Revisiting History …..100 years of Indian Cinema

“100 years of Indian cinema is being celebrated by people who know Indian cinema only for the last 30 years”- this was the opening line of Rafiq Baghdadi who runs the Movie Club at the Mumbai Press Club. Two weeks ago he had organized a short discussion along with two screenings –one documentary on 100 years of Cinema and the other film was Dilip Kumar starrer ‘Amar’ where for the first time he plays a negative character: 

We got to know of lot of trivia associated with Indian cinema. I am sure all of these are available across several books on Indian cinema. But, to hear it from a man who eats, breathes and lives cinema is different. Some of these are facts like 

** In 1896-the first film was screened and show to public in Mumbai at the Watson’s hotel- (Which still exists and is one of India’s oldest surviving iron cast buildings. The building stands on Iron stills and the building was shipped from York and assembled here). 

** Theatres in Mumbai started as single cinema talkies in 1920s. Dadasaheb Phalke’s Raja Harishchandra was screened at Olympia Theatre and Coronation Cinema in Girgaum. There were several other theatres around Grant Road, Girgaum, Dhobi Talao and Mumbai Central. The old theatres then had a ticket costing of Rs 1 to Rs 2.50. 

** Mumbai was the hub of Indian cinema but, did you know that the Mumbai University does not have a Phd programme on Indian cinema. 

The documentary took us through the history of cinema. The film also had important personalities from the world of cinema giving their opinions. 

The French might have introduced the concept of moving images, but little did anyone know that India would one day become the largest film industry in the world producing over 1000 films a year.

Indian cinema has a unique identity. Dadasaheb Phalke introduced us to cinema at a time when cinema was not considered a good profession. Working in films was considered a taboo. But, after the release of Raja Harishchandar several filmmakers in Bombay and Madras (Mumbai and Chennai now) started making silent films. 

By the mid 1920s, Madras had become the epicentre for all film related activities. Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu, SS Vasan, AV Meiyappan (AVM) set up production houses in Madras to shoot Telugu and Tamil films.

The silent era came to an end when Ardeshir Irani produced his first talkie, 'Alam Ara' in 1931. The film released on 14th March at the Majestic Theatre. For the first time the film had songs and since then music became a defining element in Indian cinema. 
Indrasabha, a film adapted from a play by the same name was released by Madan Theatre in 1932. The film had 69 songs.   

South Indian films also saw the beginning of a talking era during the same year. The first talkie films in Bengali (Jumai Shasthi), Telugu (Bhakta Prahlad) and Tamil (Kalidass) were released in the same year. 
Early 1930s saw the emergence of the studio system in Indian cinema. Prabhat Studio established in Kolhapur by V Shantaram, V G  Damle, S Fatelal and two other film technicians was one of the leading studios of that time. It eventually moved to Pune. The studio’s first films Sant Tukaram was released in 1936. 
Popular literature became the main source for film subjects. ‘Devdas’ was one such film among several others. 

40s and 50s Indian cinema was institutionalized. Every individual became the individual became the institution by his work and contribution to Indian cinema. 

Another theme or subject that took the fancy of filmmakers was social issues. The social films of V. Shantaram, more than anything else, paved the way for an entire set of directors who took it upon themselves to interrogate not only the institutions of marriage, dowry, and widowhood, but the grave inequities created by caste and class distinctions. Some of the social problems received their most unequivocal expression in Achhut Kanya ("Untouchable Girl", 1936), a film directed by Himanshu Rai of Bombay Talkies. The film portrays the travails of a Harijan girl, played by Devika Rani, and a Brahmin boy, played by Ashok Kumar. 

The disciplined Studio system however got a jolt during the 2nd World War. Money then started coming into the industry from wealthy individuals. This upset many filmmakers who made films for a passion and not for commercial reasons. Independent filmmakers started concentrating on music more than the story. Infact. 40s and 50s was the golden era of music.  

Shankar Jaikishan, 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. 

50s and 60s were considered as the Golden Age of Indian cinema. Filmmakers like Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Guru Dutt, Bimal Roy, Mehboob Khan, K Asif, Raj Kapoor, KV Reddy, L V Prasad and Ramu Kariat made waves in their respective film industries and they went on to make classics like Pather Panchali, Madhumati, Do Bheega Zameen, Shree 420, Awaara, Pyasa, Mother India, Mughal E Azam, Mayabazar and Chemmeen among many other films. 

In the south, N.T. Rama Rao, M. G. Ramachandran, Sivaji Ganesan, Rajkumar, Prem Nazir dominated the film industry for more than three decades before making way for the next generation of actors like Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Mammootty, Mohanlal, Chiranjeevi and Balakrishna.

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 narrative style changed. The story structure changed. Characters changed. Content changed. The genre promised instant attraction and had great entertainment value. 

While Indian commercial cinema enjoyed popularity among movie-goers, Indian art cinema did not go unnoticed. Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Ritwik Ghatak, Aravindan, Satyajit Ray, Shyam Benegal, Shaji Karun and several other art film directors were making movies that gave India international fame and glory.

Indian cinema, despite all its peculiarities, has been a reflection of the socio-economic, political and cultural changes that took place in the country. Here's hoping that Indian movies continue to entertain us the way they've been doing since 10 decades.