First Indian film museum to open in Mumbai

Indian film industry crown, Bollywood has completed more than 100 years in the nation. Traces of Indian cinema’s history from the black-and-white silent era to its musical modern blockbusters clearly appear at the government-funded National Museum, set in 19th century heritage bungalow in south Mumbai.

The first Indian film museum which costs nearly $20 million and took about seven years to open in Mumbai. The museum showcases original artefacts, memorabilia, recordings and film making tools Spread across two floors of the 6,000 square foot building.

Curator Amrit Gangar said, “It’s about time India had its own film museum. We have archives, but not a museum and today a museum can become vibrant because of technology and interactivity.”

Anil Kumar, head of marketing at the government’s Films Division said, “The museum was ready and would open within the next few weeks and all the film making centres of India have been represented.

Gangar said, “The curators of the project were faced with big gap as many things have been lost. Such as, print of India’s first “talkie”, the film “Alam Ara” in 1931, was destroyed in a fire. We have only one percent of early silent films left. Therefore, this is not a museum of collections, but a museum of information, interaction and education through a sensory experience.”

Kumar said, “We didn’t get much, but we got a few things through donations and purchases. Many things have previously been amassed by private collectors. This museum will be more educational. The museum would take visitors through the journey of Indian cinema, from pre-cinema to the silent era to talkies to songs, the studio system, new wave and digital.”

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