Some of the handbills received by NFAI. Express
Adding to its treasure of archival film promotional materials, the National Film Archive of India (NFAI) received rare handbills of films from the 1930s on Wednesday. The handbills were donated by Satish Govind Aadivarekar from Pune from the collection of his father, late Govind Sitaram Aadivarekar.
About 50 handbills of films such as V Shantaram’s Kunku (1937), Balasaheb Yadav’s Baji Prabhu Deshpande (1939), Vinayak’s Chhaya (1936), and Vilasi Ishwar (1935) would be part of the NFAI collection. The NFAI has also
received about 10 handbills of Hollywood movies of 1932 and 1935 from Aadivarekar.
“This generous act is very important because we don’t have many handbills (small printed film promotion material). Many of these are fascinating pieces like that of Kunku in which the handbills announced that to mark the 16th week of the film’s run at Pune’s Prabhat Theatre, 16 suvasinis (married women) would pray at the cinema hall,” said Prakash Magdum, Director, NFAI.
Magdum said that NFAI encourages cinema-lovers who want to add to the collective film treasure of the country to part with their collection and donate them to NFAI.
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“Late Aadivarekar was very passionate about cinema and in particular, about these movies. His collection of handbills is a rare treasure. We appeal to the general public and film lovers to come forward and donate such rare footage and documentation and memorabilia to NFAI so that they could be preserved,” he said.
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