Indian cinema created identity for India in world: Anurag Thakur

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 21 (ANI): Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur on Wednesday visited the National Museum of Indian Cinema (NMIC) at the Films Division Complex on Pedder Road in Mumbai and said that Indian cinema has succeeded in creating an identity for India in the world.

According to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the Museum is housed in two buildings - the 19th-century heritage structure the Gulshan Mahal and the custom-built New Museum Building.

After taking a visual tour of the Museum, the Minister said, "National Museum of Indian Cinema is a must-visit for those interested in films, especially Indian films; your visit to Mumbai will be incomplete if you don't visit NMIC when you are in Mumbai."

Thakur encouraged film buffs and film enthusiasts across the country to visit the NMIC to know about the history of Indian cinema and its evolution.

"This is a heritage of India, every person should visit this place, especially those who are interested in films and Indian cinema," the Minister said.

"Spend some time here in NMIC and the Museum will take you back 100 years when cinema was made without any modern-day technology or equipment," he said.

"Today we talk about animation, visual effects, graphics and gaming, technology, but here we will get to see how films were made in those days in the absence of these and what progress has been made until today," he added.

The Minister also remarked about the pain taken by the filmmakers and technicians of those times in carrying such big cameras on rough terrain to shoot films.

He said how technology has brought ease to human life and to filmmaking itself.

Speaking about the role of cinema the Union Minister said, "Indian cinema is our country's soft power which rules the hearts of millions of people across the world."

He also remarked that through entertainment, Indian cinema has succeeded in creating an identity for India in the world.

He said that the highest number of films in the world are made in India.

While displays at Gulshan Mahal heritage building, spread over eight different halls of various sizes, trace the history of Indian Cinema from the silent era to the new wave, the New Museum Building houses mostly interactive displays.

The Ministry further said film properties, vintage equipment, posters, copies of important films, promotional leaflets, soundtracks, trailers, transparencies, old cinema magazines, statistics covering filmmaking and distribution and others are displayed in a systematic manner depicting the history of Indian cinema in chronological order.

Director-General of Films Division Ravindra Bhakar gave an overview of the Museum.

As is customary, the Minister also planted a sapling at the premises of the NMIC and held a review meeting with the officials of the Films Division, NMIC, Central Board of Film Certification and NFDC.

In May, the NMIC Complex, comprising state-of-the-art auditoriums, will host the 17th Mumbai International Film Festival for Documentary, Shorts and Animation Films (MIFF).

Earlier in the day, the Minister inaugurated the Times Group's India Economic Conclave and delivered the key-note address. (ANI)

Source: National