The George Eastman Museum, located in downtown Rochester, announced their acquisition of the world’s largest collection of contemporary Indian cinema on Tuesday, Nov. 3. The George Eastman Museum is an institution affiliated with UR; the UR website says that “the University of Rochester and George Eastman Museum have a long history of collaboration in both teaching and research.”
The collection consists of 775 prints representing 597 film titles made between 1999 and 2013. In addition, more than 6,000 posters were acquired as part of the collection. The collection represents not only films from the Hindi-language film industry commonly known as “Bollywood,” but also from Malayalam, Punjabi, Tamil and Telugu productions. Admirers will find works from acclaimed masters of Indian cinema, such as Mani Ratnam, Ashutosh Gowariker, Anurag Kashyap, Nagesh Kukunoor and Sanjay Leela Bhansali.
“This was a really extraordinary rescue operation because we know that film prints are being destroyed [on a] daily basis because of neglect,” Paolo Cherchi Usai, the senior curator of the Moving Image Department at the George Eastman Museum said. “[…] In the case of the prints of Indian cinema, these prints are particularly rare because we do know that collecting institutions in India are chronically underfunded, and they often do not have the means of properly preserving the films made in India.”
First discovered in an abandoned multiplex in California, the collection would have been destroyed along with the multiplex earlier this year if the George Eastman Museum had not been able to provide an appropriate environment and professional care to preserve it. However, with financial support from the Louis B. Mayer Foundation, a long-term supporter of film preservation, the collection has found a home.
“As a museum, we intend to collect, preserve and exhibit the best of world cinema. And I consider Indian cinema one of the best expressions of the art of film,” Cherchi Usai said. The films are intended to serve as scholarly resources for the Indian cinema and cinema industry in general.
Considering the large and vibrant Indian community in Rochester, Cherchi Usai also proposed the decision to the Board of Trustees of the Museum in hopes of “giving the Museum an opportunity to actively engage with the Indian community in Rochester.”
Since this collection of Indian films is so large, it will take time, money and human effort to make the prints ready for exhibition. Cherchi Usai revealed that the Museum will exhibit these films in its Dryden Theatre once they are properly preserved.
“The George Eastman Museum’s acquisition of such a massive collection of films is an event to be applauded by all those who care for cinema as an art form,” founder and director of the Film Heritage Foundation in Mumbai Shivendra Singh Dungarpur said. “Having rescued all those prints from destruction is not only a heroic feat—it is a strong commitment to preserve and celebrate the beauty of Indian cinema as part of the world’s cultural patrimony. We look forward to working with the Eastman Museum towards a broader and deeper knowledge of the creative energy displayed by contemporary Indian filmmakers through their work.”
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of the class of 2017.
