Cafedreams.com, the two-year-old memorabilia website, is currently holding an exhibition cum auction of its original Hindi film poster collection at Delhi's Nikko Metropolitan Hotel. The exhibition that started a week back, has already found keen collectors.
Gone is the 1957 hand-painted poster of Mother India as well as the 1949 poster of Raj Kapoor and Nargis starrer Barsaat.
Another hand-painted poster of Ramesh Sippy's superhit Sholay has also been sold. Says Cafedreams promoter Jojhar Singh: "The response has been good as we've got 12 collectors in a week's time."
Singh set up Cafedreams.com in 2001 along with Ramona Sood to sell celebrity memorabilia.
Most of the posters on display are priced in the Rs 3,000 to Rs 6,000 bracket. However, the prize catch -- an autographed poster of Amitabh Bachchan's second film Pyar Ki Kahani -- is available for Rs 50,000.
The auction has generated quite a buzz at the hotel, where the poster exhibition is accompanied by a Bollywood-inspired menu including dishes such as 'Silsila Paneer Pudina' and 'Mughal-e-Azam Murg Nawabi'.
However, Bollywood memorabilia is not the only thing that Cafedreams.com auctions. It began as a fun site aimed at collecting and auctioning celebrity memorabilia -- from evening gowns worn by Maharani Gayatri Devi to the first Mohan veena designed by classical guitarist Vishwamohan Bhatt.
So far, Cafedreams.com has sold over a hundred film posters. "Aficionados can log onto the website, go to a celebrity web page and bid for a variety of things," informs Sood. "People are willing to spend to get closer to their idol's personal belongings," she adds.
For instance, a UK-based Sachin Tendulkar fan paid Rs 60,000 for an autographed bat belonging to the little master. That's not all. A star struck lady in the US paid Rs 13,000 plus airfare to spend an evening with film actor Priyanshu Chatterjee.
The site also features popstar Daler Mehndi's garish costumes and Sukhbir's first pair of sunglasses. Apart from memorabilia, Cafedreams.com has introduced a novel concept for the celebrity hungry.
The website has tied up with film producer and director Mahesh Bhatt. On bidding online, you may be able to win a small role in his next film. Or else, you could also bid for dance lessons with Birju Maharaj and tabla lessons with Zakir Hussain.
Virtual exclusivity, anyone?
