An original 12-sheeter poster, offset print on paper, of the 1981 film 'Kranti' starring Dilip Kumar, the original jubilee trophies of films like 'Ram Teri Ganga Maili', fan mails, autographs of superstars of the golden era of Hindi cinema, are just some of the treasured artefacts that author-curator-archivist Neville Tuli owns. He has now opened his decades-worth collection to the public as he wishes to give back to India what he gained from it.
Born in London, Tuli came to India in 1993 and was amazed by what he saw. The culture and art-rich land did not allow him to leave. Three decades later, he established The Tuli Research Centre for India Studies (TRIS) to share his knowledge base, archives and library in disciplines such as arts, cinema and more.
Before he launches the centre’s website (the centre will largely be a digital space), an exhibition dedicated to Indian cinema has come to life. “The World’s Greatest Mela – Respecting India’s Cinematic Heritage”, curated by Tuli encapsulates three decades of Tuli’s dedication to researching, archiving, preserving, and transforming over four hundred thousand unique objects of the Indian & Asian fine and popular arts and craft, and the world cinemas, into a uniquely integrated knowledge base for India Studies.
Talking about the exhibition, Tuli says, "However comprehensive an exhibition, it can only capture a minor fraction of its subject, in this case, the vast world of Indian cinema. So, the main objective is to capture the essence, its unique cinematic energy, its historical context, and most importantly here - the high aesthetic and intellectual standard of the art objects which make a film and its impact."
In the coming months, TRIS will present a practical and comprehensive system for utilising the art of cinema as a primary and secondary source of knowledge, with a special focus on India Studies. Tuli also says that he hopes the exhibition will inspire the public and academia to re-examine and reassess the educational possibilities of the subject matter, while delivering a deep dose of joy, "for it is joy which our educational system truly lacks, hence the motivation and our ability to excel at the highest levels, still deeply lags compared to our potential."
Highlighting his thoughts further, he delivered a lecture at the Stein Auditorium on August 16, on ‘Cinema as a Critical Educational Resource’, followed by a talk on ‘Life and Cinema of Kamal Amrohi & Meena Kumari’ by Rinki Roy, daughter of late film director Bimal Roy, Tajdar Amrohi, son of Kamal Amrohi, Indian film director and screenwriter and Neville Tuli.
The exhibition featured original painted posters and cutouts of films and actors of the time, artefacts related to the films, film stills, and more from Tuli’s own collection that he has added over the years. These include a large black and white silver gelatin photographic print of Uday Shankar in Kalpana (1948), a hand-tinted colour photographic still mounted on a showcard of Meena Kumari in Pakeezah (1972), a photo still of the interior of Metro Cinema, Bombay, when it first opened in 1938 and more.
However, a mere showcase of his collection was not his primary objective. He carries a wider vision of helping to create the first three-year undergraduate programme curricula for India Studies, using cinema as a knowledge going beyond the realms of film and cultural studies and being viewed as a vast pedagogical resource beyond its conventional boundaries.
The exhibition is also a part of Tuli’s larger plan to make education, knowledge and research material accessible to everyone free of cost. This has been enabled through his upcoming website which will include extensive artworks, a range of books on various genres and other education-related sources to access for students and anyone seeking them. The website www.tuliresearchcentre.org will go live on October 2.
The exhibition that began on August 13th at the Visual Arts Gallery & Open Palm Court, India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road in Delhi concluded on August 25.
