Celluloid Man
by Shivendra Singh Dungarpur
India, 2012
synopsis
Celluloid Man is a portrait of P.K. Nair, the founder of the National Film Archive of India, whose lifelong devotion to cinema helped preserve India’s film heritage. Remembered by generations of film students as an obsessive and tireless presence in the screening room, Nair dedicated his life to collecting, restoring, and safeguarding films from across India and around the world.
Directed by former FTII student Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, the documentary traces Nair’s extraordinary efforts to rescue rare and endangered films, travelling to remote parts of India to collect forgotten film cans and build what would become the National Film Archive of India. The film reflects on the tragic loss of much of India’s cinematic heritage, noting that of the 1700 silent films made in India, only a handful survive today, many due to Nair’s efforts.
Through memories, archival history, and reflections from filmmakers and students influenced by him, Celluloid Man unfolds as both a history of Indian cinema and a portrait of a man whose love for film shaped generations of Indian filmmakers, including figures of the Indian New Wave. Even in retirement, Nair remains devoted to the archive and the legacy he spent his life building.
