Genre:
Documentary, World Cinema
Distributor:
Second Run DVD
Rating: NA
DVD Release Date:
14th April 2014
Director:
Shivendra Singh Dungarpur
Buy:Celluloid Man [DVD]
There is a scene towards the end of Shivendra Singh Dungarpur’s wonderful documentary in which film archivist and obsessive cinephile P.K. Nair, whom the film pays tribute to, walks down a narrow corridor flanked by shelves stacked high with film canisters. As he passes by he recollects, in a way that demonstrates an outstanding knowledge and memory, some of the films kept there: Battleship Potemkin, reel number 6, the Odessa steps sequence; Dreyer’s The Passion of Joan of Arc, one of his favourite films, acquired from the Belgium archive; Pyaasa, reel number 9, Aaj sajan mohe ang laga lo, the famous song sung by Geeta Dutt. The scene encapsulates Nair’s passion for cinema.
And it is this passion for cinema that will delight any serious cineaste watching Dungarpur's documentary. Even those of you who, like me, do not know much about the history of Indian cinema. As discovering India's rich cinematic past through seeing the numerous fascinating clips featured is worth the price of the disc alone. But in following the story surrounding the creation of the National Film Archive of India we are reminded of the importance of cinema and the need of film preservation in safeguarding a heritage that would otherwise be lost forever. It has been said that Nair, in his quest to find and preserve, is India’s answer to France’s great ‘man of cinema’ Henri Langlois. A comparison that serves to highlight the universality of his story. In the Celluloid Man we have a delightful and insightful documentary that is above all else a love letter to cinema itself.
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