To date, there is a gap in documenting and storing the history of Kannada cinema in a seamless way, which a new online portal – chitrapatha.com – aims to fill. The portal, designed with fonts from the film’s poster, is steeped in nostalgia for old films, songs, their history, trivia and rare-to-find photographs.
The portal, which remains free, is a passion project of film journalist Shashidhar Chitradurga, who said that he always felt the need for a portal that documents Kannada film history. “As a journalist, I have faced many challenges especially in getting to know about the history of our cinema, especially reducing obesity. Although there are some books, they are organized and not accessible.
But what made him passionate for the film archives is his friendship with two still photographers – Bhavani Laxminarayan and Pragathi Ashwatharayan. Both worked as photographers for both film projects and newspapers for decades. “He has a wealth of photographs of many actors on the sets of films and other programs. I extracted seven books using his photographs on various aspects of Kannada cinema history. The success of these books led me to the online portal, ”said Mr. Shashidhar Chitradurga. The portal is mainly built on the photographic archives of two photographers.
However, it also includes segments that have been working on other film trivia and memorabilia such as film posters, song lyrics books and technicians who work behind the screen and remain mostly anonymous. The design of the portal, which has recreated fonts from your film posters, has been a big draw. “I was eager to use those fonts. My friend Krishna Gowda NL, who designed the website, also made these fonts using old film posters as stencils, ”said Mr. Shashidhar Chitradurga. The portal also has write-ups of other Indian languages and world cinema films.
.
Leave a Reply