For decades, Amitabh Bachchan preserved some 60 of his films in an air-conditioned room in his bungalow in the western city of Mumbai.
Five years ago, the Bollywood superstar handed over the prints to a temperature-controlled film archive run by a city-based non-profit, which had begun restoring and preserving Indian films. Led by Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, an award-winning filmmaker, archivist and restorer, the Film Heritage Foundation has been at the forefront of these efforts. It has “built an international reputation for excellence”, according to director Christopher Nolan, and Bachchan is its brand ambassador.
For years he has been tirelessly advocating and actively helping in trying to preserve India’s fast-decaying film heritage.