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An interview with devoted film fan and autograph hunter, Surgit Sohal, on his exceptional collector of signed film posters and his experiences of tracking down elusive movie stars all over the world.
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t takes a truly dedicated film lover to spend hours in the rain, hoping for a glimpse of an A-list actor, and more importantly to snag their autograph but that is exactly what Surgit Sohal has spent the last four decades doing. The avid collector's extraordinary collection of signed posters is offered in the Original Film Posters Online sale which is open for bidding until 24 March, and includes not only some of the most famous movie artwork of 20th century Hollywood, but also the signatures of the world's biggest movie stars from Robert De Niro to Tom Cruise.
Why did you decide to start collecting film posters?
"Years back, a lot of people would buy 10x8 stills from shops and memorabilia stores. I’ve always been buying original posters – if I liked the film, I had to buy the poster. I’d watch the film on VHS at home and we used to hang up the posters, like cinemas used to do in the olden days.
Back then no one would buy original posters because one, they were expensive, and two, they were so big, like the size of a window frame."
What has your experience of collecting signatures been like?
"It’s mainly me standing at a premiere for up to ten, fifteen hours, just to get a signature. You go in early in the morning at six or seven and wait right until the evening, until the stars have done their press and they’ve done their introduction to the film. I would spend hours waiting in the cold. Sometimes I’d have four layers on. Sometimes I’d get lucky; sometimes I wouldn’t get lucky. But when I got the actual signature, there was no feeling like it. It feels like you’ve won the lottery.
If I told you how stressful it was, you would not believe me, especially unrolling the posters. With a10x8 still, you use a clipboard but with posters, it wasn’t easy, especially with big tubes. Some would be linen backed, some would be rolled, some would be folded. It was a nightmare.
My wife said I'm mad and I must admit that sometimes I thought so too."
What kind of response did you get from actors and directors?
"A long time ago, stars were really grateful for you coming out and giving up your evening to wait outside the cinema in the snow, the rain. It was always raining – especially at the BAFTAs. Stars and directors would often say they hadn’t seen my posters in years; they really took the time to sign it and thank me because it brought fond memories back. They would have a massive grin on their faces. They’d tell me a little story, or ask how I’d got all these signatures all together.
Roger Moore was one of my favourite Bond actors. He was such a lovely gentleman. He would say, ‘Everyone make an orderly queue, I will sign for everyone’."
Does it sometimes just depend on luck?
"It’s all luck. It’s not all overnight. Like Quentin Tarantino, for example, I’d get his Reservoir Dogs signed, then I’d wait for Michael Madsen, and then another star to sign that poster. It was a long labour of love.
A lot of film stars can be very funny characters. On one day they can sign for everybody under the sun but you catch them on the wrong day and they won’t sign anything for anybody. That’s collecting for you. It’s one of those things; you can’t win them all."
Who were you most starstruck by?
"Tom Cruise. He would come to every premiere for two or three hours, and I must have met him about three times. He’s the nicest man you could ever meet. He would come for the fans. I’ve seen him sign an American dollar; anything you put in front of him, Tom Cruise would sign. I asked him why he always does it and he said ‘The public have made me, and I never forget that’. I thought that was a lovely touch."
What’s your favourite poster from the collection and why?
"I’ve got to say Mean Streets. It’s signed by De Niro and Scorsese and Harvey Keitel – the main three big hitters of that film.
And the number one reason is the artwork. It’s by a famous artist called Guy Peellaert – he was a French artist, who unfortunately has passed away. But mainly I collect posters of films that I grew up with. I’d say Taxi Driver is my second favourite."
Which piece will be the hardest to let go?
"If I’m completely honest, it’s the Raging Bull poster signed by De Niro, the boxer Jake La Motta, writer Paul Schrader and Scorsese. Also, Thelma Schoonmaker, the famous editor who works on all the Scorsese films. It took me so many years to get that many people on that poster.
Martin Scorsese told me that he's hardly signed anything with La Motta, and La Motta said to me that Robert De Niro could have been easily a professional fighter; he worked that hard, he was so good as a boxer. Robert De Niro was very hard to get but when he saw Jake La Motta, he turned to me and he said, ‘Kid, he was a true legend’. He got a little bit sad, a little bit emotional with me."
Do you consider these posters to be works of art?
"Definitely they are works of art. Like Raging Bull for instance – that was done by a famous Japanese artist, Kunio Hagio.The detail of De Niro’s face – it gives a true definition. You can see the sweat pouring off him. It’s superb.
I don’t tend to go for photographic posters. I like to go for the artwork where people have spent hours drawing to entice the public to come and see the film."
Have you ever regretted not buying a poster?
"Oh yes! There were loads of posters I wanted to buy, but when you’ve got a family and you’re starting out, buying your first house, everything gets tight. I’d have liked to have bought all the Hitchcock films but I couldn’t afford it back then, especially the early Psycho. That is some lovely artwork."
Who would be your dream person to sign a poster?
"Alfred Hitchcock. I’d love to have got him to sign my Rear Window poster, with James Stewart. It would have been fantastic, but wrong era unfortunately."
Can you remember your first visit to the cinema?
"Rambo was the first film I saw, in Woolwich. I remember being so excited; I hadn’t seen anything like it. Coming out excited, I thought to myself ‘I’ve got to get the poster’. Luckily, going round London in the early 80s you’d come across shops. There was a famous film shop called Flashback – unfortunately no longer there – but I used to get a few posters from there.
Do you feel cinema has lost the spark it once had or do you think it has changed for the good?
"I do think it’s lost its spark. Like Martin Scorsese said, to get the funding for films nowadays is such a hard task. I’ve been collecting Scorsese films for years and years, and a lot of these new directors can’t find the money. Either you’ve got to go through Netflix, a smaller channel, or Amazon, unless you’re a big, well-known name. But a lot of cinemas now are struggling to keep their doors open because of streaming.
Don’t get me wrong, Netflix iPhones and iPads are fantastic but my argument would be that a film is made to be seen at the cinema. When you watch it at home, it doesn’t give the true reflection of how the director wants you to see it. Especially the sound, the editing, the music. Going to the cinema for me, was a treat."
Will you continue to collect posters and signatures?
"I am an old man now, but it’s become a young kids’ game: staying up all night, hunting these celebrities from one hotel to another. When you would go to approach a film star or a director, I would say, ‘Please sir, do you mind signing this poster, please?’. I would have a certain way of saying it – a bit of etiquette. Be polite. But now it’s like a free for all, like a pack of wolves. If you go to a premiere now, it’s like hyenas waiting at the barriers, it really is ferocious."
