P.K. Nair, affectionately called Nair Saab (or teacher Nair) was, until his retirement in the 90’s, one of the world’s leading film archivist, a fervent lover of cinema and remains an inspirational figure to the Indian film making community. Celluloid Man shows us his story and the affect he has had as a founder and director of the National Film Archive of India (NFAI) and surrogate teacher and film guru to those who entered the Film & Television Institute of India (FTII).
Firstly, the gorgeous clips of obscure films Nair has compiled in his archive is truly remarkable, made all the more so for the thought that without him these cinematic memories would have been lost forever. Through these we gain as much an understanding of the history of Indian film as we do Nair himself.
The film is complied of interviews, anecdotes and stories with Nair and others telling of his impact on and passion for cinema interspersed with classic Indian cinema that Nair has saved from destruction over his famed career. However, it is also shown that this can have it’s consequences, as the heart wrenching interview with his daughter shows, creating the balance needed to prevent this being a puff piece.
Nair is the embodiment of a certain mentality of film that is being lost. Standing against a cultural history against film preservation, even those that have replaced him at the NFAI are not as passionate as him. He is someone who was caught by the magic and now the digitisation of the medium has come taken out the magic for him. It shows cellulose film stock as something magical and the fact that director Shivendra Singh Dungarpur shot on 35mm film reflects a real understanding and kinship with Nair’s feelings.
There is real poetry in the direction that keeps this from simply being a talking heads documentary. Along with the amazing wealth of archive materials at Dungarpur’s disposal, like the montage of old Indian film company logos, this stands as a stunning film in its own right, full of visual lyricism and confidence.
The greatest lesson here to my eye is to not be judgemental on what makes a film important when it comes to its protection. Nair collected films indiscriminately, knowing that, to paraphrase him, what is a B-Movie now in 50 years will be history. Film is story telling, and the way we tell stories now will inform later generations of our attitudes and feelings towards certain issues and problems of our age. The question is whether film is worth saving at all. To some, unfortunately, the answer is no.
This is one of the most poetic looks at not just Indian, but film culture, history and the importance of its preservation ever recorded. A remarkable documentary that captures what it means to give your life wholly to something and the importance of maintaining the history of the cinema.
Bonus Features
‘In Conversation with Shivendra Singh Dungarpur’ – An insight into Dungarpur’s history with film and how he came to tell Nair’s story, acting as a personal history and mission statement rather than insight into the film’s production.
The featured booklet looks interesting, featuring an essay by fantastic film buff Mark Cousins and parts of the production diaries, though it was unavailable for this review.
Available on DVD now
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