PANAJI: An Italian-Polish couple based in Goa has been carefully collecting film posters from across India, mainly of Bollywood, that take you back to another time.

Called "Colonial Photo", the collection is about a bygone era when Bollywood films had their own black-and-white tales to tell.

Italian Silvio Ciancia, based in Arpora village, has put together an amazing collection of British-era and Bollywood photographs which he also duplicates as collector's items and sells to tourists visiting Goa.

His Polish-English wife, Greta Wilkinson, who trained as a social anthropologist and wanted to get into art herself, looks after the Tabra Arts and adds value to this venture.

"This is only a fraction of my collection. There are lots more," he said showing around his old-style Goan villa.

"I'm on the lookout for (posters of) strange movies. I'm not much concerned about those films that are too famous. For 'Mother India' or 'Sholay', I don't care," Ciancia said. "I'm trying to get the kitsch of Bollywood.

"People go crazy over lobby cards (showing photos of actors and actresses). But the prices have gone up. What you could buy 10 years ago for Rs 25 in Chor Bazaar (Mumbai) now costs $25," he said.

Ciancia found some good sources for old posters on eBay, the online sell-anything website. He estimates he has over a thousand subjects with him.

He scans the posters, makes a paper copy, and puts them through matt lamination after painting the original.

"Some tourists, like the Russians, love that tarty lady," he points to one poster.

"Bollywood has some beautiful old movies too. Now, Bollywood makes a lot of films. Maybe, it could make less but of better quality," he added.

Calling his collection an outcome of a passion for art, he said: "It's primarily not a business. I'm not here to become rich."