Website to celebrate 100 years of Indian Cinema

The National Film Archive of India, a unit of the union information and broadcasting ministry, will Friday launch a website to celebrate 100 years of Indian Cinema, an official said here.

"The website www.indiancinema100.com will showcase the journey of the Indian film industry that began when the first feature film, Raja Harishchandra was exhibited at the Coronation Cinema Hall in Mumbai on May 3, 1913," the official said Thursday.

Made by Dadasaheb Phalke, this film laid the foundation of the largest film producing country in the world. He made more than 100 films in a span of 20 years and in the process pioneered the film industry in India.

The website will be open to all film lovers who wish to post their articles, views, opinions on films and film-related issues.

"An expert committee will scrutinise the articles received from the public. Selected articles will be posted on the website," the official said.

"The main purpose of the website is to engage the film loving people of the country in celebrating the centenary of the film industry. This beautiful and momentous journey of Indian Cinema can be enjoyed by engaging with similar minded people within and outside the country," he added.

Articles need to be sent on [email protected] following a one-time registration on the site.

The site has a select collection of film posters and photos which will be a visual treat to film lovers. It also has rare and exclusive images of film luminaries like Satyajit Ray, Bimal Roy, Guru Dutt, Raj Kapoor, V. Shantaram, Hrishikesh Mukherjee, B.R. Chopra, Shammi Kapoor, Nargis, Waheeda Rehman and Asha Parekh among others.