Tracing the Long Journey of Indian Cinema at the National Museum of Indian Cinema in Mumbai

PM Modi on Saturday, 19th January, inaugurated National Museum of Indian Cinema in Mumbai. The event was aimed at exhibiting the achievements and accomplishment of Film Industry, tracing the journey Indian Cinema has travelled so far. The inauguration ceremony was attended by numerous Bollywood stars like veteran actor Manoj Kumar, Amir Khan, Kangana Ranaut, filmmaker Rohit Shetty, Anand L Rai and Karan Johar.

Importance of Cinema in Modern Society

Highlighting the impact of modern cinema on our society, the Prime Minister said that films and society are a reflection of each other. He said that whatever we see in movies are a representation of what’s happening in society and whatever is happening in society can be very well seen in the films. He said that he can see a change in the modern day cinema, depicting a change in the nation. He added that earlier poverty was considered a virtue, but today the cinema is also providing a billion solutions to million problems persistent in the society.

Interesting Facts About the National Museum of Indian Cinema

• Built across two buildings, which includes the newly built 5-storey museum building and the existing Gulshan Mahal which is almost 100 years old.
• The film museum in Mumbai will trace the journey of Indian Cinema, starting from the silent era of the Indian Cinema to modern day superhits, highlighting India’s rich film heritage.
• The National Film Museum Mumbai has four walls – Gandhi and Cinema, Children’s Film Studio, Technology and Creativity and Indian Cinema and Cinema across India.
• The museum also houses artefacts, editing and recording machines, old camera, projectors, iconic costumes and never-seen-before photographs of filmmaking in India, depicting unknown facts about Indian Cinema.
• The museum of cinema has a 30-hours long digitised footage of World War II. The footage aims to educate the world about the sacrifice of 1.5 Indian soldiers who lay down their lives during World War II.

Bridging the Gap between Cinema and Government

Inaugurating the first cinema museum in Mumbai, Prime Minister also discussed the issues faced by film fraternity. Stating the points raised by two delegations that met Prime Minister in weeks prior to the inauguration, he said that the Government is working to curb the piracy and camcording. He also added that after hearing the issue of difficulty in getting film permissions, CBFC (Central Board of Film Certification) is working on launching an online portal, which will ease the process of getting film certification in a time-bound manner.

He also added that the current government has gotten rid of 1400-odd laws that were irrelevant under their ease of doing business policy and he urged the audience to come up with more suggestion that will help to ease the filmmaking process.

Promoting Indian Cinema Across the Global Spectrum

Prime Minister also praised the film industry for being an active contributor to the social discussions pertaining to social issues. He added that films are not just for entertainment purpose but they have also been promoting the tourism in India. He also added that films like Bahubali, which has an international fan base similar to movies like Batman, have put Indian film industry on the global stage. He said that there is a need to train the youth of the country in several technical skills to match up to the global standards. In order to achieve that, he added, we need Communication and Entertainment University. If anyone desires to open such university, he assured, would get government’s support.

Expected to be one of the top tourist attractions in Mumbai, the cinema museum is a must-visit destination for cinema lovers. Exhibiting the history of Indian Cinema and interesting facts about Bollywood, the museum will provide insight into the filmmaking process. So, don’t wait anymore and unravel the secrets of Indian cinema at the National Museum of Indian Cinema in Mumbai.