Kishore Kumar song, 'Umrao Jaan' in vintage cinema auction

Playback singer Kishore Kumar's last song, said to have been recorded just three days before his demise and not yet released, along with rare posters, costumes, props etc from various yesteryear films, is up for grabs at an upcoming auction here.

While Kishoreda's fans may get an opportunity to purchase rights of the rare song, film buffs could also bid for memorabilia ranging from the private family collection of Bollywood legend Shammi Kapoor to the eminent film producer Suresh Jindal and many others at Osian's Cinefan auction.

The film memorabilia artifacts and artworks for the July 31 auction, sourced from many private collections is set to be one of the highlights at 12th Osian's Cinefan Film Festival to be held here from July 27 to August 5 this year.

The turquoise ring set in silver and worn by actor Farooque Sheikh in Muzaffar Ali's famous film Umrao Jaan, the cricket bat signed by Aamir Khan and the team from Lagaan, a posters of Nayak (by Satyajit Ray), The Great Gambler as well as black and white images from Dev Anand's album also find a place in the sale.

"I hope this auction inspires our collectors and the film fraternity to value its cinematic heritage more effectively," says Neville Tuli, Founder Chairman, Osian's.

Special highlights of the auction include a focus on late Bollywood legend Shammi Kapoor. His famous scarf from Junglee (1961), the sweater from Andaz (1971), the shehnai from his last film appearance in Rockstar (2011) and one of his favorite personal Mont Blanc fountain pens will bring back nostalgia and memories of the great entertainer, according to the auction house.

Vintage highlights include rare photographic stills mounted on lobby cards and show-cards from the films Aan, Mother India, Dil Diya Dard Liya, Humraaz, Zanjeer and other classic films, along with original calendar art that featured stars like Jayalalitha, Waheeda Rehman, Hema Malani, Mumtaz, Sridevi, among others.

"It is sad that in a country which is so passionate about cinema and where film stars are larger than life, the market for vintage Indian cinema publicity material and memorabilia is at such infancy compared to say the market for Hollywood memorabilia," says Tuli.

The auction house is holding the sale of film memorabilia since a similar auction 'The Historical Mela – ABC: Art, Book and Cinema' over a decade ago.

A rare album of 45 signed black and white photographic stills by the evergreen Dev Anand; rare costumes worn by Sanjeev Kumar and Amjad Khan in Shatranj ke Khilari from the Suresh Jindal collection as well as rare Satyajit Ray designed film posters of the 1960s are also being auctioned off.