Mumbai, Apr 21 (PTI) Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur on Thursday said Indian cinema is the country's soft power that rules the hearts of millions across the world.

Thakur made these remarks after a visit to the National Museum of Indian Cinema (NMIC) at the Films Division Complex here.

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He said that through entertainment, Indian cinema has succeeded in creating an identity for the country in the world.

India makes the highest number of movies in the world, he noted.

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The museum, housed in two buildings – the 19th Century heritage structure, Gulshan Mahal, and the custom-built New Museum Building – caught Thakur's attention.

“The NMIC is a must-visit for those interested in films, especially Indian films; your visit to Mumbai will be incomplete if you don't visit it,” Thakur said.

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

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

“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.

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

Film properties, vintage equipment, posters, copies of important films, promotional leaflets, sound tracks, trailers, transparencies, old cinema magazines, statistics covering film making and distribution are displayed in a systematic manner depicting the history of Indian cinema in a chronological order.

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

Thakur also planted a sapling at the NMIC premises and held a review meeting with the officials of Films Division, NMIC, the Central Board of Film Certification and the National Film Development Corporation of India.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)