Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveils India's first cinema museum

The medium of films is a silent power that can quietly influence thought process and contribute to bringing out major social changes and boost development in the country, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he inuagrated India's first National Musuem of Indian Cinema (NMIC) in Mumbai yesterday.

"How's the josh," the PM asked the audience Uri style as he took a tour of the museum after opening it out in the presence of a galaxy of past and present Bollywood personalities like Manoj Kumar, Aamir Khan, AR Rahman, Asha Bhosle, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, Randhir Kapoor, Karan Johar, Madhur Bhandarkar, Kiran Shantaram, Boney Kapoor, David Dhawan, Rohit Shetty, Waheeda Rehman, Jeetendra Kapoor, Asha Parekh, Pankaj Kapoor, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Parineeti Chopra, Divya Dutta, and many others in attendance. Maharashtra Governor C.V. Rao, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, union ministers Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Ramdas Athawale, Shyam Benegal, Prasoon Joshi and other dignitaries were also present on the occasion.

"Films are identified with social changes. They have the knack to catch the future developments. Films help integrate our people who speak hundreds of different languages and thousands of dialects, the vastly diverse cultures, boost tourism in a big way and help generate employment opportunities, thus contributing immensely to the nation-building process," said Modi.

He pointed out that Indian films represent the country around the world, show a mirror to the people outside, help improve our image globally, with our films, music, songs, stars creating a long-lasting impact in many countries.

"Films also create hopes and aspirations among the people all over the country. Now, youngsters hailing from smaller towns or Tier II-III cities are emerging in a big way and creating waves in the film industry. Our strength is now coming out of such small places. This is a sign of changing times and society, problems are being portrayed along with solutions and obstacles are being removed. We are not overawed by problems, but work to resolve them. That's the determination of New India," he added.

He said that besides films, even Indian television serials like Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Ramayan among many others are becoming very popular abroad where people have a desire for a glimpse of the common Indian's life.

Besides, he said films with social messages like the need for toilets can catch the popular imagination and many filmmakers are already making a conscious effort in this direction.

The PM assured the government's full support to strengthen the film industry by setting up a university for films and entertainment and tweaking laws to tackle the challenges encountered by filmmakers including piracy and the future of digital and social media vis-a-vis films.