Prashant Singh (HINDUSTAN TIMES; August 28, 2020)

Have you ever yearned to find out what went behind the making of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, or maybe, taking a sneak-peek at the history of classics such as Silsila or Chandni? We have exclusively learnt that all this will soon be possible, thanks to Bollywood’s first-ever museum. Apparently, as a part of the 50th year celebrations of his family banner, filmmaker Aditya Chopra is planning to unveil the plans of a museum dedicated to all the projects made under the banner.

“Yes, that’s true. If everything goes as per plans, there will be a museum at the earliest, in the name of Adi’s family banner. The whole concept is a part of the 50th year celebrations [of the production house], which will take off on the 88th birth anniversary of Yash ji [Chopra’s father, late filmmaker Yash Chopra] next month. People will have access to experience the legacy of so many classics/hits made by the family banner. In fact, it’s been Adi’s long-cherished dream to have such a museum,” says an industry insider.

It’s believed that in terms of “sheer grandness and appeal”, the museum could be “compared to something like the Fox Lot in Los Angeles.” For the uninitiated, at the LA studios, the museum houses several things such as costumes, rare posters, memorabilia, pictures, videos and the entire history [of films]. “Yash ji’s films, and the entire banner, has had a rich history of coming up with some of the most iconic Hindi movies. The museum aims to help fans relive those special moments and nostalgia that they have lived with over the years,” adds the insider.

While the announcement is likely to be made as a part of the 50th year celebrations of Chopras’ banner, insiders feel building “something as ambitious as a museum will take some time.” “It will take some time before work [on the museum] begins. No one knows but it may take up to a couple of years as well. But Adi and his entire team is kicked about going ahead with it at the earliest,” says the insider. The spokesperson of Chopra’s production house remained unavailable for a comment.