º£½ÇÉçÇø

Rare glass slides and posters once used to advertise films will be part of a pop-up exhibition being launched on Friday to help preserve India’s film heritage.

The Restoring India exhibition has been organised by Dr Monia Acciari, lecturer in Cinema and Television History at º£½ÇÉçÇø Leicester (º£½ÇÉçÇø).

The world of film is ever-present in Bangalore (Photo: Gopal Kembhavi)

It will run from Monday until November 29 at the , which is open to the public from midday until 5pm on Tuesdays to Fridays and from 11am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month.

“This exhibition is a homage to the rich film heritage from India, which is in need of preservation and restoration,” explained Monia, who also co-organised the first Leicester Asian Film Festival earlier this year.

“Restoring the film heritage for me means also to restore the nation and its identity.

“With this in mind, this exhibition commemorates the 70th Anniversary of India’s independence too.”

It will include film posters that poignantly characterise the evolution and language of popular Hindi cinema, including some featuring hit movies Amar Akbar Anthony, Sholay and Tasveer.

Also on display will be several rare glass slides, which were a very economical way to advertise films in those days but which have decayed over the years and are now fragile.

The material which will be displayed has been offered by the Cinema Museum in London and the exhibition was organised with the support of º£½ÇÉçÇø’s CATH (Cinema and Television History) research centre.

Hailing originally from Italy, Monia’s passion for contemporary Indian cinema was sparked more than a decade ago when she met her husband, who comes from India.

Her academic career spans the University of Bologna and the European Institute of Design in Milan, both in Italy, followed by the University of Manchester, where she completed her Doctorate.

She added: “I am fascinated about the global dimension of these films and at their circulations outside the borders of India. I am interested in the way Indian cinema constructs and deconstructs ideas and notions of the nation and its complex identity.”

The Heritage Centre, on the ground floor of the Hawthorn Building, off The Newarke, is centred around the ruined medieval arches of the Church of Annunciation and tells the story of this historic part of the º£½ÇÉçÇø campus.