Cinema Paradiso

Winners of the Dadasaheb Phalke award have finally come together under one roof in an exhibition organised by the National Film Archives of India (NFAI) in Pune. Upon entering the heritage Jaykar Bungalow,one is greeted by posters of Devika Rani’s Janma Bhoomi and BN Sircar’s Devdas. There is also a rare poster in Russian of the 1955 Raj Kapoor hit Shree 420 and a 1929 film Indira BA starring silent-era film star Ruby Myers,known by her screen-name Sulochana.

The four-day-long exhibition,that began on July 6,pays tribute to award winners from 1969 to 2010,by showcasing posters of their works. “Dadasaheb Phalke winners have helped shape both regional and mainstream cinema over the years. The posters are in English and other languages in which the films were originally released,” says Prashant Patharbe,director,NFAI. The posters also highlight the works of Satyajit Ray,V Shantaram,Bimal Roy and actors like Dilip Kumar,Dev Anand and Uttam Kumar. Posters of films like Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s Mukhamukham and Shyam Benegal’s Gandhi se Mahatma Tak,are also on display.