Indian Cinema: Part I

There is nothing anywhere in the world quite like Indian-cinema. It is a unique inimitable brand of cinema that, at its most typical, is a fictional and seductive universe peopled by handsome and righteous heroes, ethereally pretty and virtuous heroines, and venal and wily villains. No mainstream Hindi film, as the world has known it for several decades now, is complete without a long, emotional, dramatic, sanctimonious speech or two, a complement of elaborately shot songs and dances, much buffoonery for comic relief, a story line packed with high-pitched sentimentalism, life and death conflicts and importantly, a happy ending where all problems are miraculously resolved. It’s impossible to summarise a century old cinema in few words but let’s discuss some defining moments in the history of Indian-cinema.

Introduction: The first defining moment of Indian-cinema was the introduction of cinema. Cinema was introduced to India on July 7, 1896. It began with the Lumiere Brothers' Cinematography, unveiling six silent short films at the Watson's Hotel in Bombay, namely Entry of Cinematographer, The Sea Bath, Arrival of a Train, A Demolition, Ladies & Soldiers on Wheels and Leaving the Factory.

The Beginning: Dhundiraj Govind Phalke inaugurated Indian-cinema with Raja Harishchandra, the first film in India to be shot with an entirely Indian crew, which featured a tale drawn from India’s vast mythological repository. Phalke’s subsequent films between 1914 and 1919, mohini bhasmasur, satyavan savitri, lanka dahan, shri Krishna janma and kaliya mardan, were all based on Hindu myths.

Talkies: Hindi cinema came of age with the emergence of talkies. They arrived like an upheaval, for better or for worse. Never did an art form or mass medium ever undergo such an array of changes in such a short time span. It was like a second birth of cinema, marked by the advent of a whole new structure and format. Since entertainment has always thrived on the new and the amazing, talkies became an instant success. Ardeshir Irani of Imperial Movie-tone released Alam Ara, the first full-length Indian talkie film at the Majestic cinema in Bombay. This film very effectively broke the golden silent era and laid a milestone that marked the steeping into the new talkie era.