16 July,2023 11:04 AM IST | Mumbai | Arpika Bhosale
Projectionist Mohammed Aslam Fakih, 75, peeks out of the window of his home on Bapu Khote Street in Bhuleshwar. Fakih continues to work at the Regal Cinema in the current digital film projection format. Pic/Sameer Markande
The Australian cockatiel is the first thing we notice when we visit Mohammed Aslam Fakih's tiny one-room tenement at Tapia Mansion in Bhuleshwar. Perched inside a cage, the grey-crowned bird begins to chirp relentlessly, until we acknowledge its presence.
"He loves the attention," 75-year-old Fakih says. The bird, he tells us, just turned up on the window sill of the home one day, and has "refused to leave". Unlike his pet bird, Fakih who is a film projectionist with Regal Cinema, is self-effacing.
Working at the iconic Colaba theatre for the last 53 years, he prefers to reply in monosyllables. The only time he seems animated is when we mention movie reels. Fakih joined Regal as part of an apprenticeship on August 15, 1970. "They were playing Alfred Hitchcock's Topaz at the time," he remembers. "Back then, Regal would hardly screen any Hindi movies. People would only come to watch the latest Hollywood release."
Fakih has helmed the projector ever since. His commitment to the movies has landed him a Lifetime Achievement Award nomination for Cinema Projection. The award has been instituted by the Film Heritage Foundation, and the winner will be announced at a function on July 26. The foundation works to conserve classic films and conducts workshops on the same. Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, who helms Film Heritage Foundation, says that he introduced the award because he believes that the role of the projectionist is key to experiencing cinema. "My understanding of the craft of projecting comes from my childhood visits to my grandfather's place; he employed one Chandi Mistry who would project films for us, so that we could watch them together as a family," he tells us over a call, "During my time at FTII [Film and Television Institute of India], I met another projectionist called Kokze... I think the wisdom he imparted has been invaluable." According to Dungarpur, the projectionist is always "this mystical creature". "In the earlier days, we would look up at the projector in the movie theatre, but we'd never know of the man handling it. I felt it's high time that we introduce these men to the people... they are truly the unsung heroes of cinema."
Fakih, who is one of the two nominees from Mumbai, is a heavyweight in his own right because of his years of experience, as well as his mastery over projecting both, 35 and 70 mm reels.
"After six months of training, I was taken on as full time staff. I was ecstatic," recalls Fakih. The first movie he projected solo was Good Evening, Ms Campbell, featuring Gina Lollobrigida, an Italian actor known for her comic timing. "The film is one of my all-time favourites," he smiles. He can't remember the actor who played the lead. We Google him up for Fakih. When we mention Telly Savalas, the name immediately registers.
Savalas, he says, was one the most famed villains in the Bond movies, playing Ernst Stavro Blofeld in On Her Majesty's Service.
The 1973 martial arts film Enter the Dragon was the longest running movie under Fakih's reign as a projectionist. "It ran for 35 weeks!" he says. "People were crazy about Bruce Lee. There were no empty seats and the line for the tickets would spill over into the main Causeway market."
Movie goers, at the time, were notorious for their "bomabom". "If the film reel would get stuck... the audience would swear at us and create a ruckus. Today, people are a lot calmer and more subdued," he thinks. Though age is catching up with him, Fakih's romance with the movies has far from ended. His shift, on the day we visit, was to begin at 3 pm; he will stay till the last show that ends post midnight. "As long my hands and legs are moving, I will continue doing what I love."
