It's
a place to celebrate life on canvas and silver screen.
It is the result of an experiment to discover new meaning
between the living art form of Indian folk-tribal culture
and the most dynamic medium of our time, Cinema.
Anxious about the place? It is none other than 'Cinema
Ghar' in Hyderabad, which is really a tribute to Indian
art and cinema from Dada Saheb Phalke awardee and
celebrity artist, M.F. Hussain.
Located in Banjara Hills, 'Cinema Ghar' is now
a must visit museum in Hyderabad, where the spirit of
art is reflected. So does Cinema. "It was 20 years
ago that I bought this plot of land in Hyderabad. Later,
I felt like constructing on it and started work without
any special plan. The construction went on for about six
years. Then I dreamt of turning the place into a museum
for the 'Art of Living' to translate my vision
into reality," said Hussain about Cinema Ghar.
The
exterior of 'Cinema Ghar' appears in black and white shade
and the moment you climb a marble staircase you are led
to a world of colour inside. A big white violin and
mridangam, which figure in his Gaja Gamini
are strategically placed to catch the eye. Walk around
the meandering verandah, which leads you to rooms, designed
artistically by Hussain himself. On one side, the museum
houses a library of about 2,000 books on art, cinema,
music, dance, computer, science and technology. The library
is indeed worth exploring for its rich contents particularly
for research scholars. Another room houses paintings,
which are Hussain's conception of David, Da Vinci,
De Mello's paintings and few others from the
Gaja Gamini series (particularly the one where
Madhuri Dixit is Monalisa). The portraits
of Satyajit Ray, Kurosawa and Dilip Kumar
are also housed in the museum.
"By
then, I had seen the box office film, Hum Aapke Hain
Kaun, I discovered Madhuri Dixit, whose body language
I found fascinating. It is body language that speaks in
my paintings too. So I abandoned my 'Art of Living' idea
and turned my thoughts for starting a museum of cinema
and art in Hyderabd,'Cinema Ghar'," Hussain said.
There are five rooms dedicated to stalwarts like Raj
Kapoor, Satyajit Ray, Guru Dutt and Bimal Roy.
These will be changed by rotation and fresh names
will figure in turn. The 100-feet long painted script
of Gaja Gamini is also on display in the museum.
A
40-seat 'Preview Theatre' was built for screening
of Indian as well as foreign classics. Two films are screened
daily in the museum and the doors are open to the public
without an entry fee. "We have sponsorship from Godrej.
What I plan is an educative experience for the public.
There should be no barriers between art and cinema,"
Hussain told. "Today Hyderabad has become very relevant
and is a big centre for cinema. There are teams coming
to Hyderabad from abroad to make films. So there is much
relevance in my opening this Museum for Art and Cinema
here and I am lucky to have bought the land when I did,"
he added.
As a place where art and cinema combines, Cinema Ghar
is also acknowledged as a 'Jewel in the crown of Hyderabad'.
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