Tag Archives: memorabilia

Missing PBS. Wishing Pran.

We at TCRC deeply mourn the demise of veteran playback singer PB Sreenivas. PBS’ lilting melodies, however, shall live on. Our favorite is “Kalangalil Aval Vasantham” from the 1961 Tamil film “Paava Mannippu,” which incidentally was the first South Indian film to win the National Award for the Second Best Feature Film.

At the same time, we at TCRC are glad to know that the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for Cinematic Excellence is being conferred on actor Pran this year and we extend our heartiest congratulations to one of Indian cinema’s finest villains. Given below is a compilation of some of Pran’s best moments on screen.


RARE: Production Stills from Mani Ratnam’s “Thalapathi”

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Last week, we at TCRC had posted Arul Mani’s review of Baradwaj Rangan’s “Conversations with Mani Ratnam” and had promised to bring you some behind-the-scenes photos of the Rajnikanth-Mammootty starrer “Thalapathi.” So, here we go.

"Thalapathi" - Mani Ratnam with Santosh Sivan

Cinematographer Santosh Sivan with director Mani Ratnam on the sets of “Thalapathi.”

"Thalapathi" - Contact Sheet of Mamootty's Look Test

Contact sheet featuring Mamootty’s look test for Mani Ratnam’s “Thalapathi.”

Rajnikanth in an action sequence from Mani Ratnam's "Thalapathi."

Rajnikanth in an action sequence from Mani Ratnam’s “Thalapathi.”

Arul Mani on Baradwaj Rangan’s “Conversations with Mani Ratnam”

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Mani Ratnam with Rajnikanth on the sets of “Thalapathi.” Photo Courtesy: Indian Express Archives

Today, we revisit Arul Mani’s rather balanced review of Baradwaj Rangan’s book “Conversations with Mani Ratnam” for Tehelka (click on the image to read the full story).

We at TCRC happen to have, in our archives, contact sheets of Mammootty’s look tests for Mani Ratnam’s “Thalapathi.” We’re working on digitizing this absolutely gorgeous piece of film memorabilia, which also features director Mani Ratnam and cinematographer Santosh Sivan in some candid shots. So, do watch this space for updates!

Alfred Hitchcock on editing

OpenCulture (click here to read their take on it) linked us to this seven-minute master class on editing by Alfred Hitchcock. Watch, learn & enjoy.

SS Vasan’s “Chandralekha” | The First Attempt To Get Nationwide Distribution

“Chandralekha”, a Tamil film directed by SS Vasan, was released by Gemini Studios in 1948. Starring MK Radha, TR Rajakumari, Ranjan and NS Krishnan, the film was made at a then-lavish budget of more than Rs.30 lakhs and was considered to be one of the most expensive films of that time. It was also one of the first Madras productions to become an all-India hit. It is said to have released in 609 screens worldwide. The drum-dance sequence featured here was one of the highlights of the movie, leading up to one of the longest sword-fighting sequences in Indian cinema.

We at TCRC are proud to to have, in our archive, memorabilia from films of that era.

The Words in “Veerapandiya Kattabomman” | A tribute to writer “Sakthi” Tk Krishnaswamy

Mohan V Raman had written a warm tribute to writer “Sakthi” TK Krishnaswamy in The Hindu Metroplus yesterday, a piece that we at TCRC loved (click here to read the story).

The tribute resonated even more with us, given that our archives have an original LP of the “Veerapandiya Kattabomman” soundtrack (see image below).

"Veerapandiya Kattabomman"

The Superstar as a Conductor | A lovely Rajnikanth tale

In the late 1960s, the conductor of the Bangalore Transport Service (BTS) bus that plied on route No 10A from Srinagar to Majestic via City Market was a certain Shivaji Rao Gaikwad, a Kannada-speaking Maharashtrian. He was a stickler for rules. His dos and don’ts for commuters were simple: don’t board a running bus; always alight and board only at bus stops; don’t travel on the footboard; present exact change for tickets. One morning, he noticed a pig-tailed college girl jump into his moving bus, and snarled, “Ilee ree, ilee ree” (get off, get off). He had the driver stop the bus and made my aunt Vasanthi—the passenger—disembark.”

We at TCRC loved reading this lovely Open magazine story about superstar Rajnikanth (click on the image to read the full story).

Our archives have numerous rare images of Rajnikanth over the years and we are currently digitizing a number of those images. So, do watch this space for updates!

Incredible film posters from Poland!

Poster | “Apocalypse Now” in Polish

Andrew Lindstrom puts together a fantastic collection of 50 film posters from Poland for the blog WellMedicated (click on the image to see the entire list). Some of them are absolutely gorgeous.

Incidentally, The Cinema Resource Centre here in Chennai also houses a large number of posters and lobby cards of Hollywood films that have been released in India over the years. Want to drop in? Write to us at tcrcindia[at]gmail[dot]com.

Leena Chandavarkar’s autographed photo.

Leena-1 WM

This is an autographed picture of Leena Chandavarkar, a leading actress in Hindi cinema in the 60s and 70s.

Lobby Card | “Policekaaran Magal” | Tamil | 1962

Police-Karan-MAgal-1 WM

A ‘lobby card’ usually featured an image from the film that was being played at the theatre and was displayed in the glass-pane covered notice boards that characterized the lobbies of most single screen theatres in those days.

This is the lobby card of “Policekaaran Magal,” a successful Tamil film released in 1962.