My aunt passed away many years ago. Among her belongings was an old album that she was very fond of. The album remained lost for many years, buried somewhere in a storeroom in the basement. It was found again recently during a clean-up. 1/n
As a young girl growing up in a small town in 1950s and 60s, she was completely enamored by movies. Much to the disapproval of her mother, she spent her free time writing fan mail to movie stars and over a time, built up quite a collection of autographed pictures and letters. 2/n
Sadly, most of it is now in a bad shape but I managed to salvage a few that I am posting in this thread. I’m sure she would have loved to show off her collection. So, here it is... 3/n
Shammi Kapoor 1962
4/n
4/n
Dharmendra -1962
The pic is damaged but the good looks are intact!
5/n
The pic is damaged but the good looks are intact!
5/n
Kamini Kaushal - 1953
This is one of the oldest pic of the lot and sadly damaged quite a bit. 6/n
This is one of the oldest pic of the lot and sadly damaged quite a bit. 6/n
Biswajit
7/n
7/n
Sadhana - 1964
From a time she was really popular as seen from the list of films
8/n
From a time she was really popular as seen from the list of films
8/n
Asha Parekh - 1963
9/n
9/n
Sunil Dutt - 1962
He wrote her a long letter in Urdu which I can’t read!
10/n
He wrote her a long letter in Urdu which I can’t read!
10/n
Saira Banu
The letter doesn’t have a date but it is from the same time which means she must be around 18 yo in the pic
11/n
The letter doesn’t have a date but it is from the same time which means she must be around 18 yo in the pic
11/n
The Irani sisters - Honey and Daisy
12/n
12/n
Rajashree and Naaz
I don’t recognize these names but that’s what’s written on the pics.
13/n
I don’t recognize these names but that’s what’s written on the pics.
13/n
Tabassum - 1962
She must have been really young at the time. There is a personal hand-written letter from her as well which I’m not sharing here but will be happy to share with @tabassumgovil if she wants.
14/n
She must have been really young at the time. There is a personal hand-written letter from her as well which I’m not sharing here but will be happy to share with @tabassumgovil if she wants.
14/n
The first one is Suraiya, I think. The second one I don’t recognize. The text in both is not legible.
15/n
15/n
Rajendra Kumar - 1961
16/n
16/n
Raaj Kumar - 1961
17/n
17/n
That’s all I could salvage. I found it to be a fascinating glimpse of the film industry as it was 60 years ago, in an era much before emails, social media and selfies. Hope you enjoy the thread as much as I did putting it together.
18/18
18/18
For those who would like to read more about my aunt and her collection, @AliyaNazki has done this lovely piece bbc.com/urdu/entertain…
More about my aunt and her collection here. Thanks @MasalaBai independent.co.uk/news/world/asi…
Thank you @AliyaNazki for this beautiful piece.
https://twitter.com/bbcworld/status/1365244445227180033
Many have asked me to share pics of my aunt, so I did some more digging into her albums. Here she is from her young days.
And this is how she used to keep her cherished photographs... a hand embroidered cover for her main family album.
A beautiful feature story on my aunt Najma and her collection by @RishabhDeb timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/…
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