The world leader in annual production of various films is India. Cinema in this country is a global enterprise that has supplanted the Chinese and Hollywood film industries in terms of the number of documentaries and art films produced. Indian films are screened on ninety countries. This article will discuss the features of Indian cinema.
Multilingual structure
The Indian film industry is multilingual. The fact is that two official languages are used in the country: Hindi and English. In addition, almost every state in India has its own officially recognized language. And in many regions of the country (Orissa, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala, Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Assam, Anhra Pradesh, Gujarat) make films. And it is not at all surprising that Indian cinema is divided by language. Pictures in Telugu are filmed in Hollywood, and Tomil language in Collywood. In Hindi, the famous Bollywood releases tapes. India annually launches more than 1,000 films in various languages.
Indian movie genres
There are two main genres in Indian cinema.
- “Masala” is a commercial cinema created for a wide audience. Films of this type are characterized by a mixture of several genres: melodrama, drama, comedy, action. Most of these paintings are colorful musicals, shot against the backdrop of the most picturesque places in India. The plot of such tapes may seem fabulous and implausible. The genre got its name in honor of the Indian mixture of spices - masala.
- "Parallel" movie is an Indian arthouse. The content of such paintings is serious and naturalistic. In this direction, Bengali cinema is leading, the leading directors of which - Satyajit Rai, Ritvik Ghatak and Mrinal Sen - have earned worldwide recognition.
The rise of Indian cinema
Indian cinema was born in 1899, when photographer H.S. Bhatvadekar, or Save-Dada, made several short films. The first full-length silent picture called “Raja Harishchandra” was released in 1913. Its creator was Dadasaheb Falke, who happened to be both a director, producer, screenwriter, editor, cameraman and distributor of his creation. In 1910, 25 films were shot in India, and in 1930, 200 films. In 1931, on March 14, the first Indian sound painting “The Light of the World” was released. She was a great success. In the same year, another 27 films appeared in the country (22 of them in Hindi), which led to the illiterate part of the Indian population in the cinema . In 1933, the first British-Indian film Destiny was shot. His exit was an important milestone in the cultural life of India - in the picture there was a scene of a kiss of the main characters. Interestingly, after the country gained independence, in 1952 a cinema law was passed prohibiting kisses on the screen as “indecent”. The first Indian color film was released in 1937. It was called the “Peasant's Daughter” and did not have much success at the box office. The Second World War crippled Indian cinema: political censorship was tightened, there was a shortage of film. But the Indians continued to attend movie theaters. The film "Fate" lasted for 192 weeks and had excellent box office.
The Golden Age of Indian Cinema
The golden age of the cinema is called the heyday of cinema, which was marked in India in the 1940-1960s. Films that appeared during this period became classics of the genre. The film "Mother India" (1957) directed by Mehbub Khan received a large number of awards at foreign film festivals and was nominated for an Oscar as the best picture in a foreign language. The most famous directors of that period were: Kamal Amrohi, Vijay Bhatt, Bimal Roy, K. Asif, Mehbub Khan. Paper Flowers and Thirst tapes, shot by Guru Dutt, were included in the list of "100 Best Films of All Time" according to famous Western publications. Leading actors and actresses, favorites of all India, were: Guru Dutt, Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Mala Sinha, Wahida Rehman, Madhubala, Nutan, Mina Kumari, Nargis.
Raj Kapoor - the favorite of the public
Raj Kapoor is known not only as a wonderful actor, but also an outstanding director who directed the best Indian films. His paintings were a steady commercial success. The tapes "The Tramp" (1951) and "Mr. 420" (1955) tell about the life of ordinary urban workers in India. The secret to the success of Raji Kapoor’s films is simple. They show the life and life of various segments of the population as they are. At the same time, the films shot in the comedy genre conquer with their optimism and love of life. The phrase from the song to “Mr. 420” fully characterizes the protagonist of the picture: “I am wearing American socks, fashionable British trousers, a big Russian hat, and an Indian soul.” Not surprisingly, viewers could not tear themselves away from the movie screens. Raj Kapoor played his best roles in his own films and was extremely popular both at home and abroad. He received many flattering nicknames. He was called the "father of Indian cinema", "the blue-eyed prince of the East" and "Indian Charlie Chaplin." Old Indian cinema with Raj Kapoor still makes an unforgettable impression on the audience.
"Parallel" movie
In contrast to the commercial film industry, “parallel” cinema has appeared in India. The main role in this was played by Bengal cinema. The best Indian cinema in this genre was shot by Chetan Anand ("City in the Valley"), Ritvik Gatak (Nagarik) and Bimal Roy ("Two Biga of the Earth"). These directors laid the foundation for neorealism in India. After this, Satyajit Rai created the Trilogy of Apu (1955-1959), which influenced the entire world cinema. Its first part, “Song of the Road” (1955), became the winner of numerous international film festivals. Thanks to the success of the trilogy, “parallel” cinema has firmly established itself in Indian cinema. Other directors of the country (Buddha Dasgupta, Mani Kol, Adur Gopalakrishnan, Mrinal Sen) began to shoot arthouse films. Satyajit Rai received international recognition and many cinematic awards during his lifetime. The second part of the Apu Trilogy, released in 1956, the movie Unconquered, won the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival and the Golden Bear and two Silver Bears in Berlin. Indian filmmakers Guru Dutt, Ritvik Ghatak and Satyajit Rai are recognized as the greatest 20th century cinema art theorists.
Romantic action
In the early 1970s, romantic films with elements of action movies became fashionable. These pictures were shot mainly in Bollywood. The main character of such films was the "angry young man" (the image embodied by actor Amitabh Bachchan), who independently confronts evil and wins in all the gang warfare. Films flavored with songs and dances, with a bright romantic component and elements of martial arts conquered not only India, but also other countries of the world. Indian films Zita and Gita, Beloved Raja, Mr. India, Disco Dancer, Dance, Dance and others are still being watched with pleasure by fans of the genre. The most famous actors at that time were Shashi Kapoor, Sanjeev Kumar, Dharmendra, Rajesh Khanna, Mumtaz and Asha Parekh, Sharmila Tagor, as well as Hema Malini, Jaya Bhaduri, Anil Kapoor and Medhun Chakroborty.
Contemporary paintings
New Indian cinema has received worldwide recognition. Commercial Indian films continue to gain a leading position. In 1975, Ramesh Sippy's painting “Revenge and the Law” was released. Some critics recognize her as the best in the Indian film industry. The film “The Wall” (1975) by Yasha Chopra also earned rave reviews from filmmakers around the world. In 1980, she received the Golden Camera Award at the Cannes Film Festival Salaam Bombay Nair Mira. This film also received an Oscar nomination. In the 1980–1990s, the paintings “Sentence” (1988), “Burning Passion” (1988), “Everything in Life Happens” (1998), “Play with Death” (1993), “Unfinished Bride” (1995) ) In many tapes, leading Indian artists were involved: Salman Khan, Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan.
One of the leading countries producing films in the genre of "parallel" cinema is still India. The film “Betrayal” (1998), created by screenwriter Anurag Kashyap and director Rama Gopal Varma, was a resounding success and marked the beginning of a new genre of Indian cinema - “Mumbai Noir”. The criminal world of Mumbai is reflected in the paintings “Dancing on the Edge” (2001), “Payback for Everything” (2002), “Life at the Signal of a Traffic Light” (2007) and so on.
Commercial Movie Features
Many films are released annually by India. Cinema in this country is constantly developing. Often high-quality Indian films appear on movie screens, with a strong dramatic plot, stunning actors and an original creative approach at all levels of picture creation. However, many films are shot according to the pattern. Stereotypical stories, weak cast and so on. Particular attention in such tapes is given to the musical component. Soundtracks for films to warm up the interest of the public are released long before the release of the film.
A huge part of the audience in India is the poor, so often in commercial films the fate of a man who managed to defend his place under the sun alone is narrated. Much attention in tapes of this type is paid to bright colors, beautiful outfits, and music. This helps the public temporarily forget about their everyday difficulties. Often, the most beautiful Indian models become actresses in commercial cinema: Aishwarya Rai, Priyanka Chopra, Lara Datta.