As we are still unable to have direct contact with the NFAI, here are articles concerning the fire that broke out at the NFAI. The first two were published by 'The Time of India' and the last one was published by Reuters. These articles are followed by a letter from Mr Trujillo to the NFAI


"Several rare classics gutted in FTII blaze" - TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SATURDAY, JANUARY 11, 2003 02:32:37 AM ] - PUNE: Several important original film reels (nitrate-based) of movies and documentaries, lost in the fire which broke out at the Film and Television Institute of India around noon on Wednesday, have been identified. These include the historic speeches of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru at the historic 1942 All-India Congress Committee session. Among the notable movie reels are Achut Kanya directed by Franz Often, Anmol Ratna directed by M. Sadiq, Aadmi and Amrit Manthan directed by V. Shantaram, Bala Jo Jo Re directed by Datta Dharmadhikari and Brahmachari directed by Master Vinayak. The National Film Archive of India (NFAI) too has confirmed the loss of 4,000-odd nitrate-based original reels (pre-1950). A detailed report of the fire tragedy and the archival damage, demanded by information and broadcasting minister Sushma Swaraj, was hurriedly compiled and rushed to New Delhi on Thursday. Other details of the joint report compiled by NFAI, FTII and the civil construction wing (CCW) of All India Radio, who were collectively responsible for the maintenance of the air-conditioned film storage vault for nitrate-based films, were not revealed to the press. Addressing a press conference on Thursday, a distressed NFAI director K.S. Sashidharan said, "All the original nitrate-based film reels (pre-1950s) stored in the vault were lost forever but 95 per cent of them were transferred to safer, acetate-based film," he claimed. The assertion has, however, met with widespread scepticism within and outside the FTII. The nitrate-based films were to be shifted to a specially designed temperature and humidity controlled vault, which was supposed to become functional in 2001. However, despite a delay of an entire year, the CCW has still not handed over the vault to the NFAI. Confirming this, Mumbai-based superintendent engineer engineer A.P Divakaran of the CCW claimed the civil work was complete. "Four air-conditioners were to be imported for the special vault," he said. Experts were quick to point out that, with the entire nitrate-film archive burnt, the special vault was now useless. Meanwhile, communication came to a standstill as the telephone lines were totally ravaged in the fire. Consequently, top I&B ministry officials in New Delhi had to depend on mobile phones to stay in touch with authorities on the scene here. The FTII premises, where employees and students remained in a state of shock, wore a pall of gloom. Majestic trees were reduced to bare, burnt down stocks. Melted PVC pipes, soot-covered buildings, charred vehicles and the all-pervasive stench of gutted film, completed the picture. FTII director Prem Matiyani revealed the police and fire brigade experts were still investigating the cause of the accident. ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// "FTII blaze destroys pre-50s film trove" - TIMES NEWS NETWORK [ THURSDAY, JANUARY 09, 2003 01:37:20 AM ] - PUNE: A major fire that broke out on the campus of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) here on Wednesday afternoon saw over 3,000 original nitrate-based film prints from the pre-1950 era go up in smoke. The heritage Prabhat studio (Studio 1) was also charred in the blaze, which broke out around 12.30 pm. The fire gutted the air-conditioned film storage vault for nitrate-based films belonging to the National Films Archive of India (NFAI), housed on the adjacent FTII campus. While NFAI officials here refused to divulge details about the films destroyed in the fire, an official of the information and broadcasting ministry in New Delhi said all was not lost as the NFAI was in possession of back-up prints of all the 3,000-odd nitrate-based films. Informed sources told TNN that archival prints of illustrious film-makers like Ritwik Ghatak, Satyajit Ray, Ingmar Bergman, Akira Kurosawa and Frederico Fellini are feared destroyed in the blaze. The I&B ministry official said the FTII, NFAI and civil construction wing have been asked to submit a detailed report of the incident within a week. According to sources, NFAI director K.S. Sasidharan and FTII director Prem Matiani, who were in Delhi to attend a Planning Commission meeting, were rushing back to Pune to assess the damage. Sasidharan told TNN over telephone, "Most of the prints were damaged and fragmented. But we have already transferred 90 per cent of the nitrate-based films to safety (acetate) base at the NFAI. Unfortunately, we have lost all the original prints." FTII academic co-ordinator Satish Kumar told TNN the fire broke out inside the vault managed by the NFAI. "The vault stored nitrate-based archival film material, which is highly inflammable and susceptible to variations in temperature and humidity." The heat and flames of the fire were so intense that they damaged doors, windows and even several vehicles in a circumference of 50 feet. "The fire spread rapidly due to nitrate gas pressure build-up inside the vault. It charred the south side of Prabhat studio as well," Kumar said, adding that it was the biggest heritage studio on the campus. Fearing that the vault might explode due to the heat and gas pressure, panic striken students and staff on the campus were asked to evacuate to a safe distance. Trees in the vicinity of the vault and studio were also charred by the blaze. Pune municipal corporation fire brigade chief fire officer Laxman Raut told TNN that the fire could have been caused by a short circuit inside the vault or by faults in the air-conditioning system. He said the first fire engine reached the FTII campus at 12.50 pm. "The fire was so big we had to rush five fire engines, two water tankers and two jeeps to control it." Apart from surrounding trees, all PVC pipes and street lamps also melted in a jiffy because of the intense heat. A total of 60 fire-fighters were involved in the operation. The blaze was finally put out after battling it for 30 minutes. Raut confirmed that all archival material was charred. "We could not salvage anything, except some empty film cans." © Bennett, Coleman and Co., Ltd. All rights reserved. /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// "Loss minimal from Pune film archive blaze" - 09 Jan 2003 16:29:20 - BOMBAY (Reuters) - A fire which swept through a warehouse of India's national cinema archives did not destroy any films of value, contrary to earlier media reports, the institute's director said on Thursday. The fire on Wednesday destroyed the warehouse belonging to the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune, about 180 km south of Bombay. "Around 250 negatives of short, single-reel films were stored in the warehouse. Nothing of value was lost in the fire," K.S. Sasidharan, director of the National Film Archives of India (NFAI), told Reuters by telephone from Pune. All old films were safely stored in an NFAI vault in Pune, he added. Indian media had reported that negatives of at least 1,000 films, including some popular movies of the 1950's, regarded as the golden era of Indian cinema, were lost in the blaze. Sasidharan said an investigation was under way to determine the cause of the fire but preliminary reports suggested it might have been caused by a short circuit. India, the world's largest producer of films churning out more than 1,000 every year, began archiving movies just 40 years ago although its first film was made in 1913. ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Photo: A fire fighter sits among burnt film cans at the Film and Television Institute of India Picture / AP ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////To the NFAI Colleagues - "Dear Colleagues, We are stunned by the terrible news that we have received about a big fire tha