The National Museum of Indian Cinema was inaugurated by the Honorable Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi on 19th January 2019.
This museum is set-up in two buildings –
‘Gulshan Mahal’ a 19th century structure which houses the classical history and the early years of motion pictures…from silent era to the talkie movies.The museum interior is exquisitely designed with vintage style flooring’s, wooden doors and windows, lamps, pastel colored walls… all finely blended to create a royal ambience.
The cinematic Journey of Hindi and Regional cinema is artistically displayed with antique film equipment’s, posters, photographs, camera’s and pieces of significance that unravels the evolutionary struggle of India cinema.
The New Museum Building with glass exterior houses the museum across four floors. This part of the cinematic history is a mix of contemporary art, costumes, music, production equipment and advancements in use of technology and special effects. It gracefully displays the legends of cinema and their work.
A gallery in the new building lays special emphasis on Mahatma Gandhi (1869 – 1948) and his life struggle coinciding with the history of cinema. Film historians recalls the influence of this great personality had on movie making and films that were produced around India’s political and freedom struggle.
A statue of the Mahatma seated on a chair watching a screening gives a real life experience to a visitor.
It is also believed that Charlie Chaplin, an English comic actor took inspiration from the Mahatma for couple of his films.
To enrich a visitor experience and make it more engaging, both the museums are well equipped with advanced interactive screens, headphones for audio sounds, projectors that plays documentaries and making of movies on walls while you walk through the sections.
One gallery is fully dedicated for Children’s film studio and classified as children activity area to provide an immersive experience. This part of the museum with its exhibits is designed to give an hands on experience to children with interactive multi-screen theatre, stop-motion animation studio, virtual makeover, photo shooting studio, sounds effects studio and much more.
The museum is located at the Films Division Complex, Peddar Road, Mumbai.
Location on Google Map – National Museum of Indian Cinema
Entry fee to the museum is Rs. 20 for Indian nationals and for international tourist it is 7 dollars or 6 Euros.
A one hour documentary is screened inside Audi II in the ground floor between 4pm to 5pm everyday and the cost is included in the ticket.
The museum is closed on Monday’s and public holidays and is open for public between 11am to 6pm for rest of the week.
Photos taken during my visit:
Author: Vijay Malhotra, Mumbai
Hi nice readiing your post
Thank you Aden