Assignment of mass media and mass communication
Name :- Jagruti R. Vasani
Semester :- 4
Roll No. :- 15
Enrollment No.:- 2069108420180054
Batch :- 2017-2019
Paper :- Mass Media And Mass Communication
Topic :- History of Indian Cinema
Email-Id :- jagrutivasani17@gmail.com
Submitted To :- Smt S. B. Gardi Department of English, MKBU
History of Indian Cinema:-
A Brief History of Indian Cinema. One of the most flourishing cinema industries found today is
in India. In 1897, Save Dada made two short films, but the fathers of Indian cinema were Dada
Saheb Phalke who in 1913 made the first feature length silent film and Ardeshir Irani who in
1931 made India's first talking film.Indian films are unquestionably the most –seen movies in
the world. Not just talking about the billion- strong audiences in India itself, where 12 million
people are said to go to the cinema every day, but of large audiences well beyond the Indian
subcontinent and the Diaspora, in such unlikely places as Russia, China, the Middle East, the Far
East Egypt, Turkey and Africa. People from very different cultural and social worlds have a great
love for Indian popular cinema, and many have been Hindi Films fans for over fifty years.
Indian cinema is world – famous for the staggering amount of films it produces:the number is
constantly on the increase, and recent sources estimate that a total output of some 800 films a
year are made in different cities including Madrass , Bangalore , Calcutta and Hyderabad . Of
this astonishing number, those films made in Bombay, in a seamless blend of Hindi and Urdu,
have the widest distribution within India and Internationally. The two sister languages are
spoken in six northern states and understood by over 500 million people on the Indian sub –
continent alone – reason enough for Hindi and Urdu to be chosen above the fourteen official
Indian languages to become the languages of Indian Popular cinema when sound came to the
Indian Silverscreen in 1931 .
Themes in Indian cinema – Early Indian cinema in the 1920s was founded on specific genres,
such as the mythological or the devotional film. The sum and substance of the mythological
theme is the fight between good and evil, and the importance of sacrifice in the name of truth.
The retelling of stories known through an oral tradition was an important element in the
success of the mythological film: The Ram Leela (a celebration and re – enactment of the
exploits and adventures of Ram) and the Ras Leela (episodes from Krishna’s life) are said to be
of particular influence in Indian cinema. Such reconfirmation has always been an element of
Indian culture. As Arundhuti roy says in her novel, The God Of Small Things, ‘The Great stories
are the ones you have
heard and want to hear again.’ Roy was speaking of the Kathakali dance form, but the argument
holds good for cinema too. This trend was visible not only in the silent era. It Malayalam and
other languages, KEECHAKAVADHAM in Tamil etc. are good examples. In almost all the
languages of India, during the silent as well as the talkie era, themes and episodes from the
PURANAS, THE RAMAYANA and MAHABHARATA were treated cinematically. Some folk tales
and legends also became cinematic themes.
Major Studios – The creation of the major studios in Madras, Calcutta, Lahore, Bombay and
Pune in the 1930s was a crucial move in the development of a proficient Indian film industry.
Studio owners including Himanshu Rai and Devika Rani, V. Shantaram, V. Damle and S. Fatehlal
set the tune of film production, playing an essential role in promoting national integration.
People of all castes, religious, regions, and social classes worked together in the various studios.
Film production has always prided itself in the way it has been inclusive and continues to be a
shinning example of communal (i.e. inter religious) harmony and tolerance. Hindus and
Muslims work together and promoting and National Integration and communal harmony has
always been a favourite theme of the Indian film.
End of Studios – Financers who made money during the war years found film –an easy way of
gaining quick returns, and this new method of financing movies brought about the end of the
studio era. The studio owners could not afford to pay high fees for their staff and stars, and so
freelancing made a return – a system whereby all film practitioners were employed on a
contract – by – contract basis. The system was over by the late 1940s, and widespread
freelancing, established by the 1950s, set the pattern for film production thereafter.
Golden Age Of Indian Cinema – The 1950s was led film historians to refer to this glorious time
as the golden age of Indian Cinema. Film makers created authored and
individual works while sticking strictly within the set conventions of the films. The example of
Mahatma Gandhi and Prime Minister Nehru’s vision of the newly nation was also highly
influential throughout the decade, and many excellent Urdu poets and writers worked with film
makers in the hope of creating a cinema that would be socially meaningful. It is no surprise that
the 1950s is regarded today as the finest period in Indian cinema, and the era has profoundly
influenced generations of Indian film makers in a way that no other decade has done since.
The important film makers of this period not only made commercially successful works but also
mastered the language of cinema. They understood how performance, photograph, editing and
above all, music could be used to create a new aesthetic. It was around this time that Indian
films started to receive regular worldwide distribution, and films such as AWAARA made by Raj
Kapoor and his co- star Nargis major celebrity in places as far afield as Russia and China.
Mehboob’s AAN (1952, AKA MANGALA, Daughter of India) and MOTHER INDIA (Perhaps the
best known Indian films of all) also won large audiences beyond the Indian sub continent. The
average Indian film does not pretend to offer a unique storyline. A new twist to a familiar
storyline helps a film to succeed, if the audience is looking for originality, they know it is
principally to be found in the score. Film music is of such primary importance in today’s Indian
cinema that it more or less determines the box- office fate of most movies. Leading
choreographer Farah Khan believes that, ‘What is saving cinema from being engulfed by
Hollywood is our song and dance routines, because they just can’t imitate that’.
During the struggle for Independence – P.K.Nair, one of the India’s leading film historians,
believes that D.G.Phalke chose mythology for the cinema not only because it was an easy
means of communicating to the largest number of people, but also because Phalke saw
mythological stories as a way of evoking patriotic feelings in the
Indian Nation at a time when the country was a British colony. By showing Lord Krishna
overcoming the demon snake Kamsa in in his 1919 film KALIYA MARDAN, Phalke showed that it
was possible to fight the powerful and to challenge the imperialism that had plundered the
whole Nation in the same way the demon snake had poisoned the sacred river. Social FilmAside from the mythological, the 1920s saw the birth of other film genres, such as the social
film (examples include OUR HINDUSTAN 1928, and ORPHAN DAUGHTER), the historical film
celebrating Rajput history and grandeur, the stunt film based on the Hollywood model, and
Muslim subjects inspired by Persian love legends including Laila Majnu and stories set in the
splendor of Mughal Courts. The Persian love stories depended on family conflicts, court
intrigue, poetic dialogue, and songs of love and lament and these were better served by cinema
after the birth of the Films with Muslim subjects were later developed into the ‘ Muslim Social’,
of which the author Shahrukh Hussain commented, ‘Predictably, Muslim socials were about
Indian Muslims and were the forum for the portrayal of many social institution of the exotic
upper and lower classes of this community.
The Indian film industry, famously known as Bollywood, is the largest in the world, and has major
film studios in Mumbai (Bombay), Calcutta, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. Between them,
they turn out more than 1000 films a year to hugely appreciative audiences around the world.
For nearly 50 years, the Indian cinema has been the central form of entertainment in India, and
with its increased visibility and success abroad, it won't be long until the Indian film industry will
be well thought-out to be its western counterpart- Hollywood. Mainstream commercial releases,
however, continue to dominate the market, and not only in India, but wherever Indian cinema
has a large following, whether in much of the British Caribbean, Fiji, East and South Africa, the
U.K., United States, Canada, or the Middle East.
Indian Art Cinema
India is well known for its commercial cinema, better known as Bollywood. In addition to
commercial cinema, there is also Indian art cinema, known to film critics as "New Indian Cinema"
or sometimes "the Indian New Wave" any people in India plainly call such films as "art films" as
opposed to mainstream commercial cinema. From the 1960s through the 1980s, the art film or
the parallel cinema was usually government-aided cinema.
Indian Commercial Cinema
Commercial cinema is the most popular form of cinema in India. Ever since its inception the
commercial Indian movies have seen huge following. Commercial or popular cinema is made not
only in Hindi but also in many other regional languages of East and South India. Let's look at some
of the general conventions of commercial films in India. Commercial films, in whatever languages
they are made, tend to be quite long (approx three hours), with an interval. Another important
feature of commercial cinema in India is music.
Regional Cinema India
India is home to one of the largest film industries in the world. Every year thousands of movies
are produced in India. Indian film industry comprises of Hindi films, regional movies and art
cinema. The Indian film industry is supported mainly by a vast film-going Indian public, though
Indian films have been gaining increasing popularity in the rest of the world, especially in
countries with large numbers of emigrant Indians.
To sum up, the Indian cinema has grown quite big during the past century, especially during the
past six decades. This latter period saw the growth of the cinema a mass medium. Despite
thematic peculiarities and drawbacks, social conditioning and cultural inhibitions, it has proved
its merit in technical perfection, artistic evaluation and directorial innovations. Indian cinema,
by and large, has remained on the path of clean popular entertainment. In the coming
decades , it can give more attention to the social dimension of the medium , particularly its use
in mobilizing the masses through effective messages on serious issues such as social justice ,
environmental safety and a more rational and scientific approach to human problems .
*Thank You*
Name :- Jagruti R. Vasani
Semester :- 4
Roll No. :- 15
Enrollment No.:- 2069108420180054
Batch :- 2017-2019
Paper :- Mass Media And Mass Communication
Topic :- History of Indian Cinema
Email-Id :- jagrutivasani17@gmail.com
Submitted To :- Smt S. B. Gardi Department of English, MKBU
History of Indian Cinema:-
A Brief History of Indian Cinema. One of the most flourishing cinema industries found today is
in India. In 1897, Save Dada made two short films, but the fathers of Indian cinema were Dada
Saheb Phalke who in 1913 made the first feature length silent film and Ardeshir Irani who in
1931 made India's first talking film.Indian films are unquestionably the most –seen movies in
the world. Not just talking about the billion- strong audiences in India itself, where 12 million
people are said to go to the cinema every day, but of large audiences well beyond the Indian
subcontinent and the Diaspora, in such unlikely places as Russia, China, the Middle East, the Far
East Egypt, Turkey and Africa. People from very different cultural and social worlds have a great
love for Indian popular cinema, and many have been Hindi Films fans for over fifty years.
Indian cinema is world – famous for the staggering amount of films it produces:the number is
constantly on the increase, and recent sources estimate that a total output of some 800 films a
year are made in different cities including Madrass , Bangalore , Calcutta and Hyderabad . Of
this astonishing number, those films made in Bombay, in a seamless blend of Hindi and Urdu,
have the widest distribution within India and Internationally. The two sister languages are
spoken in six northern states and understood by over 500 million people on the Indian sub –
continent alone – reason enough for Hindi and Urdu to be chosen above the fourteen official
Indian languages to become the languages of Indian Popular cinema when sound came to the
Indian Silverscreen in 1931 .
Themes in Indian cinema – Early Indian cinema in the 1920s was founded on specific genres,
such as the mythological or the devotional film. The sum and substance of the mythological
theme is the fight between good and evil, and the importance of sacrifice in the name of truth.
The retelling of stories known through an oral tradition was an important element in the
success of the mythological film: The Ram Leela (a celebration and re – enactment of the
exploits and adventures of Ram) and the Ras Leela (episodes from Krishna’s life) are said to be
of particular influence in Indian cinema. Such reconfirmation has always been an element of
Indian culture. As Arundhuti roy says in her novel, The God Of Small Things, ‘The Great stories
are the ones you have
heard and want to hear again.’ Roy was speaking of the Kathakali dance form, but the argument
holds good for cinema too. This trend was visible not only in the silent era. It Malayalam and
other languages, KEECHAKAVADHAM in Tamil etc. are good examples. In almost all the
languages of India, during the silent as well as the talkie era, themes and episodes from the
PURANAS, THE RAMAYANA and MAHABHARATA were treated cinematically. Some folk tales
and legends also became cinematic themes.
Major Studios – The creation of the major studios in Madras, Calcutta, Lahore, Bombay and
Pune in the 1930s was a crucial move in the development of a proficient Indian film industry.
Studio owners including Himanshu Rai and Devika Rani, V. Shantaram, V. Damle and S. Fatehlal
set the tune of film production, playing an essential role in promoting national integration.
People of all castes, religious, regions, and social classes worked together in the various studios.
Film production has always prided itself in the way it has been inclusive and continues to be a
shinning example of communal (i.e. inter religious) harmony and tolerance. Hindus and
Muslims work together and promoting and National Integration and communal harmony has
always been a favourite theme of the Indian film.
End of Studios – Financers who made money during the war years found film –an easy way of
gaining quick returns, and this new method of financing movies brought about the end of the
studio era. The studio owners could not afford to pay high fees for their staff and stars, and so
freelancing made a return – a system whereby all film practitioners were employed on a
contract – by – contract basis. The system was over by the late 1940s, and widespread
freelancing, established by the 1950s, set the pattern for film production thereafter.
Golden Age Of Indian Cinema – The 1950s was led film historians to refer to this glorious time
as the golden age of Indian Cinema. Film makers created authored and
individual works while sticking strictly within the set conventions of the films. The example of
Mahatma Gandhi and Prime Minister Nehru’s vision of the newly nation was also highly
influential throughout the decade, and many excellent Urdu poets and writers worked with film
makers in the hope of creating a cinema that would be socially meaningful. It is no surprise that
the 1950s is regarded today as the finest period in Indian cinema, and the era has profoundly
influenced generations of Indian film makers in a way that no other decade has done since.
The important film makers of this period not only made commercially successful works but also
mastered the language of cinema. They understood how performance, photograph, editing and
above all, music could be used to create a new aesthetic. It was around this time that Indian
films started to receive regular worldwide distribution, and films such as AWAARA made by Raj
Kapoor and his co- star Nargis major celebrity in places as far afield as Russia and China.
Mehboob’s AAN (1952, AKA MANGALA, Daughter of India) and MOTHER INDIA (Perhaps the
best known Indian films of all) also won large audiences beyond the Indian sub continent. The
average Indian film does not pretend to offer a unique storyline. A new twist to a familiar
storyline helps a film to succeed, if the audience is looking for originality, they know it is
principally to be found in the score. Film music is of such primary importance in today’s Indian
cinema that it more or less determines the box- office fate of most movies. Leading
choreographer Farah Khan believes that, ‘What is saving cinema from being engulfed by
Hollywood is our song and dance routines, because they just can’t imitate that’.
During the struggle for Independence – P.K.Nair, one of the India’s leading film historians,
believes that D.G.Phalke chose mythology for the cinema not only because it was an easy
means of communicating to the largest number of people, but also because Phalke saw
mythological stories as a way of evoking patriotic feelings in the
Indian Nation at a time when the country was a British colony. By showing Lord Krishna
overcoming the demon snake Kamsa in in his 1919 film KALIYA MARDAN, Phalke showed that it
was possible to fight the powerful and to challenge the imperialism that had plundered the
whole Nation in the same way the demon snake had poisoned the sacred river. Social FilmAside from the mythological, the 1920s saw the birth of other film genres, such as the social
film (examples include OUR HINDUSTAN 1928, and ORPHAN DAUGHTER), the historical film
celebrating Rajput history and grandeur, the stunt film based on the Hollywood model, and
Muslim subjects inspired by Persian love legends including Laila Majnu and stories set in the
splendor of Mughal Courts. The Persian love stories depended on family conflicts, court
intrigue, poetic dialogue, and songs of love and lament and these were better served by cinema
after the birth of the Films with Muslim subjects were later developed into the ‘ Muslim Social’,
of which the author Shahrukh Hussain commented, ‘Predictably, Muslim socials were about
Indian Muslims and were the forum for the portrayal of many social institution of the exotic
upper and lower classes of this community.
The Indian film industry, famously known as Bollywood, is the largest in the world, and has major
film studios in Mumbai (Bombay), Calcutta, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. Between them,
they turn out more than 1000 films a year to hugely appreciative audiences around the world.
For nearly 50 years, the Indian cinema has been the central form of entertainment in India, and
with its increased visibility and success abroad, it won't be long until the Indian film industry will
be well thought-out to be its western counterpart- Hollywood. Mainstream commercial releases,
however, continue to dominate the market, and not only in India, but wherever Indian cinema
has a large following, whether in much of the British Caribbean, Fiji, East and South Africa, the
U.K., United States, Canada, or the Middle East.
Indian Art Cinema
India is well known for its commercial cinema, better known as Bollywood. In addition to
commercial cinema, there is also Indian art cinema, known to film critics as "New Indian Cinema"
or sometimes "the Indian New Wave" any people in India plainly call such films as "art films" as
opposed to mainstream commercial cinema. From the 1960s through the 1980s, the art film or
the parallel cinema was usually government-aided cinema.
Indian Commercial Cinema
Commercial cinema is the most popular form of cinema in India. Ever since its inception the
commercial Indian movies have seen huge following. Commercial or popular cinema is made not
only in Hindi but also in many other regional languages of East and South India. Let's look at some
of the general conventions of commercial films in India. Commercial films, in whatever languages
they are made, tend to be quite long (approx three hours), with an interval. Another important
feature of commercial cinema in India is music.
Regional Cinema India
India is home to one of the largest film industries in the world. Every year thousands of movies
are produced in India. Indian film industry comprises of Hindi films, regional movies and art
cinema. The Indian film industry is supported mainly by a vast film-going Indian public, though
Indian films have been gaining increasing popularity in the rest of the world, especially in
countries with large numbers of emigrant Indians.
To sum up, the Indian cinema has grown quite big during the past century, especially during the
past six decades. This latter period saw the growth of the cinema a mass medium. Despite
thematic peculiarities and drawbacks, social conditioning and cultural inhibitions, it has proved
its merit in technical perfection, artistic evaluation and directorial innovations. Indian cinema,
by and large, has remained on the path of clean popular entertainment. In the coming
decades , it can give more attention to the social dimension of the medium , particularly its use
in mobilizing the masses through effective messages on serious issues such as social justice ,
environmental safety and a more rational and scientific approach to human problems .
*Thank You*