A peek at the booklets that promoted big-ticket films when there was no television or Internet

Ankit Ajmera (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 08, 2011)

 

Much before the onrush of slickly edited spiffy trailers on our TVs, computers, theatres and cell phones backed by a multi-crore-fuelled marketing circus, filmmakers in India relied on promoting their upcoming films by doling out humble handouts to the audience.

Booklets enlisting film synopsis, cast, lyrics of the songs, pictures and interesting anecdotes would be handed out to the patrons in cinema halls, a sure shot way of building up the interest till the film’s release.

Antique collectors Aziz K Mansoori and brother Arif have stacked up a collection of over 1,000 such cinema booklets pulled in from across India over a decade.

(From L to R) Arif, Arman and Aziz Mansoori have a collection of more than 1,000 booklets among other Bollywood collectibles at their shop in Chor Bazaar

At their shop A-1 Corner at Chor Bazaar, some booklets fit in your palm while others are as large as an A4 sheet of paper. Some of these booklets are very rare and according to Aziz, can fetch up to Rs 2,000 per piece.

Most of these booklets, Aziz has collected from his visits to cities in Gujarat and Rajasthan by contacting owners of the 50 to 60-year-old single screen theatres and scrap dealers. Whenever its curtains for an old theatre, it’s good news for him.

“Theatres have a collection of such booklets accumulated over More >