Filmed in 1938, less than a decade before Indian independence, Delhi has a curious tale to tell. ‘Delhi’, the viewer is informed, ‘is the cockpit of the Indian Empire’, it provides the ‘gateway to the riches of the south’. The opening sections of the film focus upon those who have tried and failed to establish a lasting power in the capital. ‘At Delhi’, the commentator states, ‘successive cities have been built by conquering invaders – each has fallen into disuse and decay’. The camerawork focuses on the ‘impressive ruins’ of these earlier invaders. Although the film also depicts the enduring architecture of Muslim rulers, such as Akbar and Shahjahan, it is stressed that their power has been superseded. Legend has it that it will be the ninth city of Delhi that ‘will endure and will rule forever’. Shahjahan had built the eighth.
Attractive travelogue filmed in and around Delhi's Qutb complex.
Film showing the Viceregal party entering Delhi on lavishly decorated elephants, as part of the Coro...
King George V and Queen Mary hold ceremonial court in Delhi.
By drawing a parallel between the Indian Durga Puja festival and other forms of celebrating the divi...
The river Yamuna, known to the locals as 'Jamna', the lifeline of Delhi, is going through a major cr...
The future Edward VIII enjoys a stately procession and visits the Taj Mahal before meeting senior In...
Rare stencil-coloured images of early 20th century Delhi during a Muslim festival.
Amateur film featuring government buildings in Delhi, a shooting party in Malakand and winter in Abb...
A film produced to celebrate the coronation of George V as King-Emperor at the Imperial Durbar of 19...
Dignitaries including the Nizam of Hyderabad gather to celebrate the Durbar in honour of George V, w...
Grand buildings and missionary work come together in the 1947 Indian tour of construction magnate Jo...
The future Edward VIII opens a durbar and enjoys a day at the races before inspecting the fire briga...
Scenes from a lavish pageant held during the royal visit to India, celebrating King George V’s coron...
As the romantic monsoon rains loom, the extended Verma family reunites from around the globe for a l...
Jasper has arrived in Delhi to begin a tour of India, where the newness of his surroundings quickly ...
Zooni Ali Beg is a blind Kashmiri girl who travels without her parents for the first time with a dan...
The encounters of two people who run into each other on several occasions under circumstances rangin...
Years after his father disowns his adopted brother for marrying a woman of lower social standing, a ...
A man and a woman come from two very different cultural backgrounds, and decide that they won't get ...