Cinema of India:
Golden Age of Indian cinema
A dance scene from the Tamil movie Chandralekha(1948)
Following India's independence, the period from the late 1944s to the 1960s are regarded by film historians as the 'Golden Age' of Indian cinema.[61][62][63]Some of the most critically acclaimed Indian films of all time were produced during this period.
This period saw the emergence of a newParallel Cinema movement, mainly led by Bengali cinema.[64] Early examples of films in this movement include Chetan Anand's Neecha Nagar (1946),[65] Ritwik Ghatak's Nagarik (1952),[66][67] and Bimal Roy's Do Bigha Zameen (1953), laying the foundations for Indian neorealism[68]and the "Indian New Wave".[69] Pather Panchali (1955), the first part of The Apu Trilogy (1955–1959) by Satyajit Ray, marked his entry in Indian cinema.[70]The Apu Trilogy won major prizes at all the major international film festivals and led to the 'Parallel Cinema' movement being firmly established in Indian cinema. Its influence on world cinemacan also be felt in the "youthful coming-of-age dramas that have flooded art houses since the mid-fifties" which "owe a tremendous debt to the Apu trilogy".[71]
The cinematographer Subrata Mitra, who made his debut with Satyajit Ray'sThe Apu Trilogy, also had an important influence on cinematography across the world. One of his most important techniques was bounce lighting, to recreate the effect of daylight on sets. He pioneered the technique while filmingAparajito (1956), the second part of The Apu Trilogy.[72] Some of the experimental techniques which Satyajit Ray pioneered include photo-negative flashbacks andX-ray digressions while filmingPratidwandi (1972).[73] Ray's 1967 script for a film to be called The Alien, which was eventually cancelled, is also widely believed to have been the inspiration forSteven Spielberg's E.T. (1982).[74][75][76]Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak went on to direct many more critically acclaimed 'art films', and they were followed by other acclaimed Indian independent filmmakers such as Mrinal Sen, Mani Kaul, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, G. Aravindan and Buddhadeb Dasgupta.[64]During the 1960s, Indira Gandhi's intervention during her reign as the Information and Broadcasting Minister of India further led to production of off-beat cinematic expression being supported by the official Film Finance Corporation.[52]
Commercial Hindi cinema also began thriving, with examples of acclaimed films at the time include the Guru Duttfilms Pyaasa (1957) and Kaagaz Ke Phool(1959) and the Raj Kapoor films Awaara(1951) and Shree 420 (1955). These films expressed social themes mainly dealing with working-class urban life in India;Awaara presented the city as both a nightmare and a dream, while Pyaasacritiqued the unreality of city life.[64]Some epic films were also produced at the time, including Mehboob Khan'sMother India (1957), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film,[77] and K. Asif's Mughal-e-Azam (1960).[78] V. Shantaram's Do Aankhen Barah Haath(1957) is believed to have inspired theHollywood film The Dirty Dozen(1967).[79] Madhumati (1958), directed byBimal Roy and written by Ritwik Ghatak, popularised the theme of reincarnationin Western popular culture.[80] Other mainstream Hindi filmmakers at the time included Kamal Amrohi and Vijay Bhatt.
Ever since Chetan Anand's social realistfilm Neecha Nagar won the Grand Prizeat the first Cannes Film Festival,[65]Indian films were frequently in competition for the Palme d'Or at theCannes Film Festival for nearly every year in the 1950s and early 1960s, with a number of them winning major prizes at the festival. Satyajit Ray also won theGolden Lion at the Venice Film Festivalfor Aparajito (1956), the second part ofThe Apu Trilogy, and the Golden Bear and two Silver Bears for Best Director at theBerlin International Film Festival.[81]Ray's contemporaries, Ritwik Ghatak and Guru Dutt, were overlooked in their own lifetimes but had belatedly generated international recognition much later in the 1980s and 1990s.[81][82] Ray is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema,[83] with Dutt[84] and Ghatak.[85]In 1992, the Sight & Sound Critics' Poll ranked Ray at No. 7 in its list of "Top 10 Directors" of all time,[86] while Dutt was ranked No. 73 in the 2002 Sight & Soundgreatest directors poll.[84]
Sivaji Ganesan became India's first ever actor to receive an international award when he won the "Best Actor" award at the Afro-Asian film festival in 1960 and was awarded the title of Chevalier in theLegion of Honour by the French Government in 1995.[87] Tamil cinema is also influenced by Dravidian politics,[88]with prominent film personalities like C N Annadurai, M G Ramachandran, M Karunanidhi and Jayalalithaa becomingChief Ministers of Tamil Nadu.[89]
A number of Indian films from this era are often included among the greatest films of all time in various critics' and directors' polls. At this juncture, south cinema saw the production works based on the epic Mahabharata, such asMayabazar, listed by IBN Live's 2013 Poll as the greatest Indian film of all time,[90] and Narthanasala received awards for best production design and best actor to S. V. Ranga Rao, at theIndonesian Film Festival.[91] A number of Satyajit Ray films appeared in the Sight & Sound Critics' Poll, including The Apu Trilogy (ranked No. 4 in 1992 if votes are combined),[92] The Music Room (ranked No. 27 in 1992), Charulata (ranked No. 41 in 1992)[93] and Days and Nights in the Forest (ranked No. 81 in 1982).[94] The 2002 Sight & Sound critics' and directors' poll also included the Guru Dutt filmsPyaasa and Kaagaz Ke Phool (both tied at #160), the Ritwik Ghatak films Meghe Dhaka Tara (ranked #231) and Komal Gandhar (ranked #346), and Raj Kapoor'sAwaara, Vijay Bhatt's Baiju Bawra, Mehboob Khan's Mother India and K. Asif's Mughal-e-Azam all tied at #346.[95]In 1998, the critics' poll conducted by theAsian film magazine Cinemaya includedThe Apu Trilogy (ranked No. 1 if votes are combined), Ray's Charulata and The Music Room (both tied at #11), and Ghatak's Subarnarekha (also tied at #11).[85] In 1999, The Village Voice top 250 "Best Film of the Century" critics' poll also included The Apu Trilogy(ranked No. 5 if votes are combined).[96]In 2005, The Apu Trilogy and Pyaasa were also featured in Time magazine's "All-TIME" 100 best movies list.[97]
Modern Indian cinema
Rajesh Khanna is referred to as the "first superstar" or the "original superstar" of Hindi cinema
Rajnikanth is the second highest paid actor in Asia
Kamal Haasan is the only Indian actor to receive four national awards and three international awards
2015 film Baahubali: The Beginning, had the highest opening for any Indian film ever, collecting 162 crores in the opening 98]
Shah Rukh Khan is the most popular and admired Indian celebrity all over world with more than 1 billion fans
.jpg)
Some filmmakers such as Shyam Benegal continued to produce realistic Parallel Cinema throughout the 1970s,[101] alongside Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen, Buddhadeb Dasgupta and Gautam Ghose in Bengali cinema; K Balachandar, Balu Mahendra,Bharathiraaja and Mani Ratnam in Tamil cinema, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Shaji N. Karun, John Abraham and G. Aravindanalso Bharathan and Padmarajan inMalayalam cinema ; Nirad Mohapatra inOriya cinema; K. N. T. Sastry and B. Narsing Rao in Telugu cinema; Mani Kaul, Kumar Shahani, Ketan Mehta,Govind Nihalani and Vijaya Mehta in Hindi cinema.[64] However, the 'art film' bent of the Film Finance Corporation came under criticism during a Committee on Public Undertakings investigation in 1976, which accused the body of not doing enough to encourage commercial cinema.[102]
Kamal Haasan received in 1990 the Padma Shri and in 2014 the Padma Bhushan for his contributions to Indian cinema.[93] At age six he won the President's Gold Medal for Best Child Actor for his debut film, Kalathur Kannamma.[94] Haasan is tied withMammootty and Amitabh Bachchan for the most Best Actor National Film Awards with three. He won a National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil for producing the 1992 Tamil film,Thevar Magan. Kamal Haasan has a record 19 Filmfare Awards in five languages; after his last award, in 2000, he wrote to the organisation requesting no further awards.[83][95] In 2003, his films Hey Ram, Pushpak, Nayakan andKuruthipunal were showcased in the "Director in Focus" category at the Rotterdam Film Festival.[96] In 2004,Virumaandi won the inaugural Best Asian film award at the Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival (PiFan).[41][96]
The 1970s did, nevertheless, see the rise of commercial cinema in form of enduring films such as Anand (1971),Amar Prem (1971) and Kati Patang(1972), establishing Rajesh Khanna as the first Superstar of Indian Cinema. Later, in mid 70s, action films likeZanjeer (1974) and Sholay (1975), solidified Amitabh Bachchan's position as a lead actor.[102] The devotional classic Jai Santoshi Ma was also released in 1975.[102] Another important film from 1975 was Deewar, directed byYash Chopra and written by Salim-Javed. A crime film pitting "a policeman against his brother, a gang leader based on real-life smuggler Haji Mastan", portrayed by Amitabh Bachchan, it was described as being "absolutely key to Indian cinema" by Danny Boyle.[103]1979 Telugu film, Sankarabharanam, which dealt with the revival of Indian classical music, has won the Prize of the Public at the Besancon Film Festival of France in the year 1981.[104] 1970 Kannada film, Samskara directed byPattabhirama Reddy, pioneered the parallel cinema movement in south Indian cinema. The film won Bronze Leopard at the Locarno International Film Festival.[105]
Many Tamil-language films have premiered or have been selected as special presentations at various film festivals across the globe, such as Mani Ratnam's Kannathil Muthamittal,Vasanthabalan's Veyyil and Ameer Sultan's Paruthiveeran. Kanchivaram(2009) was selected to be premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Tamil films have been a part of films submitted by India for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language on eight occasions, next only to Hindi.[106]Mani Ratnam's Nayagan (1987) was included in Time magazine's "All-TIME" 100 best movies list.[107] In 1991,Marupakkam directed by K.S. Sethu Madhavan, became the first Tamil film to win the National Film Award for Best Feature Film, the feat was repeated byKanchivaram in 2007.[108]
Malayalam cinema of Kerala regarded as one of the best Indian film genres experienced its own 'Golden Age' in the 1980s and early 1990s. Some of the most acclaimed Indian filmmakers at the time were from the Malayalam industry, including Adoor Gopalakrishnan, G. Aravindan, T. V. Chandran and Shaji N. Karun.[109] Adoor Gopalakrishnan, who is often considered to be Satyajit Ray's spiritual heir,[110]directed some of his most acclaimed films during this period, includingElippathayam (1981) which won theSutherland Trophy at the London Film Festival, as well as Mathilukal (1989) which won major prizes at the Venice Film Festival.[111]
Shaji N. Karun's debut film Piravi (1989) won the Camera d'Or at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival, while his second filmSwaham (1994) was in competition for the Palme d'Or at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival.[112] Commercial Malayalam cinema also began gaining popularity with the action films of Jayan, a popularstunt actor whose success was short-lived when he died while filming a dangerous helicopter stunt.
Commercial Hindi cinema further grew throughout the 1980s and the 1990s with the release of films such as Ek Duuje Ke Liye (1981), Mr India (1987),Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988), Tezaab(1988), Chandni (1989), Maine Pyar Kiya(1989), Baazigar (1993), Darr (1993),[102]Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (1994), Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1998), Pyar Kiya Toh Darna Kya (1998) and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), many of which starredSalman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit, Sridevi, Akshay kumar and Aamir Khan. At this juncture, Shekhar Kapur's cult classic, Bandit Queen (1994) which received international recognition, has also garnered high criticism byArundhati Roy in her film review entitled "The Great Indian Rape-Trick". However, the film highlighted the revival of feminist themes.[113][114]
In the late 1990s, 'Parallel Cinema' began experiencing a resurgence in Hindi cinema, largely due to the critical and commercial success of Satya(1998), a crime film based on theMumbai underworld, written and directed by Ram Gopal Varma, with screenplay by Anurag Kashyap. The film's success led to the emergence of a distinct genre known as Mumbai noir,[115]urban films reflecting social problems in the city of Mumbai.[116] Later films belonging to the Mumbai noir genre include Madhur Bhandarkar's Chandni Bar (2001) and Traffic Signal (2007), Ram Gopal Varma's Company- Ajay Devgn(2002) and its prequel D (2005), Anurag Kashyap's Black Friday (2004).
Vishal Bhardwaj's 2014 film Haider, the third installment of Indian Shakespearean Trilogy after Maqbool(2003) and Omkara (2006),[117] won thePeople's Choice Award at the 9th Rome Film Festival in the Mondo Genere category making it the first Indian film to achieve this feat.[118] Other art film directors active today include Mrinal Sen, Mir Shaani, Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Gautam Ghose, Sandip Ray and Aparna Sen in Bengali cinema; Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Shaji N. Karun and T. V. Chandran in Malayalam cinema; Nirad Mohapatra in Oriya cinema; Mani Kaul, Kumar Shahani, Ketan Mehta, Govind Nihalani, Shyam Benegal,[64] Mira Nair,Nagesh Kukunoor, Sudhir Mishra andNandita Das in Hindi cinema; K. N. T. Sastry, B. Narsing Rao, Akkineni Kutumba Rao, Deva Katta in Telugu cinema; Santosh Sivan in Tamil cinema;Deepa Mehta, Anant Balani, Homi Adajania, Vijay Singh and Sooni Taraporevala garnered recognition inIndian English cinema.
Contd.
No comments:
Post a Comment