Noted film archivist PK Nair passes away

Nair, who dedicated his life for preservation of films and building its collection at the NFAI, died at a private hospital in Pune.

Paramesh Krishnan Nair, founder director of National Film Archive of India (NFAI) passed away on Friday after a brief illness. He was 83.

Nair single-handedly founded the National Film Archive of India.

Nair, who dedicated his life for preservation of films and building its collection at the NFAI, died at a private hospital in Pune, said doctors. Nair was hospitalised last week. Nair began his career as assistant curator in the then Film Institute of India during 1961 before he initiated the foundation of NFAI in 1964.

Some of the great films Nair was credited in archiving include Dadasaheb Phalke’s Raja Harishchandra and Kaliya Mardan, Bombay Talkies’ films such as Jeevan Naiya, Bandhan, Kangan, Achhut Kanya and Kismet, S S Vasan’s Chandralekha and Uday Shankar’s Kalpana.

Read: Meet the screen saver PK Nair

In his three decade-long career at NFAI, Nair acquired more than 12000 films for archive. Among the films Nair archived, around 3000 were foreign films. Through the documentary Celluloid Man Shivendra Singh Dugarpur in 2012 immortalized Nair’s life and work. The film documented Nair’s passion for saving rare films. The final rites on Nair will take place tomorrow.

Prashant Pathrabe, director of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) said, “The passing away of Nair is unparalleled loss to Indian film industry and film archive moment.”

Born in Thiruvanantpuram, Nair chose to make career in film research even as he was graduated in science.

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