Brief history of Indian Cinema

Brief history of cinema in India

Cinema is one of the most important inventions in the 19th century. From a mere silent movement of black and white photos it has become talkie (a film with speech and sound in it) and then with the developments in science and technology cinema has adopted new look and presentation with improved and manipulated sound and visual effects. For many people, cinema is like a magic and filmmakers exploit this magic to tell stories in different ways at different times. Therefore, the development and innovations in cinema continue to make an interesting history. A look at the brief history of cinema in India is worth here in connection to the present study. The history of cinema in India has its roots in the late 19th century. In 1886, the Lumière Brothers’ Cinématographe unveiled some soundless short films in Bombay. After this, Hiralal Sen in Calcutta and H.S. Bhatavdekar in Bombay had started making films. Dadasaheb Phalke, the father of Indian Cinema, made India’s first feature film Raja Harishchandra in 1913. Alam Ara, made in 1931, was the first talkie feature film in India. It was the time when every year around two hundred films were being made in India. The Imperial Movietone of Bombay produced Alam Ara and Khan Bahadur Ardeshir M. Irani directed it. The film was released on March 14, 1931. Alam Ara brought revolutionary changes in Indian Cinema. The film also featured Prithviraj Kapoor. The 1930’s was the decade of social protests in the history of Indian Cinema. Social injustice was the dominant theme in some of the films made during this period. Films like Duniya Na Mane, Aadmi and Padosi, Franz Osten’s Achut Kanya, Damle & Fatehlal’s Sant Tukaram, Mehboob’s Watan, Ek hi Raasta and Aurat were made during this period. Ardeshir Irani made a color picture in 1937 with Kisan Kanya. It was the time when first talkie films were made in regional languages. Films like Shantharam’s Dr. Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani, Mehboob’s Roti, Chetan Anand’s Neecha Nagar, Uday Shanker’s Kalpana, Abbas’s Dharti Ke Lal, Sohrab Modi’s Sikander, Pukar and Prithvi Vallabh, J.B.H. Wadia’s Court Dancer, S.S. Vasan’s Chandralekha, Vijay Bhatt’s Bharat Milap and Ram Rajya, Rajkapoor’s Barsaat and Aag, were among those made in the forties. The 40s also witnessed two important events of the history- the Second World War (1939-45) and India’s freedom in 1947.

The golden era of Indian Cinema

The golden era of Indian Cinema started after independence. Satyajit Ray made Pather Panchali (Song of the Road) in 1955- the first of ‘Apu Trilogy’ and with this film Indian cinema made, its presence felt all over the world. Satyajit Ray who also assisted Jean Renoir on The River made Aparajito (The Unvanquished) in 1957 and Apur Sansar (the world of Apu) in 1958 thus completed the Apu trilogy. Gurudutt’s Pyaasa and Kagaz Ke Phool, B.R. Chopra’s Kanoon; the first Indo-Soviet co-production Pardesi by K.A. Abbas were made during the fifties. Some outstanding films of 50s include Bimol Roy’s Do Bigha Zameen, Raj Kapoor’s Awara and Mehboob’s Mother India. The beginning of sixties saw the release of K. Asif’s Mughal-E-Azam. This film is one of the milestones of Indian Cinema. The film very beautifully highlights the poetic aspect of Salim’s personality. In one scene, Salim is standing and his army is moving after the battle. He is very quiet and thinking something. He is a poet and forgets everything- even the battleground and his army. Some of the significant films of this decade include Rajkapoor’s Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai and Sangam; Dilip Kumar’s Gunga Jamuna, Gurudutt’s Sahib Bibi Aur Gulam, Dev Anand’s Guide. Bimal Roy’s Bandini, S.Mukherji’s Junglee, Sunil Dutt’s Mujhe Jeene Do and Yaadein, Basu Bhatacharya’s Teesri Kasam, Pramod Chakravorthy’s Love in Tokyo, Ramanand Sagar’s Arzoo, Shakti Samantha’s Aradhana, Hrishikesh Mukherji’s Aashirwad and Anand, B.R. Chopra’s Waqt, Manoj Kumar’s Upkar, and Prasad Productions’ Milan. Therefore, 60s is very important decade in the history of Indian Cinema. Apart from the mainstream, the 70s was the time of Parallel and realistic cinema. The 70s was the diamond period of Indian cinema and in this period, Gulzar began his celluloid journey and made his finest films. Therefore, Indian cinema witnessed the emergence of one of the finest filmmakers and lyricist. Gulzar directed his first film Mere Apne in 1971 and made his presence felt as a writer-director in the film industry. Before writing and directing his films, Gulzar already had established himself as a lyricist in the film industry. Parichay and Koshish were made in 1972 and Achanak in 1973. Gulzar directed Khushboo in 1974, Aandhi in 1975, Mausam in 1976, Kinara in 1977 and Kitaab in 1978. Gulzar made nine films in the 70s and each film played a big role in the growth of Gulzar as an artist. In the 70s, mass media did not reach all the corners of the country and cinema was still the popular medium of entertainment. Some of ambitious filmmakers like Ritwik Ghatak, Satyajit Ray, Shyam Benegal and Govind Nihalani etc. were the pioneers of Parallel Cinema. Whether one calls it ‘New Indian Cinema’, ‘Parallel Cinema’ or ‘Alternative Cinema’- it was 5 a cinema of social shade and importance. It was meaningful and at the same time entertaining. Mrinal Sen’s Bhuvan Shome, which was different from formula films and was commercially successful, set the stage for the new wave cinema. Mrinal Sen’s notable films are Chorus, Mrigaya, Ek Din Pratidin, Akaler Sandhane, and Kharij & Khandahar. Satyajit Ray, after Apu Trilogy, made Pratidwandi, a film about the unemployed educated youth, Jana Aranya and Shatranj Ke Khiladi. Ritwik Ghatak was one of the well-known filmmakers of Parallel Cinema. Some of his films are Meghe Dhaka Tara, Ajantrik, Komal Ghandhar and Subarnarekha. Among all the films, Meghe Dhaka Tara is a multi-layered and most complex film. Basu Chatterji’s Sara Akaash was another film, which falls into the category of parallel cinema. Rajinder Singh Bedi’s Dastak, Mani Kaul’s Uski Roti, Duvidha, Kumar Shahani’s Maya Darpan, Avtar Kaul’s 27-Down, M.S. Sathyu’s Garam Hawa made in 1973 on the theme of partition, are some notable films of parallel cinema. Garam Hawa is one of the best films ever made on the theme of India’s partition that took place in 1947. Shyam Benegal’s Ankur, Nishant, Manthan, Bhumika, Kondura and Junoon; Govind Nihalani’s Aakroshi, Ardh Satya, Tamas - TV serial on the partition of India, are some of the milestones of parallel cinema. With Saeed Mirza’s Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai, Mohan Joshi Hazir Ho, and Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro, Rabindra Dharmaraj’s Chakra, and Ketan Mehta’s Bhavni Bhavai, Mirch Masala and Maya Memsahib and Sardar etc. parallel cinema reached its high point at the end of the 70s. The 80s gave some romantic and big canvas and star films like Sholay that had western genre features in it. Bobby made in 1973 was a hit mainstream film about teenage love. Sholay, which was released in 1975, was based on the protest of villagers against exploitation by decoits. This film glorified dacoit-Gabbar Singh. Amjad Khan played the role and it immortalized the character. The dialogues, character traits and names are still on the tongue of the people. During this period, Indian Cinema gave birth to the stream of cinema of angry young man. The Bombay film industry became almost oneman industry, and Amitabh Bachchan dominated the film industry for the next many decades. His films like Deewar, Sholay, Amar Akbar Anthony and Muqaddar-ka-Sikandar were great hits. Salim and Javed scriptwriters of Sholay and Deewar played very important role in the success of the films. These scriptwriters proved the script more important than stars. The 80s also witnessed Gulzar’s best movies. Gulzar made Angoor in 1980 Namkeen and Meera in 1981, Ijaazat in 1986. The 90s saw Gulzar’s three films- Lekin…, Maachis and Hu Tu Tu made in 1990, 1996 and 1990 respectively. 6 Dance, music and disco started to be special attractions of the films since the 70s. Feroz Khan’s Qurbani was a hit and most popular film of the genre of films with dance etc. The nineties was the time when family drama dominated the scene. Sooraj Barjatya’s films like Maine Pyrar Kya, Hum Apke Hain Koun and Aditya Chopra’s film Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge were commercially the most successful films. Films like Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge were planned keeping in mind the NRI audiences and this started a new trend in Bollywood. Apart from this Subhash Ghai’s Pardes, J.P. Dutta’s Border, Yash Chopra’s Dil To Paagal Hai, and Ram Gopal Verma’s Rangeela did very well at the box office. Therefore, history of Indian Cinema is a history of ups and down, different colours and shades. Today more than one thousand films are being made in India. Important legends of Indian Cinema India has produced many legends in the field of cinema. These legends have become Institutions in themselves. They have left a unique signature in the field of cinema. They have inspired many other filmmakers in India. They are the lighthouse for the next generations who believe in quality cinema.