Shocking! 31,000 film reels go missing from the NFAI, reveals audit

Over 31,000 film reels or cans were found missing from the National Film Archive of India (NFAI). As per a CAG report, these reels are either lost or have been damaged. NFAI, which is an independent organization established under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, was set up in February 1964 to preserve the heritage of Indian cinema. The Department of Audit and Accounts under the Comptroller and Audit General (CAG) carried out a survey to check the records maintained by the NFAI in Pune between May 1, 2015 and September 30, 2017.

However, it was during a local check when it was pointed out that more than 31,000 valuable reels were missing from the NFAI. This check took place between October 3, 2017 and October 18, 2017. One of the important purposes of the National Archive unit is to acquire, trace and preserve the film reels as a part of the heritage of the national cinema and as a representative collection of world cinema. In fact, NFAI keeps a library of books, posters, DVD’s, cassettes, stills, press clippings, etc of the Indian cinema and its history which dates back to 106 years.

The report, which has been obtained by an applicant under the Right to Information act, stated that physical verification of books was done in 2016-17. But sadly the same wasn’t done for any other items including cassettes, disc records, posters, audio CDS etc. While the CAG report has observed that over 31,000 reels have already gone missing, the reason behind it is still not clear. Though it’s a great loss for Indian cinema and all its fans, the reels wouldn’t have gone missing had a proper assessment been carried out in the first place, don’t you guys agree? Anyway, for more Bollywood updates and news, stay tuned to CineBlitz.