First Indian film museum in heart of Bollywood provides an ‘education in cinema’
- The National Museum of Indian Cinema celebrates not just Bollywood but also the films made in the various regions and languages across India
- Fans can take selfies beside a statue of Bollywood icon Raj Kapoor and learn about India’s first feature film
From silent black-and-white films to colourful blockbusters bursting with song and dance, the evolution of Indian cinema is traced by a new museum in the home of Bollywood.
Costing 1.4 billion rupees (US$19.6 million), India’s first national film museum is spread across a stylish 19th-century bungalow and a modern five-storey glass structure in south Mumbai.
“It showcases to the world outside what Indian cinema has achieved in its entirety over more than 100 years,” Amrit Gangar, a consulting curator on the project, says.
Movie-mad India today produces around 1,500 films a year, dwarfing even Hollywood’s output.
The government-funded National Museum of Indian Cinema boasts stacks of memorabilia, recordings and filmmaking tools as well as interactive touch screens where visitors can watch clips from memorable films.