100 years of Indian

CinemaBy

Aditya Shrivastava

B.Sc. Cinema

adityapratapsrivastava.9@gmail.com

+919889886817 +12062220580

BIRTH OF THE INDIAN CINEMA

• Bal Gangadhar Tilak admired movies and supported Dadasaheb Phalke in his attempts in creating a swadeshi cinema.

• He was the first in Marathi press to carry film reviews in his daily newspaper Kesari.

• Dadasaheb Phalke, released his epochal feature film Raja Harishchandra on 3rd May 1913 and thus he was called as the father of Indian Cinema. This was the first motion picture premiered on 21st April 1913.

THE FIRST TALKIEThe silent era came to an end when Ardeshir Irani

produced his first talkie, 'Alam Ara' in 1931. If Phalke was the father of Indian cinema, Irani was

the father of the talkie. The talkies changed the face of Indian cinema.

Both the movie and its music were widely successful Including the hit song "De de khuda ke naam per", which was also the first song of the Indian cinema.

Apart from looks, the actors not only needed a commanding voice but also singing skills, as music became a defining element in Indian cinema.

The year also marked the beginning of the Talkie era in South Indian films. The first talkie films in Bengali (Jumai Shasthi), Telugu (Bhakta Prahlad) and Tamil (Kalidas) were also released in the same year.

Kalidas

Bhakt Prahlad

THE 1930sThe thirties is recognized as the decade of social protest in the history of Indian Cinema. Three big banners - Prabhat, Bombay Talkies and New Theatres gave the lead in making serious but gripping and entertaining films for all classes of the wide audience.A number of films making a strong plea against social injustice were also made in this period like V. Santharam's Duniya na Mane, Aadmi and Padosi; Franz Osten's Achut Kanya.Others are Damle & Fatehlal's Sant Tukaram; Mehboob's Watan, Ek hi Raasta and Aurat. For the first time Ardeshir Irani attempted a colour picutre in 1937with Kisan Kanya.The decade also witnessed the release of the first talkie films in Marathi (Ayodhiyecha Raja- 1932); Gujarati (Narasinh Mehta - 1932); Kannada (Dhurvkumar - 1934); Oriya (Sita Bibaha - 1934); Assamese(Joymati -1935); Punjabi (Sheela- 1935) and Malayalam (Balan - 1938).

Achut Kanya

Duniya Na Mane

Kisan Kanya

Sita Bibaha

Sheela

Ayodhiyecha RajaBalan

By the late 1940s, films were being made in various Indian languages with religion being the dominant theme.1940s to late 1950s was also the golden era of music. The duo Shankar Jaikishan(S-J), O.P. Nayyar, Madan Mohan, C. Ramchandra, Salil Chaudhury, Naushad, S.D. Burman - all had their distinctive style. Each vied with the other to produce some of the most unforgettable melodies India has ever known.

O.P. NayyarS.D. Burman

THE GOLDEN AGE• 50s and 60s were considered as the Golden Age of Indian cinema.• The first International Film Festival of India held in early 1952 at

Bombay had a great impact on the Indian Cinema.• The big turning point came in 1955 with the arrival of Satyajit Ray

and his classic Pather Panchali which opened up a new path leading the Indian film to the World Film scene.

• International recognition came to it with the Cannes award for best human document followed by an unprecedented crop of foreign and national awards.

• The first Indo-Soviet co-production Pardesi by K.A.Abbas was also made during the fifties.

• The sixties began with a bang with the release of K.Asif's Mughal-E-Azam which set a record at the box-office.

Satyajit RayK.A. Abbas

1970s• The 70s completely changed the way films were made, especially in Hindi film

industry. Changing social norms and changing economies influenced movies and the companies that made them.

• The popular Hindi hits of the decade include Kamal Amrohi's Pakeeza; Rajkapoor's Bobby; Devar's Haathi Mere Saathi, Ramesh Sippy's Sholay, Zanjeer, Deewar,Khoon Pasina, Yaadon Ki Baarat, Yash Chopra’s Kabhi Kabhi;Dharamveer, Amar Akbar Anthony, Hum Kisise Kum Nahin, and Muquaddar Ka Sikandar.

• Of these majority of the films were action oriented with revenge as the dominating theme.

• It was the age of the angry young man and Amitabh Bachchan rose to prominence with the success of Sholay, Zanjeer and Deewar.

• While Dev Anand, Rajesh Khanna, Jitendra and Dharmendra continued to bask in the glory of back to back hits, the actresses were not far behind. Right from the time of Savitri, Vyjayanthi Mala, Nargis, Waheeda Rahman and Sharmila Tagore to Sridevi, Rekha, Smita Patil, Hema Malini, several actresses became the heartthrobs of India.

1980s and 90sThe new cinema movement continued with full spirit in the next decade (eighties) also. Shyam Benegal presented some good movies like Manthan, Bhumika, Nishant, Junoon, and Trikal. Nihlani's Aaghat and Tamas were remarkable works. Other important films with new style of treatment include Damul(Prakash Jha), 36 Chowringhee Lane(Aparna Sen), Umrao Jaan (Musafir Ali), Andhi Gali (Buddhadeb Dasgupta), Aajka Robin Hood (Tapan Sinha), etc.The late eighties and early nineties saw the revival of the musical love stories in Hindi cinema.

Mr. India, Tezaab, Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, Maine Pyar Kiya, Chandni, Tridev, Hum, Ghayal, Saudagar, Rakhwala, Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander,Heena,Hum Hain Rahi Pyarke, Baazigar, Aaina, Yeh Dillagi, Hum Aapke Hai Kaun, Krantiveer, Raja, Rangeela were some of the popular Hindi films of the last decade.

• 90s was a mixed genre of romantic, thrillers, action and comedy films. • Stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Rajnikanth, Madhuri Dixit, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan,

Chiranjeevi, Juhi Chawla,etc.,. enriched Indian cinema with their performances.

THE NEW MILLENNIUM• Now, the Indian cinema has reached the new millennium and a

revolution of sorts has happened in terms of defining glamour, entertainment, commercial values, budgeting, marketing and box office reports.

• Films like Lagaan, Salaam Bombay and Monsoon Wedding making the international market sit up and take notice definitely indicate that India is poised for bigger things as far as Cinema goes. Monsoon Wedding was the all-time top 10 foreign box-office hits in America

• . Today Indian Cinema ,especially, Hindi cinema is not only popular in India but in parts of the Middle East, Pakistan, UK and virtually every other place where Indians live.

•Aditya Shrivastava 28-07-2015