Yesterday's Films for Tomorrow

Contents: Preface. Introduction. I. The Moviegoer: 1. My first encounter with cinema. 2. A close encounter with cinema. 3. My most moving movie moments. 4. Mehboob as I know him. 5. The neglected projectionist. II. The Archivist: 6. Yesterday’s films for tomorrow. 7. Film preservation in India. 8. The ten I miss most.  III. The Film Historian: 9. A National cinema takes root in a colonial regime. 10. Actual facts: a study of the birth of actuality film in India. 11. Towards a better understanding of a unique national cinema. 12. It’s regional, It’s real. 13. Malayalam cinema: in search of an identity. 14. The evolution of film in India, seen through posters. IV. The Film Critic: 15. Notes in the dark. 16. The song in Indian cinema. 17. The Devdas syndrome in Indian cinema. 18. Partition in cinema. 19. Some memorable moments in Adoor’s films. 20. Amma Ariyan: the imperfect cinema of John Abraham. V. The Columnist: 21. What price entertainment? 22. Training future filmmakers: new approaches. 23. Are the days of Cellulose film over? Editor’s note. Index. Picture credits.

Known as India's 'Celluloid Man', P. K. Nair (1933-2016) was a passionate film-lover and archivist who dedicated his entire life to saving the country's cinematic heritage. From the films of Phalke to the classics of the studio era, much of our film history would have been reduced to blank pages, but for his efforts. Here are Nair's evocative memories of movie-going in the 1940s, and working with Mehboob, the legendary director of Mother India, as well as a first-person account of how Phalke's Kaliya Mardan and several other lost films were salvaged. Opinion pieces present views on the need to preserve films and the threats posed by the digital age, while a section on Indian film history provides fascinating insights into the silent era. Other highlights include an illustrated survey of poster art, and Nair's 'notes in the dark': his essays on themes ranging from regional cinema to the use of song in Indian cinema and Devdas' many avatars, drawn from a lifetime of watching movies. Absorbing and informative, Yesterday's Films for Tomorrow is a book for everyone who loves cinema, and cares about its past and its future.