrate of some of the classics,
452
00:36:02,083 --> 00:36:03,792
what to do now?
453
00:36:03,875 --> 00:36:06,708
Archive should have
the respect it deserves,
454
00:36:06,792 --> 00:36:09,583
which, unfortunately,
It is not part of the political will...
455
00:36:09,667 --> 00:36:10,708
ACTRESS
456
00:36:10,792 --> 00:36:13,083
... I don't think there's even an agreement.
457
00:36:13,167 --> 00:36:16,000
I remember that,
when there was a fire in the Archive,
458
00:36:16,083 --> 00:36:17,958
I was a member of Parliament,
459
00:36:18,042 --> 00:36:20,125
and that I had said
with tears in your eyes
460
00:36:20,208 --> 00:36:23,083
and that had no effect,
461
00:36:23,167 --> 00:36:26,542
as if it had no political importance.
462
00:36:26,917 --> 00:36:31,500
The door was very heavy,
almost like a bank vault,
463
00:36:32,167 --> 00:36:35,083
which requires two people to open it.
I couldn't do it alone.
464
00:36:35,167 --> 00:36:36,958
And there was an intermediate camera.
465
00:36:37,542 --> 00:36:40,375
When you entered,
It used to be very, very cold.
466
00:36:40,958 --> 00:36:43,167
So I was really surprised.
How did it happen?
467
00:36:43,667 --> 00:36:47,417
Then, when we wanted
install air conditioning,
468
00:36:48,167 --> 00:36:50,708
someone had to blow up walls,
469
00:36:51,167 --> 00:36:53,750
and we discovered, very strangely,
470
00:36:54,542 --> 00:36:57,125
that there were many stones falling from the ceiling.
471
00:36:58,000 --> 00:37:02,875
There were two walls
with a parting in the middle
472
00:37:03,667 --> 00:37:06,000
filled with pebbles to the top.
473
00:37:06,208 --> 00:37:10,750
At the top, there was a meter of water,
permanently stored.
474
00:37:11,458 --> 00:37:15,167
I really need to value it
the ingenuity of our ancestors.
475
00:37:16,042 --> 00:37:17,417
They didn't have air conditioning,
476
00:37:17,500 --> 00:37:20,667
but they managed to keep the place cool.
477
00:37:20,750 --> 00:37:25,292
Now, I know that the Institute
became an academy.
478
00:37:25,750 --> 00:37:28,917
I wish it had been kept
as it was before,
479
00:37:30,250 --> 00:37:37,167
to have a memory of the inheritance
of this fantastic place.
480
00:37:42,792 --> 00:37:49,667
PRABHAT STADIUM
481
00:37:51,667 --> 00:37:54,083
This is the fantastic Prabhat Studio,
482
00:37:54,500 --> 00:37:59,375
which produced some of the best
Indian films from the 30s and 40s.
483
00:37:59,875 --> 00:38:04,125
Now this is the home of the Institute
of Film and Television of India.
484
00:38:06,208 --> 00:38:09,083
Even in the early days,
It was almost like a training camp
485
00:38:09,542 --> 00:38:11,167
for future directors,
486
00:38:11,708 --> 00:38:17,167
and then when the government got it
and built the Cinema Institute,
487
00:38:18,042 --> 00:38:22,292
In fact, the old tradition
to use it as a training ground
488
00:38:22,375 --> 00:38:24,833
for future filmmakers continued.
489
00:38:25,167 --> 00:38:29,083
When I joined the Institute,
I had never left a film halfway.
490
00:38:29,625 --> 00:38:33,917
At the Institute, seeing so many,
and not having to pay to see them,
491
00:38:34,958 --> 00:38:38,958
a person got the habit
of leaving in the middle of those who were not interested.
492
00:38:39,167 --> 00:38:40,833
Whenever I did this, however,
493
00:38:41,042 --> 00:38:43,750
and there were times when
there were two people in the auditorium,
494
00:38:43,833 --> 00:38:46,500
or perhaps none except Nair Sahib,
495
00:38:46,792 --> 00:38:48,583
who was always sitting there
and I used to think:
496
00:38:48,667 --> 00:38:52,333
"What a beautiful job this man has!
I would give anything to have his job.
497
00:38:52,792 --> 00:38:54,417
Watch movies all day."
498
00:38:54,500 --> 00:38:57,375
Until you realized the amount
of work that was needed,
499
00:38:57,458 --> 00:39:01,500
the tension I felt
500
00:39:01,833 --> 00:39:06,458
and how psychologically tiring
Watch so many movies in one day
501
00:39:06,542 --> 00:39:09,083
and try to assimilate them all.
502
00:39:10,000 --> 00:39:14,208
And archive them all, place them
503
00:39:15,375 --> 00:39:20,958
in the Archive, classify them,
write down all credit details.
504
00:39:21,375 --> 00:39:25,458
The amount of work is incredible
that Nair Sahib had behind the scenes.
505
00:39:25,708 --> 00:39:27,292
The work that no one saw.
506
00:39:27,667 --> 00:39:30,708
And unfortunately,
the work that few are aware of.
507
00:39:30,958 --> 00:39:35,125
Maybe I shouldn't have slept
with Charlie when I met him.
508
00:39:38,917 --> 00:39:43,833
A little light and a man
with a pen taking notes.
509
00:39:45,000 --> 00:39:49,208
It was Mr. Nair,
meticulously taking notes,
510
00:39:49,292 --> 00:39:54,167
checking lyrics, checking problems
alignment, any problems,
511
00:39:54,792 --> 00:39:57,458
There he was,
Silently taking notes.
512
00:39:58,083 --> 00:39:59,708
And then we realized something very simple.
513
00:40:00,542 --> 00:40:03,375
If it hadn't been for that man,
we wouldn't be seeing this work.
514
00:40:03,583 --> 00:40:07,542
While the film was being shown,
He took notes, lots of notes.
515
00:40:07,625 --> 00:40:08,542
DIRECTOR
516
00:40:08,625 --> 00:40:10,042
We've all tried that.
517
00:40:10,125 --> 00:40:13,500
We also said:
"It's a good method, why don't we do it?"
518
00:40:13,708 --> 00:40:15,500
In the classrooms we started to do this.
519
00:40:15,583 --> 00:40:17,542
While showing the film,
we simply wrote.
520
00:40:17,833 --> 00:40:20,875
We took a small flashlight
and we took notes like Nair.
521
00:40:20,958 --> 00:40:23,500
Some of us went into his room
522
00:40:23,583 --> 00:40:25,625
to see what was in the notebook.
523
00:40:25,708 --> 00:40:26,625
DIRECTOR
524
00:40:26,708 --> 00:40:29,458
And in the notebook, there were meticulous notes
525
00:40:29,542 --> 00:40:31,333
about the condition of the roller,
526
00:40:32,792 --> 00:40:36,542
at which minute the film deteriorated.
527
00:40:38,125 --> 00:40:42,708
It was this passion,
an obsessive passion about cinema,
528
00:40:43,125 --> 00:40:44,542
which was a mobilizing force.
529
00:40:44,792 --> 00:40:47,417
One day I went to his house,
530
00:40:48,042 --> 00:40:53,500
I went to Nair Sahib's house
around 22:00 for dinner.
531
00:40:53,583 --> 00:40:54,750
DOCUMENTARIST
532
00:40:55,500 --> 00:40:57,958
We were sitting talking, and I noticed
533
00:40:58,042 --> 00:41:05,042
in a bunch of books, articles.
There were 200-page notebooks next to him.
534
00:41:05,250 --> 00:41:06,958
And I asked him, "What is that?"
535
00:41:07,500 --> 00:41:13,167
And he said, "I used to have
a diary of the films I saw."
536
00:41:13,792 --> 00:41:16,958
I asked, "Since when?"
And he: "Since the days in Trivandrum."
537
00:41:18,208 --> 00:41:21,792
So, I picked up some of them, leafed through them
538
00:41:22,417 --> 00:41:25,792
and I was amazed
with the meticulous way through which
539
00:41:26,125 --> 00:41:28,250
every film he saw was recorded.
540
00:41:29,125 --> 00:41:33,875
Like the display date,
the cinema you saw it in, the time.
541
00:41:34,708 --> 00:41:38,667
The Man Who Knew Too Much,
the second version of Alfred Hitchcock.
542
00:41:39,083 --> 00:41:40,750
The Man in the Gray Suit,
543
00:41:40,833 --> 00:41:43,625
I also remember seeing it
in New Empire.
544
00:41:43,833 --> 00:41:47,750
I asked him:
"Let me have just two books,
545
00:41:48,042 --> 00:41:51,583
never ask me to return them.
I will keep them as a souvenir."
546
00:41:52,000 --> 00:41:55,208
And I've kept them with me for 33 years
547
00:41:55,792 --> 00:41:58,792
and they are still very special to me.
548
00:41:59,000 --> 00:42:01,042
At first,
also if there was any fear of him,
549
00:42:01,125 --> 00:42:04,917
because we were behind him
without seeing that we were late...
550
00:42:05,000 --> 00:42:06,208
PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTOR / DIRECTOR
551
00:42:06,292 --> 00:42:07,625
...and sometimes he turned on the flashlight
552
00:42:07,708 --> 00:42:10,250
and caught us talking. Something like that.
553
00:42:10,542 --> 00:42:15,792
He made us realize that cinema
It wasn't a place where people talked.
554
00:42:15,875 --> 00:42:19,458
It was a place where people could enjoy
of experience,
555
00:42:19,542 --> 00:42:22,375
there are films that can be
a group experience,
556
00:42:22,458 --> 00:42:24,417
like Dev Anand's songs,
557
00:42:24,500 --> 00:42:25,917
where people sing,
558
00:42:26,000 --> 00:42:28,542
and there are films that can be
a very personal experience.
559
00:42:28,917 --> 00:42:33,250
Therefore, we must respect silence.
And all these things.
560
00:42:33,333 --> 00:42:37,042
That was something we learned.
without being taught.
561
00:42:37,667 --> 00:42:44,042
MEHBOOB PRODUCTIONS
562
00:42:50,375 --> 00:42:53,167
MEHBOOB PRODUCTIONS PRESENT
563
00:42:53,250 --> 00:42:57,917
HIGH HIGHER AND EVEN HIGHER
564
00:42:58,000 --> 00:43:01,292
KARDAR PRODUCTIONS PRESENT
565
00:43:01,375 --> 00:43:06,417
FOUNDER HIMANSU RAI
566
00:43:13,708 --> 00:43:16,708
ARDESHIR M. IRANI PRESENTS
567
00:43:18,831 --> 00:43:20,875
SHREE RANJIT MOVIETONE CO. PRESENTS
568
00:43:28,542 --> 00:43:30,875
DALSUKH M. PANCHOLI PRESENTS
569
00:43:38,083 --> 00:43:42,250
AVM PRODUCTIONS
570
00:43:42,500 --> 00:43:45,250
What happened in this country was that,
even though we are making films
571
00:43:45,333 --> 00:43:48,625
from the turn of the century, the 20th century,
572
00:43:49,042 --> 00:43:52,375
no one thought that cinema
or that films made in this country...
573
00:43:52,458 --> 00:43:53,875
NEW THEATERS LTD PRESENTS
574
00:43:55,833 --> 00:43:57,292
... were part of it
our cultural heritage.
575
00:43:57,375 --> 00:44:00,958
They treated cinema
as a convenience...
576
00:44:01,042 --> 00:44:02,208
ART EDITOR
577
00:44:02,667 --> 00:44:04,042
DIRECTOR
578
00:44:04,250 --> 00:44:08,458
... or a means of entertainment
for the so-called illiterate masses.
579
00:44:08,542 --> 00:44:12,542
If you don't consider the films
as part of historical culture,
580
00:44:12,625 --> 00:44:14,542
so a large part is being eliminated.
581
00:44:14,625 --> 00:44:19,292
Of course, how do you study tastes?
of the public in the 20s and 30s?
582
00:44:19,667 --> 00:44:22,375
The spirit of the archive has always been
583
00:44:22,458 --> 00:44:27,375
that of giving all expressions
584
00:44:27,833 --> 00:44:31,125
the kind of respect they deserve.
585
00:44:31,333 --> 00:44:36,958
You never know which particular type
of form of expression
586
00:44:37,042 --> 00:44:39,500
can currently be seen
like nonsense,
587
00:44:39,583 --> 00:44:42,958
but that tomorrow can be transformed
588
00:44:43,042 --> 00:44:45,750
in the greatest form of literature.
589
00:44:45,833 --> 00:44:48,958
We are such a cinema-conscious country.
590
00:44:49,292 --> 00:44:53,625
Much of our people, our ideals,
of our attitude towards life,
591
00:44:53,708 --> 00:44:57,417
in interpersonal relationships,
all of this can be identified in the films
592
00:44:57,500 --> 00:44:59,083
that we saw during childhood.
593
00:44:59,167 --> 00:45:01,958
He really thinks that everything should be
preserved for the future,
594
00:45:02,042 --> 00:45:03,917
because we don't know,
20 years from now, 60 years from now...
595
00:45:04,000 --> 00:45:05,000
DOCUMENTARIST
596
00:45:05,083 --> 00:45:06,333
... two centuries ago,
597
00:45:06,417 --> 00:45:09,667
what will be considered
historically important.
598
00:45:09,750 --> 00:45:14,042
And this aspect made him,
in a strange, very altruistic way,
599
00:45:14,125 --> 00:45:17,958
because he was very selfish
and it was very
600
00:45:18,250 --> 00:45:22,083
involved in the acquisition
of things for the Archive,
601
00:45:22,167 --> 00:45:25,667
but selfless,
not putting your value judgment
602
00:45:25,750 --> 00:45:27,000
in what he acquired.
603
00:45:27,083 --> 00:45:30,958
From an Archive point of view,
a Satyajit Ray film is so important
604
00:45:31,583 --> 00:45:36,292
like an early stunt movie
with John Cawas or Nadia.
605
00:45:36,500 --> 00:45:40,125
We say that these films
they are grade C films.
606
00:45:40,417 --> 00:45:42,208
There are categories A, B and C.
607
00:45:42,625 --> 00:45:47,083
At one point it could be class C
but 50 years later it will be a classic.
608
00:45:47,625 --> 00:45:53,083
You cannot select a movie
based on its contemporary value.
609
00:45:53,583 --> 00:45:57,125
You need to see it from a historical perspective.
610
00:45:58,542 --> 00:46:03,542
In France, Langlois never thought of...
611
00:46:05,042 --> 00:46:06,917
...just keep the good movies.
612
00:46:07,708 --> 00:46:11,417
He said:
"The good films come first, of course,
613
00:46:11,500 --> 00:46:13,583
they have to be preserved,
614
00:46:13,667 --> 00:46:18,750
but all films deserve to live,
not die."
615
00:46:19,042 --> 00:46:24,000
You know, here, in Sri Lanka,
we are very good at destroying them...
616
00:46:25,417 --> 00:46:29,958
...to the movies.
They are made, shown, and everything is over.
617
00:46:30,542 --> 00:46:35,792
I don't say that all films
must be kept,
618
00:46:36,333 --> 00:46:41,500
but there are films in which a panel
of a certain country must decide
619
00:46:42,000 --> 00:46:44,917
about their respective historical importance,
620
00:46:45,292 --> 00:46:49,375
commercial importance,
artistic importance.
621
00:46:49,875 --> 00:46:56,833
All of this matters
with regard to the preservation of cinema.
622
00:46:57,667 --> 00:47:03,375
Otherwise, the story does not exist,
there is no memory of cinema,
623
00:47:03,875 --> 00:47:06,958
of national cinema and everything disappears.
624
00:47:07,250 --> 00:47:13,167
And when it disappears, people
forget the great achievers,
625
00:47:13,542 --> 00:47:17,042
the great actors, the great actresses,
626
00:47:17,292 --> 00:47:23,417
and this whole chapter
of cinema history is lost.
627
00:47:23,708 --> 00:47:26,375
It was more of an oral tradition.
628
00:47:26,708 --> 00:47:29,625
We didn't believe in preserving things,
to write about them,
629
00:47:29,708 --> 00:47:31,375
to keep them.
630
00:47:31,583 --> 00:47:36,833
It started from storytellers,
it depended on memory.
631
00:47:36,917 --> 00:47:43,708
The master spoke,
the student absorbed what the master said,
632
00:47:43,917 --> 00:47:46,333
and in turn,
he ended up passing it off.
633
00:47:46,792 --> 00:47:52,833
And I think there was little emphasis on keeping
634
00:47:52,917 --> 00:47:59,208
what was considered sacred
or that it should be maintained...
635
00:48:01,250 --> 00:48:02,139
...for eternity.
636
00:48:04,333 --> 00:48:06,500
When I provided assistance
to Gulzar Sahib,
637
00:48:06,875 --> 00:48:10,083
he told me a story
from when he was Bimal Roy's assistant,
638
00:48:10,417 --> 00:48:11,792
in Kabuliwala.
639
00:48:12,292 --> 00:48:15,250
Wazir Mohammad Khan,
who played in this film,
640
00:48:15,833 --> 00:48:19,333
used to talk
about having sung the first song
641
00:48:19,417 --> 00:48:21,208
ever sung
in the history of Indian cinema.
642
00:48:22,167 --> 00:48:25,333
"De de khuda ke naam", in the filmAlam Ara.
643
00:48:26,042 --> 00:48:29,917
Unfortunately, nothing remains of this song,
except the story.
644
00:48:35,750 --> 00:48:38,583
That's where I came in the 60s,
645
00:48:39,083 --> 00:48:41,542
I think in 66 or 67,
646
00:48:42,250 --> 00:48:46,375
mainly to meet
Ardeshir Irani, the father of talkies.
647
00:48:46,875 --> 00:48:49,958
I wanted to meet him in person
to see if we could...
648
00:48:50,667 --> 00:48:55,167
...get some reels ofAlam Ara,
the first Indian talkie film.
649
00:48:55,625 --> 00:48:57,750
Right from the beginning,
when the Archive began,
650
00:48:58,250 --> 00:49:02,042
one of the films we were looking forward to
651
00:49:02,667 --> 00:49:05,875
for getting it wasAlam Ara.
652
00:49:07,125 --> 00:49:09,917
I walked in and saw him sitting...
653
00:49:12,458 --> 00:49:17,625
... in front of a large table,
with his son Sapurji.
654
00:49:18,250 --> 00:49:21,958
I told him about the Archive
and what we were trying to do and...
655
00:49:22,917 --> 00:49:25,583
...in our genuine interest
in preserving Alam Ara.
656
00:49:26,458 --> 00:49:30,167
He said:
"There must be some coils somewhere here,
657
00:49:30,542 --> 00:49:31,792
but not the whole movie."
658
00:49:32,250 --> 00:49:37,792
Of course, he offered a lot of negatives
from Imperial Films,
659
00:49:38,833 --> 00:49:42,708
and all material
that they had in the studio,
660
00:49:43,250 --> 00:49:45,958
He asked his son to give it to us.
661
00:49:46,542 --> 00:49:50,083
When we were going down the stairs,
662
00:49:51,125 --> 00:49:54,958
Sapurji was also with me.
He himself confessed:
663
00:49:55,792 --> 00:50:01,917
"I got rid of three coils,
the ones my father talks about,
664
00:50:02,417 --> 00:50:04,375
after having extracted silver from them."
665
00:50:04,708 --> 00:50:10,500
It was a kind of confession
of the son of a great pioneer.
666
00:50:12,500 --> 00:50:15,833
A 16mm roll sells
for 4000 to 5000 rupees.
667
00:50:16,292 --> 00:50:19,208
If it is a small roll,
it is sold for 200, 300 rupees.
668
00:50:19,708 --> 00:50:24,042
The 35 mm is sold by kilos.
It is 100 rupees per kilogram.
669
00:50:33,458 --> 00:50:38,167
When I was a child, my summer
I spent watching movies at my grandmother's house.
670
00:50:38,875 --> 00:50:41,042
She used to book
a cinema audience
671
00:50:41,125 --> 00:50:44,167
and we sat in the audience.
672
00:50:45,208 --> 00:50:49,792
I sat behind her,
and we watched film after film.
673
00:50:50,500 --> 00:50:53,458
I still remember
of the color moments ofPakeezah.
674
00:50:53,708 --> 00:50:56,167
Meena Kumari's interpretation
from "Inhi logon ne".
675
00:50:56,750 --> 00:50:58,250
And after Calcutta,
676
00:50:58,375 --> 00:51:02,208
my grandfather often brought it
16mm black and white rolls of...
677
00:51:02,875 --> 00:51:07,000
Devdas, Do Bigha Zameen,
Bandini and some Raj Kapoor films.
678
00:51:08,333 --> 00:51:11,458
I remember singing the songs
fromShree 420.
679
00:51:11,542 --> 00:51:12,833
"Ramaiya Vasta Vaiya".
680
00:51:14,083 --> 00:51:17,542
And here I am now.
Surrounded by reels and films.
681
00:51:18,083 --> 00:51:22,333
The images I grew up with,
fading and turning to silver,
682
00:51:22,417 --> 00:51:23,708
or colorful bracelets.
683
00:52:16,000 --> 00:52:20,292
Many of the producers
they never wanted to preserve their films,
684
00:52:20,583 --> 00:52:24,500
even when they had a lot of money.
685
00:52:24,583 --> 00:52:30,333
They had made a lot of money.
But as soon as that period was over,
686
00:52:31,375 --> 00:52:35,625
were never interested
in preserving the negatives,
687
00:52:35,708 --> 00:52:38,458
or in making interpositives and all that.
688
00:52:39,042 --> 00:52:40,250
They didn't even do that.
689
00:52:42,333 --> 00:52:43,958
They thought the life of the thing...
690
00:52:44,042 --> 00:52:46,000
They thought they had
enough returns from this
691
00:52:46,083 --> 00:52:50,875
and that the life of the film was over.
But suddenly, when television came along,
692
00:52:51,958 --> 00:52:55,458
started showing films on television
693
00:52:55,542 --> 00:52:58,375
and they started getting revenue from it.
694
00:52:59,417 --> 00:53:01,417
Then they started looking
for his films,
695
00:53:01,500 --> 00:53:02,625
but they did not exist.
696
00:53:02,708 --> 00:53:06,250
Many people discovered
that there was no trace of the film.
697
00:53:06,542 --> 00:53:10,708
A film like Sholay, for example,
is still alive today.
698
00:53:11,333 --> 00:53:12,667
PRODUCER / DIRECTOR
699
00:53:12,750 --> 00:53:17,250
Can be displayed and money
It is collected every year.
700
00:53:17,333 --> 00:53:22,333
It's difficult to separate ourselves from...
701
00:53:24,583 --> 00:53:27,833
The main thing has to be that, otherwise
702
00:53:27,917 --> 00:53:32,583
Why do people
wouldn't they want their work preserved?
703
00:53:32,958 --> 00:53:37,250
It was government law.
A film that wins a national award
704
00:53:37,500 --> 00:53:39,667
must be sent to the Archive.
705
00:53:39,750 --> 00:53:40,833
PRODUCER / DIRECTOR
706
00:53:40,917 --> 00:53:42,042
So we send them.
707
00:53:42,333 --> 00:53:44,292
The award-winning films were sent.
708
00:53:45,000 --> 00:53:47,750
But I didn't send all my films
and maybe that was my fault.
709
00:53:48,000 --> 00:53:51,333
We make material
non-degradable plastic,
710
00:53:51,417 --> 00:53:54,042
but unfortunately,
we transform our art...
711
00:53:54,125 --> 00:53:55,083
ACTOR / DIRECTOR
712
00:53:55,167 --> 00:53:58,625
... especially cinema,
in biodegradable material.
713
00:53:58,833 --> 00:54:04,292
Our directors
they never treated what they do
714
00:54:05,292 --> 00:54:11,458
as a historical consequence
and as part of the country's heritage.
715
00:54:15,167 --> 00:54:17,625
You know, as an archivist,
I refuse to believe
716
00:54:17,917 --> 00:54:19,833
that Alam Ara
is permanently lost.
717
00:54:19,917 --> 00:54:21,042
100% TALKING FILM
718
00:54:29,167 --> 00:54:33,250
Upon its launch,
Master Vithal was very popular.
719
00:54:33,875 --> 00:54:37,500
Master Vithal was the hero of the film,
Jillo Bai played the mother,
720
00:54:37,833 --> 00:54:40,917
Moti was an actress at the time.
She played the femme fatale.
721
00:54:41,292 --> 00:54:43,083
Prithviraj participated.
722
00:54:44,292 --> 00:54:45,583
ACTRESS
723
00:54:45,667 --> 00:54:46,917
The film was released.
724
00:54:47,458 --> 00:54:51,375
In the past, when movies
were released,
725
00:54:51,667 --> 00:54:53,833
a lot of people went to see them,
726
00:54:53,917 --> 00:54:55,292
there was a crowd!
727
00:54:55,750 --> 00:54:57,917
The whole of Calcutta was filled with people!
728
00:54:58,000 --> 00:54:58,958
100% TALKING FILM
729
00:54:59,042 --> 00:55:05,458
It was like: "The hero speaks, she also speaks.
How could this be?
730
00:55:05,667 --> 00:55:08,083
We usually go to watch silent films
731
00:55:08,500 --> 00:55:13,208
in which, whatever the scene,
fight or otherwise, a caption would appear.
732
00:55:13,708 --> 00:55:17,000
Like, if he said:
"Why did you come here? Go away!”
733
00:55:17,333 --> 00:55:19,500
Then a caption would appear saying:
"Get away from me!"
734
00:55:19,792 --> 00:55:21,542
And the public read it.
735
00:55:22,958 --> 00:55:26,583
The room was filled with murmurs.
736
00:55:27,250 --> 00:55:32,042
When we realized it was spoken,
no one could believe it!
737
00:55:32,125 --> 00:55:36,250
Everyone went to see him,
women and children...
738
00:55:36,542 --> 00:55:38,667
To actually see where the sound was coming from.
739
00:55:38,750 --> 00:55:40,125
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT TALKING FILMS?
740
00:55:47,417 --> 00:55:51,083
In the 60s, early 70s,
wandered through the old stadiums,
741
00:55:51,417 --> 00:55:56,917
� searches for recordings anywhere
corner of the stadium or in its warehouses
742
00:55:57,250 --> 00:56:00,417
and sometimes outside Mumbai.
743
00:56:00,500 --> 00:56:07,417
Small places like Bhusawal,
Amarawati, or Kakinada and Beswada.
744
00:56:07,500 --> 00:56:08,875
Places like that, you understand?
745
00:56:09,458 --> 00:56:13,875
I had found out from Dilip Sahib
which he had not seenMughal-e-Azam.
746
00:56:14,458 --> 00:56:17,167
So I asked people.
Said: "Please!
747
00:56:17,458 --> 00:56:19,875
You have the reels that show
to the students of Dilip Sahib's films.
748
00:56:19,958 --> 00:56:21,042
ACTORS
749
00:56:21,125 --> 00:56:24,917
He hasn't seen Mughal-e-Azam yet!
So show it to us now."
750
00:56:25,875 --> 00:56:28,875
And it didn't really happen.
751
00:56:29,875 --> 00:56:33,208
In a few hours, everything was prepared
752
00:56:33,917 --> 00:56:38,792
and for the first time in his life, he saw
Mughal-e-Azamin this auditorium, with me!
753
00:56:38,875 --> 00:56:43,500
Hardly one or two people
with me, in our entourage.
754
00:56:44,167 --> 00:56:47,250
But believe me, the film was
being displayed in front of me
755
00:56:47,917 --> 00:56:50,250
and Dilip Sahib was sitting next to me.
756
00:56:50,667 --> 00:56:53,875
Who could see the film?
I only looked at Dilip Sahib!
757
00:56:55,708 --> 00:56:59,125
We managed to get it
some films from these studios,
758
00:56:59,542 --> 00:57:01,250
those that had closed.
759
00:57:01,500 --> 00:57:02,750
WHAT LEFT OF THE BOMBAY TALKIES STADIUM
760
00:57:02,833 --> 00:57:06,042
Just like Modern Theaters,
Salem by the great T.R. Sundaram
761
00:57:06,417 --> 00:57:08,625
and Lahore's Pancholi Stadiums.
762
00:57:09,292 --> 00:57:11,833
Despite Bombay Talkies
have gone into liquidation,
763
00:57:12,292 --> 00:57:16,958
somehow, I managed to obtain
Achhut Kanya, Bandhan, Kangan, Jhula
764
00:57:17,250 --> 00:57:19,750
and alsoKismet,
which had the longest duration.
765
00:57:20,458 --> 00:57:24,583
And then the New Theaters classics,
thanks to Mr. B. N. Sircar,
766
00:57:25,417 --> 00:57:30,750
Chandidas, Devdas,
President, Vidyapati, Mukti
767
00:57:31,333 --> 00:57:35,750
and even the first film
directed by Bimal Roy.
768
00:57:42,250 --> 00:57:44,708
I didn't come to be an obstacle,
to get in your way.
769
00:57:45,375 --> 00:57:46,875
- But, you...
- Yes, me.
770
00:57:47,250 --> 00:57:49,375
Today, I left everything
my wealth behind
771
00:57:49,458 --> 00:57:51,917
and I came to do social service, like you.
772
00:57:52,000 --> 00:57:54,708
"Did you come"? I'd say you got ahead of the curve.
773
00:57:55,292 --> 00:57:59,083
You did not leave your wealth behind.
But there is wealth before you.
774
00:57:59,542 --> 00:58:01,708
The people you came for,
775
00:58:02,083 --> 00:58:04,958
you will find true wealth in them.
776
00:58:47,292 --> 00:58:51,417
I remember when Ashok Kumar
came to the Institute
777
00:58:51,792 --> 00:58:56,042
to enroll daughter Priti Ganguly,
in interpretation.
778
00:58:56,542 --> 00:58:58,875
He asked:
"Do you have Achhut Kanyain the Archive?"
779
00:58:58,958 --> 00:59:03,000
And I: "I have Achhut Kanya, and also
his first film, Jeevan Naiya,
780
00:59:03,083 --> 00:59:05,417
which was your first
with Bombay Talkies."
781
00:59:05,500 --> 00:59:08,542
He was very excited,
He was almost shocked.
782
00:59:08,792 --> 00:59:11,542
First, he said to me:
"No, Achhut Kanyais also lost."
783
00:59:11,625 --> 00:59:14,708
And I'm like, "Don't worry about it,
is very safe in the Archive
784
00:59:14,792 --> 00:59:16,417
and we have a new version."
785
00:59:16,625 --> 00:59:19,708
One of my versions
black and white favorites.
786
00:59:20,000 --> 00:59:22,500
He personally
787
00:59:22,917 --> 00:59:28,375
collected several films
all over the city...
788
00:59:28,458 --> 00:59:29,333
DIRECTOR
789
00:59:29,417 --> 00:59:32,917
... from antique shops,
from various other sources
790
00:59:33,333 --> 00:59:37,458
and built the Archive, brick by brick.
791
00:59:37,542 --> 00:59:42,125
It's really extraordinary,
the amount of work Nair had to do.
792
00:59:42,542 --> 00:59:45,958
The only equivalent person
what can I think of
793
00:59:46,208 --> 00:59:50,208
It's that great man
who started the Cinematheque in Paris.
794
00:59:50,458 --> 00:59:52,542
My goal was to show shadows
795
00:59:52,625 --> 00:59:55,833
of the living to coexist
with shadows of the dead,
796
00:59:56,417 --> 00:59:58,375
because that is the essence of films.
797
00:59:58,458 --> 00:59:59,542
GHOST OF THE CINEMATHECA
798
00:59:59,625 --> 01:00:02,000
It supplants time and space.
799
01:00:02,708 --> 01:00:04,917
Go beyond the fourth dimension.
800
01:00:05,708 --> 01:00:08,333
Someone took me to the evening session
801
01:00:08,417 --> 01:00:11,333
at the Cinematheque.
802
01:00:11,417 --> 01:00:16,500
They have a movie theater
in the basement of the Museum of Man.
803
01:00:17,000 --> 01:00:19,000
A friend of mine took me there,
804
01:00:19,083 --> 01:00:21,792
and I saw Langlois sitting on a bench,
805
01:00:22,208 --> 01:00:23,542
in the foyer.
806
01:00:23,625 --> 01:00:24,750
COURCELLES: HEADQUARTERS OF THE CINEMATHECA
807
01:00:24,833 --> 01:00:27,917
I met him and he asked me
that was the screening session.
808
01:00:28,333 --> 01:00:33,625
The next day, I went to his office.
It was an old and historic building
809
01:00:33,708 --> 01:00:39,000
and I climbed the wooden stairs,
he was on the first floor.
810
01:00:39,250 --> 01:00:41,417
The floor was made of wood too.
811
01:00:42,125 --> 01:00:48,708
My film Bhuvan Shome
It was shown in 1969, in Venice...
812
01:00:48,792 --> 01:00:49,708
DIRECTOR
813
01:00:49,792 --> 01:00:52,792
... and, that night, a lot of people were there,
814
01:00:53,333 --> 01:00:57,333
It's my back
815
01:00:58,167 --> 01:01:00,458
and I had to talk about the film.
816
01:01:01,875 --> 01:01:04,833
And then, MadameKawakita,
817
01:01:06,167 --> 01:01:09,958
which is very important in Japanese cinema
818
01:01:11,000 --> 01:01:12,917
and responsible for
819
01:01:14,000 --> 01:01:18,417
bring Kurosawa to world cinema,
820
01:01:19,208 --> 01:01:24,792
She asked me which hotel I was in...
821
01:01:25,708 --> 01:01:26,958
... and the phone number.
822
01:01:27,917 --> 01:01:29,917
It's there. Yes.
823
01:01:32,500 --> 01:01:34,083
Who speaks?
824
01:01:39,625 --> 01:01:44,667
Listen if you want to talk
with Mr. Henri Langlois, please call again
825
01:01:45,000 --> 01:01:47,625
At nine. I think he'll be here.
826
01:01:47,875 --> 01:01:49,958
Good morning, sir.
827
01:01:50,583 --> 01:01:54,500
The next morning,
I was woken up by a phone call.
828
01:01:55,125 --> 01:01:56,458
I was in my hotel room.
829
01:01:57,583 --> 01:02:00,667
The person on the phone said:
"Am I talking to Mrinal Sen?"
830
01:02:01,083 --> 01:02:02,458
And I said, "Yes, that's me."
831
01:02:04,042 --> 01:02:06,542
"I'm the Langlois of Paris."
832
01:02:06,792 --> 01:02:12,167
Immediately,
I felt like the phone was going to fall out of my hand,
833
01:02:12,708 --> 01:02:14,583
and almost fell!
834
01:02:15,125 --> 01:02:17,875
And I said, "Are you Mr. Langlois?
835
01:02:18,625 --> 01:02:21,833
Am I speaking to Mr. Langlois?”
"Yes, you're talking to me.
836
01:02:22,750 --> 01:02:26,208
So, when are you coming to Paris?"
837
01:02:26,792 --> 01:02:29,125
And I: "No,
I have no plans to go to Paris.
838
01:02:29,583 --> 01:02:31,000
From Venice I will go to Rome,
839
01:02:31,083 --> 01:02:34,167
from Rome, I will take a flight
to Calcutta, to India,
840
01:02:34,792 --> 01:02:37,042
to Delhi and then to Calcutta."
841
01:02:37,792 --> 01:02:40,208
And he said:
"No, you have to come to Paris first.
842
01:02:40,417 --> 01:02:41,667
Change your plans,
843
01:02:42,125 --> 01:02:45,792
you have to come to Paris.
And then, when you come to Paris,
844
01:02:46,583 --> 01:02:47,625
come with your film."
845
01:02:47,875 --> 01:02:50,833
He asked me:
"How many films are there in the Archive?"
846
01:02:51,875 --> 01:02:55,875
I happened to have a copy
from my catalog, at the time,
847
01:02:56,500 --> 01:02:57,792
copied.
848
01:02:58,833 --> 01:03:02,333
And he leafed through the catalogue,
849
01:03:02,917 --> 01:03:06,875
He took the pen and marked some titles.
850
01:03:07,417 --> 01:03:10,333
I looked,
It took about five to ten minutes.
851
01:03:10,417 --> 01:03:14,333
He read every page
and marked some of the titles and...
852
01:03:15,000 --> 01:03:16,667
... I just looked.
853
01:03:19,208 --> 01:03:20,708
Finally he said, "Very well,
854
01:03:21,667 --> 01:03:27,667
you are more than 40,
50 films from the pre-1950 period.
855
01:03:27,792 --> 01:03:28,917
Do you understand?”
856
01:03:29,750 --> 01:03:32,167
And he said:
"Great, you did a good job."
857
01:03:33,083 --> 01:03:37,292
So he was scoring
films before 1950.
858
01:03:37,708 --> 01:03:40,250
So, I deduced,
859
01:03:40,750 --> 01:03:44,833
he confirmed my concept
that the true strength of an archive
860
01:03:45,625 --> 01:03:48,458
It's not in the number of films
existing from the previous year,
861
01:03:49,000 --> 01:03:51,750
but the number of films
from the beginning of cinema,
862
01:03:51,958 --> 01:03:53,875
films that are at least 50 years old.
863
01:03:53,958 --> 01:03:55,958
Langlois was an artist
864
01:03:56,667 --> 01:04:01,042
and he was a very large and opulent man,
865
01:04:01,917 --> 01:04:04,958
who said what he had to say,
866
01:04:05,042 --> 01:04:07,708
to the government or the minister
or anyone else.
867
01:04:08,000 --> 01:04:09,333
He was a dictator.
868
01:04:09,833 --> 01:04:13,833
He got into a lot of trouble
with several governments,
869
01:04:14,042 --> 01:04:16,917
but ultimately, he won.
870
01:04:17,583 --> 01:04:20,667
Mr. Nair, on the other hand,
it was more discreet
871
01:04:20,958 --> 01:04:26,458
and as good an archivist as Langlois.
872
01:04:29,167 --> 01:04:32,708
But he worked discreetly
and worked...
873
01:04:34,292 --> 01:04:36,583
... with a single objective.
874
01:04:36,875 --> 01:04:41,833
And that objective was to preserve
the heritage of Indian cinema.
875
01:04:42,375 --> 01:04:45,417
People like that don't come easily.
876
01:04:45,500 --> 01:04:49,542
And later when he said this:
877
01:04:49,833 --> 01:04:55,000
“I have the film Bhuvan Shome.
He will be with me."
878
01:04:55,958 --> 01:05:00,375
And then I got a phone call
of a Marie... What was her name?
879
01:05:01,042 --> 01:05:02,333
A British lady?
880
01:05:02,958 --> 01:05:04,708
-Marie Seton.
-Marie Seton.
881
01:05:04,917 --> 01:05:06,458
Marie Seton called me:
882
01:05:07,042 --> 01:05:09,750
"Mrinal, how did you give it to Langlois?
883
01:05:10,083 --> 01:05:14,292
You know he will make a pirated copy
from the film?"
884
01:05:14,583 --> 01:05:17,667
And I said, "Look how lucky I am,
885
01:05:18,250 --> 01:05:21,333
what Langlois did
a pirated copy of my film."
886
01:05:23,333 --> 01:05:26,417
Is it true that you stole films
and went to the laboratory
887
01:05:26,500 --> 01:05:28,125
to make copies of these films?
888
01:05:28,833 --> 01:05:31,458
- I didn't understand...
- Did you steal movies?
889
01:05:31,542 --> 01:05:34,208
I believe that,
when a film arrived to be shown
890
01:05:34,292 --> 01:05:37,000
or when it arrived
for a film festival,
891
01:05:37,083 --> 01:05:39,625
you used to make a copy of the film.
892
01:05:40,708 --> 01:05:43,958
That's not a good word
for an archivist.
893
01:05:45,125 --> 01:05:46,667
It's true that...
894
01:05:50,167 --> 01:05:53,125
...we get movies
from foreign archives...
895
01:05:54,375 --> 01:05:55,500
...and...
896
01:05:57,417 --> 01:06:01,833
...with a kind of deal,
It's almost a personal agreement in which...
897
01:06:03,667 --> 01:06:07,042
...we really want a movie.
Because I remember
898
01:06:09,292 --> 01:06:13,375
from The Hour of the Furnaces,
the Argentine film by Fernando Solanas.
899
01:06:14,542 --> 01:06:17,708
He came to the festival
and borrowed it for an exhibition,
900
01:06:17,917 --> 01:06:19,792
to show it to the students.
901
01:06:20,208 --> 01:06:24,083
Normally you cannot send
movies out without permission.
902
01:06:24,167 --> 01:06:27,083
Somehow,
I got it because it needed to be displayed,
903
01:06:27,167 --> 01:06:28,875
because it's a great film.
904
01:06:29,458 --> 01:06:33,292
I got him to come here
and made a copy.
905
01:06:33,583 --> 01:06:38,542
It's true.
And I returned it a day or two later.
906
01:06:39,417 --> 01:06:41,542
Officially, it was just for show.
907
01:06:42,125 --> 01:06:44,917
But we don't...
908
01:06:46,667 --> 01:06:48,958
... we record that we did so.
909
01:06:49,042 --> 01:06:52,583
I think a true archivist...
910
01:06:55,042 --> 01:06:57,333
... must have immunity to...
911
01:06:59,250 --> 01:07:01,167
... overcome these legal problems.
912
01:07:01,375 --> 01:07:03,375
A story we always hear about,
913
01:07:03,458 --> 01:07:06,667
when a movie arrived
to the Institute for exhibition...
914
01:07:06,750 --> 01:07:07,792
DIRECTOR
915
01:07:07,875 --> 01:07:09,167
... from anywhere in the world,
916
01:07:09,500 --> 01:07:12,375
That's what he got in this film,
who took him to the laboratory
917
01:07:12,458 --> 01:07:13,833
and which said, "Make a copy of this."
918
01:07:14,750 --> 01:07:17,542
And that overnight, a copy
was made and the film went away,
919
01:07:17,625 --> 01:07:19,667
for him to at least have
a copy in the Archive.
920
01:07:19,750 --> 01:07:21,417
I don't know if it's true, but
921
01:07:21,625 --> 01:07:23,292
are the stories we heard
in relation to him.
922
01:07:23,375 --> 01:07:25,083
There was a fantastic movie
called The Battle of Algiers,
923
01:07:25,167 --> 01:07:27,875
who arrived for the 1974 festival,
924
01:07:27,958 --> 01:07:29,500
and which he later took to the Institute...
925
01:07:29,583 --> 01:07:30,500
DIRECTOR
926
01:07:30,583 --> 01:07:33,792
...and we were impressed and said:
"Nair Sahib, we must have this film!"
927
01:07:34,208 --> 01:07:36,667
And he said, "Let me make a plan."
928
01:07:36,750 --> 01:07:39,583
I think he said
with the film's distributors,
929
01:07:39,667 --> 01:07:41,167
who had taken the film, and said:
930
01:07:41,250 --> 01:07:43,167
"Can you leave this version behind?"
931
01:07:43,667 --> 01:07:47,917
And they: "But we think you
has a good copy of Pather Panchali..."
932
01:07:48,458 --> 01:07:49,583
"Yes!"
933
01:07:50,000 --> 01:07:54,292
Therefore, I am sure that the box
who hadThe Battle of Algierswritten,
934
01:07:54,667 --> 01:07:59,167
returned to France with a set
of coils called Pather Panchali
935
01:07:59,375 --> 01:08:01,125
and we are left with The Battle of Algiers.
936
01:08:01,333 --> 01:08:03,042
When I was at the Institute,
937
01:08:03,125 --> 01:08:06,375
There were only four of us
or five girls in the entire Institute.
938
01:08:06,458 --> 01:08:07,417
ACTRESS
939
01:08:07,500 --> 01:08:11,750
I was the only girl
that I could go to the evening sessions.
940
01:08:12,125 --> 01:08:14,208
That was when Nair Sahib watched the films,
941
01:08:14,750 --> 01:08:18,083
why Nair Sahib
I said to my housekeeper at the inn
942
01:08:18,167 --> 01:08:20,500
that I actually sat down to watch the film.
943
01:08:20,750 --> 01:08:22,625
That I didn't wander off, but
944
01:08:23,250 --> 01:08:27,958
That's where I learned everything about cinema.
945
01:08:30,625 --> 01:08:32,833
To you, my noble son.
946
01:09:09,292 --> 01:09:12,125
Yes, you finally head
to the mountains!
947
01:09:14,792 --> 01:09:17,833
Dada, I really wanted to live!
948
01:09:18,083 --> 01:09:21,333
- I love living!
- What happened?
949
01:09:21,417 --> 01:09:22,917
Dada, I will live!
950
01:09:23,208 --> 01:09:25,792
- Dada, I will live!
- What are you saying?
951
01:09:25,875 --> 01:09:28,542
Dada, say it just once, I will live!
952
01:09:29,292 --> 01:09:30,625
Dada!
953
01:09:31,250 --> 01:09:33,042
Dada, I want to live!
954
01:09:33,125 --> 01:09:35,000
Dada, I want to live!
955
01:09:35,833 --> 01:09:40,500
- What are you talking about?
- Dada, I want to live!
956
01:09:40,583 --> 01:09:44,292
- I want to live!
- What's wrong with you?
957
01:09:44,375 --> 01:09:48,958
- What's wrong with you?
- I want to live!
958
01:09:50,000 --> 01:09:53,292
I want to live!
959
01:09:54,833 --> 01:09:58,125
I want to live!
960
01:09:58,375 --> 01:10:03,375
I want to live!
961
01:10:04,208 --> 01:10:08,083
I want to live!
962
01:10:21,083 --> 01:10:25,208
One of these rooms ended up becoming
963
01:10:26,583 --> 01:10:28,750
in Ritwik Ghatak's permanent room.
964
01:10:29,583 --> 01:10:32,333
I think it must be one of these rooms here.
965
01:10:33,000 --> 01:10:35,875
It is, again, a historic site,
966
01:10:36,583 --> 01:10:40,208
where we used to have
long discussions about cinema,
967
01:10:40,292 --> 01:10:43,333
until late.
968
01:10:43,542 --> 01:10:48,917
Ritwik used to be surrounded
by people like Emperor Akbar.
969
01:10:49,375 --> 01:10:51,625
People from different backgrounds.
970
01:10:51,958 --> 01:10:55,125
And in a way,
Nair Sahib was one of them.
971
01:10:56,333 --> 01:11:00,125
He was like a colleague,
at that time,
972
01:11:00,583 --> 01:11:03,583
a colleague of ours. He was...
973
01:11:05,958 --> 01:11:11,167
...getting perspective
about cinema from an archival angle,
974
01:11:11,250 --> 01:11:13,458
whereas we were obviously
975
01:11:14,417 --> 01:11:18,875
working with the lens and with light and...
976
01:11:20,167 --> 01:11:23,292
... with interpretation, music, etc.
977
01:11:23,667 --> 01:11:28,042
He hated Bergman,
he was a charlatan, he said!
978
01:11:29,208 --> 01:11:36,125
Some of his great inspirers
they were people like Dovzhenko.
979
01:11:36,792 --> 01:11:39,583
It was a relationship of arrogance
980
01:11:39,875 --> 01:11:42,792
very strange on the one hand
and submissiveness of the other.
981
01:11:42,875 --> 01:11:47,500
And Mr. Ghatak asked:
"Hey, Nair! What's the movie tonight?"
982
01:11:47,917 --> 01:11:49,583
So he said the movie,
983
01:11:50,292 --> 01:11:54,208
and Ghatak would say:
"I don't like this director. Another film!"
984
01:11:55,292 --> 01:11:58,042
And then he would say, "Can I show both?"
985
01:11:59,125 --> 01:12:01,583
And both films were shown
in a single night.
986
01:12:02,542 --> 01:12:05,500
Two films. For us it was great
for there to be this debate between them.
987
01:12:05,917 --> 01:12:09,208
We watched two films, one after the other.
988
01:12:09,750 --> 01:12:15,708
But I believe that Mr. Nair
noticed the eccentricity...
989
01:12:17,417 --> 01:12:20,417
... and singularity
of a type called Ghatak,
990
01:12:20,958 --> 01:12:25,833
and allowed him to have this guy
control in the evening sessions.
991
01:12:26,083 --> 01:12:30,458
He used to say that Satyajit
I had only made a film and a half,
992
01:12:31,125 --> 01:12:34,500
the Pather Panchali
and the first half of Aparajito.
993
01:12:35,083 --> 01:12:38,958
Of course, the example of achievement
what he must be talking about
994
01:12:39,042 --> 01:12:41,417
must be the sequence
from Benares in Aparajito.
995
01:12:41,833 --> 01:12:44,667
There was a display
from Double Suicideby Shinoda,
996
01:12:45,042 --> 01:12:48,250
and we were all very excited
because it was a new version,
997
01:12:48,333 --> 01:12:51,167
coming directly from Japan,
from Japanese archives.
998
01:12:51,250 --> 01:12:54,500
We were all called
and Ghatak Sahib sat with us
999
01:12:54,750 --> 01:12:58,875
and we were about 40
near him, around him.
1000
01:12:59,167 --> 01:13:00,542
And then the film started.
1001
01:13:01,125 --> 01:13:05,333
And Double Suicide is kind of
demonstration in the art of puppets.
1002
01:13:06,333 --> 01:13:09,208
And I should have seen Ghatak getting angry,
1003
01:13:09,292 --> 01:13:10,583
He said, "What is this?
1004
01:13:10,667 --> 01:13:13,792
This is an insult to Japanese theater,
to Japanese puppets.
1005
01:13:13,875 --> 01:13:17,292
The theater should stay in the theater,
should not be mixed with cinema.
1006
01:13:17,458 --> 01:13:19,667
Children, stand up! Let's go!
1007
01:13:20,208 --> 01:13:22,333
Nair Sahib, you must not show
such films on campus!"
1008
01:13:22,417 --> 01:13:23,500
And he left!
1009
01:13:23,583 --> 01:13:25,750
And after he left,
Nair Sahib said, "Well, go then,
1010
01:13:25,833 --> 01:13:27,167
I'm going to continue watching the movie."
1011
01:13:28,250 --> 01:13:31,625
No, I don't think that's true.
It must be Hariharan's imagination.
1012
01:13:32,833 --> 01:13:36,583
I remember meeting Shinoda
at the Tokyo Film Festival.
1013
01:13:36,917 --> 01:13:41,167
Immediately after I obtained
Double Suicide to the Archive
1014
01:13:42,000 --> 01:13:43,542
I saw it and was impressed.
1015
01:13:43,625 --> 01:13:47,708
That's why I really wanted to
to catch his other films too.
1016
01:13:47,792 --> 01:13:49,875
Because I saw who he was
an excellent director,
1017
01:13:49,958 --> 01:13:52,792
that you were trying to find
a kind of synthesis
1018
01:13:53,083 --> 01:13:56,042
between the theatrical language
and the cinematographic medium.
1019
01:13:56,583 --> 01:13:59,250
Is it Miss Tomioka?
1020
01:14:00,167 --> 01:14:01,167
Almost finished?
1021
01:14:01,583 --> 01:14:05,417
Almost, except for the suicide part.
1022
01:14:06,167 --> 01:14:09,375
The lovers' suicide sequence...
1023
01:14:10,167 --> 01:14:12,042
They pass a cemetery.
1024
01:14:12,625 --> 01:14:14,583
Have you found a location?
1025
01:14:14,833 --> 01:14:17,542
The Ghatak, you know,
must have had a few drinks at night,
1026
01:14:18,292 --> 01:14:23,167
and Jagat Murrari, the director at the time,
1027
01:14:24,167 --> 01:14:30,000
didn't like someone's idea
drink within the Institute campus.
1028
01:14:30,333 --> 01:14:32,625
Ghatak came to know about this and said:
1029
01:14:32,708 --> 01:14:35,000
"Okay, I'm not staying here,
I'm leaving."
1030
01:14:35,458 --> 01:14:38,625
I was on the other side of the street
in another one-bedroom apartment,
1031
01:14:38,875 --> 01:14:41,292
and he said, "I'll stay with you."
1032
01:14:42,083 --> 01:14:44,250
That was a beautiful time.
1033
01:14:44,625 --> 01:14:48,542
We share the same room
for almost two months.
1034
01:14:48,875 --> 01:14:54,000
During your lifetime,
his first film was not released.
1035
01:14:55,083 --> 01:14:58,625
Nagarik.
Later, exactly one year later...
1036
01:14:59,167 --> 01:15:01,542
RITWIK GHATAK'S WIFE
1037
01:15:01,625 --> 01:15:05,083
... a coil was found
at the Bengal film laboratory,
1038
01:15:05,750 --> 01:15:10,583
which was sent to Pune.
Mr. Nair later said:
1039
01:15:10,667 --> 01:15:14,875
"We will preserve all the work
by Ritwik Ghatak."
1040
01:15:15,292 --> 01:15:19,542
He later made a duplicate of the negative
and a version he sent us.
1041
01:15:23,708 --> 01:15:29,667
Soon from the Lumi�re brothers
to Griffith and the more modern pioneers,
1042
01:15:30,125 --> 01:15:34,375
I sought to obtain
your works too,
1043
01:15:35,000 --> 01:15:39,917
and I must mention Ernest Lindgren
from the British Film Institute
1044
01:15:40,000 --> 01:15:45,792
which helped us a lot
in the construction of the project for the Archive.
1045
01:15:46,125 --> 01:15:51,292
We exchanged Sant Tukaram
with the British Archive
1046
01:15:51,375 --> 01:15:53,875
by Hitchcock's Blackmail.
1047
01:15:54,333 --> 01:15:59,125
BLACKMAIL
1048
01:16:01,958 --> 01:16:04,500
We send a film with 12 reels,
they will send
1049
01:16:05,083 --> 01:16:07,667
a film we want
of equal length,
1050
01:16:07,750 --> 01:16:11,625
It is an agreement by exchange.
No money involved.
1051
01:16:11,875 --> 01:16:15,958
In fact, we receive many films
from the Russian Archive as a gift.
1052
01:16:16,625 --> 01:16:18,667
They sent about 20 films,
1053
01:16:19,000 --> 01:16:22,292
as part of a Russian retrospective...
1054
01:16:23,500 --> 01:16:27,167
... of silent films,
with film companies
1055
01:16:27,500 --> 01:16:31,000
and after circulation, they said:
"You can keep the films in the Archive.
1056
01:16:31,250 --> 01:16:32,542
We don't want them back."
1057
01:16:32,625 --> 01:16:37,958
It contained films such as The Battleship
Potemkine, The Strike, Old and New,
1058
01:16:39,375 --> 01:16:42,833
Alexander Nevsky,
the great films of Eisenstein, Pudovkin,
1059
01:16:43,042 --> 01:16:46,417
and from the Russian masters, Dovzhenko.
1060
01:16:46,500 --> 01:16:50,792
It was there that I saw
my first Tarkovsky film.
1061
01:16:51,083 --> 01:16:53,000
PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTOR / DIRECTOR
1062
01:16:53,083 --> 01:16:55,708
That's when I realized
1063
01:16:55,833 --> 01:17:02,417
who is not the director of photography
the team captain,
1064
01:17:02,750 --> 01:17:04,250
but rather the director.
1065
01:17:04,458 --> 01:17:10,125
I was so involved with the visual part
as well as the spirituality of the film.
1066
01:17:10,333 --> 01:17:12,208
And, practically, in this way,
1067
01:17:13,208 --> 01:17:18,917
my concept of achievement
started with the movies
1068
01:17:19,000 --> 01:17:21,917
which were exhibited by Shri P. K. Nair.
1069
01:17:22,208 --> 01:17:25,458
We received The Roadfrom the Yugoslav Archive.
1070
01:17:26,375 --> 01:17:28,667
Somehow, they had a copy.
1071
01:17:29,042 --> 01:17:30,000
AND...
1072
01:17:30,417 --> 01:17:34,583
...sometimes, I remember,
from the Czech Archive,
1073
01:17:34,667 --> 01:17:38,167
we receive american films
with Czech subtitles.
1074
01:17:38,833 --> 01:17:41,667
And I said:
"After all, it's in English.
1075
01:17:41,750 --> 01:17:44,167
So we can keep them
even if they have Czech subtitles."
1076
01:17:45,875 --> 01:17:49,542
Some directors like John Abraham
they were marked by Mr. Nair.
1077
01:17:49,625 --> 01:17:52,958
They both liked it a lot
from the films of Paolo Pasolini.
1078
01:17:53,417 --> 01:17:58,542
And one night, apparently,
John Abraham went to Nair's house,
1079
01:17:58,625 --> 01:18:01,958
and demanded to see it immediately
The Gospel According to Saint Matthew,
1080
01:18:02,042 --> 01:18:03,708
and it was three in the morning!
1081
01:18:03,958 --> 01:18:07,708
And apparently, Nair Sahib
took it to the safe, took out the film,
1082
01:18:08,000 --> 01:18:09,333
they set it up,
1083
01:18:09,417 --> 01:18:11,292
and waited for the projectionist,
Mr. Ramayan, arrive...
1084
01:18:11,375 --> 01:18:12,250
PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTOR
1085
01:18:12,375 --> 01:18:14,583
... and then they watched the film until the morning.
1086
01:18:14,667 --> 01:18:17,625
And after that,
sat down and discussed their film,
1087
01:18:17,708 --> 01:18:19,583
the next one from John,
Amma Ariyan, which I filmed,
1088
01:18:19,667 --> 01:18:22,625
until nine in the morning.
They had breakfast and he left.
1089
01:18:49,292 --> 01:18:51,917
We had a job
in which we had to study a director
1090
01:18:52,000 --> 01:18:53,083
and I chose Hitchcock.
1091
01:18:53,375 --> 01:18:56,083
I remember meeting Nair Sahib
and saying that I wanted to see the films...
1092
01:18:56,167 --> 01:18:57,208
DIRECTOR
1093
01:18:57,292 --> 01:19:00,375
... and at the time there were no readers,
Of course, they were still a dream.
1094
01:19:00,708 --> 01:19:02,917
He told me:
"Okay, those are the movies we have."
1095
01:19:03,000 --> 01:19:06,958
We have in the Archive
about a dozen or more films,
1096
01:19:07,208 --> 01:19:09,875
and he told me to see Psycho,
1097
01:19:09,958 --> 01:19:12,375
The Unknown of Norte-Express
and another film, Defamation,
1098
01:19:12,625 --> 01:19:16,458
and I used to sit at Steenbeck
and analyzed it, roll by roll,
1099
01:19:16,542 --> 01:19:17,500
and he would tell me...
1100
01:19:17,583 --> 01:19:22,417
Which is almost as if someone is
Up there guiding you to watch the films.
1101
01:19:22,500 --> 01:19:24,500
I must have seen them
about ten times at Steenbeck,
1102
01:19:24,583 --> 01:19:28,833
and have seen every film backwards
forward, studying plans.
1103
01:19:29,292 --> 01:19:32,333
I think somewhere,
This is still in my head...
1104
01:19:32,417 --> 01:19:34,625
I mean, help me.
When I'm making a film,
1105
01:19:34,708 --> 01:19:36,792
I remember these things well.
1106
01:19:36,875 --> 01:19:41,333
Let's watch all those movies
of people from all over the world
1107
01:19:41,417 --> 01:19:45,333
and one thing they had in common
In these films it was the risks.
1108
01:19:45,417 --> 01:19:47,000
There were scratches on the end of the coil.
1109
01:19:47,083 --> 01:19:49,000
It was something very interesting,
1110
01:19:49,083 --> 01:19:50,625
it was also very nostalgic.
1111
01:19:50,708 --> 01:19:55,208
And recently when I was filming
for M. F. Hussain's Meenaxi,
1112
01:19:55,292 --> 01:19:58,625
when I was shooting for the movie...
And when the film was shown,
1113
01:19:58,708 --> 01:20:02,833
M. F. Hussain was very happy
for seeing the colors and all that.
1114
01:20:03,042 --> 01:20:05,542
Afterwards he used to say:
“But, Santosh, what happened to the risks?
1115
01:20:05,625 --> 01:20:09,000
Will they show up? Will it happen?"
Because for them it's something nostalgic.
1116
01:20:09,083 --> 01:20:13,875
I think cinema has so many meanings
different for different people.
1117
01:20:14,292 --> 01:20:18,542
And this experience arises,
basically, to see it in a cinema.
1118
01:20:18,875 --> 01:20:21,750
Which is always where the magic is, I believe.
1119
01:20:22,542 --> 01:20:28,375
BREAK
1120
01:20:33,458 --> 01:20:38,000
THE SACRED RIVER
1121
01:20:39,333 --> 01:20:45,625
I got the filmThe Sacred River by chance.
1122
01:20:47,167 --> 01:20:52,250
I knew Mr. Amit Khanna then.
I still know him.
1123
01:20:53,125 --> 01:20:58,333
And he said to me one time, "Look,
I came across a film, The Sacred River."
1124
01:20:58,417 --> 01:20:59,667
DIRECTOR
1125
01:20:59,750 --> 01:21:01,708
"Seriously, The Sacred River? Renoir's?"
1126
01:21:01,792 --> 01:21:04,625
He didn't even know who Renoir was,
or what was The Sacred River!
1127
01:21:05,583 --> 01:21:11,375
Then he showed it to me.
And I asked Nair, I knew him well.
1128
01:21:11,750 --> 01:21:16,375
He was also excited.
The film had been filmed in India
1129
01:21:16,583 --> 01:21:20,042
by Renoir,
and Satyajit Ray also participated.
1130
01:21:22,250 --> 01:21:26,458
He said, "That will be,
Definitely a nice acquisition."
1131
01:21:27,125 --> 01:21:31,042
So, I took the film and gave it to Nair.
He stayed with him.
1132
01:21:31,250 --> 01:21:33,083
Since it was a government organization,
1133
01:21:33,542 --> 01:21:36,167
I think it was, perhaps, implicit
for them to pay something,
1134
01:21:36,250 --> 01:21:38,875
for this he paid me 21,000 rupees.
1135
01:21:39,500 --> 01:21:44,542
Of course, I kept them.
I never gave them to my friend,
1136
01:21:45,750 --> 01:21:46,833
for Amit Khanna.
1137
01:22:08,750 --> 01:22:12,250
A Bengali film, Jamai Babu,
1138
01:22:12,542 --> 01:22:15,875
we learned about him, thanks to Mr. Mrinal Sen.
1139
01:22:16,375 --> 01:22:22,500
He went to film Akaler Sandhaneand found
a coil in an old building,
1140
01:22:23,083 --> 01:22:27,750
and immediately, I got the information
and I got the coil.
1141
01:22:40,125 --> 01:22:42,583
September 7, 1980
1142
01:22:43,792 --> 01:22:48,583
A film crew
leaves Calcutta on the way to a village.
1143
01:22:49,458 --> 01:22:52,000
A village called Hatui.
1144
01:22:52,208 --> 01:22:54,292
The name of the film...
1145
01:23:01,375 --> 01:23:04,167
It was in 1980 that I made a film about...
1146
01:23:04,958 --> 01:23:09,167
... the great famine of 1943.
1147
01:23:10,208 --> 01:23:15,750
It was in a village attacked by famine,
even in 1980.
1148
01:23:16,583 --> 01:23:20,083
So I went there and recreated 1943.
1149
01:23:20,708 --> 01:23:24,417
We were all in a big house,
now in ruins.
1150
01:23:25,458 --> 01:23:30,792
And there were a lot of people there.
1151
01:23:31,625 --> 01:23:36,000
There were 13 people
sharing the house, the building.
1152
01:23:36,083 --> 01:23:38,000
All rooms full.
There were no rooms for singles.
1153
01:23:38,958 --> 01:23:42,792
So one of them, from Calcutta,
I used to come once a week.
1154
01:23:43,125 --> 01:23:47,208
He said to me: "My father
made a film a long time ago.
1155
01:23:47,708 --> 01:23:50,542
His name is Jamai Babu,
which means brother-in-law."
1156
01:23:50,625 --> 01:23:52,292
- Are all the rooms like this?
- Big and small.
1157
01:23:52,792 --> 01:23:57,250
So, from under the table,
from under the towel,
1158
01:23:57,667 --> 01:23:59,833
he took it off. The reels,
1159
01:24:00,042 --> 01:24:03,500
there were several coils,
about ten or 12, I don't remember.
1160
01:24:04,208 --> 01:24:06,583
I went back to Calcutta, called Nair
1161
01:24:06,958 --> 01:24:09,292
and said: "Here's some material."
1162
01:24:15,917 --> 01:24:20,958
UPEN BABU'S BROTHER-IN-LAW
1163
01:24:23,500 --> 01:24:24,875
One of the Indian silent films
1164
01:24:24,958 --> 01:24:27,875
we got it from my colleague in Bangkok,
1165
01:24:28,417 --> 01:24:31,000
from the Archives of Thailand.
1166
01:24:31,083 --> 01:24:33,917
Dome, he was a great friend of mine,
a passionate guy,
1167
01:24:34,125 --> 01:24:39,625
and he said that when he went to the box
from a Bangkok cinema,
1168
01:24:39,833 --> 01:24:43,625
found, in that cabin,
an old coil, looked at it
1169
01:24:43,917 --> 01:24:47,542
and saw... Savitri.
1170
01:24:47,917 --> 01:24:49,583
He thought it should be an Indian film
1171
01:24:49,667 --> 01:24:51,792
and immediately contacted me saying:
1172
01:24:51,875 --> 01:24:54,875
"I found one of your old movies.
Are you interested?"
1173
01:24:54,958 --> 01:24:57,792
And I said yes.
He only had one condition. Said:
1174
01:24:57,875 --> 01:25:00,083
"Please send us a copy
to our Archive."
1175
01:25:00,667 --> 01:25:04,542
He came to discover that there was
three reels of the first film in Kannada
1176
01:25:04,833 --> 01:25:07,500
in a warehouse in Hubli.
1177
01:25:07,958 --> 01:25:10,125
Hubli is a city in northern Karnataka.
1178
01:25:10,583 --> 01:25:14,333
He tried very hard
to get these three coils.
1179
01:25:14,667 --> 01:25:17,375
And it's not a complete film,
There are only three coils.
1180
01:25:17,458 --> 01:25:20,750
But, you know what,
I was very moved by this,
1181
01:25:20,833 --> 01:25:23,667
because this
It is the true spirit of an archivist.
1182
01:25:23,750 --> 01:25:26,458
Anyone would have said:
"Is the film significant?
1183
01:25:26,542 --> 01:25:29,875
Will it have any important value later?
1184
01:25:29,958 --> 01:25:32,500
If not, let's not bother."
He would never say that.
1185
01:25:33,000 --> 01:25:37,125
Because he knew that,
since it was the first film in Kannada,
1186
01:25:37,208 --> 01:25:39,542
the first film spoken in Kannada,
1187
01:25:39,625 --> 01:25:41,875
he knew
the historical importance of this film.
1188
01:25:41,958 --> 01:25:43,125
DIRECTOR K. SUBRAHMANYAM
1189
01:25:43,208 --> 01:25:48,667
The south contributes around 60 percent
Indian films
1190
01:25:48,958 --> 01:25:53,792
among these four languages:
Tilugu, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam.
1191
01:25:54,042 --> 01:25:56,375
One of the most important films
South India
1192
01:25:56,458 --> 01:26:00,958
what we got was theThyagabhoomi
by K. Subrahmanyam.
1193
01:26:01,083 --> 01:26:05,750
The south specialized
in mythology and folklore,
1194
01:26:06,292 --> 01:26:10,750
but were also responsible for some
1195
01:26:11,292 --> 01:26:13,500
of socially relevant films
1196
01:26:13,583 --> 01:26:16,000
and Thyagabhoomi was
one of the most important.
1197
01:26:35,625 --> 01:26:37,125
I was also lucky enough to meet
1198
01:26:37,208 --> 01:26:39,708
another legendary director from the south,
1199
01:26:40,333 --> 01:26:43,458
the great artist S. S. Vasan
from Gemini Studios.
1200
01:26:44,208 --> 01:26:47,833
He said:
"Of all the films I've done so far,
1201
01:26:48,542 --> 01:26:53,083
I consider it only two or three
are worth preserving."
1202
01:26:54,333 --> 01:26:57,708
Then he told me that the films
were Chandralekha, of course,
1203
01:26:58,625 --> 01:27:01,125
which was one of the landmarks of Indian cinema.
1204
01:27:02,042 --> 01:27:06,417
And the second wasMr. Sampat
which was a Hindi film.
1205
01:27:06,500 --> 01:27:09,042
It was the Hindi version of a Tamil film
1206
01:27:09,250 --> 01:27:11,375
what he had done previously,
titled Miss Malini.
1207
01:27:12,042 --> 01:27:17,000
The third was Avvaiyar,the great film
in Tamil about the great poetess.
1208
01:27:17,750 --> 01:27:19,917
These were the three films
1209
01:27:20,708 --> 01:27:25,125
and he gave a copy of Chandralekha,
1210
01:27:25,333 --> 01:27:27,667
as a contribution from you,
without any cost.
1211
01:28:07,375 --> 01:28:09,750
Good morning! This is Nair from Pune.
1212
01:28:12,750 --> 01:28:16,375
Shivendra Singh is doing
a film about me, you know?
1213
01:28:16,708 --> 01:28:20,917
He was trying to contact you
to record an interview.
1214
01:28:21,792 --> 01:28:27,292
They will go to Trivandrum
on days seven and eight.
1215
01:28:28,042 --> 01:28:29,417
In a way...
1216
01:28:30,708 --> 01:28:37,250
... I was responsible for saving
the only copy byMarthanda Varma.
1217
01:28:37,958 --> 01:28:42,042
The first film
had been totally lost.
1218
01:28:42,333 --> 01:28:45,167
It had been the second film
produced in Kerala.
1219
01:28:48,083 --> 01:28:53,958
It was the creation of a person
called Sundar Raj.
1220
01:28:55,250 --> 01:29:01,667
He had worked as an assistant
of a relative of yours,
1221
01:29:02,708 --> 01:29:08,208
who had been the first director,
J.C. Daniel.
1222
01:29:10,375 --> 01:29:12,542
Of course, the first film,
1223
01:29:13,042 --> 01:29:16,375
when we talk about him,
there is nothing available about it,
1224
01:29:17,042 --> 01:29:19,833
except a few frames
who managed to survive.
1225
01:29:20,458 --> 01:29:23,292
There is nothing available,
not even the script.
1226
01:29:23,792 --> 01:29:26,833
It was a friend of mine,
a journalist friend of mine,
1227
01:29:27,125 --> 01:29:32,333
who had a great interest in cinema,
who told me there was...
1228
01:29:34,333 --> 01:29:38,750
... a copy of Marthanda Varma,
the second film in Malayalam...
1229
01:29:39,708 --> 01:29:42,917
... was available, somewhere.
1230
01:29:43,625 --> 01:29:47,167
He also knew who had it.
1231
01:29:47,250 --> 01:29:51,500
It was Kamalalaya's book warehouse,
right in the heart of the city.
1232
01:29:51,750 --> 01:29:54,000
Very close to the Secretariat building.
1233
01:29:55,458 --> 01:29:57,125
So, I took advantage of the tip,
1234
01:29:57,208 --> 01:30:03,083
and with some friends of mine, I went there to see.
1235
01:30:03,708 --> 01:30:06,625
It was in the basement of the building.
1236
01:30:08,625 --> 01:30:10,833
In fact,
no one approached that box.
1237
01:30:11,167 --> 01:30:15,042
They were afraid...
It was treated like dynamite.
1238
01:30:16,000 --> 01:30:21,417
It could explode at the mere friction,
1239
01:30:21,833 --> 01:30:25,250
So we open the box
1240
01:30:25,917 --> 01:30:30,000
and we saw that it smelled bad,
but that wasn't a problem.
1241
01:30:30,417 --> 01:30:36,167
The film was based on a famous novel,
a Malayalam novel by C. V. Raman Pillai,
1242
01:30:36,958 --> 01:30:41,125
and the publishing house was a warehouse of books,
a warehouse in Kamalalaya.
1243
01:30:41,458 --> 01:30:44,167
They published it.
1244
01:30:44,792 --> 01:30:48,500
The filmmakers
who had made the film in 1930,
1245
01:30:49,917 --> 01:30:55,042
they did an invitation-only exhibition,
before showing to the public.
1246
01:30:56,083 --> 01:31:00,625
And, as they did not obtain
publisher's rights,
1247
01:31:01,500 --> 01:31:04,083
were processed
and received a precautionary measure.
1248
01:31:04,583 --> 01:31:11,542
The film was confiscated
of cinema after its premiere!
1249
01:31:12,208 --> 01:31:13,917
Therefore, it was never shown to the public.
1250
01:31:14,208 --> 01:31:15,375
FERVOUS DEVOTEES IN THE TEMPLE OF LOVE
1251
01:31:15,458 --> 01:31:16,417
We checked the records
1252
01:31:16,500 --> 01:31:18,875
and we saw that this film
was not in the censorship records.
1253
01:31:18,958 --> 01:31:21,417
This meant that the film
it hadn't even been censored.
1254
01:31:35,292 --> 01:31:39,625
I remember taking the box
which contained the film,
1255
01:31:39,958 --> 01:31:44,708
in the trunk of the car
and we took it to the office.
1256
01:31:45,833 --> 01:31:48,625
And then, she was sent to Pune.
1257
01:31:50,167 --> 01:31:53,375
And in Pune, they discovered
that the pine nuts had disappeared
1258
01:31:53,750 --> 01:31:56,792
and that it was highly flammable.
It couldn't work on a projector,
1259
01:31:57,208 --> 01:32:00,500
so, K. P. R. Nair,
who was a lecturer at the Institute,
1260
01:32:00,875 --> 01:32:04,125
created a system
1261
01:32:04,208 --> 01:32:08,208
through which he could copy the film,
frame by frame.
1262
01:32:08,667 --> 01:32:11,000
When the film was,
finally, complete,
1263
01:32:11,083 --> 01:32:14,000
we saw that it was a very valuable material,
1264
01:32:14,208 --> 01:32:15,667
besides being just a film.
1265
01:32:15,750 --> 01:32:20,583
It was a documentary
about the Aarattu procession.
1266
01:32:20,792 --> 01:32:22,167
STATE ELEPHANTS DECORATED WITH HOUDAS
1267
01:32:22,250 --> 01:32:26,167
It's very typical...
The royalty, the maharajah of the state
1268
01:32:26,708 --> 01:32:30,000
goes to the procession with...
1269
01:32:30,083 --> 01:32:31,708
ON AN ADORNED PALANKIN
1270
01:32:32,333 --> 01:32:35,500
... all the cavalry, everything accompanies him.
1271
01:32:35,583 --> 01:32:37,667
It is a spectacular procession.
1272
01:32:37,875 --> 01:32:42,542
Basically, Sundar Raj's idea
was to make it an attraction,
1273
01:32:43,125 --> 01:32:45,667
an additional attraction for the people
1274
01:32:45,750 --> 01:32:48,417
watched at the Capitol Theatre,
where it was being displayed.
1275
01:32:48,875 --> 01:32:51,792
There was a distributor
called Krishna Pictures.
1276
01:32:51,875 --> 01:32:53,667
PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERATION
OF INDIAN CINEMA COMPANIES
1277
01:32:53,750 --> 01:32:56,250
He said to me: "Come to my workshop,
in a warehouse."
1278
01:32:56,333 --> 01:32:57,833
They had a car repair shop.
1279
01:32:58,500 --> 01:33:00,750
"There's been a film here for a long time.
1280
01:33:01,417 --> 01:33:04,667
You watch the film and,
If you're interested, you can show it off."
1281
01:33:04,875 --> 01:33:06,375
And I saw the movie,
1282
01:33:06,667 --> 01:33:09,417
it was theVasantasenaof R. Nagendra Rao.
1283
01:33:09,667 --> 01:33:12,208
A very interesting film
and very old.
1284
01:33:12,917 --> 01:33:16,208
So I picked him up and took him
to Chamundeshwari stadium
1285
01:33:16,500 --> 01:33:18,250
and checked the roll.
1286
01:33:18,542 --> 01:33:22,083
They cleaned the roll
and decided to show the film.
1287
01:33:22,500 --> 01:33:25,792
So I invited the press
and also the cinematographic society
1288
01:33:25,875 --> 01:33:28,000
to the Chamundeshwari stadium
for a display.
1289
01:33:28,542 --> 01:33:35,167
And after the screening, all the press,
the Kannada press and others,
1290
01:33:35,250 --> 01:33:38,458
gave the event a lot of publicity.
1291
01:33:39,042 --> 01:33:40,333
And Nair read about it.
1292
01:33:40,708 --> 01:33:43,792
Nair came to know and read about it.
And he called me.
1293
01:33:44,250 --> 01:33:48,083
"Hey, Mr. Rao, it looks like you
found a film called Vasantasena.
1294
01:33:48,792 --> 01:33:52,167
Help me get the film?"
I told him I was available for that.
1295
01:33:52,250 --> 01:33:55,417
Then I went to Krishna Pictures and said:
"Why don't you give this,
1296
01:33:55,958 --> 01:34:00,375
we will make some copies, some extra negatives,
and we preserve it in the Archive."
1297
01:34:00,625 --> 01:34:01,750
"No problem!"
1298
01:34:01,958 --> 01:34:05,625
Then Nair came, one day,
and we help him carry the film.
1299
01:34:05,708 --> 01:34:07,208
It's still in the Archive.
1300
01:34:07,292 --> 01:34:13,625
I found not only my father's films,
but I also found leaflets...
1301
01:34:15,167 --> 01:34:19,792
...from the past. Posters
of my father's films that were there
1302
01:34:20,042 --> 01:34:24,792
and found a part of my childhood
that wasn't in my family album
1303
01:34:25,625 --> 01:34:30,083
or anywhere else I live.
1304
01:34:30,500 --> 01:34:31,667
But it was there.
1305
01:34:32,125 --> 01:34:33,750
T. P. Kailasam made a film.
1306
01:34:34,125 --> 01:34:38,375
We heard about him, but we didn't even see him.
1307
01:34:38,458 --> 01:34:40,125
They all disappeared.
1308
01:34:41,333 --> 01:34:42,583
That's why I often feel
1309
01:34:42,667 --> 01:34:46,667
that we have a rich past,
but a very bad story.
1310
01:34:47,750 --> 01:34:51,958
While the West has
a significant past,
1311
01:34:52,042 --> 01:34:54,875
not a rich past,
but a very significant story.
1312
01:35:05,375 --> 01:35:08,833
After winning the National Award,
I took the film there.
1313
01:35:08,917 --> 01:35:13,667
Show it to students
� team and teachers.
1314
01:35:13,958 --> 01:35:15,458
Nair Sahib also saw him.
1315
01:35:16,042 --> 01:35:18,542
After showing,
Nair Sahib called me and said:
1316
01:35:18,792 --> 01:35:20,417
"You have to come and meet me."
1317
01:35:21,000 --> 01:35:23,583
I went and met him
in your office. He said:
1318
01:35:23,792 --> 01:35:26,917
"How many copies of the film do you have?"
1319
01:35:27,292 --> 01:35:29,750
I said, "With this one, one more."
1320
01:35:29,833 --> 01:35:30,875
DIRECTOR
1321
01:35:30,958 --> 01:35:34,333
So he said, "Leave this copy here."
1322
01:35:34,750 --> 01:35:37,500
I said:
"Nair Sahib, I can't leave you here."
1323
01:35:37,583 --> 01:35:39,417
"No," he said. "Leave her here.
1324
01:35:39,833 --> 01:35:43,083
You can do everything with the other copy,
1325
01:35:43,292 --> 01:35:47,083
Leave this one here.”
He didn't let me take another copy.
1326
01:35:47,417 --> 01:35:49,417
He said, "Send the bill.
1327
01:35:49,708 --> 01:35:54,750
I will make sure it gets paid
in a week."
1328
01:35:55,000 --> 01:35:56,333
As agreed, that's what happened.
1329
01:35:56,458 --> 01:36:01,000
He was so intimate with the films.
1330
01:36:01,583 --> 01:36:04,083
He smelled movies, ate movies,
1331
01:36:04,917 --> 01:36:05,917
he...
1332
01:36:09,625 --> 01:36:11,042
... drank movies.
1333
01:36:11,667 --> 01:36:13,708
He was like that. Nair.
1334
01:36:17,750 --> 01:36:19,417
Another fascinating thing was
1335
01:36:19,667 --> 01:36:22,292
when you saw your weight on the old scale,
1336
01:36:22,500 --> 01:36:24,125
a card comes out
1337
01:36:24,500 --> 01:36:26,792
and on the back of the card
I was always a movie star,
1338
01:36:26,875 --> 01:36:28,792
especially Hollywood stars,
1339
01:36:28,875 --> 01:36:31,333
with a short biography
two or three lines.
1340
01:36:31,708 --> 01:36:35,500
And I remember collecting them all
these scales
1341
01:36:36,000 --> 01:36:39,875
which contained several stars,
1342
01:36:39,958 --> 01:36:42,750
the great Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich...
1343
01:36:44,750 --> 01:36:48,583
...Cary Grant
and all these big stars.
1344
01:36:48,667 --> 01:36:52,542
That's why I had this fascination
1345
01:36:52,625 --> 01:36:56,000
for collecting things
related to cinema,
1346
01:36:56,083 --> 01:37:01,083
in any form,
within my means.
1347
01:37:22,000 --> 01:37:25,208
He was so in love with cinema,
1348
01:37:25,417 --> 01:37:27,000
passionately in love with cinema...
1349
01:37:27,083 --> 01:37:28,125
DIRECTOR
1350
01:37:28,208 --> 01:37:31,708
...that sometimes I used to feel
1351
01:37:31,792 --> 01:37:35,792
that perhaps he neglected his family.
1352
01:37:36,708 --> 01:37:40,708
I used to think about it, then and now.
1353
01:37:41,042 --> 01:37:45,167
Maybe he should pay more attention
To the family, to their children.
1354
01:37:45,375 --> 01:37:47,250
It wasn't a 9:00 to 5:00 job.
1355
01:37:47,958 --> 01:37:50,042
He left in the morning...
1356
01:37:50,125 --> 01:37:51,042
DAUGHTER OF MR. NAIR
1357
01:37:51,125 --> 01:37:54,083
... around 9:00. But for him,
1358
01:37:54,167 --> 01:37:56,250
there was no fixed time
to return home.
1359
01:37:56,708 --> 01:37:59,833
He used to come home very late.
1360
01:38:00,083 --> 01:38:02,958
Sometimes after midnight.
1361
01:38:05,083 --> 01:38:09,833
But there was no day when it would arrive
At 17:30, 18:00 or 18:30.
1362
01:38:11,208 --> 01:38:13,458
He never ate on time
1363
01:38:13,750 --> 01:38:17,125
and, most of the time, my mother
I had to wait for him to get home.
1364
01:38:17,625 --> 01:38:20,833
Finally, she decided to go and call him.
1365
01:38:21,083 --> 01:38:24,917
Like this, every day
she used to walk from the house
1366
01:38:25,208 --> 01:38:28,792
where we were, even at the office,
which was relatively close.
1367
01:38:29,583 --> 01:38:31,375
She used to bring him home.
1368
01:38:32,083 --> 01:38:35,417
If she weren't,
1369
01:38:35,625 --> 01:38:39,833
he forgot to eat
and slept in the office.
1370
01:38:40,125 --> 01:38:42,500
Once,
he slept all night in the office.
1371
01:38:42,792 --> 01:38:47,917
He woke up in the morning and came home.
1372
01:38:48,625 --> 01:38:51,833
He was very careless
with your meals...
1373
01:38:54,750 --> 01:38:55,958
... and your basic needs,
1374
01:38:56,042 --> 01:39:00,667
and my mother literally had
of following him for everything and for nothing.
1375
01:39:05,917 --> 01:39:09,583
After retirement, he changed a lot.
1376
01:39:09,792 --> 01:39:12,792
He's active, but I feel...
1377
01:39:15,167 --> 01:39:19,042
It can be said that, in fact,
our relationship with him has changed.
1378
01:39:19,333 --> 01:39:25,250
We passed, more or less...
We spend time with each other...
1379
01:39:26,292 --> 01:39:29,042
... and even when we speak,
1380
01:39:29,125 --> 01:39:32,458
we talk about a lot of things,
on the phone and when we meet.
1381
01:39:32,750 --> 01:39:35,500
Before there were no such conversations.
1382
01:40:13,750 --> 01:40:17,542
After my retirement,
I built this house, hoping...
1383
01:40:18,542 --> 01:40:22,208
... stay in Trivandrum
in this beautiful landscape.
1384
01:40:35,333 --> 01:40:37,167
After my wife's death...
1385
01:40:37,583 --> 01:40:41,833
Of course I got involved too
in films in Trivandrum.
1386
01:40:41,917 --> 01:40:48,917
I started the first two editions
of the Kerala international festival,
1387
01:40:49,583 --> 01:40:51,208
I also created a video festival.
1388
01:40:51,292 --> 01:40:55,042
So that's how I kept myself busy
with films even in Trivandrum.
1389
01:40:55,333 --> 01:40:57,750
With the directors,
with film companies,
1390
01:40:58,125 --> 01:41:01,750
I founded a film company,
here, called FILKA,
1391
01:41:02,250 --> 01:41:07,667
but I still felt a little lonely,
1392
01:41:07,750 --> 01:41:12,083
because we spent a lot of time
of our time in Pune,
1393
01:41:12,167 --> 01:41:15,833
the best part of my life
was spent in Pune,
1394
01:41:15,917 --> 01:41:17,792
and I became very fond of Pune.
1395
01:41:18,167 --> 01:41:21,250
I'm coming back to Thiruvananthapuram
after 20 years.
1396
01:41:21,417 --> 01:41:22,750
KERALA INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL
1397
01:41:23,083 --> 01:41:26,375
I have very old colleagues,
1398
01:41:26,792 --> 01:41:30,583
some elderly directors,
film critics,
1399
01:41:31,125 --> 01:41:34,917
people who created Indian cinema
1400
01:41:35,000 --> 01:41:36,958
and which gave it international status.
1401
01:41:37,042 --> 01:41:38,333
My compliments to...
1402
01:41:39,000 --> 01:41:43,542
... Adoor, Nair Sahib.
I learned so much from them.
1403
01:41:44,042 --> 01:41:47,000
These two special people,
Nair Sahib and Adoor,
1404
01:41:47,458 --> 01:41:50,500
when they are present,
You can see that it's a good festival...
1405
01:41:51,792 --> 01:41:55,500
... you can see that it is a legitimate festival,
We know the films will be good.
1406
01:42:21,333 --> 01:42:24,000
A lot of things were happening
in the Archive after my retirement,
1407
01:42:24,083 --> 01:42:30,167
something that hurt me because the movies
were not being treated properly,
1408
01:42:30,583 --> 01:42:32,208
the ones I got.
1409
01:42:33,042 --> 01:42:40,000
So I always had
some longing for there to return
1410
01:42:40,083 --> 01:42:41,500
and see what was going on
1411
01:42:41,583 --> 01:42:46,125
and at least try
and convince people
1412
01:42:46,208 --> 01:42:50,792
so that they can take care of this inheritance.
1413
01:42:53,167 --> 01:42:56,417
Because there was so much hostility
against Mr. Nair?
1414
01:42:56,500 --> 01:42:58,333
In fact, he didn't even
could enter the Archive.
1415
01:42:58,417 --> 01:43:00,000
FORMER ARCHIVE DIRECTOR
NATIONAL CINEMA NATIONAL OF INDIA
1416
01:43:00,083 --> 01:43:01,708
And I remember that,
when I wanted to record with him,
1417
01:43:01,792 --> 01:43:04,833
It took me almost 11 months to,
Finally, get permission
1418
01:43:05,292 --> 01:43:07,292
to film with Mr. Nair at the Archive.
1419
01:43:08,000 --> 01:43:10,667
One reason I could deduce...
1420
01:43:12,917 --> 01:43:16,042
...it was his "narcissism"...
1421
01:43:17,292 --> 01:43:20,042
... yours...
1422
01:43:21,375 --> 01:43:25,375
... openness about things
and to see defects in everything.
1423
01:43:25,458 --> 01:43:30,167
If there was something wrong
with some decision taken in the Archive,
1424
01:43:30,250 --> 01:43:34,417
he used to question it.
Even as a citizen.
1425
01:43:34,625 --> 01:43:39,125
Someone may have been resentful
with this.
1426
01:43:39,833 --> 01:43:44,042
Beyond that, I don't see any other reason.
1427
01:43:44,708 --> 01:43:47,792
The Archive must be well maintained.
1428
01:43:48,875 --> 01:43:53,333
It is not well maintained.
It needs to be well preserved.
1429
01:43:53,708 --> 01:43:55,667
It must have a specific temperature,
1430
01:43:55,750 --> 01:43:58,167
need a level
specific humidity,
1431
01:43:58,625 --> 01:44:00,792
and cannot have dust.
1432
01:44:01,583 --> 01:44:03,083
For people to come and go.
1433
01:44:03,292 --> 01:44:06,250
What do they do... We have the warehouse,
1434
01:44:06,833 --> 01:44:09,917
when they remove something from the warehouse,
1435
01:44:10,125 --> 01:44:13,042
they take you open
for both divisions.
1436
01:44:13,917 --> 01:44:16,375
As if they were intermediate places,
1437
01:44:16,458 --> 01:44:19,042
where you can get the film and see how it is.
1438
01:44:19,125 --> 01:44:24,250
The windows are open,
the air comes in, the dust comes in.
1439
01:44:24,458 --> 01:44:28,458
Nobody cares. The film is there.
1440
01:44:28,667 --> 01:44:31,542
No, they don't know
the importance of all this,
1441
01:44:31,833 --> 01:44:34,792
because we don't have
an archival culture.
1442
01:44:34,875 --> 01:44:37,833
What happened once
was that the federation had
1443
01:44:38,167 --> 01:44:40,458
a meeting of the central council,
in Bangalore.
1444
01:44:40,750 --> 01:44:44,542
I asked Nair to give
three special packages, special films.
1445
01:44:45,125 --> 01:44:50,750
He gave Jules and Jim
which is by Fran�ois Truffaut,
1446
01:44:51,333 --> 01:44:54,875
a wonderful film
that the people of Calcutta wanted to see.
1447
01:44:54,958 --> 01:44:56,917
So I got it from the Archive.
1448
01:44:57,000 --> 01:44:58,875
I took it to Bal Bhavan and showed it off.
1449
01:44:58,958 --> 01:45:01,333
Unfortunately, he had cut
the ends of the ribbon,
1450
01:45:01,625 --> 01:45:04,708
because I was very busy
with the meeting, I didn't even see it.
1451
01:45:05,750 --> 01:45:07,333
And the film had been sent
1452
01:45:07,917 --> 01:45:10,958
and there was no coil
and the ends of the ribbon were cut...
1453
01:45:11,042 --> 01:45:15,542
There were no ends of the tape.
He was enraged, I tell you.
1454
01:45:15,875 --> 01:45:18,958
He said to me, "Mr. Rao,
my friendship with you has disappeared.
1455
01:45:19,333 --> 01:45:22,167
You have to bear the consequences.
1456
01:45:22,250 --> 01:45:26,958
No, I don't even like talking to you!"
He was so severe.
1457
01:45:27,333 --> 01:45:30,417
I was so desperate.
I didn't even know what...
1458
01:45:30,500 --> 01:45:32,917
It was my fault, I wasn't interested,
1459
01:45:33,000 --> 01:45:35,458
because I was connected to something else.
1460
01:45:35,792 --> 01:45:40,625
Believe it or not, the following week,
At my own cost, I went to Pune.
1461
01:45:40,958 --> 01:45:45,458
I begged him, "I'm at your feet,
please forgive me this time,
1462
01:45:45,875 --> 01:45:47,167
This is my mistake."
1463
01:45:47,250 --> 01:45:53,750
Every day,
he looked forward to going to work.
1464
01:45:54,833 --> 01:45:57,458
He used to wake up in the morning,
1465
01:45:57,542 --> 01:46:00,417
brushed my teeth,
1466
01:46:00,625 --> 01:46:03,167
and the first thing I did
when he sat down he was
1467
01:46:03,417 --> 01:46:06,167
wait for a call
from someone who was very close to him.
1468
01:46:06,375 --> 01:46:08,667
Someone from the world of cinema.
1469
01:46:09,667 --> 01:46:16,500
He was waiting for the phone call
or waited for the doorbell to ring,
1470
01:46:16,583 --> 01:46:18,458
for someone to come home.
1471
01:46:19,042 --> 01:46:22,875
However, we were
always looking forward to
1472
01:46:23,125 --> 01:46:25,875
he spoke to us
about other family matters
1473
01:46:26,083 --> 01:46:29,667
and to discuss
the evening program and everything
1474
01:46:29,875 --> 01:46:31,750
which he had no interest in.
1475
01:46:32,542 --> 01:46:36,333
This is my wife with Bijju,
my eldest son,
1476
01:46:37,208 --> 01:46:39,167
around three, four years old.
1477
01:46:39,625 --> 01:46:41,833
This is my wife's sister
and her husband.
1478
01:46:45,500 --> 01:46:49,792
This is also from a family reunion.
1479
01:46:51,208 --> 01:46:56,500
This is Bijju and this must be Beena.
1480
01:46:59,292 --> 01:47:00,708
This is our family.
1481
01:47:05,750 --> 01:47:07,333
This is also Beena.
1482
01:47:08,625 --> 01:47:13,250
It was only after we were of some age
and grow a lot,
1483
01:47:13,875 --> 01:47:16,750
That's when we realized it wasn't
1484
01:47:17,958 --> 01:47:21,375
because he didn't like us,
1485
01:47:21,458 --> 01:47:26,583
or because he didn't want to be with us,
1486
01:47:26,917 --> 01:47:28,375
but it was his passion for work,
1487
01:47:28,458 --> 01:47:31,875
It was his love for cinema
that took him away from us.
1488
01:47:32,625 --> 01:47:36,917
And it was because of his commitments...
1489
01:47:38,458 --> 01:47:41,417
...that he didn't have time for us,
1490
01:47:41,875 --> 01:47:45,042
and, slowly and gradually,
we started to realize
1491
01:47:45,833 --> 01:47:49,375
and we got used to the situation at home...
1492
01:47:50,875 --> 01:47:57,000
...and now we are, more or less,
as friends.
1493
01:47:57,750 --> 01:48:04,375
We don't think about what we lost
in our childhood,
1494
01:48:05,042 --> 01:48:09,292
we relate to him
more on a friendship level,
1495
01:48:09,583 --> 01:48:12,417
rather than a relationship between father and children.
1496
01:48:17,292 --> 01:48:23,667
Mostly my mother
went through all this adversity,
1497
01:48:24,125 --> 01:48:27,583
because she had to interpret
a double role.
1498
01:48:27,667 --> 01:48:32,542
The role of mother is that of father,
to fill his absence.
1499
01:48:33,292 --> 01:48:38,667
His absence was so felt at home
that we get closer to each other.
1500
01:48:38,750 --> 01:48:41,667
Me and my brothers,
we are very close,
1501
01:48:42,042 --> 01:48:44,000
We were even closer to our mother.
1502
01:48:44,708 --> 01:48:47,917
But at the same time,
whenever he came home,
1503
01:48:48,292 --> 01:48:52,875
It was something we looked forward to.
1504
01:48:52,958 --> 01:48:57,708
We were always by his side
and every moment was dedicated to him.
1505
01:48:57,792 --> 01:49:03,333
We used to spend our time
with him when he was at home.
1506
01:49:03,750 --> 01:49:04,667
And...
1507
01:49:08,333 --> 01:49:10,833
We saw the Summer of 42 together,
1508
01:49:11,083 --> 01:49:16,417
even though we're not old enough to see it anymore!
1509
01:49:16,625 --> 01:49:18,208
But we both like it.
1510
01:49:18,667 --> 01:49:22,125
Those moments that are...
1511
01:49:23,833 --> 01:49:27,042
...pleasant as they are
Embarrassing stories are worth sharing.
1512
01:49:27,417 --> 01:49:30,250
Are worth sharing at one point
objective cinematographic point of view.
1513
01:49:31,167 --> 01:49:34,125
These are the beautiful moments
that I spent with him.
1514
01:49:48,000 --> 01:49:49,514
SEXUAL SCANDAL:
ACTRESS AND EMPLOYEE ARRESTED
1515
01:49:52,000 --> 01:49:58,792
WITH BESSON, TAVERNIER AND FOOTBALL,
IFFI CHANGES PERSPECTIVE
1516
01:50:11,292 --> 01:50:13,792
You know, I retired in 1991.
1517
01:50:14,667 --> 01:50:18,750
And I continued to Pune
for a few more years,
1518
01:50:19,083 --> 01:50:21,167
because my wife
was under treatment.
1519
01:50:21,750 --> 01:50:23,333
She suffered from cancer.
1520
01:50:23,708 --> 01:50:27,500
So finally,
I moved to Trivandrum in 1995.
1521
01:50:28,458 --> 01:50:34,625
And in a way,
I felt like I was missing something.
1522
01:50:35,292 --> 01:50:37,458
I was missing the interaction
1523
01:50:38,042 --> 01:50:41,708
with young film students
and with researchers.
1524
01:50:42,208 --> 01:50:47,125
Then my wife passed away,
and in a way I felt...
1525
01:50:48,292 --> 01:50:51,542
...lost in Trivandrum and...
1526
01:50:52,417 --> 01:50:56,708
... wanted, desperately,
return to Pune.
1527
01:50:56,833 --> 01:51:00,250
So I came back to Pune
around 1998.
1528
01:51:00,333 --> 01:51:05,042
And I decided that I would continue
staying in Pune, because...
1529
01:51:06,167 --> 01:51:09,083
... Pune is the place where I spent
the best part of my career
1530
01:51:09,167 --> 01:51:14,375
and where he also built the Archive
from the beginning.
1531
01:51:14,917 --> 01:51:21,583
Therefore, I had an emotional relationship
with the institution.
1532
01:51:21,792 --> 01:51:26,958
It's like a baby to me
and I don't want to be away from him.
1533
01:51:50,292 --> 01:51:53,208
I think all over the world,
when there are files
1534
01:51:53,292 --> 01:51:56,167
and when there are people who were involved
1535
01:51:56,250 --> 01:52:01,833
in the process of preserving Indian cinema,
Nair is a species with a legendary name.
1536
01:52:02,250 --> 01:52:05,667
He is a man who is very respected,
1537
01:52:05,917 --> 01:52:09,542
because long before
of this Bollywood nonsense
1538
01:52:09,625 --> 01:52:14,875
and Indian cinema has become fashionable,
he knew the importance of preservation.
1539
01:52:15,083 --> 01:52:20,000
That you don't have history if you don't have
past and what is the past?
1540
01:52:20,083 --> 01:52:23,875
�, in fact,
store film reels and rolls
1541
01:52:24,083 --> 01:52:29,167
and be able to show
Genuine films for future generations.
1542
01:52:29,708 --> 01:52:34,125
One of the great pleasures,
personal pleasures, I must say,
1543
01:52:34,208 --> 01:52:40,292
It's when I see a movie that I like,
and that I would like to share with others.
1544
01:52:41,250 --> 01:52:46,250
The way I started showing
from the Archive to the public...
1545
01:52:47,208 --> 01:52:50,958
...it was one of my wishes
so that these films could be shown
1546
01:52:51,458 --> 01:52:54,292
to a larger section of society.
1547
01:52:59,375 --> 01:53:02,167
When talking about a great man
as Nair,
1548
01:53:02,500 --> 01:53:05,167
It is necessary to talk about other names, because...
1549
01:53:05,917 --> 01:53:09,542
...they all arose in one period
of history and one helped the other,
1550
01:53:09,833 --> 01:53:12,667
one built the other, one praises the other.
1551
01:53:13,125 --> 01:53:15,042
Satish Bahadur, for example,
1552
01:53:15,750 --> 01:53:19,208
he would appear with films,
obtained through P. K. Nair,
1553
01:53:19,500 --> 01:53:22,417
in our village, in Heggodu,
1554
01:53:22,708 --> 01:53:26,125
and K. V. Subanna directed Ninasam.
1555
01:53:26,333 --> 01:53:29,250
That now,
It is run by her son Akshara. Continue.
1556
01:53:29,875 --> 01:53:32,167
And I had a film analysis course
1557
01:53:32,625 --> 01:53:38,208
and Satish Bahadur spoke immensely
about the films he had shown.
1558
01:53:38,708 --> 01:53:41,583
And people were talking about Bergman!
1559
01:53:42,333 --> 01:53:46,833
The person behind was K. V. Subbanna,
who was a cinema activist.
1560
01:53:47,417 --> 01:53:48,792
He watched our...
1561
01:53:49,667 --> 01:53:54,667
If I remember correctly, to our course
of film analysis, in 1975.
1562
01:53:54,875 --> 01:53:57,542
After the course,
he was very inspired.
1563
01:53:58,333 --> 01:54:02,042
He wanted to have a program
film analysis,
1564
01:54:02,125 --> 01:54:06,167
at his cinema in Heggodu.
1565
01:54:06,917 --> 01:54:09,792
He used the cinema
as a way to get attention
1566
01:54:09,958 --> 01:54:13,667
and, mainly, to educate and...
1567
01:54:14,875 --> 01:54:18,208
... confer a value system
� local people,
1568
01:54:18,292 --> 01:54:23,958
who had no exposure to cinema
because there was no cinema there.
1569
01:54:24,542 --> 01:54:29,125
We provide the films.
They were all 16 mm at the time.
1570
01:54:29,458 --> 01:54:33,500
We went by train
and then we had to travel by bus
1571
01:54:33,917 --> 01:54:36,000
over some distance
to get to the cinema.
1572
01:54:36,500 --> 01:54:42,000
He had a regular audience
who sponsored cinema programs,
1573
01:54:42,583 --> 01:54:46,083
Yakshagana dance programs,
which he used to organize.
1574
01:54:46,708 --> 01:54:49,958
And the first time, we showed films
1575
01:54:50,042 --> 01:54:54,000
like Bicycle Thieves,
�s Gates of Hell, Pather Panchali
1576
01:54:54,583 --> 01:54:56,500
and we had deep discussions.
1577
01:54:57,125 --> 01:54:59,958
Bahadur Sahib used to speak in English
1578
01:55:00,042 --> 01:55:05,333
and Subbanna translated
after every sentence or two.
1579
01:55:05,833 --> 01:55:10,500
This way, we were able to break
the language barrier,
1580
01:55:10,875 --> 01:55:13,042
which was something else
what we tried to do...
1581
01:55:13,417 --> 01:55:18,542
We thought that education
and cinematographic consciousness
1582
01:55:18,917 --> 01:55:21,583
it should reach the popular level,
1583
01:55:21,667 --> 01:55:25,417
even to people
who didn't know how to speak English.
1584
01:55:25,500 --> 01:55:28,208
On the Heggodu stage, the festival
it used to occur over a week.
1585
01:55:28,333 --> 01:55:29,375
ARECA NUT FARMER
1586
01:55:29,458 --> 01:55:34,583
The movies we watch
were shown on the Heggodu stage.
1587
01:55:34,875 --> 01:55:37,500
Otherwise,
we didn't know any films.
1588
01:55:43,875 --> 01:55:48,625
In the cinema, a very important film
for me it is the Gates of Hell.
1589
01:55:48,708 --> 01:55:49,750
RETIRED SCHOOL EMPLOYEE
1590
01:55:49,833 --> 01:55:52,000
And Bicycle Thieves, Pather Panchali,
1591
01:55:52,333 --> 01:55:56,083
we watched these films with interest.
1592
01:56:01,417 --> 01:56:07,417
Pather Panchali, Charlie Chaplin,
The Gates of Hell, The World of Apu.
1593
01:56:07,500 --> 01:56:08,458
ARECA NUT FARMER
1594
01:56:08,542 --> 01:56:12,083
These films were shown
and people used to see them.
1595
01:56:20,417 --> 01:56:22,667
For ten days, until the end of the workshop,
1596
01:56:22,917 --> 01:56:24,958
people didn't think
in nothing else besides films.
1597
01:56:25,167 --> 01:56:27,125
Even the people on the roads,
1598
01:56:27,208 --> 01:56:29,292
after watching the drama,
no, after seeing the films,
1599
01:56:29,583 --> 01:56:31,292
they used to just talk about movies.
1600
01:56:31,375 --> 01:56:36,708
The next day, when they came to see
the films, they talked about the previous film.
1601
01:56:36,792 --> 01:56:37,917
PROJECTIONIST
1602
01:56:38,000 --> 01:56:42,083
In such a way that, for ten days,
a new environment was created.
1603
01:56:49,042 --> 01:56:53,917
Pather Panchaliwas very good,
1604
01:56:54,417 --> 01:56:57,708
the story behind the poor Brahmins,
of your problems,
1605
01:56:58,083 --> 01:57:02,208
Even today, we remember the end,
1606
01:57:02,292 --> 01:57:05,375
when he had to leave the village
1607
01:57:05,583 --> 01:57:11,375
to buy a sarifor the woman,
things for the children,
1608
01:57:11,458 --> 01:57:13,583
or when the daughter dies.
1609
01:57:13,667 --> 01:57:18,292
On those days, we could watch films like that.
We are fortunate.
1610
01:57:18,375 --> 01:57:21,875
At a time like this,
we were able to watch foreign films.
1611
01:57:22,083 --> 01:57:24,458
In fact, this film is not foreign,
It is totally Indian.
1612
01:57:24,542 --> 01:57:29,833
There are several films, but The Gates of Hell
It's the kind of film that stays in your heart.
1613
01:57:30,083 --> 01:57:35,042
After that, the story of a man
who hangs himself and drowns,
1614
01:57:35,250 --> 01:57:37,625
Owl Creek, is a movie you remember.
1615
01:57:37,917 --> 01:57:41,542
I liked La Rivi�re du Hibou.
1616
01:57:42,750 --> 01:57:44,458
It was such a good movie,
1617
01:57:44,792 --> 01:57:48,167
that took us to heaven
and we were stuck watching.
1618
01:57:48,250 --> 01:57:51,417
In the end, we felt
that we had been deceived.
1619
01:57:51,500 --> 01:57:54,042
"Where do we land?"
1620
01:57:55,333 --> 01:57:57,583
When the story begins,
he would be dreaming.
1621
01:57:57,833 --> 01:58:02,750
We couldn't guess
who was dreaming. We just followed him.
1622
01:58:02,833 --> 01:58:05,417
Let's just see it
to see whether he was saved or not.
1623
01:58:13,000 --> 01:58:16,208
When we showed the films here,
1624
01:58:16,583 --> 01:58:18,792
Subbanna used to sit
upstairs and made comments.
1625
01:58:19,292 --> 01:58:22,958
Because the films were in English,
people here didn't understand.
1626
01:58:23,792 --> 01:58:27,042
When he spoke, during the exhibition,
1627
01:58:27,250 --> 01:58:32,625
if he spoke less,
I used to turn up the sound.
1628
01:58:32,708 --> 01:58:35,458
As soon as I realized he was going to comment,
1629
01:58:35,542 --> 01:58:36,792
I used to turn the volume down here.
1630
01:58:37,125 --> 01:58:41,750
During that time,
he explained in Kannada.
1631
01:58:42,125 --> 01:58:44,667
There's something in the movies, just through them
1632
01:58:44,917 --> 01:58:46,542
we can overcome tongues...
1633
01:58:48,042 --> 01:58:50,250
... and national cultures,
1634
01:58:51,375 --> 01:58:53,542
thus, cinema is,
thus, a new medium.
1635
01:58:54,083 --> 01:58:57,208
Even a novel, if you read a novel,
a Russian novel,
1636
01:58:57,625 --> 01:59:00,417
It is very difficult to understand
cultural facts.
1637
01:59:00,750 --> 01:59:03,583
It takes a long time
to understand a novel,
1638
01:59:04,042 --> 01:59:07,833
but if it's a Russian film
and if the interpreter is good
1639
01:59:08,042 --> 01:59:10,958
and if it's an old movie,
then we remember ancient Russia.
1640
01:59:11,083 --> 01:59:14,917
I was always asking Nair for films.
1641
01:59:15,000 --> 01:59:17,875
The first thing we ask
it was theBicycle Thieves.
1642
01:59:18,000 --> 01:59:19,125
ROURKELA CINEMA CLUB
1643
01:59:19,250 --> 01:59:24,125
We showed this film
in a Meneka cinema at 7:30,
1644
01:59:24,208 --> 01:59:27,625
because the morning movie
was shown at 10:00.
1645
01:59:27,875 --> 01:59:30,542
We had to end the session
before 9:30.
1646
01:59:31,083 --> 01:59:34,042
I obtained the film from the National Archives.
1647
01:59:34,417 --> 01:59:37,083
Mr. Nair gave the film,
along with lots of instructions.
1648
01:59:37,375 --> 01:59:42,208
How to deal with the film and things like that.
And we exhibited it, in Meneka, at 7:30.
1649
01:59:42,292 --> 01:59:43,458
Believe it or not,
1650
01:59:44,000 --> 01:59:48,750
the movement had so much support from people,
1651
01:59:49,458 --> 01:59:53,292
that the atrium was full
that day at 7:30.
1652
01:59:53,417 --> 01:59:58,208
We started Saturday sessions
from 1970 onwards.
1653
01:59:58,833 --> 02:00:01,792
Chose strange names
from the telephone book
1654
02:00:02,167 --> 02:00:04,500
and sent them an invitation:
"We are showing this film,
1655
02:00:04,583 --> 02:00:06,208
If you're interested, come along."
1656
02:00:06,417 --> 02:00:08,750
And asked them to leave
an envelope with an address,
1657
02:00:08,958 --> 02:00:11,167
if they wanted to be invited
for the following Saturday.
1658
02:00:11,500 --> 02:00:16,958
Then it became very popular
and the sessions were presented
1659
02:00:17,042 --> 02:00:21,875
and I said to them, "If you're not in a hurry,
you can stay longer,
1660
02:00:22,125 --> 02:00:24,667
we can talk about the movie,
interact with you,
1661
02:00:24,750 --> 02:00:26,708
and talk about what they think of the film
and all that."
1662
02:00:26,792 --> 02:00:30,208
That was the activity
1663
02:00:30,833 --> 02:00:34,542
what I liked and wanted most...
1664
02:00:35,125 --> 02:00:37,375
At that time,
We didn't have our own cinema,
1665
02:00:37,458 --> 02:00:40,667
we were using the cinema
from the Cinema Institute.
1666
02:00:40,750 --> 02:00:47,333
One of my dreams was that,
when the Archive had its own cinema,
1667
02:00:48,292 --> 02:00:51,167
there were daily sessions.
1668
02:00:51,625 --> 02:00:52,542
He understands?
1669
02:00:52,833 --> 02:00:54,750
That was my dream, I would say,
1670
02:00:54,833 --> 02:00:59,583
daily, five showings
starting at 2pm until almost midnight.
1671
02:01:11,875 --> 02:01:15,417
I have done a film titled Ghatashraddha.
That was my first film, in 1978.
1672
02:01:16,417 --> 02:01:19,542
The film was processed here,
in a laboratory in Bangalore
1673
02:01:19,917 --> 02:01:23,083
and, in the mid-80s,
the laboratory closed.
1674
02:01:23,167 --> 02:01:27,375
So the employees asked us
let us take the negatives.
1675
02:01:27,458 --> 02:01:28,583
We didn't know what to do.
1676
02:01:28,917 --> 02:01:31,500
My producer, Mr. Sadanand Suvarna,
was from Bombay.
1677
02:01:31,583 --> 02:01:35,333
He took it and kept it
in a laboratory in Mumbai.
1678
02:01:35,417 --> 02:01:37,708
Since it had not been processed
in the Bombay laboratory,
1679
02:01:37,792 --> 02:01:40,000
what did they do
went to leave it in some corner.
1680
02:01:40,417 --> 02:01:45,708
One day, a friend of Suvarna came
and said, "The scrolls are displayed outside.
1681
02:01:45,792 --> 02:01:47,875
Why are they like this?"
1682
02:01:48,458 --> 02:01:51,833
So we collect the film
and when we open it,
1683
02:01:51,917 --> 02:01:55,375
had gained rust
and some negatives were damaged
1684
02:01:55,458 --> 02:01:57,542
and Nair Sahib came to know about it.
1685
02:01:57,750 --> 02:02:01,625
He immediately collected all
the negatives and stored them in the Archive,
1686
02:02:01,875 --> 02:02:06,000
and, as I reviewed them,
he saw that, on three coils,
1687
02:02:06,083 --> 02:02:08,208
the sound negative had been ruined.
1688
02:02:08,500 --> 02:02:10,000
So he got a copy somewhere,
1689
02:02:10,083 --> 02:02:12,792
Duplicated the film and saved it.
1690
02:02:13,375 --> 02:02:15,417
If not for Nair Sahib's efforts,
1691
02:02:16,000 --> 02:02:18,292
it wouldn't be possible to see
currently Ghatashraddha.
1692
02:03:06,417 --> 02:03:10,125
There was no cutoff point.
There were no cuts in his life.
1693
02:03:10,208 --> 02:03:12,583
He just continued
and the movies too.
1694
02:03:12,875 --> 02:03:14,292
It would start at 22:00
1695
02:03:14,375 --> 02:03:16,417
and would continue until one in the morning
and suddenly, at that point,
1696
02:03:16,500 --> 02:03:18,958
there would be one more movie
that would have to be seen
1697
02:03:19,042 --> 02:03:22,833
and he would say, "Design it." And everyone
those excellent projectionists...
1698
02:03:22,917 --> 02:03:25,167
And it must be said that Nair Sahib
it was very helpful
1699
02:03:25,250 --> 02:03:27,250
by an excellent projectionist
called Ramayan.
1700
02:03:28,042 --> 02:03:29,500
Ramayan was a kind of backbone.
1701
02:03:29,583 --> 02:03:32,458
He was tireless.
I was always showing movies
1702
02:03:32,792 --> 02:03:35,167
and I sometimes went back to see
1703
02:03:35,250 --> 02:03:38,167
that Ramayan was also watching
films with equal enthusiasm!
1704
02:03:38,458 --> 02:03:40,000
And this archivist duo
1705
02:03:40,083 --> 02:03:42,625
and projectionist is something historic for me!
1706
02:03:42,875 --> 02:03:46,500
He was involved in the content of the film
and also in the characters.
1707
02:03:47,125 --> 02:03:51,333
This is a big deal.
When I called him at 5:00 or 6:00,
1708
02:03:51,417 --> 02:03:55,958
He was there ready with the coils
in the sound department.
1709
02:03:56,375 --> 02:04:00,167
No problem. He loved his job
1710
02:04:00,625 --> 02:04:03,667
and he loved the cinema
and that kept us together.
1711
02:04:03,833 --> 02:04:05,667
This is the safe I planned
1712
02:04:05,917 --> 02:04:10,500
and I prepared it in the early 90s,
1713
02:04:11,250 --> 02:04:14,833
a year before
of having retired from the Archive.
1714
02:04:15,125 --> 02:04:19,083
Back then, if I remember correctly,
we had 12,000 films,
1715
02:04:19,583 --> 02:04:23,875
of which 8000 were Indians
and the rest were foreigners.
1716
02:04:24,458 --> 02:04:28,000
And most of them were positive copies,
1717
02:04:28,083 --> 02:04:30,375
some major positives,
some duplicates of negatives.
1718
02:04:31,042 --> 02:04:37,000
Thus, the temperature was maintained,
mainly, for the positive ones,
1719
02:04:37,083 --> 02:04:40,042
at about 12 to 13 degrees centigrade,
1720
02:04:40,333 --> 02:04:44,917
because the negatives and duplicates
need cooler temperature.
1721
02:04:45,917 --> 02:04:50,083
I know that new safes
they were built for this
1722
02:04:50,875 --> 02:04:57,833
and I'm sure this safe contains some
of the great films I managed to obtain
1723
02:04:58,583 --> 02:05:04,833
to the Archive from Raja Harishchandra
by Dadsaheb Phalke,
1724
02:05:05,667 --> 02:05:12,333
Sant Tukaramby Prabhat, Duniya Na Mane,
Achhut Kanyafrom Bombay Talkies,
1725
02:05:12,708 --> 02:05:15,125
Devdasfrom Barua...
1726
02:05:17,500 --> 02:05:18,875
Kalpanaby Uday Shankar.
1727
02:05:36,542 --> 02:05:42,333
Sanjeev Kumar came to me
and I met with him.
1728
02:05:43,000 --> 02:05:49,125
He said, "I got a contract
to act in a Satyajit Ray film,
1729
02:05:49,500 --> 02:05:50,833
Shatranj Ke Khiladi.
1730
02:05:51,625 --> 02:05:56,125
I know the man,
But I've never seen one of his films.
1731
02:05:56,792 --> 02:05:59,542
I'm ashamed to know him,
the great man,
1732
02:05:59,750 --> 02:06:01,375
without ever having seen his films.
1733
02:06:01,458 --> 02:06:06,458
So I came here to watch the movies
you can show me."
1734
02:06:06,958 --> 02:06:10,792
He came with his mother,
rented an apartment
1735
02:06:11,208 --> 02:06:13,250
and stayed here for a month,
1736
02:06:13,625 --> 02:06:16,833
and every night, I displayed
a Satyajit Ray film for him,
1737
02:06:16,917 --> 02:06:19,750
because of the interest he had...
1738
02:06:20,333 --> 02:06:23,875
Imagine a movie star
popular in Bombay
1739
02:06:24,458 --> 02:06:28,500
coming to Pune and spending a month here
1740
02:06:28,583 --> 02:06:30,583
to see all Satyajit Ray films.
1741
02:06:30,875 --> 02:06:33,292
If we can't handle our lives,
1742
02:06:34,917 --> 02:06:37,333
how can we deal
with the British Army?
1743
02:06:37,667 --> 02:06:39,000
You're right.
1744
02:06:39,500 --> 02:06:40,667
So why the concern?
1745
02:06:44,375 --> 02:06:46,375
I don't worry about that.
1746
02:06:48,167 --> 02:06:49,750
So what are you worried about?
1747
02:06:57,833 --> 02:07:01,625
Who am I going to play chess with?
1748
02:07:11,292 --> 02:07:13,792
He's really here, Meer.
1749
02:07:14,375 --> 02:07:18,333
And there is food.
We can eat and play at the same time.
1750
02:07:19,583 --> 02:07:21,458
When it gets dark, we can go home.
1751
02:07:24,375 --> 02:07:27,083
We need the darkness to hide
our faces, Meer.
1752
02:07:27,292 --> 02:07:32,292
If a film is made in 35mm,
we have to preserve the 35mm format.
1753
02:07:32,875 --> 02:07:36,667
If the film is made in Cinemascope,
We have to keep it in Cinemascope.
1754
02:07:36,875 --> 02:07:39,458
If done in color,
we have to keep it in color.
1755
02:07:39,917 --> 02:07:43,292
And, whatever its format,
1756
02:07:43,833 --> 02:07:45,667
as much as possible
we have to maintain the same format.
1757
02:07:45,750 --> 02:07:50,167
Suppose the film was shot in 16mm,
It's best to keep it at 16mm.
1758
02:07:50,917 --> 02:07:54,042
I think this is the right approach
of an archivist,
1759
02:07:54,125 --> 02:07:57,708
keep the film in its original format
in which it is done.
1760
02:07:58,167 --> 02:08:03,958
But if you want it for promotion
or distribution, or wider use,
1761
02:08:04,167 --> 02:08:06,833
other alternatives can be used.
1762
02:08:06,917 --> 02:08:09,833
For example, in 35mm,
if only if you have a copy,
1763
02:08:09,917 --> 02:08:13,417
It is possible to have copies in 16 mm
for distribution to film companies.
1764
02:08:13,500 --> 02:08:15,667
Or, nowadays, on DVD.
1765
02:08:16,125 --> 02:08:21,042
In my second year,
I was watching Ozu's The Trip to Tokyo.
1766
02:08:23,000 --> 02:08:25,083
I was watching the movie The Trip to Tokyo.
1767
02:08:26,000 --> 02:08:28,708
Saw the movie and was walking up the steps
to the inn,
1768
02:08:29,042 --> 02:08:30,125
to my room...
1769
02:08:32,250 --> 02:08:33,667
...and suddenly I realized...
1770
02:08:35,750 --> 02:08:40,000
... who didn't write anything to my parents
six years ago.
1771
02:08:41,250 --> 02:08:42,958
I was living abroad, I was married,
1772
02:08:43,042 --> 02:08:46,583
and perhaps he would have spoken to them,
but he had not written to them.
1773
02:08:47,917 --> 02:08:50,958
I went up to my room, got a postcard
1774
02:08:51,958 --> 02:08:57,125
and I wrote a letter to my parents
saying to them, "How are you?"
1775
02:08:57,708 --> 02:08:59,250
Now, what does the movie have to do with this?
1776
02:09:00,708 --> 02:09:06,375
The Trip to Tokyotalks about time
what happens to the parents.
1777
02:09:06,917 --> 02:09:09,417
It's such a gentle, discreet and lyrical film.
1778
02:09:11,167 --> 02:09:15,292
But it led me to write
a postcard to my parents...
1779
02:09:16,125 --> 02:09:19,125
... and simply say:
"How are you guys? I haven't really met you guys."
1780
02:09:19,875 --> 02:09:26,500
I think the postcard is just a symbol.
It's just one aspect of much more.
1781
02:09:26,792 --> 02:09:29,500
It is a symbol of capacity
to understand the world we live in...
1782
02:09:32,375 --> 02:09:36,292
...and, strangely,
I think a person like Mr. Nair...
1783
02:09:38,792 --> 02:09:44,958
... is very responsible for the discovery
of each student's own being.
1784
02:09:45,333 --> 02:09:50,083
They meet in a strange way.
1785
02:09:51,250 --> 02:09:54,625
I found myself, in my own way,
1786
02:09:55,208 --> 02:09:57,958
and I am sure that all students
met in another way
1787
02:09:58,417 --> 02:10:00,292
and started making their films.
1788
02:10:01,583 --> 02:10:04,667
They found themselves across the world
1789
02:10:04,750 --> 02:10:08,333
which Nair Sahib gave them,
through your cinema
1790
02:10:09,250 --> 02:10:15,458
which he so carefully wrote down,
so that he warned us, showed us.
1791
02:10:19,167 --> 02:10:22,833
I will never forget
the first time I sawO Acossado.
1792
02:10:24,083 --> 02:10:27,917
And I was very young
and there were some plans
1793
02:10:28,000 --> 02:10:31,083
that I couldn't understand,
the softness of these plans.
1794
02:10:31,417 --> 02:10:33,000
So, I spoke to Mr. Nair
1795
02:10:33,083 --> 02:10:36,042
and he told me, he was very reserved,
1796
02:10:36,125 --> 02:10:39,333
wasn't the very friendly type,
he was very quiet and...
1797
02:10:40,042 --> 02:10:44,583
...and he said, "Very well,
if you really want to study this...
1798
02:10:44,708 --> 02:10:47,792
... I'll give you a copy of the film
for two hours
1799
02:10:47,875 --> 02:10:50,750
and you can study the pattern
assembly of the Acossado.”
1800
02:10:51,292 --> 02:10:54,125
I will never forget the moment
1801
02:10:54,208 --> 02:10:57,292
when I had this film in my hands,
16 mm version,
1802
02:10:57,750 --> 02:11:01,208
I went to the editing room,
at six in the morning,
1803
02:11:01,750 --> 02:11:05,083
and I realized that I had found
some smooth plans because,
1804
02:11:05,250 --> 02:11:08,375
in the previous scene,
Jean-Luc Godard had done the following:
1805
02:11:08,625 --> 02:11:11,167
when Belmondo enters,
instead of a static frame,
1806
02:11:11,417 --> 02:11:13,167
he had gone up to the chamber,
1807
02:11:13,250 --> 02:11:15,958
the camera moves up for two or three frames
1808
02:11:16,208 --> 02:11:18,792
and then there is a cut.
And when you go inland,
1809
02:11:19,000 --> 02:11:22,250
the camera rises at the same speed,
again, for four or five frames.
1810
02:11:22,333 --> 02:11:23,833
And that was why the plan was so smooth.
1811
02:11:23,917 --> 02:11:26,500
I couldn't see that on the big screen!
1812
02:11:27,083 --> 02:11:28,333
Things like that...
1813
02:11:28,875 --> 02:11:32,458
P. K. Nair loved his films,
I didn't want anything to happen to them,
1814
02:11:32,542 --> 02:11:36,792
but when I saw a student
who was inquisitive, who wanted to learn,
1815
02:11:37,792 --> 02:11:40,250
he became accessible. It said:
"Take the film and study it."
1816
02:11:40,500 --> 02:11:43,042
If we wanted to watch a movie,
1817
02:11:43,125 --> 02:11:45,500
Let's go to him:
"Nair Sahib, can we watch this film?"
1818
02:11:45,583 --> 02:11:46,875
He would look at us like this,
1819
02:11:47,500 --> 02:11:49,875
to evaluate us.
"Why do you want to see the film?
1820
02:11:50,208 --> 02:11:53,250
Are interested in seeing just the film
1821
02:11:53,333 --> 02:11:56,125
or want to see something besides the movie
and learn something more about him?"
1822
02:11:56,417 --> 02:12:00,417
If he were convinced
that we wanted to see the film to study,
1823
02:12:00,500 --> 02:12:01,958
he wouldn't say anything,
1824
02:12:02,042 --> 02:12:04,958
but at night we will see
that the film was on the bulletin board:
1825
02:12:05,042 --> 02:12:07,208
"Today's showing..."
That movie. This is...
1826
02:12:07,708 --> 02:12:12,875
But he made sure that the desires
of students were satisfied.
1827
02:12:13,667 --> 02:12:15,958
But whoever wanted to see a movie
just for fun:
1828
02:12:16,208 --> 02:12:18,208
"Sir, I want to see the movie,
but I don't know why..."
1829
02:12:18,292 --> 02:12:20,250
No, he wouldn't show the film!
1830
02:12:20,833 --> 02:12:24,750
I told Mr. Nair Sahib, "If I
believe that I have to be a good director,
1831
02:12:24,958 --> 02:12:28,958
I should see a movie,
at least 100 times."
1832
02:12:29,167 --> 02:12:31,000
And that was difficult
to happen, at the time,
1833
02:12:31,083 --> 02:12:35,125
because there were no VHS players
and discs.
1834
02:12:35,417 --> 02:12:39,125
He was considerate enough
to say, "Keep this movie."
1835
02:12:39,375 --> 02:12:41,208
The film was The Potemkine Battleship.
1836
02:12:41,542 --> 02:12:42,625
THE DRAWLIGHT POTEMKIN
1837
02:12:42,708 --> 02:12:44,833
it's impossible to imagine today
that someone from the Archive
1838
02:12:44,917 --> 02:12:46,667
told a young student:
1839
02:12:46,875 --> 02:12:48,667
"You can have this 16mm film,
1840
02:12:48,875 --> 02:12:51,708
go as many times as you want
and then return it."
1841
02:12:51,792 --> 02:12:55,875
And honestly, I must have
I've seen this film more than 100 times.
1842
02:13:22,125 --> 02:13:24,292
I remember him as a fatherly figure.
1843
02:13:25,208 --> 02:13:28,083
And I would like to tell you directly, Shivi,
1844
02:13:29,208 --> 02:13:35,042
if I am what I am today,
90 percent is thanks to Nair Sahib
1845
02:13:35,125 --> 02:13:37,875
and Satish Bahadur Sahib.
To these two teachers.
1846
02:13:37,958 --> 02:13:42,667
Two great teachers
who showed us a lot,
1847
02:13:43,208 --> 02:13:46,417
not only from Indian cinema,
but from world cinema.
1848
02:13:47,208 --> 02:13:50,667
If it weren't for this exhibition
to world cinema,
1849
02:13:51,458 --> 02:13:53,208
we wouldn't be where we are today.
1850
02:13:53,583 --> 02:13:58,083
And we enjoy the special privilege
to see world cinema
1851
02:13:58,333 --> 02:14:01,417
with Nair Sahib,
first thing in the morning, at 6:30.
1852
02:14:01,917 --> 02:14:07,083
It was the time he saw
the new copies that came from abroad.
1853
02:14:08,083 --> 02:14:11,417
Because, from 8:30 onwards,
the Institute began operating.
1854
02:14:11,625 --> 02:14:14,167
So, he came at 6:30.
1855
02:14:14,375 --> 02:14:16,292
We received a secret message from him
1856
02:14:16,375 --> 02:14:18,833
saying there would be a showing at 6:30.
1857
02:14:19,083 --> 02:14:21,750
I sat there, in the movie theater,
1858
02:14:22,125 --> 02:14:25,667
brushing your teeth
and watching a Norwegian film!
1859
02:14:26,542 --> 02:14:27,917
It was wonderful!
1860
02:14:28,292 --> 02:14:34,833
I myself came from a family
who was not wealthy.
1861
02:14:35,875 --> 02:14:39,167
Therefore, I had told Nair Sahib
1862
02:14:39,708 --> 02:14:44,333
that, financially, it was a problem
to me if he could help.
1863
02:14:44,750 --> 02:14:50,750
He found a solution.
I offered to clean the films.
1864
02:14:51,333 --> 02:14:56,333
Every month,
used to clear two or three films
1865
02:14:57,167 --> 02:15:01,250
and by film,
he used to pay me 50 rupees.
1866
02:15:01,667 --> 02:15:03,708
And that got me out of trouble.
1867
02:15:04,708 --> 02:15:08,792
But what was most touching was the gesture.
1868
02:15:09,083 --> 02:15:13,583
I don't think it was done in official terms.
And how he did it, only he knows.
1869
02:15:14,208 --> 02:15:20,167
Reel number four, famous song: "Door
hato, duniyawalon, Hindustan humara hai",
1870
02:15:20,833 --> 02:15:22,625
with Mumtaz Shanti on stage.
1871
02:15:23,333 --> 02:15:24,333
Understand...
1872
02:15:24,750 --> 02:15:28,042
And the fantastic The Battleship Potemkine,
1873
02:15:28,125 --> 02:15:30,792
coil number six,
It is the sequence on the Odessa staircase.
1874
02:15:31,333 --> 02:15:32,292
Understand...
1875
02:15:32,417 --> 02:15:37,875
The Passion of Joan of Arc, Carl Dreyer,
one of my favorite films.
1876
02:15:39,708 --> 02:15:45,792
We got it from the Belgian Archive.
1877
02:15:46,500 --> 02:15:48,250
This kind of...
1878
02:15:48,458 --> 02:15:50,042
Pyaasa, reel number nine!
1879
02:15:51,333 --> 02:15:54,833
"Aaj mohe ang laga do",
Geeta Dutt's famous song,
1880
02:15:55,417 --> 02:15:58,708
which is also a beautiful adaptation
to Guru Dutt's cinema.
1881
02:16:02,000 --> 02:16:05,667
This is from Awaara, reel number 14.
1882
02:16:08,042 --> 02:16:11,833
The famous sequence
when Raj Kapoor brings the necklace...
1883
02:16:13,250 --> 02:16:17,333
...stolen from his own father
to his lover, Nargis.
1884
02:16:19,208 --> 02:16:22,042
Beautiful film...
Wild Strawberries, Bergman,
1885
02:16:23,625 --> 02:16:27,667
A classic.
Here is Tarkovsky's Sacrifice.
1886
02:16:31,500 --> 02:16:34,750
In India, to honor the guests
on special occasions,
1887
02:16:35,042 --> 02:16:38,708
women decorate the floors
from houses with rice flour and water.
1888
02:16:39,417 --> 02:16:43,083
With thisrangoli,
We welcome you to this film,
1889
02:16:43,500 --> 02:16:45,042
filmed entirely in India.
1890
02:17:06,875 --> 02:17:07,750
Hands up!
1891
02:19:36,750 --> 02:19:39,500
We used to have a whole session
where on the eve of Holi,
1892
02:19:39,583 --> 02:19:42,083
we chose songs from various films.
1893
02:19:42,167 --> 02:19:45,083
In Hindi, Tamil, Telugu,
and we showed all these songs.
1894
02:19:45,708 --> 02:19:49,292
And we all sat
making a list of songs
1895
02:19:49,375 --> 02:19:52,000
and finally we said to Nair Sahib
which songs we wanted.
1896
02:19:53,125 --> 02:19:56,250
And I remember that he
gave instructions to someone
1897
02:19:56,333 --> 02:20:00,000
and who said to him, "Okay, this song,
this film, reel number such,
1898
02:20:00,083 --> 02:20:02,083
this song, coil number such,
Get her out of this movie."
1899
02:20:02,167 --> 02:20:05,917
It was really fun to watch.
1900
02:20:06,375 --> 02:20:09,583
He was a man who had thousands
of films in your Archive,
1901
02:20:09,667 --> 02:20:11,917
but he remembered all the movies,
1902
02:20:12,292 --> 02:20:16,667
what reel was that scene on?
or song, which is fascinating.
1903
02:20:16,750 --> 02:20:19,000
When I think about it,
If I have to remember my movies,
1904
02:20:19,083 --> 02:20:20,583
I don't think I can...
1905
02:20:20,958 --> 02:20:24,083
Once the assembly is finished,
We no longer remember our film.
1906
02:22:10,708 --> 02:22:13,042
At 7:00, Sunday morning.
1907
02:22:14,583 --> 02:22:17,875
After a night of fun and drinks
1908
02:22:18,000 --> 02:22:21,667
and talk about cinema! To change the world!
1909
02:22:22,458 --> 02:22:25,042
Let's make masterpieces and all that!
1910
02:22:25,125 --> 02:22:26,667
After we talked all night,
1911
02:22:27,708 --> 02:22:31,708
At 7:00, a large part of the Institute
would be ready to work,
1912
02:22:32,208 --> 02:22:37,042
to go to the Main Room
and see the phenomenal censorship cuts!
1913
02:22:38,250 --> 02:22:41,375
Something that kids these days
You won't know what we're talking about.
1914
02:22:41,667 --> 02:22:43,958
They were parts of films
who had been censored
1915
02:22:44,458 --> 02:22:46,167
of the film, and these censorship cuts
1916
02:22:46,250 --> 02:22:49,292
were sent in a small package
separately to the Archive
1917
02:22:49,375 --> 02:22:53,042
to be restored in the films,
So, the cuts had to be seen...
1918
02:22:53,792 --> 02:22:56,000
... and somehow it became known
1919
02:22:56,083 --> 02:22:59,500
that Nair Sahib sat
to see these things alone!
1920
02:22:59,833 --> 02:23:03,042
He allowed students to come and see.
1921
02:23:03,375 --> 02:23:05,083
So it became a ritual
on Sunday morning.
1922
02:23:05,167 --> 02:23:10,958
There were several films from all over the world,
of all languages,
1923
02:23:11,208 --> 02:23:13,917
that were connected
for students to see.
1924
02:23:14,000 --> 02:23:16,292
Some were even hilarious.
1925
02:23:16,625 --> 02:23:19,917
Some of them were absurd,
some were in bad taste!
1926
02:23:20,083 --> 02:23:22,875
It was a lot of fun
see these old things,
1927
02:23:23,333 --> 02:23:27,250
sexy women and cleavage,
these scenes!
1928
02:23:27,375 --> 02:23:28,583
PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTOR
1929
02:23:28,750 --> 02:23:32,875
I was also told that,
when some of the coils were opened,
1930
02:23:32,958 --> 02:23:37,667
they were filled with stones
or trash paper and things like that,
1931
02:23:37,750 --> 02:23:42,083
because no one thought
that could be opened again,
1932
02:23:42,167 --> 02:23:43,375
after so many years.
1933
02:23:43,583 --> 02:23:48,167
The original cuts were sent
to the Preservation Institute.
1934
02:23:48,250 --> 02:23:49,333
I don't know what for!
1935
02:23:49,417 --> 02:23:50,417
DIRECTOR
1936
02:23:50,500 --> 02:23:52,292
Thus, Nair Sahib displayed them,
1937
02:23:52,375 --> 02:23:54,500
in supposedly very secret sessions.
1938
02:23:54,583 --> 02:23:55,833
They weren't...
1939
02:23:56,917 --> 02:23:59,500
Because it was censored
what we were seeing.
1940
02:24:00,542 --> 02:24:03,500
But all students at the Institute
they wanted to see these cuts!
1941
02:24:03,917 --> 02:24:06,917
I think a person's life
It's very short
1942
02:24:07,542 --> 02:24:12,458
to save the world's cinema heritage...
1943
02:24:14,750 --> 02:24:21,000
... is not just national heritage.
1944
02:24:21,333 --> 02:24:24,250
We have such an expanded vision
1945
02:24:24,708 --> 02:24:30,042
of the film as a historical part
of the world, of humanity.
1946
02:24:31,083 --> 02:24:34,958
Therefore, we go beyond borders and...
1947
02:24:36,417 --> 02:24:41,208
... we try to save as much as possible,
of what records world history,
1948
02:24:41,542 --> 02:24:44,833
in film and sounds.
1949
02:24:45,583 --> 02:24:49,872
There is a scene where they
disembark from the trip...
1950
02:24:49,989 --> 02:24:50,839
Yes.
1951
02:24:50,989 --> 02:24:53,917
...and she is on one side,
Cary Grant is on the other side,
1952
02:24:54,167 --> 02:24:56,875
and they are always saying:
"This one, that one..."
1953
02:24:57,250 --> 02:24:58,208
Do you know?
1954
02:24:59,292 --> 02:25:02,167
And they're walking down the hall,
I mean...
1955
02:25:02,500 --> 02:25:04,167
- The pier.
- No, the board.
1956
02:25:04,542 --> 02:25:07,167
They are walking through it
and everyone has to go their own way,
1957
02:25:07,250 --> 02:25:08,958
because their respective
you have to go get them
1958
02:25:09,125 --> 02:25:13,875
and when they are leaving,
Grant kisses the hand
1959
02:25:14,333 --> 02:25:16,042
that she was giving to the other actor.
1960
02:25:16,125 --> 02:25:19,792
- To her fiancé.
- To her fiancé. It was so innovative.
1961
02:25:19,875 --> 02:25:23,708
One of my memories is of a movie
of compilations by Harold Lloyd,
1962
02:25:23,792 --> 02:25:27,583
Harold Lloyd's World of Comedy.
I saw him in Udvada.
1963
02:25:27,667 --> 02:25:30,458
- Where?
- Udvada. It really was.
1964
02:25:31,000 --> 02:25:32,458
It is in Gujarat.
1965
02:25:32,667 --> 02:25:36,625
It is a place of pilgrimage
for the Zoroastrians.
1966
02:25:37,958 --> 02:25:42,875
You know, in this life,
I wish I had become a director
1967
02:25:42,958 --> 02:25:46,208
and I ended up becoming a collector
of films. I don't regret it.
1968
02:25:46,667 --> 02:25:49,417
In fact, I think
1969
02:25:49,500 --> 02:25:53,042
What did I end up doing?
it was the right thing.
1970
02:25:53,750 --> 02:25:57,083
I never regretted
of not having made a film,
1971
02:25:57,167 --> 02:26:01,000
despite, as a student,
having wanted to become a director.
1972
02:26:01,875 --> 02:26:05,792
But having entered this...
1973
02:26:08,625 --> 02:26:11,708
... means of preservation and archiving...
1974
02:26:13,375 --> 02:26:17,917
... I think there is a lot of work
to be done.
1975
02:26:18,042 --> 02:26:23,958
It's a shame there aren't many people
involved in this activity,
1976
02:26:24,292 --> 02:26:26,708
as opposed to filmmaking,
where there are a lot of people.
1977
02:26:40,417 --> 02:26:42,083
What I miss most
1978
02:26:43,042 --> 02:26:47,292
It's the joy of watching movies
every night as a routine,
1979
02:26:48,125 --> 02:26:52,458
something I did,
not only during the Archive, but even before.
1980
02:27:08,500 --> 02:27:12,000
I saw a man walking
so quickly to the Archive,
1981
02:27:12,833 --> 02:27:15,125
to the screening room.
1982
02:27:16,625 --> 02:27:18,917
A hurried and young man.
I knew him like that.
1983
02:27:19,250 --> 02:27:23,708
And now I see him getting old,
1984
02:27:24,417 --> 02:27:25,792
age begins to affect him.
1985
02:27:26,375 --> 02:27:29,417
Even so, the flame is still there,
a call for cinema.
1986
02:27:29,958 --> 02:27:36,917
And I think that's what keeps him going.
1987
02:27:38,375 --> 02:27:42,792
"Some people learn to make music,
Some people can't learn.
1988
02:27:43,500 --> 02:27:45,750
It's impossible! Impossible!
1989
02:27:47,542 --> 02:27:52,375
I hired you not to make comments,
but to teach."
1990
02:27:53,708 --> 02:27:58,458
"Sir, what will people think!
I'll be a laughing stock!"
1991
02:27:59,708 --> 02:28:02,292
"Do you know what people will think?
I tell him.
1992
02:28:04,125 --> 02:28:05,958
I am director of several newspapers,
1993
02:28:07,458 --> 02:28:09,458
you will think that
whatever I want them to think!"
1994
02:28:18,417 --> 02:28:20,667
If it weren't for him,
we would have nothing.
1995
02:28:21,167 --> 02:28:22,833
We wouldn't have had anything.
1996
02:28:23,917 --> 02:28:30,250
But the tragedy is that there was a P. K. Nair
and after him no one else.
1997
02:28:31,708 --> 02:28:36,042
Unfortunately, we don't have people
nor with a sense of mission
1998
02:28:37,042 --> 02:28:38,333
that he had,
1999
02:28:39,250 --> 02:28:42,125
nor with the professional knowledge
2000
02:28:42,917 --> 02:28:46,083
to be able to take care of a film archive.
2001
02:28:46,875 --> 02:28:50,167
What do I really miss these days?
2002
02:28:51,583 --> 02:28:54,125
It's the pleasure of the smell of the tape
2003
02:28:55,083 --> 02:28:58,250
and the enthusiasm of taking it off the reel
2004
02:28:59,083 --> 02:29:01,292
and looking at each frame
2005
02:29:02,167 --> 02:29:03,792
and see its status.
2006
02:29:05,167 --> 02:29:07,917
And put it on the Steenbeck table
2007
02:29:08,000 --> 02:29:13,917
and walking backwards,
stopping and taking notes.
2008
02:29:15,500 --> 02:29:18,292
That's what I really miss...
2009
02:29:18,667 --> 02:29:24,583
And now that we know the tape
in cellulose is becoming extinct,
2010
02:29:26,083 --> 02:29:29,708
I feel sorry for that
because the images we grew up with,
2011
02:29:30,208 --> 02:29:33,500
in cinema, they were always those of the optical image
2012
02:29:33,583 --> 02:29:38,083
which is projected on the screen,
the beautiful and wonderful
2013
02:29:39,000 --> 02:29:42,125
black and white images from the 30s and 40s.
2014
02:29:43,125 --> 02:29:44,125
And,
2015
02:29:45,125 --> 02:29:48,500
in a way, nowadays,
when I watch movies,
2016
02:29:49,917 --> 02:29:56,500
I don't see the same taste
or excitement about looking at an image.
2017
02:29:57,375 --> 02:30:01,667
Because, despite all
new technology and development,
2018
02:30:03,333 --> 02:30:05,083
I couldn't accept
2019
02:30:05,167 --> 02:30:12,083
the image quality
that we see in the new digital era.
2020
02:30:14,042 --> 02:30:15,042
In a way...
2021
02:30:16,708 --> 02:30:20,792
... I think there's something missing in these images.
2022
02:30:23,458 --> 02:30:27,667
It's very sad for us,
older people, the archivists.
2023
02:30:28,083 --> 02:30:32,917
But we have to live with these changes
that happen around us,
2024
02:30:33,833 --> 02:30:35,417
in all aspects of life.
2025
02:30:36,958 --> 02:30:38,042
Therefore...
2026
02:30:43,458 --> 02:30:44,500
We have
2027
02:30:45,917 --> 02:30:47,708
to face the reality of the situation.
2028
02:31:21,875 --> 02:31:23,708
END
2029
02:36:12,000 --> 02:36:14,000
Subtitles: João Braga
2030
02:36:15,305 --> 02:36:21,705
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