On 21 April 2012, Indian cinema completed 100 years and reaching this has been a great journey for India- from Raja Harishchandra in 1920s to being the country which produces over 1,000 films every year. Bollywood movies, of course, comprise the majority of Indian film industry, while regional films inTamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Bengali, Gujarati, Bhojpuri etc make up the rest. From Teflon coated candyfloss romances peppered with lavish song-dance sequences shot in exotic locales, gritty underworld flicks, coming of age pangs of 20-somethings, kick butt action capers to social melodramas and tickle you pink stories – the Indian movies have just about touched every genre of entertainment.
From mindoggling blockbusters to multiplex movies tailor-made for English speaking Indians, to typical ‘NRI’ films with enough emotional content to tug at the heartstrings of homesick Indian diaspora, the platter is huge and diverse.
Unlike other western film industries, the Indian film industries have not been too heavily influenced by the Hollywood film industry and continue to retain its local flavour, essence, emotions and dialect. Indian films get to do their share of globetrotting at prestigious world film festivals, Indian stars walk the red carpet in Cannes and other festivals along with their global counterparts and the Indian films get reviewed by top international film journals and media.
Granted, many Indian filmmakers continue to hope for Uncle Oscar’s mini replica to adorn their trophy collection, but the endorsement isn’t all important anymore. India has its own distinct multi-lingual, multi-hued crop of films, some of them entertaining, some made for aesthetic pleasure, but all of them for your eyes only, for people like us.
Following the screening of the Lumiere moving pictures in London (1895) cinema became a sensation across Europe and by July 1896 the Lumière films had been in show in Bombay. The first short films in India were directed by Hiralal Sen, starting with The Flower of Persia (1898). The first Indian movie released in India was Shree pundalik, a silent film in Marathi by Dadasaheb Torne on 18 May 1912 at ‘Coronation Cinematograph’, Mumbai. Torne is also considered as a Father of Indian Cinema.
Pather Panchali (1955) directed by Satyajit Ray was among the earliest Indian films to have received global recognition (it got 11 international awards). Indian cinema has an identity that is very unique and unmatched. We have moved from the black and white silent films to 3D, but our cinema continues to retain its basic essence – to thrill. Even as internet downloads and television continue to cannibalize the theatrical revenues of Indian films, the lure of the 35 mm is something else altogether.
The Indian cinema has come to wield a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. It comprises films produced across India, which includes the cinematic cultures of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Manipur, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Oradesh and West Bengal. Indian films came to be followed throughout Southern Asia, the Greater Middle East, Southeast Asia and the erstwhile Soviet Union. The cinema as a medium gained popularity in the country and as many as 1,000 films in various languages of India were produced annually.
Indian Diaspora in countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States continue to give rise to international audiences for Indian films of various languages. The Dadasaheb Phalke Award, for lifetime contribution to cinema, was instituted in the honor of Dadasaheb Phalke, regarded as Father of Indian Cinema, by the Government of India in 1969, and is the most prestigious and coveted award in Indian cinema.
Recent years have witnessed Indian cinema making its presence felt at the international level,
and along with the Hollywood and Chinese film industry, it hasbecome a global enterprise. At the end of 2010 it was reported that in terms of annual film output, India ranks first, followed by Hollywood and China. Enhanced technology paved the way for upgrading from established cinematic norms of delivering product, altering the manner in which content reached the target audience. Visual effects based Super hero and Science fiction films like Krish, Enthiran, Ra.One and Eega, emerged as blockbusters. Indian cinema has found markets in over 90 countries where films from India are screened.
The provision of 100% foreign direct investment has made the Indian film market attractive for foreign enterprises such as 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures, Walt Disney, and Warner Bros. Indian enterprises such as Zee, UTV, Suresh Productions, Adlabs and Sun Network’s Sun Pictures also participated in producing and distributing films. Tax incentives to multiplexes have aided the multiplex boom in India. By 2003 as many as 30 film production companies had been listed in the National Stock Exchange of India, making the commercial presence of the medium felt.
The South Indian film industry, comprising Kannada, the Malayalam, the Tamil and the Telgu, defines the four film cultures of South India as a single entity. Although developed independently for a long period of time, gross exchange of film performers and technicians as well as g;oba;ization helped to shape this new identity, currently holding 75% of all film revenues in India.
The films for millions of Indians overseas are made available both through mediums such as DVDs and by screening of films in their country of residence wherever commercially feasible. These earnings, accounting for some 12% of the revenue generated by a mainstream film, contribute substantially to the overall revenue of Indian cinema, the net worth of which was found to be US$1.3 billion in 2000.
Highlights of Indian Cinema
- Alam Ara (Light of the Universe) was the first full-length Indian talkie film released on 14 March 1931 by Ardeshir Irani of Imperial Movietone at the Majestic cinema in Bombay.
- Kisan Kanya, a Hindi feature film released in 1937, was India’s first indigenously made colour film.
- Indra Sabha, made in 1932, had 71 songs and it was the film with most number of songs.
- Bhanu Athaiya was the First Indian to get an Oscar award for the Best Costume Designer for Richard Attenborough’s film Gandhi in 1982.
- The song Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyon in the film by the same name is the longest Hindi film song. The length of the song is 20 minutesand the song is featured in three installments in the film.
- LOC-Kargil at 4 hours 16 minutes is the longest Indian movie made so far. Mera Naam Joker at 4 hours 14 minutes is a close second.
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge remains the longest running film in the history of Indian cinema, having completed 700 weeks of undeterred run at Mumbai’s Minnerva theatre a couple of years back. Sholaywas the second longest running Indian movie, having run for 5 years continuously and the theatres screening it always had the houseful board in front of it for that period.
(Compiled by from various reports by FGR Bureau)
