5 Must-See Exhibits At The National Museum Of Indian Cinema

Mumbai’s newly-opened museum is a treasure trove of films, multimedia, graphics, artefacts and more. Here are some of the must-see exhibits.

- Meghna Panwar

With more than a century of legacy behind it, the Indian film industry is nearly as old as Hollywood, and older than many of its European and Asian counterparts. It famously makes more movies a year than Hollywood and Europe combined, so there was a pressing need for a museum dedicated to cinema in the country. The National Museum of Indian Cinema (NMIC) is finally here, housed in the historical complex of the Films Division on Mumbai’s Peddar Road. The exhibits are showcased in two buildings — a stunningly restored 19th Century bungalow called Gulshan Mahal, and a contemporary five-floor glass façade building. While the new building has four exhibition halls, Gulshan Mahal features nine sections, each detailing different aspects in the evolution of both the movies and Indian cinema: Origin of Cinema, Cinema Comes to India, Indian Silent Film, Advent of Sound, The Studio Era, The Impact of World War II, Creative Resonance, New-Wave and beyond, and Regional Cinema. Besides artefacts, posters and documents, film clippings and diorama mulmedia kiosks, Gulshan Mahal also houses a 30-seat mini theatre. With help from Prashant Pathrabe, Director General of Films Division, and documentary film-maker Manohar Singh Bisht, who is also the technical head of the museum, we present five sections of the museum that are a must-see for anyone interested in cinema.

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