Sonil Dedhia visited the bylanes of Mumbai's Chor Bazaar with photographer Hitesh Harisinghani and stumbled upon a tiny shop selling rare posters of Hindi movies.

On a busy Friday afternoon, Chor Bazaar -- situated in South Mumbai -- is lively and bustling with people, bursting with sounds and vibrant colours. Right from a microwave oven to I-Phones to imported pens and gadgets, everything is for sale on the streets here.

In a tiny and bustling lane that leads away from Chor Bazaar's Mutton Street stands Haji Abu's Poster Stuff, which exclusively sells Bollywood posters and other Hindi film memorabilia.

As I enter his shop, I remember Naseeruddin Shah's famous dialogue in Hero Hiralal -- 'Phata poster nikla hero'.

My grandfather started collecting posters back in 1940. He loved watching movies and his legacy was passed on to my father and then to me," says Abu. He had lots of posters and nowhere to store them so I thought why not sell them."

The posters are stored in hardboard tubes. Abu recalls that the first poster he bought -- it was of Amitabh Bachchan's Don -- cost him Rs 300.

"I got it very cheap. Even today, Bachchan's film posters sell like hot cakes," he says.

His favourites? "I love Guru Dutt. All his movies were black and white. Pyaasa's poster has a different charm to it. I also like the poster of Chaudvin Ka Chand."

Abu's shop is so famous that recently Ranbir Kapoor's Wake Up Sid was shot here.

"Ranbir had come to my shop. Although he didn't buy anything, he was quite impressed with my collection."

Abu agrees that a lot of fake posters are available in the market. "It's difficult to differentiate between the real and fake. Generally we check for the name of the printer or the painter at the bottom of the poster."

Of modern day films, the ones whose posters are most in demand are Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Andaz Apna Apna and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. 

And, of course, "Shah Rukh Khan is everyone's favourite, so posters like DDLJ, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and My Name Is Khan are easily sold."

Recently, his collection was showcased at the International Indian Film Academy Awards held in Canada. The exhibition included a wide selection of original hand-painted posters and billboards from local and international collections. There was a special mention of Abu along with the posters in a magazine published by IIFA called Picture House: The Art of Bollywood.

Abu doesn't know about the future but currently he is very happy and satisfied with his work, "I don't know if anyone will continue with this, but currently, I am glad that I am able to turn my passion into my business," he says.