Legendary Indian archivist and founder of the National Film Archive of India (NFAI), Paramesh Krishnan Nair or PK Nair, passed away today. He was 86. Hailing from Kerala, PK Nair was also the recipient of the Satyajit Ray Memorial Award in 2008.
A dedicated film archivist, PK Nair acquired and preserved several landmark Indian and international films in three decades at the NFAI. Some of these films classics like Dadasaheb Phalke’s Raja Harishchandra, Kaliya Mardan, Bombay Talkies films such as Jeevan Naiya, Bandhan, Kangan, Achhut Kanya and Kismet, SS Vasan’s Chandralekha and Uday Shankar’s Kalpana.
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PK Nair was a Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) graduate, who was insstrumental in establishing the NFAI in 1964. After working as the assistant curator in 1965, he eventually retired as the NFAI director. During his tenure, the strength of the archive collection grew to approximately 12,000 films.
A National Award-winning documentary Celluloid Man was made on his life and work in 2012, by Shivendra Singh Dungarpur.
Image Courtesy: Indian Express