Rafi to come back to life on August 8

National Film Archives of India to begin screening some of the rare documentaries collected in the last 61 years of its existence starting with one on legendary singer, to coincide with his 29th death anniversary

The National Film Archives of India (NFAI) in Pune has lined up some really tempting treats for Pune's documentary lovers, starting August 8.u00a0

For the first time in the 61-years of its existence, the NFAI will screen some of its rare films every second Saturday from the date. The inaugural film will be a documentary on Mohammad Rafi titled 'Rafi, we remember you' to mark the legendary singer's 29th death anniversary.

Vijay Jadhav, director of NFAI, told MiD DAY that the NFAI's huge collection of documentaries has been preserved meticulously through proper digitisation. "Our archives have some really rare footage that documents the socio-political and cultural history of India in the last 60 to 70 years relating to our freedom movement and leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore and Indira Gandhi," he said.

Director and filmmaker Kuldeep Sinha, who is also the chief producer of the Films Division (FD), will release the documentary on Rafi.

"The FD has 8,000 titles, which include short films and documentaries. "Pune is the cultural capital of the state and our idea is to showcase cultural events related to this historic city like some audio-visual news footage on the Panshet deluge which hit the city 48-years ago," Sinha said.