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| Film spools at NFAI, Pune |
Original spools of Ritwik Ghatak's Meghe Dhaka Tara lying on the floor along with many others at the National Film Archives of India in Pune.
As you can see, the condition of these irreplaceable parts of India's cinematic history, indeed contemporary India's history, are in such a pathetic condition. This visit had brought tears to my eyes, and I wanted to shout at the head of the institute, who happened to be there at the time. But I guess the government of India has appropriated numerous national assets that they did not create, and therefore know not its real value. And only half hearted efforts at preserving them.
Some private initiatives are doing film restoration of Indian films, but considerable parts of our cinematic history are gone already :(
