Osian's Auction Catalogue The Osianama Series |February 2013

A Lovely Journey Zafar Aabid Watching movies of 1950s and 1960s was a childhood passion. At the age of 10, I was exposed to cinema and theatre art, thus watching films came naturally. In 1960, one memorable visit to Mumbai changed my perception and desire when I watched the great Meena Kumari, shooting for a song and dance sequence of the film Dil Apna Aur Preet Parayee on Juhu beach and in same year when I witnessed the preview of Mughal-e-Azam with the stars and film makers. During those days the footpaths of Grant Road, Opera House and Chor Bazaar were flooded with film stills and other filmmaterials. It was irresistible and I happened to buy a couple of photographs spending my pocket money. Coming back home to Kutch, my last visit to Mumbai left a deep impression, and so I ended up in Mumbai during every vacation. In the late 1960s I happened to meet, my would be best friend, Husain, who not only helped me purchase wonderful artifacts but also opened doors for my new journey. He understood my passion for cinema and I remain obliged to him all my life. To know about films and its history one needs to acquire knowledge and that was not easily available those days. It took a decade of struggling to know the right photographic stills and films to collect. Not many people understood or appreciated the passion, the love for the history and all things related to film-making, though we all love cinema. In 1980 I exhibited my collection in Pune for the first time and the response was over whelming. The enthusiasm shown by the public was encouraging and I continued exhibiting my collection on various subjects and era’s for fifteen years and went on to publish in various magazines and books highlighting the many subjects and layers of Hindi cinema. I would always remain thankful to personalities such as Meena Kumari, Nargis, Premnath, Naushad and Ardesir Irani sahib for encouraging me along this lovely journey of preserving India’s cinematic heritage in some small manner.