Aadithya S

This Foundation Project implemented by IFA will facilitate research and analysis to uncover the historical significance of lobby cards and explore the broader discourse on intersection of cinema, design, and spatial dynamics based on the collection of Tamil film lobby cards at The Cinema Resource Centre (TCRC). This project is a collaboration with The Cinema Resource Centre in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. TCRC is a not-for-profit public archive of Indian cinema designed to enable research on the visual and audio-visual cultural artefacts produced by Indian films, especially those made in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada. The collection at TCRC ranges from film posters, lobby cards, song books, long-playing (LP) records, literature, review pieces on cinema, and thousands of film stills. Aadithya S is the Coordinator for this project.

Aadithya S is a student of Photography Design at the National Institute of Design, Gandhinagar. He has previously worked as an intern for the Anglo-Indian Archives conducting research, visual documentation and archiving of the history of the Anglo- Indian communities of Fort Kochi. Aadithya also has considerable interest and experience in curation and exhibition design and has previously received fellowships to present his work at the intersection of photography, design, and community histories. Considering his experiences and field of interest, Aadithya is best suited to be the Project Coordinator for this Foundation Project of IFA.

Drawing from the collection of Tamil film lobby cards from the period of 1950s to 1990s, at TCRC, the Project Coordinator will examine how lobby cards evolved into artefacts that revolutionised the concept of kinetic design surrounding still images. Through archival research, visual analysis of the materials, on-site research and oral interviews, Aadithya will trace the development of lobby card design within the context of Tamil cinema by studying the relationship between the chosen still image, the visual decisions and the dynamic narrative that a lobby card encapsulates within the specific socio-cultural context of Tamil Nadu. In addition to this, the Project Coordinator will also narrativise the journey of a lobby card from its creation as a film publicity material to its circulation and finally its transition into being a coveted collector’s item. To further this exploration, Aadithya will resort to speaking to the network of stakeholders like industry experts, filmmakers, associations and individuals associated with cinema halls during the 1950s-1990s to gather insights into the reception and influence of lobby cards. 

Aadithya has divided the one year of project term in to phases of archival research at TCRC and other repositories such as National Institute of Design archives; followed by fieldwork to find leads in and around Chennai, North and South Arcot and Chengalpattu; and interviews with photographers, field experts, film-theatre owners, film distributors, hand-lettering artist and technicians. The next phase will be dedicated to studying the acquired material and the designing of the zine, and writing of the essays along with preparation for the heritage walks and lecture performance.

The outcomes of the project will be a series of scholarly essays, an online catalogue, zines, lecture performances and heritage walks. The Project Coordinator’s final deliverables to IFA along with the final reports will be soft copies of the writings and essays, hard and soft copies of the printable zines, audio and video recordings of lecture performances, and photo and video documentation of the heritage walk.

IFA will ensure that the implementation of this project happens in a timely manner and funds expended are accounted for. IFA will also review the progress of the project at midterm and document it through an Implementation Memorandum. After the project is finished and all deliverables are submitted, IFA will put together a Final Evaluation to share with Trustees.