JOIN USDo you know that we have lost 90% of our silent films? Before sound came in, about 1,700 silent films were made in India and we now have only five to six complete films and 12-15 film fragments in the archive? Oh, and we’ve also lost our first sound film Alam Ara,” says National Award winner Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, almost as soon as we’ve exchanged pleasantries. So if there was any doubt that this man lives and breathes anything but films, it’s certainly put to rest. This passionate filmmaker, archivist and restorer is actively doing all it takes to spruce up film restoration in this country.
On conservation
“Somebody’s got to do it. We can’t let this rich varied culture to drown in neglect. Just as we look after our history, we need to preserve films. That’s the simple point I want to make, and it’s heartening to see a lot of people coming together to do so too,” says Shivendra. In February-March this year, his Film Heritage Foundation, in partnership with the National Film Archive of India, and in association with Viacom18, held the Film Preservation and Restoration Workshop 2016. “I really appreciate Sudhanshu Vats of Viacom18, who has supported the cause because it’s not something that gives you a commercial benefit,” he says.
Curated and helmed by some of the biggest names in the space of film preservation from across the globe, the workshop was held over 10 days in Mumbai last year and in Pune this year. This time it included Paolo Cherchi Usai, senior curator of George Eastman Museum, Davide Pozzi, director of L’Immagine Ritrovata, Richard Wright, ex-archive specialist of BBC Research, and David Walsh, head of Technical Commission of International Federation of Film Archives. “We wanted to bring in experts from across the world to provide the right platform for those aspiring to engage in restoration work. These workshops help each of us understand the technical aspects and practices involved in film preservation and restoration internationally,” says Shivendra.
“If you see the National Film Archive of India (NFAI), it holds the largest collection of Indian films. It makes sense to train up those working with this institution. It’s important to educate about how one should handle films and repair them, how one must use advanced techniques to restore, and even how important it is to restore non-film archives such as film posters, music and more. Additionally, we want to encourage not just film bodies, but also the large number of individual film collectors,” says Shivendra. He would like more students of film studies and museum directors to get involved in the process too. “We always talk about administrative reform. Yes, that’s essential. What is also essential is the participation of people. We are gratified with the encouragement we have received through Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao, Amitabh Bachchan, the Bhatts and Martin Scorsese, among several others,” he says.
Not a lost cause
To Shivendra’s credit is the first-ever (and the only) full-length feature film on India’s pioneering film archivist P K Nair, also the founder-director of NFAI. Titled Celluloid Man, the 2012 documentary travelled across over 50 film festivals and was released commercially to coincide with 100 years of Indian cinema in May 2013. It fetched him two National Awards in 2013 for the Best Historical/Biographical Reconstruction and for Best Editing. His latest documentary The Immortals (2015) rediscovers artistes of the bygone era through memorabilia that they have left behind. Right from Dadasaheb Phalke’s car abandoned by the roadside to K L Saigal’s harmonium — the documentary unveils the glamour and the neglect, both part of this industry. “Films are not merely visual material narrating a story on celluloid. They reveal the saga of the era they belonged to. Take for instance, Fearless Nadia. She is quite the icon now. But would you believe that in her time, the films she featured in were looked down as C-grade!” he exclaims.
Shivendra believes that film restoration has miles to go and should not just stop at moving images. “We strive for basic education and awareness. We are thinking not just beyond Hindi mainstream cinema, but also beyond moving images. There is a difference between preserving films, preserving photographs and preserving posters. I want to make that possible. I dream of a museum for film archives. It should be accessible to everyone, just as it is in a historical or science museum. If I can make this dream come true, it will be an achievement.”