Kabadi Galli is a dingy, winding lane at the end of Kolkata’s famed ‘chor bazaar’, or thieves market. As unlikely as it may sound, it is also a treasure house of memorabilia from the golden days of Hindi cinema.

Apart from old brassware, lamps and planter’s chairs, Mashooque Ali’s shop Filmistan stocks booklets, hand-tinted posters and other film collectibles dating from the 1930s to the 1980s.

"This 45-year-old shop was started by my grandfather who once used to work at R.K. Studios (Mumbai). We have our outlet in Mumbai too," Ali told IANS while bringing out dozens of colourful film booklets from the 1950s and 1960s.

Starting at $10 the booklets contain the synopsis of the story with a list of credits, plus the lyrics of all the songs of a particular film.

"However, the highest-priced booklets are from the 1930s. They include a 17-page one of India’s first talkie Alam Ara (1931), Achut Kanya (1936), New Theatre’s Bari Didi and Imperial Film Company’s Nek Abla (1932)," Ali said.

Filmistan also stocks hand-tinted posters of the kitschy series of Amitabh Bachchan hits like Coolie, Suhaag and Trishool and old film favourites like Pakeezah, Chandi Sona and a rare vintage Nagin.

With the bright colours of the film Aan, the exquisite detailing in popular devotional film Navratri and the sheer beauty of Raj Kapoor’s visage in Awara, entering the shop is like being transported magically to an era gone by through.

"This shop was set up specially for cine-lovers. But nowadays possessing these rare film memorabilia has become a fashion statement. Hoteliers and businessmen come and buy these for interior decoration," Ali said.

Filmistan also stores booklets from the 1960s Hollywood films printed in the U.S., priced between $25 and $35.

Also catching the eye of visitors to the store are small stamp-blocks of the famous R.K. logo, which has a man, woman and a violin inspired from the Raj Kapoor-Nargis hit Barsaat.

Other surprises in store for cine buffs are unending show cards, rare working stills and beautiful black and white photographs of Jis Des Main Ganga Behti Hai, Awara, and Mera Naam Joker, prints of India’s first film Raja Harishchandra, Satyajit Ray’s Apu trilogy, and stacks of old LPs.

You can bargain for the beautiful bronze statue with black enamel work detailing the film Taj Mahal that was presented to a select few during the film’s premiere in 1963. Or for the silver jubilee trophies of Rajshri productions’ Dosti and Khandan, or a bronze of Sanjay Khan’s Tipu Sultan.