Rare Wadia Movietone items to go under hammer on 19 September

Mumbai-based auction house Prinseps will conduct a live auction of rare items associated with the erstwhile film production company and studio Wadia Movietone on 19 September.

More than 50 unique and iconic items are expected to go under the hammer, including original artworks, lobby cards and songbooks of films from the mid-1930s as well as the posters of films such as Miss Frontier Mail (1936), Diamond Queen (1940), Court Dancer (1941), Tasveer (1966) and Saaz Aur Sanam (1971).

The pioneering studio was founded in 1933 by brothers JBH and Homi Wadia. They rose to fame through their early action films, which featured a then-unknown Australian stunt woman, Mary Ann Evans, who later became known as Fearless Nadia.

Watch: How Fearless Nadia joined Hindi cinema

Nadia’s first lead role came with the successful Hunterwali (1935) and firmly established her as a star. It also went on to have a sequel called Hunterwali Ki Beti (1943). She married Homi Wadia in 1961 and retired from films by the end of the decade.

The late Riyad, JBH’s grandson, was heir to the Wadia Movietone production house. He studied at the Charles Sturt University in Australia and directed the documentary Fearless: The Hunterwali Story (1993) on his groundbreaking aunt.

Speaking about the upcoming film auction, Prinseps curator Brijeshwari Gohil stated, "We are delighted to be able to bring these lots to the fore and highlight a significant part of Indian filmmaking history. The original movie posters offer a glimpse into the gradual transformation of movie posters owing to enhanced visual technology in the 21st century."

Later this year, Prinseps will also host another rare auction, this time of Oscar-winning costume designer’s Bhanu Athaiya’s sarees alongside a selection of NFTs based on her drawings and sketches.