The theme of the museum, to be called The Films' Museum of India, is the history of Indian cinema, right from the first talkie Raja Harishchandra in 1913 till date, informed M A Qureshi, superintending engineer with FD. This will be India's first ever film museum. A total area of 2,000 sq mts has been earmarked for the project, and it has been handed over to city-based architect Ulhas Rane. Construction is to be handled by one Radhakishen, who is out of town at the moment, informed Qureshi, who was formerly associated with the project.

The interiors and exteriors of Gulshan Mahal are already being spruced up. ``The new structure will be built along the lines of the original building design. It's just that the deteriorated parts willbe done up,'' said Qureshi. ``We hope to finish renovation by March 1999, after which a committee will be formed to plan details like space usage and other programmes. The museum should be ready the year after that,'' he added. Film makers and artistes are likely to be part of this committee.

The idea of setting up a film museum was mooted by then Information and Broadcasting Minister K P Singh Deo, informed Qureshi. The central government will fund the entire venture, whose construction costs alone have been pegged at Rs 1.5 crore. It will not only house photographs, but also old equipment, costumes and set designs, besides printed archival material.

Film makers and critics expressed their support for the government's move. ``It certainly is a very good idea. Cinema occupies an extremely important place in the area of mass entertainment in India,'' said director Shyam Benegal.

``We are known as the largest film producing nation in the world. It would be nice to have a film museum too,'' added filmcritic Ashok Rane. Director Prakash Jha told Express Newsline: ``What can be more exciting than a museum on cinema? I hope it grows and helps increase the lay person's knowledge of films.'' The world's first film museum, Cinematheque Francois, was built in Paris by Henry Longois, a Frenchman, in 1935.

But a major hitch, added film critics, is the project's ambitious plans to exhibit equipment and costumes. Film makers may be reluctant to part with their stocks of set designs and costumes, they pointed out.

``In the first place, most film makers have not preserved their costumes. R K Studios, V Shantaram's Raj Kamal Studios and Kamal Amrohi's Kamalistan Studios are perhaps the only production houses to have maintained costumes and set designs besides their equipment,'' informed Rane.

What could bolster the museum's itinerary are handwritten scripts, directorial notes and old posters preserved by the National Film Archive of India (NFAI) at Pune. While the government is yet to approach filmindustry bigwigs for their contributions, it may soon do so to fill out the 2,000 sq metres of space.