Archivist P.K. Nair deserves Padma Bhushan, says Vidhu Vinod Chopra

Mumbai, April 7 (IANS) Filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra feels that legendary archivist P.K. Nair deserves a Padma Bhushan because his work has been great and needs recognition.

On Thursday, Naseeruddin Shah, Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Shyam Benegal launched a book titled "Yesterday's Films for Tomorrow", a compilation of writings on Indian cinema by legendary archivist late P.K. Nair.

Praising the contribution made by Nair, Chopra said: "Nair sir deserves to be awarded with Padma Bhushan not because he is great but because his work has been so great that it needs recognition as it helped in development of this industry."

Chopra, who has produced films like "3 Idiots", "PK" and "Wazir" says whatever he has learned in cinema is through Nair.

"He was the best teacher I ever had. I helped in the production of this book as my debt to Nair's contribution, to my life and to the lives of many such filmmakers. I feel this man hasn't got his due for his contribution to Indian Cinema," said Chopra.

Stressing the importance of archives, Chopra said: "I worked in a film named 'Satya Katha' with Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri. We shot that film for television but that film doesn't exist anywhere. We don't have a negative of that film as well. It is very unfortunate that we fail to preserve films of our generation so we are here to support this important cause".

P.K. Nair was an Indian film archivist and film scholar who was the founder and Director of the National Film Archive of India (NFAI) in 1964. A passionate film archivist, he worked at the NFAI for over three decades, collecting films from India and from all over the world.

"I think it is wonderful that Film Heritage Foundation is keeping his memory alive by publishing this book as his contribution to Indian cinema is immense and should not be forgotten," Naseeruddin said.