551 Words Essay on Indian Cinema Or Revolution in Indian Cinema.
In India, cinema is very close to lives of people, or we can say, it is in the hearts of people. The large screen provides an alternative, an escape from the realities of day-to-day life. People cry, laugh, sing, dance and enjoy emotions with cinema.
A study of Indian cinema would throw light on the progress of technology, especially cinematography, and the changing political scene and social values and attitudes.
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The silent films were launched by Dada Saheb Phalke, which had titles in English, Gujarati, Hindi and Urdu, related to myths and legends.
The stories were familiar to the audience and required minimum commentary. History also proved very popular; Harsh, Chandragupta, Ashoka and the Mughal and Maratha kings won the silver screen.
If Phalke was the Father of Indian cinema, Irani was the father of the talkie. He produced his first talkie, ‘Alam Ara’ in 1931. The classic Hollywood musical Singing in the Rain exemplifies the cynicism with which people first regarded the talking movie and this holds good for India too.
If Bombay was the hub of early cinema, the other centers were not far behind; Calcutta and Madras were also making Path-breaking films.
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Like cinema in Bengal, Malayalam, Tamil, and Kanad cinema too was meaningful, but they took a long time to get noticed. The seventies saw an unhealthy divide between the existing commercial or mainstream cinema and the new parallel c: cinema or art films.
Fortunately, this situation did not last long, for soon came a crop of film makers who realised that meaningful films need not incur heavy losses.
It was only after the government set up the Film Finance (Corporation (FFC, which in 1980 came to be known as NFDC i.e. National Film Development Corporation) that several small but serious film makers got the wherewithal to make films.
Nineteen eighties saw the passion of women filmmakers, Vijaya Mehta (Rao Sabeb), Aparna Sen (36, Chowringhee Lane, paroma), Sai Paranjpye (Chashme Baddoor, Katha, Sparsh), Kalalpana Lajmi (Ek Pal and, later the much acclaimed Rudali), prema Karanth (Phaniamma) and Meera Nair (Salaam Bombay). The most commendable thing about these directors is their individuality. Their films have strong content and are told with passion.
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In the nineties, Indian cinema faced tough competition from television; the cable network gave viewers number of channels and though the most popular channel the cinema halls took a beating.
Nevertheless, films like Aditya Chopra’s maiden effort: Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge and Suraj Barjatya’s Hum Aapke Hain Kaun broke all records, because they recalled the innocence of the fifties, a novelty in an age of sex and violence. This gave hope.
In 2000, the movies were based on technologies and effects. Rakes Roshan’s Koi Mil Gay a and Krish broke all records. These stories were based on aliens and made by advanced technologies. Similarly, Dhoom-1 and Dhoom-2 are technology and thrill based movies.
In India, cinema can never die. It has gone too deep into the minds and hearts of viewers. It may undergo several reverses in future.
With other mediums opening up, there will be a smaller market for films. We are living in a global world and we are becoming a judicious audience. No one can fool us, only the best will survive and this is just as well.