VISAKHAPATNAM : ‘Museum of Cinema’ depicting the art of filmmaking and the craft was inaugurated at the Rama Naidu studios, marking the 79th birth anniversary of the doyen producer D Rama Naidu who holds a Guinness Book of World Records for making more than 150 films in 13 Indian languages.
In an attempt to narrate the story of film-making to the future generations, evolution of camera’s production beginning from the silent era in 1921 to the latest digital technologies was on a lavish display at the museum. The Mitchell and Arri 11 CBR Camera used for the Indian bilingual film ‘Pathala Bhairavi’ in 1951, Ramudu-Bheemudu in 1964, Kalisundam Ra in 2000 and many more were exhibited.
It was a treat for the cinema lovers who always wondered about the equipment of yesteryears that weaved magic on the celluloid but have become obsolete now in the wake of latest technologies.
“It’s a humble attempt to make people know the equipment and the skills behind making films,” said Daggubati Suresh Babu, owner and managing director of Suresh Productions and son of D Rama Naidu. “In the first phase, we displayed the equipment. Next comes the history of cinema, artifacts, costumes, shields and scripts. Our aim is to make it a finest cine museum of the country,” Suresh told Express.
Another audio-video room in the studio is also getting ready where the visitors can watch old classic movies. “For every 3-6 months, we will keep adding the good old things about cinema. We are planning to exhibit the equipment used for the Prabhas-starrer ‘Bahubali’ too,” he added. The films in the olden days had 300 prints a day using the machinery which has taken to the digital route. We have preserved those old reels in the museum. “Plans are afoot to make a library of the scripts of all 150 films produced by D Ramanaidu,” said theatre personality L Satyanand. Minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao inaugurated the museum.