Bollywood museum, Mumbai

Abstract

Bollywood has completed its 100 years in 2013 and we have a huge collection of movies showing how gradually we have evolved in our lifestyle through the medium of moving pictures. Introducing the museum of moving images will not only help in preserving the rich heritage of Indian cinema but will be helpful in making it more global and known to the world. Currently no such building is existing which could work in this fashion, this makes the project even more interesting, unique and challenging to work on. The thesis report provokes thoughts about the purpose of a museum or more importantly, the importance of narratives in the museum setting. A museum helps to collect the significant data of the past and the present and gives a chance to the viewers to reflect back on what is prevailing in our society and its consequences. Narratives in a museum, however tend to be more focused or incident driven, and try to put the visitor into the shoes of a stranger for a better sensitization of the topic. Narratives seek to aggravate the feelings of a person and make him emotionally attached to the incident and bring out the compassion desired for a better social outlook. The Bollywood Museum, as a museum, aims to reflect back to the society and cinema, of the century long run so far. With it, it aims to enlighten the people of the various tough unknown process in the art of film making and the various difficulties or technologies the cinema faces to give audience a couple of hours of entertainment. It will house a vast collection of movies, songs, texts and tapes etc. of anything and everything related to Indian cinema and will showcase them. It will aspire to become the hub of cinema enthusiasts and revive the past glorious times. Through this it will reflect back on the progress of Indian cinema and guide people to better judgement of present day movies. It will host numerous exhibits displaying the various technique used in movie making, technological advancements and about the peoples‘ lives related to cinema. Through various interesting features like interactive display, time-line and simulation exhibits, it will try to spring out emotions in people by demanding introspection and judgement from their point of view. This will increase the respect for Indian cinema in the eyes of every citizen and visitors could judge movies more critically. Thus will have a better opinion about the modern day Indian cinema and this will have a positive impact on the society and will lead Indian cinema to a better future. The dynamism and vitality of Bollywood is reflected in every part of the design for the museum. For the visitor it is a destination, a place to spend the day exploring and learning about Bollywood, right in the heart of the industry. With its dynamic spaces and multiple elements, the museum is a community resource that people will feel excited to enjoy again and again. On this spectacular and strategically placed site at the very door to Film city and Bollywood itself, the approach to the museum reveals landscaped terraces leading towards a set of courtyard surrounded building blocks. The museum and site borrow from the Parsi theatrical influence on Bollywood films, which is ―blended realism and fantasy, music and dance, narrative and spectacle, earthy dialogue and ingenuity of stage presentation, integrated into dramatic discourse of melodrama.