Three short films on tribal icon Birsa Munda’s life and message will be shown at the old Birsa Munda Central Jail along Circular Road in Ranchi from April.

The 180-year-old jail, where freedom fighter Birsa Munda was hanged, is currently being renovated and converted into a museum at an estimated cost of Rs 31 crore.

The project is being funded by the Union ministry of tribal affairs and executed by Jharkhand Urban Infrastructure Development Company (Juidco) Limited.

“A Delhi-based company is undertaking renovation of the interiors of the Birsa Munda museum. The short films of 10-minute duration each on different aspects of Birsa Munda’s life will be shown on big screens at the three barracks of the old jail,” Juidco spokesperson Ashutosh Kumar Singh said.

The first barrack will show the film on Birsa’s childhood and education while the second barrack will screen the film covering the tribal icon’s adolescent phase till he gained self-awareness, Singh said.

“The third barrack will show the film that highlights his fight against the British, imprisonment and death,” Singh added.

Sources in Juidco said the films were almost ready along with interior decoration work.

Finishing touches being given to the statute of the tribal icon.

“There are plans to inaugurate the museum in April this year,” the official added.

The private company will also install two laser projectors to screen the life of tribal martyrs Birsa Munda, Sido Murmu and Kanhu Murmu , Tilka Manjhi and Budhu Bhagat.

“The laser shows will be shown on the walls of the Birsa Munda jail outside the barracks for 14 minutes only in the evening. The short films, however, will be shown throughout the day,” Singh added.

Juidco will open the bid for inviting private agencies to operate and maintain the jail sprawling across 30 acres, he added.

The old central jail was lying unused after the new jail was built at Hotwar on the outskirts of the city in 2006.

The museum, that the old jail is being turned into, will also have a 25-foot statue Birsa along with 9-foot statues of 10 other freedom fighters of the state. The conservation and restoration work of the museum has been done by Indian Trust for Rural Heritage and Development, an NGO.

The nearby Smriti Park will showcase the various tribes of Jharkhand in specially designed huts and will host a war memorial containing the bust of tribal martyrs who sacrificed their lives in military warfare.

The park, which will be inaugurated later this year, will also have a musical water fountain and a light-and-sound show.