Kolkata: Fans of ‘Mahanayak’ Uttam Kumar will get to experience an exhibition of film booklets, original behind-the-scenes stills, advertisements, magazines, and DVDs related to the iconic actor at a Nandan exhibition on Thursday.The exhibition has been curated by collector Indranil Chowdhuri, whose grandfather Niren Lahiri had directed six films with the actor. Bringing this rich familial legacy full circle for the state govt-organised centenary celebrations, Chowdhuri has travelled from Hyderabad for the inauguration at Nandan. The sexagenarian collector grew up on the stories of his grandfather.“In the early 1950s, he directed ‘Lakh Taka’ and ‘Kalyani’ both from the actor’s so-called “Flop Master General” phase. Later, there were ‘Prithibi Amare Chay’ and ‘Shankar Narayan Bank’, with his final film, starring Uttam Kumar being ‘Rajdrohi.’ He only made two films with Suchitra Sen — Kajari and Indrani,” Chowdhuri said. Though Chowdhuri didn’t inherit any archival materials of his grandfather’s works, access to the Mahanayak’s films fuelled his interest for being a collector by passion.“We were born in the early ‘60s, when Uttam Kumar was a rage. I grew up in Bhowanipore. Our days were spent in front of Purna, and Uttam used to stay close by,” Chowdhuri said. The main attraction of Chowdhuri’s collection is a set of original behind-the-scenes stills of Uttam Kumar from Edna Lorenz and Bourne & Shepherd studios.Apart from the black-and-white stills from the 1957 film by Kartik Chattopadhyay, the exhibition will also showcase his collection of 214 original movie booklets, including his personal favourites like “Chowringhee”, “Manmoyee Girls’ School”, and “Roudra Chhaya”.“I have spent years tracking down sellers across the country to source Uttam Kumar’s booklets, paying as much as Rs 2,000 for a single copy. I will also be displaying close to 100 magazines featuring Uttam Kumar on the cover, including issues of ‘Ulta Rath’, which is now out of circulation,” Chowdhuri added. All his CDs and DVDs will also be on display.
