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A glimpse into history of Indian cinema through national museum
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the National Museum of Indian Cinema on 19 January
Mumbai: The century-old journey of Indian cinema is set to come to life again on Saturday with the inauguration of the country’s first National Museum of Indian Cinema (NMIC) in Mumbai.
Several Bollywood figures and other personalities are expected to attend the inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The museum has been built by NBCC (India) Limited and is housed in an elegant 19th century heritage bungalow, Gulshan Mahal, along with another newly built state-of-the-art NMIC building that has five floors and two mezzanine floors with a total built up area of 12,000sq. metres.
The museum will be a delight for movie buffs and researchers as it will house equipment such as cameras, recording machines, projectors, posters of old movies, artefacts of Bollywood and biographies of stars. The complex will also house a gift shop.
The complex will be testimony to India’s rich history of cinema. The first silent movie in India was Raja Harishchandra made by Dadasaheb Phalke in 1913 and the first film with sound was Ardeshir Irani’s Alam Ara in 1931. Today India’s cinema industry has a wide global audience.
The museum, which was conceived of in 1997, has been designed by the National Council of Science Museums and implemented by the films division under the ministry of information and technology. The project was delayed because of controversies and a legal battle.
“We are immensely proud to have constructed and restored an edifice that will narrate the rich history of Indian cinema. Completing a project that lies at the heart of a congested city, without compromising on the quality of construction, speaks volumes of NBCC’s capabilities and engineering expertise. We are grateful to the ministry of information and broadcasting for letting us be a partner in showcasing India’s rich cinematic legacy to the public,” said NBCC chairman and managing director Anoop Kumar.
Gulshan Mahal, a Victorian bungalow built in the neo-Gothic style, which once drew luminaries to its musical soirées and cultural gatherings, is now equipped with modern amenities and facilities, including expansive auditoriums, in a endeavour to make the complex a potential movie hub, he said.
The complex houses a multi-purpose hall that is designed to be used as a movie preview theatre and for social functions, conferences and seminars.
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First Published:18 Jan 2019, 01:37 AM IST
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