To further the endeavour of preserving film history, the FTII with the help of students of Arts Direction and Production Design has allocated one corner of the institute to display the glorious moments of the times of Prabhat Film Company. This studio reopened for the public last week.

Inaugurated by the hands of Dr U R Ananthamurthy, chairman FTII, on February 29, the museum is a mesmerising journey from The King Of Ayodhya, the first talkie in 1932 to Kunku in 1938. It also takes you through the stills from numerous films that include movies like Sairandhree(1933) and Sant Tukaram(1936) and enlivens the era of black and white. The museum displays the remains of sets of a number of films, true witnesses to legends like Balgandharva, Vishnupant Pagnis and Durga Khote--the arches used on sets, the beds and the pillars, the museum has it all. It also showcases the ornaments that the actors used during shoots. The artistic lamps of various kinds placed in the passage are true representatives of the effort and creativity with which the sets were designed.

"History has a different nostalgia. We have had a glorious past and it is very important that when our creativity comes to a standstill we get back to history for creativity," said Dr Ananthamurthy, as he walked through the passage of the Prabhat museum that displays the rise and the fall of Prabhat studio. "We always had this treasure with us. It's just that it was neglected. With this museum we will be able to recollect the lost glory," says Mahesh Taware, head of department, Arts Direction and Production Design.