While it has many names since its first discovery, few other terms describe the city of Mumbai as well as ‘City of Dreams’. From the bylanes of Dharavi to crowded compartments of local trains, its citizens continue to harbour dreams. The ongoing exhibition, A Cinematic Imagination: Josef Wirsching and Bombay Talkies by the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) and Jehangir Nicholson Art Foundation in collaboration with The Alkazi Foundation for the Arts is an example of early dreamers. This weekend, a panel discussion will seek to examine the legacy of Wirsching’s works and the impact of Bombay Talkies on cinema, culture and the city itself.

Rahaab Allana, curator for Alkazi Foundation of the Arts says, “If you look at the material we have, and the legacy of the studio, it talks of technology and innovation at a time when filming was just beginning to take root. It is important in terms of its context; not just by what they did, but the world they were doing it in. It is a world that was on the cusp of change.”