Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 1 views

    Evolution of Films in India

    Uploaded by

    rabtiwari138

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Evolution of Films in India

    Uploaded by

    rabtiwari138
    1 views15 pages

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    1 views15 pages

    Evolution of Films in India

    Uploaded by

    rabtiwari138

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 15

    Module 2

    Evolution of Films in India


    27/08, 28/08
    Non-fiction Films
    Pioneering cinematographers in India: H. S. Bhatavdekar, Dadasaheb Phalke,
    Hiralal Sen, D. G. Tendulkar, K. S. Hirlekar.

    1948: Establishment of the Films Division: In its early years it created films dubbed
    in five Indian languages.

    FD films used to be screened before the movie in every theatre. They reached out
    to a mass audience every week.

    SNS Sastry: 1967 “I am 20”, Fali Bilimoria: “The House that Ananda Built”, M. F.
    Hussain: “Through the eyes of a painter”
    Burmah-Shell 1950s: James Beveridge, John Grierson

    Independent filmmaker: 1970s onwards

    PSBT: Public Service Broadcasting Trust: established with funding from the Ford
    Foundation and Doordarshan.

    Ministry of Information and Broadcasting: censorship

    Censorship in the age of the internet


    2.1: Significant Landmarks in Indian Cinema
    Silent Era: 1896 - 1930

    Introduced in 1896 in the Watson Hotel in Bombay: Lumiere bros.

    Indigenous production of films: Early years of 20th C: R. G. Torne, N. G. Chitre - started with
    non-fiction films

    Feature films: 1912: Pundalik: H. S. Bhatavdekar (Save Dada)

    1913: Raja Harishchandra: Dadasaheb Phalke

    Calcutta studios: 1917: Satyavadi Harishchandra, 1919: Keechakavadham

    Familiar stories from Hindu mythology were a common theme in the earliest feature films.

    Live music would be performed in theatres to accompany the film on the screen.
    Music and dialogue in Silent films:

    Background score would be performed live by musicians in each screening

    Dialogue would be depicted through Title Screens: English, and few other Indian
    languages
    Talkies
    1931: Alam Ara was the first film with sound. Produced by Ardeshir Irani, Bombay

    Introduced Hindustani as the language of film

    Music: Song and dance

    Alongside mythology, historical dramas became popular in this period

    Costume/period dramas

    Historical films had an anticolonial, patriotic undertone

    1940s: Sikandra (1941), Shaheed (1948): Anticolonial stand

    1943: Kismet: Patriotic song: “Door haton duniyawalon”


    Themes in popular cinema
    Post-independence: Influx of filmmakers, music directors, singers, etc from West
    Punjab in the Bombay cinema

    In spite of the first-hand experience of partition, it was not until the 1960s that
    Partition as a theme was explored in Bombay cinema.

    1950s and 1960s: Calcutta: Ritwik Ghatak who started exploring partition as a
    theme in his films: Trilogy: Meghe Dhaka Tara, Subarnarekha, Komal Gandhar.

    1960s, 1970s: Partition was depicted in Bombay cinema

    Studio model of filmmaking: Actors, singers, directors, and other members of cast
    and crew were salaried employees of studios.
    Societal issues as a theme
    1950s and 1960s, through to the end of the 20th C, but we find societal issues
    diminishing in their importance.

    Lives of ordinary people, depiction of rural life: Do Bigha Zameen, Mother India

    Historical/costume dramas make a comeback with Mughal-e-Azam (1960)


    (original colour song in a b&w film)

    Black and white films

    1960s: advent of colour filmmaking.


    Until the 1960s, filmmakers were self-taught or pioneers

    After this period, trained filmmakers started to enter the film industry.

    National School of Drama, Film and Television Institute of India: early training
    institutions for filmmakers and actors.

    The “Honeymoon Film”: With the advent of colour, beautiful landscapes became a
    part and parcel of cinematography. - NRI genre of the 1990s was inspired by the
    colour cinema of 1960s and onwards.

    New Wave Cinema: had its roots in 1960s: depicted reality rather than
    make-believe themes of the previous films. Non-commercial or “art” cinema.

    IPTA: Indian People’s Theatre Association


    Major Studios:

    Bombay: V. Shantaram, V. Damle set up studios; Bombay Talkies

    Calcutta: Hiralal Sen, New Theatre

    Pune: Prabhat

    Madras: Gemini, Vauhini

    V. Shantaram: originally worked with Prabhat, estd Rajkamal Kalamandir in


    Bombay: Do Aankhen Bara Haat (1957), Dr. Kotnis ki Amar Kahaani (1946).
    End of Studios

    Early 1950s: studios began to phase out. Brought back the contract hiring system,
    which is prevalent until today.

    Golden Age of Indian Cinema: 1950s

    Subjects of the films: Nehruvian model of development, Gandhian vision of society


    vs modernity, focus on characters depicted as rural agriculturists, influence of
    poetry on the lyrics, socially meaningful themes.
    Middle Cinema: 1970s and 1980s: First New Wave

    [Sippy as director, Amitabh Bachchan as hero- Angry Young Man- rebel against
    societal injustices]

    Shyam Benegal: Ankur (1974), Manthan (1977). Inclusion of caste-politics in plots

    Govind Nihalani: Aakrosh (1980) issues of tribals, Ardha Satya (1984), TV show
    on partition (Tamas)

    Ketan Mehta’s Mirch Masala

    Sources of influence: Mrinal Sen, Mani Kaul, Kumar Shahani - did not reach
    similar commercial success
    Second New Wave: 1980s-1990s

    Together with Middle Cinema, this constituted the “Parallel Cinema” of


    mainstream Indian films.

    Shyam Benegal and Govind Nihalani, Saeed Mirza, Adoor Gopalkrishnan, Kumar
    Shahani, Mani Kaul

    1998- Hazar Chaurasi ki Maa based on Mahashweta Devi’s Bengali Novel

    Spread of satellite TV, commercialisation of films- filmmaking was


    established as an industry - ‘Bollywood’: decline of parallel cinema

    Romance and Action 1980s and 1990s

    DDLJ, and others: The NRI film persisted well into the 2000s

    Family-oriented dramas- constituted a break of action movies of 1980s.


    Cinema of the new century: 2000 till the present

    Lagaan (2001), Dil Chahta Hai (2001)

    Unconventional themes explored- Taare Zameen Par, Guzaarish, A Wednesday

    Changing role of women protagonists: Fashion, No One Killed Jessica, Kahaani,


    The Dirty Picture, English Vinglish, Queen

    Choices of protagonists, themes, casting

    Rise of multiplexes in the early 2000s and the rise of the internet in last decade

    Single-screen theatre: the economics of viability and profitability shaped the


    choices of themes and subjects on which films were made > “Masala” movie - a
    little something for everyone
    Multiplexes allowed for small budget films as well as niche subjects to be viable introduced.

    Rise of internet accessibility- rise of piracy, streaming services- movies being made for and
    released on OTT platforms- film viewing has become an individual experience from its earlier
    public experience in single screens.

    With OTT platforms: increasing diversity of subjects, and also expansion of film production,
    increased presence of small budget films, wider diversity of casting choices. Economics of
    film distribution has undergone a sea change.

    Technology: Wider range of subtitles, dubbing, narration

    360 degree videos have removed the barrier of viewing a film through director’s perspective.
    A different film on each view.

    Films in India have depicted reality, kept pace with changing social structures and norms,
    captured conflicts, developed narratives on issues and events and have set an aspirational
    horizon for Indian cinema-viewers.

    You might also like