Classic bollywood memorabilia showcased at IFFD exhibition in Delhi

An exhibition at IFFD showcases vintage film posters, including 'Sholay' and Hollywood classics, celebrating cinematic nostalgia from various countries.

The hand-painted poster of Ramesh Sippy’s 1975 classic ‘Sholay’ — with Jai, Veeru, Gabbar and Thakur — that once hung outside a theatre when it released, is now a part of an exhibition brought to the city by author-archivist Neville Tuli .

People at the International Film Festival in New Delhi on Thursday. (RAJ K RAJ /HT PHOTO)

In one corner of, there is Amitabh Bachchan’s Angry Young Man avatar in Deewar and Raj Kapoor’s epic tearjerker Mera Naam Joker, while in another, Charlie Chaplin and Katherine Hepburn cutouts greet you at the exhibition of all things filmy and vintage at Bharat Mandapam.

These posters are a part of an exhibition by Tuli Research Centre at the ongoing India Studies at the International Film Festival Delhi (IFFD) being organised by the Delhi government, till March 31.

“The Sholay poster you saw is called a six-sheeter, which used to hang above markets and cinema halls when a film would release,” said Tuli. Apart from archival posters, there are also film stills, synopsis booklets, showcards and lobby cards, among other memorabilia from Hindi films of the 20th century — a nostalgic walk done memory lane for many, when hand painted posters were all the rage, painstakingly made by artists over days.

“We have shared a very small percentage of what is in our archive, which consists of film materials from 185 countries, built over 30 years. Additionally, they are displayed without any caption, and the reason is simple – people come for an art exhibition and first thing they do is read the caption. Text has become a bully of sorts, as people have forgotten that the visual is also a powerful base of knowledge,” says Tuli.

There are sections dedicated entirely to the works of actors Dharmendra and Sharmila Tagore, who were both awarded the lifetime achievement award at the festival’s opening ceremony on Wednesday, as well as beloved classics from the 1990s to the 2010s that feature Shah Rukh Khan, such as ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ (1995) and ‘Devdas’ (2002). Not to miss — a poster of Satyajit Ray’s Shatranj ke Khiladi.

The exhibition is not limited to Indian cinema, and also includes memorabilia from American, Japanese, and Polish films as well. A Charlie Chaplin cutout greets visitors as they enter the section titled, “The Golden Age of Hollywood”, with posters featuring actors Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn. The Japanese posters for the Sean Connery’s James Bonds films are also on display.

“I grew up watching movies with my family and being able to see posters I walked past in the street 30 years ago feels surreal ,” said 57-year-old visitor, Riya Shankar.