Four masterprints of Tapan Sinha`s classics go missing

New Delhi: What may come as a rude shock to films buffs of the country, four classics of filmmaker Tapan Sinha, including `Hansuli Banker Upakatha` (1962) and `Ekhani` (1971), are not traceable. The prints of the Bengali filmmaker`s three other movies, including his debut `Ankush` (1954), `Tonsil` (1956) and `Kalamati` (1957) are believed to have been destroyed in a fire at the archives of Pune`s National Film Institute, according to son Anindhya.

Dada Saheb Phalke winner Sinha was a contemporary of Satyajit Ray and a prominent face behind the parallel cinema movement in the country. He is best remembered for movies like `Kabuliwala` (1957) and `Ek Doctor Ki Maut` (1991). Anindhya said he has lost all hope to find the prints from any government body and now plans to advertise in newspapers to get a print from private collectors. \ "We lost the prints of his three movies while he (Sinha) was still alive and now it seems that we have also lost `Hansuli Banker Upakatha` (1962), `Ekhani` (1971), `Ek Je Chhilo Desh` (1977), `Khudhito Pashan` (1960) and telefilm `Admi Aur Aurat` (1982)," Anindhya told reporters. He said that Sinha`s associates had tried to know about the fate of the prints from the archives of Pune`s National Film Institute but they could not get any information. "We have been unable to find anything and it seems that we have lost the masterprints forever. I will advertise in newspaper to get the movie from private collectors," he said. "I have also tried on my level to find about the prints but had no success so far. `Admi Aur Aurat` (1982) and Satyajit Ray`s telefilm `Sadgati` was produced by NFDC. I hope they release a DVD of these two films so that the prints are protected. If we do not care, we will have nothing for the next generation of filmmakers," he added. Anindhya said that Sinha could never get over the loss of the prints. "`Ankush` was his debut while he worked with his wife Arundhati in `Kalamati` for the first time. The loss was a huge shock for him," he said. Anindhya said that the Bengali version of Dilip Kumar-Sayra Bano starrer `Sagina Mahato` (1970) and fantasy film `Ek Je Chhilo Desh` (1977), which was shown on Durdarshan seven years ago, is also missing. Filmmaker Mrinal Sen`s films `Punascha` (Over Again) (1961) and Pratinidhi (The Representative) (1964) also saw a similar fate. Satyajit Ray`s classic `Pather Panchali` was restored by Ford Foundation after suffering huge damages at the London Film Festival. PTI