Miracle tale of 'Tuka's' certificate

PUNE: From Venice to the National Film Archive of India (NFAI) via a roadside dustbin on the Law college road here. Thus goes the story of the Venice film festival participation certificate of Sant Tukaram.
In 1937, Sant Tukaram became the first Indian movie to win the Best Film Award at the Venice film festival. On Tuesday (March 23, 2004), Sunny Joseph, an ace cinematographer handed over the August 4, 1937 dated original yellow-green coloured certificate to the NFAI in “national interest�.
An ex-student of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Joseph had found the original certificate in the dustbin on the Law college road in 1979.“My first reaction was of shock and awe. I knew the importance of the film and the certificate. I was so much in love with the certificate that for many years I did not want to part with it. However, last year, I finally decided to give it to the NFAI,� Joseph told TNN on Wednesday.
Nobody knows how the certificate landed in the dustbin. However, for the NFAI, it is a prized catch. “I couldn’t believe my eyes until I held it in my hands,� said an elated NFAI director K.S. Sasidharan. The certificate must have been dumped accidentally during a clean-up drive at the FTII, which originally was on the Prabhat Film Company campus.
Formed in Kolhapur in 1929 by partners V.G. Damle, K.R. Dhaiber, S. Fatelal, S.B. Kulkarni and V. Shantaram, the company moved base to Pune in 1933.
Sasidharan said, “The certificate is being preserved as per international standards inside a glass frame at the NFAI.� Sasidharan said the issue came to light during a breezy party in December 2002 during the International Film Festival in Kerala.
“We were sharing a drink when Joseph spoke of his priceless possession. I had forgotten about it until he came to the NFAI on Tuesday and handed over the certificate to me.� Produced by the Prabhat Film Company in 1936 and directed by Vishnupant Damle and Sheikh Fattelal, Sant Tukaram (Marathi) is a landmark in Indian cinema.