Books on Indian Cinema

India has one of the most established and biggest entertainment industries on the planet. It was in mid-1913 that an Indian film got its first public screening. The film was Raja Harischandra. The film's director, Dadasaheb Phalke is currently remembered and revered through a lifetime achievement award given by the entertainment world in his name.  While various other movie producers, working in a few Indian dialects, spearheaded the development and advancement of Indian film, the studio framework started to arise in the mid-1930s. Its best early film was Devdas (1935). The social movies of V. Shantaram opened up the doors to numerous directors who willingly volunteered to investigate not just the foundations of marriage, settlement, and widowhood, but also, the grave disparities made by rank and class differentiation.

The following critical period of Hindi film is related to great actors like Raj Kapoor, Bimal Roy, and Guru Dutt. The child of Prithviraj Kapoor, Raj Kapoor made probably the most appreciated and important movies in Hindi film. Doubtlessly under the Bengali movie producers like Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, and Mrinal Sen, the Indian film, not just in Hindi, additionally started to take a different turn during the 1970s against the tide of commercial film, described by the routine dance and songs, immaterial plots, and family shows. Movie producers, like Shyam Benegal, Ketan Mehta, Govind Nihalani, and Saeed Mirza, displayed an alternate aesthetic and political sensitivity and were leaned toward investigating the position and class differences of Indian culture, the idea of persecution endured by women, the disengagements made by industrialism and the movement from rural to metropolitan regions, the issue of landlessness, etc. Some of the biggest names in the Indian movie industry are-

1. Satyajit Ray

Satyajit Ray was an Indian movie producer, screenwriter, writer, lyricist, magazine manager, artist, calligrapher, and music producer. Broadly viewed as probably the best filmmaker ever, Ray is praised for works like The Apu Trilogy, The Music Room, The Big City, and Charulata.

2. Aamir Khan

Mohammed Aamir Hussain Khan is an Indian entertainer, director, and producer who works in Hindi movies. Through his profession traversing more than 30 years, Khan has secured himself as one of the most famous and persuasive entertainers of Indian film.

3. Amirbai Karnataki

Amirbai Karnataki was a renowned entertainer/vocalist and playback artist of the early Hindi film and was well known as Kannada Kokila. Mahatma Gandhi loved her song, Vaishnav Jan To.

4. Uttam Kumar

Uttam Kumar, prevalently known as the Mahanayak, was an Indian entertainer, director-producer, and script essayist, who dominatingly worked in Bengali film. Through his vocation, he acquired commercial as well as critical success and he stays as an Indian social symbol and matinee icon of Bengal.

FAQs

Q1. What is Indian Parallel Cinema?

Indian arthouse and independent films, the two of which are known as "parallel cinemas" in India, favour naturalistic/reasonable methodologies. A few producers known as parallel film movie producers will utilize components of the pop film, similar to melodies and famous actors. A great example is Mani Ratnam's 1998 film "Dil Se," which featured Shahrukh Khan, and mixed genuine political analysis with an expressive heartfelt tragedy. The most popular name in this development is the incomparable Bengali auteur Satyajit Ray, one of the most popular filmmakers on the planet, not to mention in south Asia.

Q2. When did music enter the world of Indian cinema?

Since the talkies (films with sound) showed up in India; the first being Alam Ara in 1931, film music immediately laid down a good foundation for itself as the popular music among the mass. Indian film music had an allure for everyone irrespective of their class, caste, creed, or gender, turning into an essential piece of the collective cultural consciousness of the country.

Q3. What is the impact of Indian cinema?

Since time immemorial, Indian cinema has been the most influential and powerful tool in addressing various social issues, creating a huge impact on society in both good and bad ways. It is a fact that cinemas have badly affected the youth and society by imparting violence, crime, exploitation, and violence against women. Social values have been lost in the glamour of movies and the youth has become intolerant and violent. Some movies portray the harshest realities of poverty, dogmatism, gender inequality, female feticide, caste & dowry system, , awareness of sensitive issues such as AIDS, and stigma related to mental illness has been very well brought to the forefront via cinema.

Q4. What is the golden age of Indian cinema?

The 1940s-60s has been the time which is known as the ‘Golden Age or Era’ of Indian Cinema. The notable filmmakers and directors like Mehboob Khan, K. Asif, Raj kapoor, etc. of this period not only made commercially successful works but also mastered the language of cinema. They understood how performance, photography, editing, and above all, music could be used to create a new aesthetic. This particular period had so many amazing and blockbuster movies such as Mother India, Mughal-E-Azam,  Awaara, Naya Daur, Shree 420, Do Aankhen Barah Haath, and so many others. Legendary actors and actresses who made this period a memorable one are: Ashok Kumar, Madhubala, Prithviraj Kapoor, Nargis, Dilip Kumar, etc.

Q5. How many cinema screens are there in India?

In pre-pandemic years, India produced some 2000 films a year but has just seven screens per million population. The total screen count has shrunk to 9,423 for a population of 1.3 billion, per the 2022 annual EY/FICCI media industry report.

According to Chaturvedi’s research, from the 24,000 single screens in India in 1990, there are barely 6000 still standing in 2022. PVR Cinemas and INOX Leisure added 69 screens each in 2019, but these shrank to 27 and 41, respectively, in 2021. However, post-pandemic, the merged entity plans to add 200 screens a year, with a total of 2000 screens to their existing combined 1,546. Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka lead in the single-screen theaters.

Q6. What is realism in Indian cinema?

Realism is a style of writing, art, or film that shows things as authentic, natural, and real as they are in life. This cinematic realism can also be called “slice of life cinema” as its style is meant to recreate all of the small and intimate sights, sounds, and feelings of everyday life — but on the big screen. Realism is used in the film to create intimate stories connecting the audience.

Social realism is the term used for work produced by photographers, writers, and filmmakers that aims to draw attention to the real socio-political conditions of the working class as a means to critique the power structures behind these conditions. Characters must be believable and engaging. An accurate reflection of the human condition and contemporary life with no stereotyping. Reflection is also made by culture and social class.