Only 1/3rd films archived so far: Prakash Magdum

Thiruvananthapuram: Who knew that Indian Railways plays an important role in film archiving. Often, copies of films would end up in the 'reject and lost property' section, and Railway officials would then contact National Film Archive of India (NFAI). Why film producers would despatch film copies to fake addresses boggles NFAI Director Prakash Magdum to this day, especially as archive charges no preservation fee to keep films. "Last year, we got copies of Amitabh Bachan starrer 'Aks'. Its filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra was surprised when he heard about this," he said.

Magdum was here to speak on National Film Heritage Mission (NFHM) at a seminar, which was part of International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK). NFAI announced National Film Heritage Mission (NFHM) last year to save films before they would be lost forever. The Pune-based archive has around 15,000 films in its collection, but the number of films made in India is close to 45,000. "The rest are believed to be lost. Why I used the word 'believed' is because, there is still hope that copies might be there with somone," Magdum said.

The hope sometimes manifests in reality. Like how the archive recently got a copy of 'Bilwamangal', a 1919 silent film, from Cinematheque Francaise, a French film organisation with a large archive. Magdum says that it was after a break of 25 years, that they got a silent copy. There is little chance for the earliest films to survive. Cellulose nitrate films were highly unstable, and would easily catch fire. Similarly acetate films would deteriorate because of 'vinegar syndrome'. Producers, unaware of the archiving value of their films enter into 'recycling business'.

From nitrate they would try to extract silver or add it to nail polish. Acetate films and polyester films become 'useful' when they are turned into bangles and pet bottles respectively. It is for this reason NFAI is batting for an amendment in the Cinematograph Act, which makes it mandatory for all filmmakers to submit one copy of their film to NFAI. The film heritage mission is looking at digitisation and restoration of over 1000 feature films and an equally high number of short films in Indian languages. The archive will also restore film-related objects like songbooks and posters. It has held meetings in various cities including Thiruvananthapuram, to seek the help of archivists and film professionals from all over the country.

Kerala State Chalachitra Academy plans to join hands with NFAI in the mission to help build an archive of Malayalam cinema. Academy Vice-chairperson Bina Paul said that they looked forward to the collaboration especially as they lacked the technology know-how of archiving. Magdum said that the discussions in connection with this were still in the primary stage. Soon NFAI will start selecting films for the mission - a touchy issue as it is difficult to judge which film is more important. Films which have won awards, have been a commercial success or are landmark films will be chosen. NFAI has restored 329 films. This includes all Aravindan films, except 'Oridathu'. (NFAI is now in talks with Japanese archive, as they possess a copy of the film with Japanese subtitles.) Two Sethumadhavan films so restored is now part of IFFK's retrospective section.