First ever Museum of Indian Cinema to be inaugurated by Narendra Modi in Mumbai

Guwahati: Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi is set to inaugurate the first-of-its-kind museum on Indian cinema which is being named as the National Museum of Indian Cinema (NMIC) on Saturday. A museum said to have covered the entire film industry of the nation right from the inception to till date, is going to give a never before experience to its visitors and is designed to be huge enough to take two buildings under it.

This museum is going to keep a vibrant history of the Indian film industry being well divided into two buildings. The two building comprises of a New Museum Building and the 19th-century historic palace Gulshan Mahal both of which are based in the Films Division campus in Mumbai. The museum is built at a cost of Rs 140.61 crore and is designed to give its visitors a complete glimpse of the film industry in a storytelling mode. The storytelling will be accompanied by visuals, graphics, artifacts, interactive exhibits, and multimedia expositions.

What is more, there are collections on some of the historical scenes of blockbuster movies that will be remembered for several other years to come. Landmark scenes from films like Dadasaheb Phalke’s Raja Harishchandra and Kaliya Mardan can be cited as an instance here. Also, there are replicas of old cameras and long-missing shooting equipment with rare photographs which are nowhere to be found now.

To make the history of cinema look more meaningful and attractive, posters have also been used through which the map of the journey of Indian cinema over the last century is being portrayed. In the Gulshan Mahal verandah, visitors can have a glimpse of the posters, booklets, lobby cards and other exhibits related to the Indian cinema.

The museum is created is under the guidance of the Museum Advisory Committee headed by Shyam Benegal in association with an innovation committee headed by Prasoon Joshi.

The constructor of the museum Navratna public sector undertaking NBCC (India) Limited, in its statement under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, has said, “In an endeavour to make the entire complex a potential ‘film hub’, the Victorian-Gothic era complex, which once drew luminaries to its musical soirées and cultural gatherings, is now well-equipped with modern amenities and facilities, including expansive auditoriums. In addition to this, the complex houses a multi-purpose hall that has been designed to be used as a movie preview theatre and for social functions, conferences and other seminars.”

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