National Museum of Indian Cinema dedicated to the Nation

National Museum of Indian Cinema dedicated to the Nation

The National Museum of Indian Cinema (NMIC), an idea that was mooted several years earlier with an aspiration to make it a reality during the centenary of the Indian Cinema (2013), finally came to light with the magnificent inauguration of the Museum, by the Honourable Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi ji, on the 19th January 2019. The jam packed, star studded audience tempted the PM to begin his inaugural address in filmy style. He was at his cinematic best when he invoked the popular line from the recently released film “Uri: The Surgical Strike” with a “How's the josh” question. He repeated his question when he did not get a resounding response from the audience, only to be reciprocated with a thunderous applause and an unequivocal “High Sir” from the alert audience who by then had realised the contextual “Uri” question from the PM. The Honourable PM spent considerable amount of time visiting all the dour exhibition halls in the new building and also the exhibition at the Gulshan Mahal. I along with couple of my other colleagues from CRTL Kolkata were privileged to witness the historic opening of the Museum in which NCSM has played a pivotal role in the curation and development of all the museum exhibitions.

The Films Division and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, had tasked the NCSM to curate, design and develop this museum on turn key basis and ever since, two of the units of NCSM, the CRTL, Kolkata and our team, the Nehru Science Centre, Mumbai, have painstakingly worked on the curation, research and development of this Museum and we are very proud that finally, after several moments of tribulations and few triumphs, the Museum has been opened and dedicated to the nation by the Hon. PM.

A galaxy of distinguished dignitaries were present during the opening of the NMIC, which included the Honourable Governor of Maharashtra, Shri CV Rao, Shri Devendra Fadnavis, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, the union minister of I&B, Shri Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Shri Ramdas Athawale, Shri Shyam Benegal the Chairman of the Museum Advisory Committee and Shri Prasoon Joshi, Chairman CBFC. A galaxy of past and present Bollywood personalities that included; Manoj Kumar, Aamir Khan, A.R. Rahman, Asha Bhosle, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, Randhir Kapoor, Karan Johar, Madhur Bhandarkar, Kiran Shantaram, Boney Kapoor, David Dhawan, Rohit Shetty, Waheeda Rehman, Jeetendra Kapoor, Asha Parekh, Pankaj Kapoor, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Kangana Ranaut, Parineeti Chopra, Divya Dutta, and many others were also in attendance during the opening of the NMIC.

First of its kind not just in India but also in South Asia, the NMIC has been established in two phases at a cost of 144 Crore Rupees and is housed in two separate buildings. The first phase of the Museum has rightfully come up in the historic 19th century majestic Gulshan Mahal - sprawling Victorian Gothic bungalow -, which has been restored to retain its pristine grandeur. The second phase of the Museum has come up in the adjacent ultra modern state of the art building, together (the old and the new) the two buildings provide a holistic presentation of the story of the Indian Cinema with some spectacular artefacts, original film posters, lobby cards and innumerable other film memorabilia including the best of cameras of yesteryear’s, editing machines, lenses, magic lantern, lights, recording machines, film projectors, costumes etc. The Museum also boasts of some of the very rare film footage that include films like Dadasaheb Phalke’s Raja Harishchandra and Kaliya Mardan. The display also includes cameras and editing machines that the film maestros like Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen and V Shantaram used. The museum gives a visual narrative of the matinee idols and the silver screen divas and delves into the new wave, film certification, Regional Cinemas and the methods of film making.

The newly built state-of-the-art NMIC building, adjacent to the Gulshan Mahal has five floors and two mezzanine floors with a total built up area of 12000 square metres. The ground floor which includes the reception area also houses two state of the art auditoriums with the best of technological equipments and very well-equipped modern amenities and facilities. The building has four exhibition halls covering an area of some 2000 square metres. The first floor presents an exhibition titled “Gandhi and Cinema” which is a tribute to the father of the nation on his 150th birth anniversary. Gandhi, perhaps the most filmed personality, has an interesting connect with Cinema, which has been presented in this gallery. The next gallery in the second floor is the “Children’s Film Studio”, which presents children an opportunity to use some technological tools that are used in modern day cinema for producing special effects. The third floor exhibition is titled “Technology, Creativity and Indian Cinema” and houses some of the rare and vintage artefacts that include a range of cameras, and all other technological tools of yesteryear’s used in the making of the films. The fourth floor presents an exhibition titled “Cinema across India”, which covers the fascinating story of the Indian cinema spanning more than a century and covering the regional cinemas as well. This is the first museum dedicated to films in India. Through movie clips, photographs, film equipment and other film memorabilia, it will take visitors through the history of cinema from across the country.

Ever since the beginning of the technology that resulted in the development of the moving images, an idea which occurred to Thomas Alva Edison, which he describes in his famous quote “The idea occurred to me that it would be possible to devise an instrument which should do for the eye what the phonograph does for the ear”, there have been constant technological developments in the world of cinema the beginning and premiership of which goes to the famous Lumiere Brothers, who were among the first film makers in history. Auguste Marie Louis Nicolas and Louis Jean, Lumiere patented an improved cinematograph, which in contrast to Thomas Edison's "peepshow" kinetoscope allowed simultaneous viewing by multiple parties. This was the beginning of the cinema which started in 1895. The Lumiere Brothers came to present their historic cinema in Mumbai and on the 7th of July 1896 they presented six of their films at the famous Watson Hotel, the episode of which has been immortalised through projection mapping in the Museum.

The museum will be a delight not just for the movie buffs and researchers but also for all the Cine lovers. It is a testimony to India’s rich history of cinema that encompasses not just the bollywood but all other regional cinemas as well. Please do visit the Museum.