motion pictures
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
produced in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, which had a large effect on
world cinema
World cinema is a term in film theory that refers to films made outside of the American motion picture industry, particularly those in opposition to the aesthetics and values of commercial American cinema.Nagib, Lúcia. "Towards a positive de ...
since the late 20th century. Major centers of film production across the country include
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
,
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
,
Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
,
Visakhapatnam
, image_alt =
, image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura (S20), INS ...
,
Kochi
Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...
,
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
,
Bangalore
Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
,
Bhubaneswar
Bhubaneswar (; ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. The region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Ekamra Kshetra'' (area (''kshetra'') adorned with mango trees (''ekamra'')). Bhubaneswar is ...
-
Cuttack
Cuttack (, or officially Kataka ) in Odia is the former capital and the second largest city in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised form of ''Kataka'' which literall ...
and
Guwahati
Guwahati (, ; formerly rendered Gauhati, ) is the biggest city of the Indian state of Assam and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the ...
. For a number of years the Indian film industry has ranked first in the world in terms of annual film output. In terms of
box office
A box office or ticket office is a place where ticket (admission), tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a Wicket gate, wicke ...
it ranked third in 2019, with total gross of around (US$2.7 billion).
Indian cinema is composed of
multilingual
Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...
and
multi-ethnic
Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-ethn ...
film art. In 2019,
Hindi cinema
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
represented 44% of box office revenue, followed by
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
S ...
and
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
film industries, each representing 13%,
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...
and
Kannada
Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
film industries, each representing 5%.Other prominent languages in the Indian film industry include
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
,
Marathi
Marathi may refer to:
*Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India
*Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people
*Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece
See also
*
* ...
Gujarati
Gujarati may refer to:
* something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India
* Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat
* Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them
* Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub ...
and
Bhojpuri
Bhojpuri (;Bhojpuri entry, Oxford Dictionaries , Oxford U ...
. As of 2020, the combined revenue of all other language film industries has surpassed that of the Mumbai-based Bollywood Hindi film industry. As of 2022,
Telugu cinema
Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Telugu cinema is based in Film Nagar, Hy ...
leads Indian cinema's box-office revenue.
Indian cinema is a global enterpriseKhanna, 155 and its films have wide viewership and fanbase throughout
South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...
and have spread internationally.Khanna, 158 Modern film releases are dubbed into many languages, forming a
Pan-India films
Pan-Indian film is a term related to Indian cinema that originated with Telugu cinema as a mainstream commercial film appealing to audiences across the country with a spread to world markets. The movement gained popularity since 2015, post th ...
movement. Millions of Indians overseas watch Indian films, accounting for 12% of revenue.Potts, 74 Major Indian enterprises in the film industry include
Arka Media Works
Arka Media Works is an Indian film production and trans-media company based out of Hyderabad, known for their works in Television and Telugu cinema. Founded in 2001 by Shobu Yarlagadda, and Prasad Devineni
Shobu Yarlagadda and Prasad Devin ...
,
Aascar Films
V. Ravichandran, is an Indian film producer and distributor in Chennai, India. He is the founder and owner of the production and distribution company, Aascar Films Pvt. Ltd. Ravichandran started his venture in 1998 with the co-production of '' ...
,
Aashirvad Cinemas
Aashirvad Cinemas is an Indian film production company based in Kochi, Kerala. It was established in 2000 by Antony Perumbavoor, since then, it has produced over 30 Malayalam films, starring Mohanlal. Since 2009, the company co-operates with th ...
,
AGS Entertainment
AGS Entertainment is an Indian film production, distribution company and multiplex chain in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was established in 2006 by three brothers Kalpathi S. Aghoram, Kalpathi S.Ganesh and Kalpathi S. Suresh.
History
AGS Entertain ...
,
AVM Productions
AVM Productions is an Indian film production studio founded by A. V. Meiyappan. It is the final oldest survived studio in India. The filming studios are located in Vadapalani, Chennai. It has produced over 300 films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, ...
,
Eros International
Eros International Media Ltd (also known as Eros India) is an Indian motion picture production and distribution company, based and originated in Mumbai, India. Founded by Arjun Lulla in 1977, it is one of the leading production and distribut ...
,
Geetha Arts
Geetha Arts is an Indian film production and distribution company known for its works in Telugu cinema. It is established in 1972 by Allu Aravind. The company is based out of Hyderabad. It has produced around 60 films majority of them in Tel ...
,
Hombale Films
Hombale Films (pronunciation: Hom-Baa-Lay) is an Indian film production company mainly known for the ''K.G.F'' franchise and blockbuster film Kantara. It was founded by Vijay Kiragandur.
History
Hombale Films was founded by Vijay Kiraga ...
,
Lyca Productions
Lyca Productions is an Indian entertainment company, which was established by Subaskaran Allirajah in 2014. A subgroup of Lycamobile, the production studio has been involved in the production and distribution of Tamil films made in India. It h ...
,
Modern Theatres
Modern Theaters Ltd was an Indian film studio in Salem, Tamil Nadu started by T. R. Sundaram Mudaliar in 1935. The studio produced over more than 150 films until 1982 in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, Sinhalese and even English of ...
,
Mythri Movie Makers
Mythri Movie Makers Pvt. Ltd is an Indian film production company established by Naveen Yerneni, Y. Ravi Shankar, and Mohan Cherukuri, in 2015. It mainly produces and distributes Telugu films.
Notable films produced by the company include '' ...
,
Salman Khan Films
Salman Khan Films (SKF) is an Indian film production and distribution company established by Bollywood actor Salman Khan in 2011. Based in Mumbai, it mainly produces and distributes Hindi films.
Films produced and distributed by Salman Khan Fi ...
Suresh Productions
Suresh Productions (also known as Suresh Movies, Vijaya Suresh Combines) is an Indian film production and distribution company known for its works in Telugu cinema. It is established in 1964 by D. Ramanaidu. It is one of India's largest film p ...
,
UTV Motion Pictures
UTV Motion Pictures (also known as Disney-UTV) was the feature film unit of UTV Software Communications founded by Ronnie Screwvala and Zarina Screwvala in 1996 as UTV Motion Pictures Plc., the film distribution division of UTV Software Communica ...
,
Yash Raj Films
Yash Raj Films (YRF) is an Indian film production and distribution company founded by veteran filmmaker Yash Chopra in 1970. It mainly produces and distributes Hindi and Punjabi films. The company has grown to be one of the largest film studios ...
and
Zee Entertainment Enterprises
Zee Entertainment Enterprises (formerly Zee Telefilms) is an Indian media conglomerate owned by Essel Group. Headquartered in Mumbai, it has interests in television, print, internet, film, businesses related to mobile contents, and operates 45 ...
.
History
The history of cinema in India extends to the beginning of the film era. Following the screening of the Lumière and Robert Paul moving pictures in London in 1896, commercial
cinematography
Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography.
Cinematographers use a lens to focu ...
became a worldwide sensation and these films were shown in Bombay (now
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
) that same year.Burra & Rao, 252
Silent films (1890s–1920s)
In 1897, a film presentation by filmmaker Professor Stevenson featured a stage show at Calcutta's Star Theatre. With Stevenson's camera and encouragement, Indian photographer
Hiralal Sen
Hiralal Sen ( bn, হীরালাল সেন, ''Hiralal Shen''; 2 August 1868 – 26 October 1917) is generally considered one of India's first filmmakers. In 1903, he filmed the popular Alibaba and Forty Thieves, the first full-length In ...
filmed scenes from that show, exhibited as ''The Flower of Persia'' (1898). ''The Wrestlers'' (1899), by H. S. Bhatavdekar, showing a wrestling match at the Hanging Gardens in Bombay, was the first film to be shot by an Indian and the first Indian documentary film.
The first full-length Indian films released in India were the
Marathi-language
Marathi (; ''Marāṭhī'', ) is an Indo-Aryan language predominantly spoken by Marathi people in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the official language of Maharashtra, and additional official language in the state of Goa. It is one of t ...
silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...
s ''
Shree Pundalik
''Shree Pundalik'', which was released on 18 May 1912 at the Coronation Cinematograph, Girgaum, Mumbai, is sometimes considered the first feature-length Indian film by a minority. The government of India and most scholarly sources consider ''Ra ...
'' (1912,
Dadasaheb Torne
Ramchandra Gopal Torne () (13 April 1890 – 19 January 1960), also known as Dadasaheb Torne was an Indian director and producer, best known for making the first feature film in India, '' Shree Pundalik''. This historic record is well establis ...
) and ''
Raja Harishchandra
''Raja Harishchandra'' () is a 1913 Indian silent film directed and produced by Dadasaheb Phalke. It is often considered the first full-length Indian feature film. ''Raja Harishchandra'' features Dattatraya Damodar Dabke, Anna Salunke, Bhal ...
'' (1913,
Dadasaheb Phalke
Dhundiraj Govind Phalke (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, ̪ʱuɳɖiɾaːd͡ʒ pʰaːɭke, popularly known as Dadasaheb Phalke () (30 April 1870 – 16 February 1944), was an Indian producer-director-screenwriter, known as "the Father of In ...
). Both were premiered at the Coronation Cinematograph in Bombay.Burra & Rao, 253 Some film scholars have argued that ''Pundalik'' was not a true Indian film because it was simply a recording of a stage play, filmed by a British cameraman with the film processed in London. The latter film had a story based on elements from
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
epics, and its successes led many to consider Phalke a pioneer of Indian cinema.Burra & Rao, 253
The first
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
Keechaka Vadham
''Keechaka Vadham'' () is an Indian silent film produced, directed, filmed and edited by R. Nataraja Mudaliar. The first film to have been made in South India, it was shot in five weeks at Nataraja Mudaliar's production house, India Film Comp ...
Vigathakumaran
''Vigathakumaran'' ( en, The Lost Child, italic=yes) is a 1928 Indian silent film written, produced and directed by J. C. Daniel. He also played the role of hero in the movie. A social drama, ''Vigathakumaran'' was the first Malayalam feature f ...
'' (1928, J. C. Daniel Nadar). The latter was the first Indian social drama film and featured the first
Dalit
Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the Caste system in India, castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold Varna (Hinduism), varna syste ...
-caste film actress.
The first chain of Indian cinemas,
Madan Theatre
Madan Theatre Company, also known as Madan Theatres Limited or Madan Theatres in short, was a film production company founded by Jamshedji Framji Madan, one of the pioneers of Indian Cinema.
History
Madan, a young Parsi businessman, who had expe ...
, was owned by
Parsi
Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim conq ...
entrepreneur
Jamshedji Framji Madan
Jamshedji Framji Madan (27 April 1857, Bombay – 28 June 1923), professionally known as J. F. Madan, was an Indian theatre and film magnate who was one of the pioneers of film production in India, an early exhibitor, distributor and producer of ...
, who oversaw the production and distribution of films for the chain. These included film adaptations from Bengal's popular literature and '' Satyawadi Raja Harishchandra'' (1917), a remake of Phalke's influential film.
In
South India
South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...
, film pioneer Raghupathi Venkayya, credited as the father of Telugu cinema, built the first cinemas in Madras (now
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
), and a
film studio
A film studio (also known as movie studio or simply studio) is a major entertainment company or motion picture company that has its own privately owned studio facility or facilities that are used to make films, which is handled by the production ...
was established in the city by Nataraja Mudaliar.
Films steadily gained popularity across India as affordable entertainment for the masses (admission as low as an ''anna'' ne-sixteenth of a rupeein Bombay). Young producers began to incorporate elements of Indian social life and culture into cinema, others brought new ideas from across the world. Global audiences and markets soon became aware of India's film industry.Burra & Rao, 252–253
In 1927, the British government, to promote the market in India for British films over American ones, formed the Indian Cinematograph Enquiry Committee. The ICC consisted of three British and three Indians, led by
T. Rangachari
Diwan Bahadur T. Rangachari CIE (1865–1945) was an Indian lawyer, politician, journalist, legislator.
Early life
Rangachari was born in 1865 in a prominent land-owning Iyengar family of the Madras Presidency. He had his education in Madr ...
, a Madras lawyer. This committee failed to bolster the desired recommendations of supporting British Film, instead recommending support for the fledgling Indian film industry, and their suggestions were set aside.
Talkies (1930s–mid-1940s)
The first Indian
sound film
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before ...
was ''
Alam Ara
''Alam Ara'' () is a 1931 Indian Hindustani-language historical fantasy film directed and produced by Ardeshir Irani. It revolves on a king and his two wives, Navbahaar and Dilbahaar, who are childless; soon, a '' fakir'' (Muhammad Wazir Khan) ...
'' (1931,
Ardeshir Irani
Khan Bahadur Ardeshir Irani (5 December 1886 – 14 October 1969) was a writer, director, producer, actor, film distributor, film showman and cinematographer in the silent and sound eras of early Indian cinema. He was the one of the greatest l ...
). He also produced South India's first sound film, the Tamil–Telugu bilingual talking picture ''
Kalidas
Kālidāsa (''fl.'' 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on the Vedas, the Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata and ...
'' (1931, H. M. Reddy).
''Jumai Shasthi'' was the first Bengali talkie. Chittoor Nagayya was one of the first multilingual filmmakers in India.
East India Film Company
The East India Film Company was an Indian film production company, based in Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India. It was the first Indian film company to screen a movie at an international film festival. Started in 1932 in Calcutta, by R. ...
produced its first Telugu film, '' Savitri'' (1933,
C. Pullaiah
Chittajallu Pullayya (Telugu language, Telugu: చిత్తజల్లు పుల్లయ్య; 1898 – 6 October 1967) was an Indian film director and screenwriter. He is one of the earliest film personalities in Telugu cinema being ...
), adapted from a stage play by Mylavaram Bala Bharathi Samajam. The film received an honorary diploma at the 2nd Venice International Film Festival.
Jyoti Prasad Agarwala made his first film ''Joymoti'' (1935) in Assamese, and later made ''Indramalati''. The first film studio in South India, Durga Cinetone, was built in 1936 by Nidamarthi Surayya in
Rajahmundry
Rajahmundry, officially known as Rajamahendravaram, is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and District headquarters of East Godavari district. It is the sixth most populated city in the state. During British rule, the District of Rajah ...
, Andhra Pradesh. The advent of sound to Indian cinema launched musicals such as ''Indra Sabha'' and ''Devi Devyani'', marking the beginning of song-and-dance in Indian films. By 1935, studios emerged in major cities such as Madras, Calcutta and Bombay as filmmaking became an established industry, exemplified by the success of ''
Devdas
''Devdas'' ( bn, দেবদাস, transliterated as ''Debdās'') is a Bengali romance novel written by Sarat Chandra Chatterjee. The story pivots a tragic triangle linking Devdas, an archetypal lover in viraha (separation); Paro, his forbidden ...
'' (1935).Burra & Rao, 254 The first colour film made in India was ''Kisan Kanya'' (1937, Moti B). '' Vishwa Mohini'' (1940) was the first Indian film to depict the Indian movie-making world.
Swamikannu Vincent
Samikannu Vincent (18 April 1883 – 22 April 1942) was a cinema exhibitor turned theatre owner. His first theatre was Variety Hall (now Delite theatre) in Coimbatore in 1914. He was a pioneer in making movies, popular in Madras presidency and ...
, who had built the first cinema of South India in
Coimbatore
Coimbatore, also spelt as Koyamputhur (), sometimes shortened as Kovai (), is one of the major metropolitan cities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyyal River and surrounded by the Western Ghats. Coimbato ...
, introduced the concept of "tent cinema" in which a tent was erected on a stretch of open land to screen films. The first of its kind was in Madras and called Edison's Grand Cinema Megaphone. This was due to the fact that electric carbons were used for motion picture projectors.
Bombay Talkies
Bombay Talkies was a movie studio founded in 1934. During its period of operation, Bombay Talkies produced 40 movies in Malad, a suburb of the Indian city of Bombay.
The studio was established in 1934 by Himanshu Rai and Devika Rani. After Ra ...
opened in 1934 and
Prabhat Studios
Prabhat Film Company (popularly known as Prabhat Films) was an Indian film production company and film studios founded in 1929 by the noted film director V.Shantaram and his friends.
It was formed in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India in 1929, towar ...
in
Pune
Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...
began production of Marathi films. ''
Sant Tukaram
Sant Tukaram Maharaj (Marathi pronunciation: ̪ukaːɾam was a 17th-century Marathi poet, Hindu ''sant'' (saint), popularly known as Tuka, Tukobaraya, Tukoba in Maharashtra. He was a Sant of Varkari sampradaya (Marathi-Vaishnav tradition) ...
'' (1936) was the first Indian film to be screened at an international film festival, at the 1937 edition of the Venice Film Festival. The film was judged one of the three best films of the year. However, while Indian filmmakers sought to tell important stories, the
British Raj
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...
banned ''Wrath'' (1930) and ''
Raithu Bidda
''Raithu Bidda'' (''English:'' Farmer of Common Origins) ( ''Telugu'': రైతు బిడ్డ, lit. Farmer-Son of the Soil) is a 1939 Telugu social problem film directed by Gudavalli Ramabrahmam. It is a social reformist film during the p ...
'' (1938) for broaching the subject of the
Indian independence movement
The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947.
The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...
.
The Indian ''
Masala film
Masala films of Indian cinema mix multiple genres into one work. Masala films emerged in the 1970s and are still created as of the 2020s. Typically these films freely mix action, comedy, romance, and drama or melodrama. They also tend to be ...
''—a term used for mixed-genre films that combined song, dance, romance, etc.—arose following the Second World War. During the 1940s, cinema in
South India
South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...
accounted for nearly half of India's cinema halls, and cinema came to be viewed as an instrument of cultural revival. The
Indian People's Theatre Association
Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA) is the oldest association of theatre-artists in India. IPTA was formed in 1943 during the British rule in India, and promoted themes related to the Indian freedom struggle. Its goal was to bring cultur ...
(IPTA), an art movement with a
communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
inclination, began to take shape through the 1940s and the 1950s.Rajadhyaksa, 679 IPTA plays, such as ''
Nabanna
''Nobanno'' ( bn, নবান্ন, Nobānno; lit: New Feast) is a Bengali harvest celebration usually celebrated with food and dance and music in Bangladesh and in the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and Assam's Barak Valley. It is ...
'' (1944), prepared the ground for
realism
Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to:
In the arts
*Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts
Arts movements related to realism include:
*Classical Realism
*Literary realism, a move ...
in Indian cinema, exemplified by
Khwaja Ahmad Abbas
Khwaja Ahmad Abbas (7 June 1914 – 1 June 1987) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, novelist, and journalist in Urdu, Hindi and English. He won four National Film Awards in India. Internationally, his films won the Palme d'Or (Golden ...
's ''
Dharti Ke Lal
''Dharti Ke Lal'' ( ''Children of the Earth'') is a 1946 Hindustani film, the first directorial venture of the noted film director Khwaja Ahmad Abbas (K. A. Abbas). It was jointly written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas and Bijon Bhattacharya, based on ...
'' (''Children of the Earth'', 1946). The IPTA movement continued to emphasize realism in films ''
Mother India
''Mother India'' is a 1957 Indian epic drama film, directed by Mehboob Khan and starring Nargis, Sunil Dutt, Rajendra Kumar and Raaj Kumar. A remake of Khan's earlier film '' Aurat'' (1940), it is the story of a poverty-stricken village woma ...
'' and ''
Pyaasa
''Pyaasa'' (; ) is a 1957 Indian Hindi drama film directed and produced by Guru Dutt, who stars alongside Mala Sinha, Waheeda Rehman, Rehman, and Johnny Walker. Set in Calcutta, it focuses on the disillusioned Urdu poet Vijay (Dutt), whose ...
'', among India's most recognizable cinematic productions.Rajadhyaksa, 681
Following independence, the 1947
partition of India
The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...
divided the nation's assets and a number of studios moved to Pakistan. Partition became an enduring film subject thereafter. The Indian government had established a
Films Division
The Films Division of India (FDI), commonly referred as Films Division, was established in 1948 following the independence of India. It was the first state film production and distribution unit, under the Ministry of Information and Broadcastin ...
by 1948, which eventually became one of the world's largest documentary film producers with an annual production of over 200 short documentaries, each released in 18 languages with 9,000 prints for permanent film theatres across the country.Rajadhyaksa, 681–683
Golden Age (late 1940s–1960s)
The period from the late 1940s to the early 1960s is regarded by film historians as the Golden Age of Indian cinema. This period saw the emergence of the
Parallel Cinema
Parallel cinema, or New Indian Cinema, is a film movement in Indian cinema that originated in the state of West Bengal in the 1950s as an alternative to the mainstream commercial Indian cinema.
Inspired by Italian Neorealism, Parallel Cinema ...
movement, which emphasized
social realism
Social realism is the term used for work produced by painters, printmakers, photographers, writers and filmmakers that aims to draw attention to the real socio-political conditions of the working class as a means to critique the power structure ...
. Mainly led by Bengalis, early examples include ''
Dharti Ke Lal
''Dharti Ke Lal'' ( ''Children of the Earth'') is a 1946 Hindustani film, the first directorial venture of the noted film director Khwaja Ahmad Abbas (K. A. Abbas). It was jointly written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas and Bijon Bhattacharya, based on ...
'' (1946,
Khwaja Ahmad Abbas
Khwaja Ahmad Abbas (7 June 1914 – 1 June 1987) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, novelist, and journalist in Urdu, Hindi and English. He won four National Film Awards in India. Internationally, his films won the Palme d'Or (Golden ...
), ''
Neecha Nagar
''Neecha Nagar'' () is a 1946 Indian Hindi-language film, directed by Chetan Anand, written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas and Hayatullah Ansari, and produced by Rashid Anwar and A.Halim. It was a pioneering effort in social realism in Indian cinema a ...
'' (1946, Chetan Anand),Maker of innovative, meaningful movies ''
The Hindu
''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...
'', 15 June 2007 ''
Nagarik
''Nagarik'' ( bn, নাগরিক), also spelled as ''Nagorik'', ''The Citizen'' in English, was the first feature-length film directed by legendary Indian director Ritwik Ghatak. Completed in 1952, it preceded Satyajit Ray's '' Pather Panch ...
'' (1952,
Ritwik Ghatak
Ritwik Kumar Ghatak (; 4 November 19256 February 1976) was a noted Indian film director, screenwriter, and playwright. Along with prominent contemporary Bengali filmmakers Satyajit Ray, Tapan Sinha and Mrinal Sen, his cinema is primarily remembe ...
) and ''
Do Bigha Zamin
''Do Bigha Zamin'' () is a 1953 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Bimal Roy. Based on Rabindranath Tagore's Bengali poem " Dui Bigha Jomi", the film stars Balraj Sahni, Nirupa Roy in lead roles. Known for its socialist theme, it is c ...
'' (1953, Bimal Roy), laying the foundations for Indian neorealism and the Indian New Wave.
''
The Apu Trilogy
''The Apu Trilogy'' comprises three Indian Bengali-language drama films directed by Satyajit Ray: ''Pather Panchali'' (1955), ''Aparajito'' (1956) and ''The World of Apu'' (1959). The original music for the films was composed by Ravi Shankar.
...
'' (1955–1959,
Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian director, screenwriter, documentary filmmaker, author, essayist, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligrapher, and music composer. One of the greatest auteurs of fil ...
) won prizes at several major international film festivals and firmly established the Parallel Cinema movement.Rajadhyaksa, 683 It was influential on
world cinema
World cinema is a term in film theory that refers to films made outside of the American motion picture industry, particularly those in opposition to the aesthetics and values of commercial American cinema.Nagib, Lúcia. "Towards a positive de ...
and led to a rush of
coming-of-age film
Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...
s in
art house
An art film (or arthouse film) is typically an independent film, aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made primarily f ...
theatres. Cinematographer
Subrata Mitra
Subrata Mitra (12 October 1930 – 7 December 2001) was an Indian cinematographer. Acclaimed for his work in ''The Apu Trilogy'' (1955–1959), Mitra often is considered one of the greatest Indian cinematographers.
Early life and educati ...
developed the technique of bounce lighting, to recreate the effect of daylight on sets, during the second film of the trilogy and later pioneered other effects such as the photo-negativeflashbacks and X-ray digressions.
During the 1950s, Indian cinema reportedly became the world's second largest film industry, earning a gross annual income of in 1953. The government created the Film Finance Corporation (FFC) in 1960 to provide financial support to filmmakers.Rajadhyaksa, 684 While serving as Information and Broadcasting Minister of India in the 1960s,
Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...
supported the production of off-beat cinema through the FFC.
Commercial
Hindi cinema
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
began thriving, including acclaimed films ''
Pyaasa
''Pyaasa'' (; ) is a 1957 Indian Hindi drama film directed and produced by Guru Dutt, who stars alongside Mala Sinha, Waheeda Rehman, Rehman, and Johnny Walker. Set in Calcutta, it focuses on the disillusioned Urdu poet Vijay (Dutt), whose ...
'' (1957) and ''
Kaagaz Ke Phool
''Kaagaz Ke Phool'' () is a 1959 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film produced and directed by Guru Dutt, who also played the lead role in the film along with Waheeda Rehman. It is the first Indian film in CinemaScope and the last film off ...
'' (1959,
Guru Dutt
Vasanth Kumar Shivashankar Padukone (9 July 1925 – 10 October 1964), better known as Guru Dutt, was an Indian film director, producer, actor, choreographer, and writer.Rajadhyaksha, Ashish, and Paul Willemen. 9941998''Encyclopedia of Indian ...
) ''
Awaara
''Awaara'', also written ''Awāra'', ur, , Āvārā, group=n, name=HindiUrdu and known overseas as ''The Vagabond'', is a 1951 Indian Hindi crime drama film, produced and directed by Raj Kapoor, and written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas. It stars Raj ...
'' (1951) and ''
Shree 420
''Shree 420'' (also spelled as ''Shri 420''; ) is a 1955 Indian Hindi comedy-drama film directed and produced by Raj Kapoor from a story written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas whose use of Shree with the negative connotations of 420 caused controversy. ...
'' (1955,
Raj Kapoor
Raj Kapoor (pronunciation: aːd͡ʒ kəpuːɾ born Shrishti Nath Kapoor; also known as Ranbir Raj Kapoor; 14 December 1924 2 June 1988) was an Indian actor, film director and producer, who worked in Hindi cinema. He is considered one of th ...
). These films expressed social themes mainly dealing with working-class urban life in India; ''Awaara'' presented Bombay as both a nightmare and a dream, while ''Pyaasa'' critiqued the unreality of city life.
Epic film
Epic films are a style of filmmaking with large-scale, sweeping scope, and spectacle. The usage of the term has shifted over time, sometimes designating a film genre and at other times simply synonymous with big-budget filmmaking. Like epics in ...
''
Mother India
''Mother India'' is a 1957 Indian epic drama film, directed by Mehboob Khan and starring Nargis, Sunil Dutt, Rajendra Kumar and Raaj Kumar. A remake of Khan's earlier film '' Aurat'' (1940), it is the story of a poverty-stricken village woma ...
'' (1957,
Mehboob Khan
Mehboob Khan (born Mehboob Khan Ramzan Khan; 9 September 1907 at filmreference.com. – 28 ...
) was the first Indian film to be nominated for the US-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences'
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...
and defined the conventions of Hindi cinema for decades. It spawned a new genre of
dacoit film
Dacoity is a term used for "banditry" in the Indian subcontinent. The spelling is the anglicised version of the Hindi word ''daaku''; "dacoit" is a colloquial Indian English word with this meaning and it appears in the ''Glossary of Colloqui ...
s. ''
Gunga Jumna
''Ganga Jamna'' (ISO 15919: ''Gaṅgā Jamunā''), also transliterated as ''Ganga Jamuna'' or ''Gunga Jumna'', is a 1961 Indian crime drama film, written and produced by Dilip Kumar, and directed by Nitin Bose, with dialogues written by Wajahat ...
'' (1961,
Dilip Kumar
Mohammed Yusuf Khan (; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021), better known by his stage name Dilip Kumar, was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, he dominated the Indian movie scene from lat ...
) was a dacoit
crime drama
Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...
about two brothers on opposite sides of the law, a theme that became common in Indian films in the 1970s. ''
Madhumati
''Madhumati'' is a 1958 Indian Hindi-language paranormal romance film directed and produced by Bimal Roy, and written by Ritwik Ghatak and Rajinder Singh Bedi. The film stars Vyjayanthimala and Dilip Kumar in lead roles, with Pran and Johnny ...
'' (1958,
Bimal Roy
Bimal Roy (12 July 1909 – 8 January 1966) was an Indian film director. He is particularly noted for his realistic and socialistic films such as ''Do Bigha Zamin'', ''Parineeta (1953 film), Parineeta'', ''Biraj Bahu'', ''Devdas (1955 film), D ...
) popularized the theme of
reincarnation
Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is a ...
Dilip Kumar
Mohammed Yusuf Khan (; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021), better known by his stage name Dilip Kumar, was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, he dominated the Indian movie scene from lat ...
rose to fame in the 1950s, and was the biggest Indian
movie star
A movie star (also known as a film star or cinema star) is an actor or actress who is famous for their starring, or leading, roles in movies. The term is used for performers who are marketable stars as they become popular household names and w ...
of the time. He was a pioneer of
method acting
Method acting, informally known as The Method, is a range of training and rehearsal techniques, as formulated by a number of different theatre practitioners, that seeks to encourage sincere and expressive performances through identifying with, u ...
, predating Hollywood method actors such as
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he received numerous accolades throughout his career, which spanned six decades, including two Academ ...
. Much like Brando's influence on
New Hollywood
The New Hollywood, also known as American New Wave or Hollywood Renaissance, was a movement in American film history from the mid-1960s to the early 1980s, when a new generation of young filmmakers came to prominence.
They influenced the types o ...
actors, Kumar inspired Indian actors, including
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most succe ...
,
Naseeruddin Shah
Naseeruddin Shah (born 20 July 1950) is an Indian actor. He is notable in Indian parallel cinema. He has also starred in international productions. He has won numerous awards in his career, including three National Film Awards, three Filmfare A ...
,
Shah Rukh Khan
Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. Referred to in the media as the " Baadshah of Bollywood", "King of Bollywood" ...
and
Nawazuddin Siddiqui
Nawazuddin Siddiqui (; born 19 May 1974) is an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is an alumnus of the National School of Drama. Siddiqui's feature film debut was alongside director Prashant Bhargava in ''Patang'' (2012). He ga ...
.
''
Neecha Nagar
''Neecha Nagar'' () is a 1946 Indian Hindi-language film, directed by Chetan Anand, written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas and Hayatullah Ansari, and produced by Rashid Anwar and A.Halim. It was a pioneering effort in social realism in Indian cinema a ...
'' (1946) won the
Palme d'Or
The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...
at Cannes and Indian films competed for the award most years in the 1950s and early 1960s. Ray is regarded as one of the greatest
auteurs
An auteur (; , 'author') is an artist with a distinctive approach, usually a film director whose filmmaking control is so unbounded but personal that the director is likened to the "author" of the film, which thus manifests the director's unique ...
of 20th century cinema, along with his contemporaries Dutt and Ghatak. In 1992, the ''
Sight & Sound
''Sight and Sound'' (also spelled ''Sight & Sound'') is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). It conducts the well-known, once-a-decade ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time, ongoing ...
'' Critics' Poll ranked Ray at 7 in its list of Top 10 Directors of all time. Multiple films from this era are included among the
greatest films of all time
This is a list of films considered the best in national and international surveys of critics and the public.
Some surveys focus on all films, while others focus on a particular genre or country. Voting systems differ, and some surveys suffer ...
in various critics' and directors' polls, including ''The Apu Trilogy'', ''
Jalsaghar
''Jalsaghar'' ( bn, জলসাঘর ''Jalsāghar'', "The Music Room") is a 1958 Indian Bengali drama film written and directed by Satyajit Ray, based on a popular short story by Bengali writer Tarasankar Bandyopadhyay, and starring Chhabi Bis ...
'', ''
Charulata
''Charulata'' (Spelt as ''Cārulatā''; ) is a 1964 Indian drama film written and directed by Satyajit Ray. Based upon the novel ''Nastanirh'' by Rabindranath Tagore, it stars Soumitra Chatterjee, Madhabi Mukherjee and Sailen Mukherjee. The ...
Baiju Bawra
Baiju Bawra (Lit. "Baiju the Insane", born as Baijnath Mishra) was a dhrupad musician from medieval India. Nearly all the information on Baiju Bawra comes from legends, and lacks historical authenticity. According to the most popular legends, he ...
'', ''Mother India'', ''Mughal-e-Azam'' and '' Subarnarekha'' (also tied at No. 11).
Sivaji Ganesan
Villupuram Chinnaiya Manrayar Ganesamoorthy, better known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan, (1 October 1928 – 21 July 2001) was an Indian actor and producer. He was active in Tamil cinema during the latter half of the 20th century. Sivaji Ga ...
became India's first 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 the
Legion of Honour
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...
by the
French Government
The Government of France (French: ''Gouvernement français''), officially the Government of the French Republic (''Gouvernement de la République française'' ), exercises executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister, who i ...
C N Annadurai
Conjeevaram Natarajan Annadurai (15 September 1909 – 3 February 1969), popularly known as Anna also known as Arignar Anna or Perarignar Anna (''Anna, the scholar'' or ''Elder Brother''), was an Indian Tamil politician who served as the fo ...
,
M G Ramachandran
Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran (17 January 1917 24 December 1987), also popularly known as M.G.R., was an Indian politician, actor, philanthropist, and filmmaker who served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 1977 until his death in 1987 ...
,
M Karunanidhi
Muthuvel Karunanidhi (3 June 1924 – 7 August 2018) was an Indian writer and politician who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for almost two decades over five terms between 1969 and 2011. He was popularly referred to as Kalaignar (Art ...
and
Jayalalithaa
Jayaram Jayalalithaa (24 February 1948 – 5 December 2016) was an Indian politician and actress who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for more than fourteen years over six terms between 1991 and 2016. From 9 February 1989 to 5 December 2 ...
By 1986, India's annual film output had increased to 833 films annually, making India the world's largest film producer. Hindi film production of Bombay, the largest segment of the industry, became known as "Bollywood".
By 1996, the Indian film industry had an estimated domestic cinema viewership of 600million people, establishing India as one of the largest film markets, with the largest regional industries being Hindi, Tamil and Telugu films. In 2001, in terms of ticket sales, Indian cinema sold an estimated 3.6 billion tickets annually across the globe, compared to Hollywood's 2.6 billion tickets sold.
Hindi
Realistic
Parallel Cinema
Parallel cinema, or New Indian Cinema, is a film movement in Indian cinema that originated in the state of West Bengal in the 1950s as an alternative to the mainstream commercial Indian cinema.
Inspired by Italian Neorealism, Parallel Cinema ...
continued throughout the 1970s,Rajadhyaksa, 685 practised in many Indian film cultures. The FFC's art film orientation came under criticism during a Committee on Public Undertakings investigation in 1976, which accused the body of not doing enough to encourage commercial cinema.Rajadhyaksa, 688
Hindi commercial cinema continued with films such as '' Aradhana'' (1969), ''
Sachaa Jhutha
''Sachaa Jhutha'' (English: "Honest and Liar") is a 1970 Indian Hindi action comedy film directed by Manmohan Desai and produced by Vinod Doshi. The film written by Desai's wife Jeevanprabha, was edited by Kamlakar Kamkhanis. The film starring ...
Kati Patang
''Kati Patang'' () is a 1971 Indian Hindi-language musical drama film produced and directed by Shakti Samanta. It was a box office success. The film stars Asha Parekh as a woman pretending to be a widow, and her ensuing trials and tribulations ...
'' (1971) ''
Amar Prem
''Amar Prem'' () is a 1972 Indian Hindi romantic drama film directed by Shakti Samanta. It is a remake of the Bengali film '' Nishi Padma'' (1970), directed by Arabinda Mukherjee, who wrote screenplay for both the films based on the Bengali s ...
'' (1972), '' Dushman'' (1972) and '' Daag'' (1973).
By the early 1970s, Hindi cinema was experiencing thematic stagnation, dominated by musical
romance film
Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...
s. Screenwriter duo
Salim–Javed
Salim–Javed were an Indian screenwriting duo, composed of Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, working in Bollywood. They are noted for being the first Indian screenwriters to achieve star status, becoming the most successful Indian screenwriters o ...
(
Salim Khan
Salim Abdul Rashid Khan (born 24 November 1935) is an Indian actor, film producer and screenwriter. As a screenwriter, he wrote the screenplays, stories and scripts for numerous Bollywood films. Khan is one half of the prolific screenwriting d ...
and
Javed Akhtar
Javed Akhtar (born 17 January 1945) is an Indian poet, lyricist, screenwriter and political activist. Known for his work in Hindi cinema, he has won five National Film Awards, and received the Padma Shri in 1999 and the Padma Bhushan in 200 ...
) revitalised the industry. They established the genre of gritty, violent,
Bombay underworld
Organised crime in India refers to organised crime elements originating in India and active in many parts of the world. The purpose of organised crime in India, as elsewhere in the world, is monetary gain. Its virulent form in modern times is d ...
crime film
Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...
Deewaar
''Deewaar'' () is a 1975 Indian Hindi-language action crime film directed by Yash Chopra and written by Salim–Javed (Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar). It stars Shashi Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Neetu Singh, Nirupa Roy and Parveen Babi. The film ...
'' (1975). They reinterpreted the rural themes of ''Mother India'' and ''Gunga Jumna'' in an urban context reflecting 1970s India, channelling the growing discontent and disillusionment among the masses, unprecedented growth of
slum
A slum is a highly populated urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are primarily inh ...
s and urban poverty, corruption and crime, as well as
anti-establishment
An anti-establishment view or belief is one which stands in opposition to the conventional social, political, and economic principles of a society. The term was first used in the modern sense in 1958, by the British magazine ''New Statesman'' ...
themes. This resulted in their creation of the "angry young man", personified by
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most succe ...
, who reinterpreted Kumar's performance in ''Gunga Jumna'' and gave a voice to the urban poor.
By the mid-1970s, Bachchan's position as a lead actor was solidified by crime-action films ''Zanjeer'' and ''
Sholay
''Sholay'' (, ) is a 1975 Indian Hindi-language action-adventure film directed by Ramesh Sippy, produced by his father G. P. Sippy, and written by Salim–Javed. The film is about two criminals, Veeru (Dharmendra) and Jai (Amitabh Bachchan), ...
'' (1975). The devotional classic ''
Jai Santoshi Ma
''Jai Santoshi Maa'' is a 1975 Indian Hindi-language devotional film directed by Vijay Sharma and written R. Priyadarshi. Santoshī Mā (also called Santoshi Mata) is the goddess of satisfaction. Usha Mangeshkar, sang the devotional songs for t ...
'' (1975) was made on a low budget and became a box office success and a cult classic. Another important film was ''
Deewaar
''Deewaar'' () is a 1975 Indian Hindi-language action crime film directed by Yash Chopra and written by Salim–Javed (Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar). It stars Shashi Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Neetu Singh, Nirupa Roy and Parveen Babi. The film ...
'' (1975,
Yash Chopra
Yash Raj Chopra (27 September 1932 21 October 2012) was an Indian people, Indian film director and film producer who worked in Bollywood, Hindi cinema. The founding chairman of the film production and distribution company Yash Raj Films, Chop ...
), a
crime film
Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...
with brothers on opposite sides of the law which
Danny Boyle
Daniel Francis Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English director and producer. He is known for his work on films including ''Shallow Grave'', '' Trainspotting'' and its sequel ''T2 Trainspotting'', '' The Beach'', '' 28 Days Later'', '' Su ...
described as "absolutely key to Indian cinema".
The term "
Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
" was coined in the 1970s, when the conventions of commercial Bombay-produced Hindi films were established. Key to this was
Nasir Hussain
Mohammad Nasir Hussain Khan (16 November 1926 — 13 March 2002), better known as Nasir Hussain, was an Indian film producer, director, and screenwriter. With a career spanning decades, Hussain has been credited as a major trendsetter in the ...
and Salim–Javed's creation of the
masala film
Masala films of Indian cinema mix multiple genres into one work. Masala films emerged in the 1970s and are still created as of the 2020s. Typically these films freely mix action, comedy, romance, and drama or melodrama. They also tend to be ...
genre, which combines elements of
action
Action may refer to:
* Action (narrative), a literary mode
* Action fiction, a type of genre fiction
* Action game, a genre of video game
Film
* Action film, a genre of film
* ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford
* ''Action'' (1980 fil ...
,
comedy
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
,
romance
Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to:
Common meanings
* Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings
* Romance languages, ...
,
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
,
melodrama
A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exces ...
and
musical
Musical is the adjective of music.
Musical may also refer to:
* Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance
* Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...
. Their film ''
Yaadon Ki Baarat
''Yaadon Ki Baaraat'' () is a 1973 Indian Hindi-language masala film, directed by Nasir Hussain and written by Salim–Javed (Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar). It featured an ensemble cast, starring Dharmendra, Vijay Arora, Tariq, Zeenat Aman, Ne ...
The Wire
''The Wire'' is an American Crime film, crime drama Television show, television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The ...
, 12 March 2016 Masala films made Bachchan the biggest Bollywood movie star of the period. Another landmark was ''
Amar Akbar Anthony
''Amar Akbar Anthony'' is a 1977 Indian Hindi-language masala film directed and produced by Manmohan Desai and written by Kader Khan. The film stars an ensemble cast of Vinod Khanna, Rishi Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Neetu Singh, Parveen Babi, ...
'' (1977,
Manmohan Desai
Manmohan Desai (26 February 1937 – 1 March 1994) was an Indian film producer and director. He was one of the most successful filmmaker of the 70s and 80s. Desai is now considered one of most influential film director of Bollywood and a pionee ...
). Desai further expanded the genre in the 1970s and 1980s.
Commercial Hindi cinema grew in the 1980s, with films such as ''
Ek Duuje Ke Liye
''Ek Duuje Ke Liye'' () is a 1981 Indian Hindi romantic tragedy film directed by K. Balachander. A remake of Balachander's Telugu film ''Maro Charitra'', it stars Kamal Haasan and Rati Agnihotri as a pair of lovers from different families who ...
'' (1981), ''
Disco Dancer
''Disco Dancer'' is a 1982 Indian dance film, written by Rahi Masoom Raza and directed by Babbar Subhash. It stars Mithun Chakraborty and Kim in leading roles, with Om Puri, Gita Siddharth and Karan Razdan in supporting roles with Rajesh Kh ...
Tohfa
''Tohfa'' () is a 1984 Indian Hindi-language melodrama comedy film produced by D. Ramanaidu under the Suresh Productions banner and directed by K. Raghavendra Rao. It stars Jeetendra, Sridevi and Jaya Prada. The film upon its release was a massi ...
Tezaab
''Tezaab'' () is a 1988 Indian Hindi-language action romance film starring Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit in lead roles. The film gave Dixit her first big break, making her an overnight star. in addition to reaffirming Kapoor's star status, afte ...
'' (1988).
In the late 1980s, Hindi cinema experienced another period of stagnation, with a decline in box office turnout, due to increasing violence, decline in musical melodic quality, and rise in video piracy, leading to middle-class family audiences abandoning theatres. The turning point came with Indian blockbuster ''
Disco Dancer
''Disco Dancer'' is a 1982 Indian dance film, written by Rahi Masoom Raza and directed by Babbar Subhash. It stars Mithun Chakraborty and Kim in leading roles, with Om Puri, Gita Siddharth and Karan Razdan in supporting roles with Rajesh Kh ...
'' (1982) which began the era of disco music in Indian cinema. Lead actor
Mithun Chakraborty
Mithun Chakraborty (born Gouranga Chakraborty; 16 June 1950) is an Indian actor, producer and politician who predominantly worked in Hindi and Bengali language films. He is a former Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament. He is the recipient of three ...
and music director
Bappi Lahiri
Bappi Aparesh Lahiri (born Alokesh Aparesh Lahiri; 27 November 1952 – 15 February 2022), also known as Bappi Da was an Indian singer, composer and record producer. He popularised the use of synthesised disco music in Indian music industry and ...
had the highest number of mainstream Indian hit movies that decade. At the end of the decade,
Yash Chopra
Yash Raj Chopra (27 September 1932 21 October 2012) was an Indian people, Indian film director and film producer who worked in Bollywood, Hindi cinema. The founding chairman of the film production and distribution company Yash Raj Films, Chop ...
's '' Chandni'' (1989) created a new formula for Bollywood musical romance films, reviving the genre and defining Hindi cinema in the years that followed. Commercial Hindi cinema grew in the late 1980s and 1990s, with the release of '' Mr. India'' (1987), ''
Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak
''Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak'' (), also known by the initialism ''QSQT'', is a 1988 Indian Hindi-language romantic musical film, directed by Mansoor Khan, written and produced by Nasir Hussain, and starring Aamir Khan (in his leading film debut) a ...
'' (1988), ''
Chaalbaaz
''ChaalBaaz'' (, ) is a 1989 Indian Hindi-language slapstick film directed by Pankaj Parashar and written by Rajesh Mazumdar and Kamlesh Pandey. It stars Sridevi in dual roles, with Sunny Deol and Rajinikanth. The film revolves around twin siste ...
'' (1989), ''
Maine Pyar Kiya
''Maine Pyar Kiya'' () is a 1989 Indian Hindi-language romantic musical film written and directed by Sooraj Barjatya. Produced by Rajshri Productions, the film stars Salman Khan and Bhagyashree. It marked the debuts of Barjatya and Bhagyashre ...
'' (1989), ''
Lamhe
''Lamhe'' (lit. ''Moments'') is a 1991 Indian musical romantic drama film directed by Yash Chopra and written by Honey Irani and Rahi Masoom Raza. The film stars Sridevi and Anil Kapoor in lead roles, along with Waheeda Rehman and Anupam Kher ...
'' (1991), ''
Saajan
''Saajan'' () is a 1991 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by Lawrence D'Souza and produced by Sudhakar Bokade. It stars Sanjay Dutt, Madhuri Dixit and Salman Khan in lead roles, with Kader Khan, Reema Lagoo and Laxmikant Berde ...
'' (1991), ''
Khuda Gawah
''Khuda Gawah'' (, also translated and released as ''God Is My Witness'') is a 1992 Indian epic drama film written and directed by Mukul S. Anand. It stars Amitabh Bachchan, Nagarjuna, Sridevi, Shilpa Shirodkar, Danny Denzongpa, Kiran Kuma ...
'' (1992), ''
Khalnayak
''Khal Nayak'' () is a 1993 Indian Hindi-language action crime film produced and directed by Subhash Ghai. The film's plot centers on the escape and attempted capture of criminal Ballu (Sanjay Dutt as antihero) by Inspector Ram ( Jackie Shrof ...
'' (1993), ''
Darr
''Darr: A Violent Love Story'' ( ''Fear'') is a 1993 Indian romantic psychological thriller film directed and produced by Yash Chopra under his banner Yash Raj Films. The film stars Juhi Chawla, Sunny Deol and Shah Rukh Khan with Anupam Kh ...
Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge
''Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge'' (), also known by the initialism ''DDLJ'', is a 1995 Indian Hindi-language musical romance film written and directed by Aditya Chopra in his directorial debut and produced by his father Yash Chopra. Released on ...
'' (1995), ''
Dil To Pagal Hai
''Dil To Pagal Hai'' (; ), is a 1997 Indian Hindi-language musical romance film directed by Yash Chopra. The film follows the love lives of the members of a musical troupe, in which two dancers played by Madhuri Dixit and Karisma Kapoor get ent ...
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
''Kuch Kuch Hota Hai'' () also known as ''KKHH'' or ''K2H2'', is a 1998 Indian Hindi-language musical romance film written and directed by Karan Johar and produced under Dharma Productions. It stars the popular on-screen pair of Shah Rukh Kh ...
'' (1998). Cult classic '' Bandit Queen'' (1994) directed by
Shekhar Kapur
Shekhar Kulbhushan Kapur (born 6 December 1945) is an Indian filmmaker and actor. Born into the Anand-Sahni family, Kapur is the recipient of several accolades, including a BAFTA Award, a National Film Award, a National Board of Review Award a ...
received international recognition and controversy.
In the late 1990s, there was a resurgence of Parallel Cinema in Bollywood, largely due to the critical and commercial success of
crime films
Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...
Vaastav
''Vaastav: The Reality'' is a 1999 Indian Hindi-language action film written and directed by Mahesh Manjrekar and starring Sanjay Dutt, Namrata Shirodkar, and Sanjay Narvekar. It features Mohnish Behl, Paresh Rawal, Reema Lagoo and Shivaji S ...
'' (1999). These films launched a genre known as "Mumbai noir", reflecting social problems in the city.
Since the 1990s, the three biggest Bollywood movie stars have been the " Three Khans":
Aamir Khan
Mohammed Aamir Hussain Khan (; born 14 March 1965) is an Indian actor, film director and producer who works in Hindi films. Through his career spanning over 30 years, Khan has established himself as one of the most notable actors of Indian ci ...
,
Shah Rukh Khan
Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. Referred to in the media as the " Baadshah of Bollywood", "King of Bollywood" ...
, and
Salman Khan
Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan (; 27 December 1965) is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. In a film career spanning over thirty years, Khan has received numerous awards, including two Nation ...
. Combined, they starred in the top ten
highest-grossing Bollywood films
This is a ranking of the highest grossing Indian films which includes films from various languages based on the conservative global box office estimates as reported by reputable sources. There is no official tracking of domestic box office fi ...
, and have dominated the Indian box office since the 1990s. Shah Rukh Khan was the most successful for most of the 1990s and 2000s, while Aamir Khan has been the most successful since the late 2000s; according to ''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'', Shah Rukh Khan is "arguably the world's biggest movie star" as of 2017, due to his immense popularity in India and China. Other notable Hindi film stars of recent decades include
Akshay Kumar
Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia (born 9 September 1967), known professionally as Akshay Kumar (), is an Indian-born naturalised Canadian Quote: "(Former prime minister Stephen) Harper campaigned in 2011 alongside one of Modi's biggest celebrity backer ...
,
Ajay Devgan
Vishal Veeru Devgan (born 2 April 1969), known professionally as Ajay Devgn, is an Indian actor, film director and producer who works in Hindi cinema. Devgn has appeared in over a hundred films and has won numerous accolades, including four ...
,
Hrithik Roshan
Hrithik Roshan (; born 10 January 1974) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films. He has portrayed a variety of characters and is known for his dancing skills. One of the highest-paid actors in India, he has won many awards, including six ...
,
Anil Kapoor
Anil Kapoor (born 24 December 1956) is an Indian actor and producer who works primarily in Hindi films, besides television and international films and television. In a career spanning over 40 years as an actor and since 2005 as a producer, Kapo ...
,
Sanjay Dutt
Sanjay Balraj Dutt (born 29 July 1959) is an Indian actor who primarily works in Hindi cinema. In a career spanning over four decades, Dutt has won several accolades and acted in over 100 films, ranging from romance to comedy genres, though u ...
,
Sridevi
Shree Amma Yanger Ayyappan (13 August 1963 – 24 February 2018), professionally credited with her stage name Sridevi, was an Indian actress who worked in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, and Kannada language films. Cited as the "First Female ...
,
Madhuri Dixit
Madhuri Dixit Nene (née Dixit; born 15 May 1967) is an Indian actress who primarily works in Hindi films. A leading actress of Indian cinema, she has appeared in over 70 films. Noted by critics for her beauty, dancing skills, and characters, ...
and
Kajol
Kajol Devgan (née Mukherjee; born 5 August 1974), known mononymously as Kajol, is an Indian actress. Described in the media as one of the most successful actresses of Hindi cinema, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including six F ...
.
''
Haider
Haider is a predominantly Arabic name, with alternative spellings such as Haidar, Haydar and Heydar. Notable people with the name include:
Given name
*Haider Al-Abadi, Iraqi politician
*Haider Ackermann (born 1971), French fashion designer
*Haid ...
'' (2014,
Vishal Bhardwaj
Vishal Bhardwaj (born 4 August 1965) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, music composer and playback singer. He is known for his work in Hindi cinema, and is the recipient of seven National Film Awards and a Filmfare Award.
Bha ...
), the third instalment of the Indian Shakespearean Trilogy after ''
Maqbool
''Maqbool'' is a 2004 Indian crime drama film directed by Vishal Bhardwaj and starring Irrfan, Tabu, Pankaj Kapur, Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Piyush Mishra, Murali Sharma and Masumeh Makhija in an adaptation of the play ''Macbeth'' by Shakesp ...
'' (2003) and '' Omkara'' (2006), won the ''People's Choice Award'' at the 9th
Rome Film Festival
International Rome Film Fest is a film festival that takes place in Rome during the month of October. The name in Italian is Festa del Cinema di Roma.
Sections
The Rome Film Festival official program is divided into several sections:
Cinema d'Og ...
in the Mondo Genere making it the first Indian film to achieve this honour.
The 2000s and 2010s also saw the rise of a new generation of popular actors like
Shahid Kapoor
Shahid Kapoor (; born 25 February 1981) is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi films. Initially recognised for portraying romantic roles, he has since taken on parts in action films and thrillers, and is the recipient of several awards, inc ...
,
Ranbir Kapoor
Ranbir Kapoor (; born 28 September 1982) is an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi-language films. He is one of the highest-paid actors of Hindi cinema and has featured in ''Forbes India''s Celebrity 100 list since 2012. Kapoor is the rec ...
,
Ranveer Singh
Ranveer Singh Bhavnani (; born 6 July 1985) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films. The recipient of several awards, including five Filmfare Awards, he is among the highest-paid Indian actors and has been featured in '' Forbes India''s ...
Varun Dhawan
Varun Dhawan (; born 24 April 1987) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films. One of India's highest-paid actors, he has been featured in '' Forbes India'' Celebrity 100 list since 2014. He has starred in 11 consecutive box-office successes ...
,
Sidharth Malhotra
Sidharth Malhotra (; born 16 January 1985) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films. He began his career as a fashion model, but left it to pursue an acting career. He made his acting debut with a minor role in the television serial ''Dhart ...
,
Sushant Singh Rajput
Sushant Singh Rajput (21 January 1986 – 14 June 2020) was an Indian actor known for his work in Bollywood, Hindi cinema. He starred in a number of commercially successful Hindi films such as ''M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story'' (2016), ''Kedarn ...
,
Kartik Aaryan
Kartik Aaryan Tiwari (born 22 November 1990), is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films. After pursuing a degree in engineering, he made his acting debut with Luv Ranjan's buddy film ''Pyaar Ka Punchnama'' (2011). He went on to star in the ...
,
Arjun Kapoor
Arjun Kapoor (born 26 June 1985) is an Indian actor working in Hindi films. Born to the Surinder Kapoor family, he is the son of film producer Boney Kapoor and Mona Shourie. Kapoor made his acting debut in 2012 with romance '' Ishaqzaade'' whic ...
,
Aditya Roy Kapur
Aditya Roy Kapur (born 16 November 1985) is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Hindi films. He made his acting debut in 2009 with the musical drama film '' London Dreams''. Kapur had his first commercial success came with the romantic ...
and
Tiger Shroff
Jai Hemant "Tiger" Shroff (born 2 March 1990) is an Indian actor and martial artist known for his work in the Indian cinema. He is best known for his Baaghi action franchise, ''Heropanti'' (2014) and ''War'' (''2019''). He has featured in For ...
, as well as actresses like
Vidya Balan
Vidya Balan (pronounced ; born 1 January 1979) is an Indian actress. Known for pioneering a change in the portrayal of women in Hindi cinema with her roles in female-led films, she is the recipient of several awards, including a National Fi ...
,
Priyanka Chopra
Priyanka Chopra Jonas (; ; born 18 July 1982) is an Indian actress and producer. The winner of the Miss World 2000 pageant, Chopra is one of India's highest-paid actresses and has received numerous accolades, including two National Film Awar ...
,
Katrina Kaif
Katrina Kaif (; born Katrina Turquotte; 16 July 1983) is a British actress who works in Hindi-language films. One of the highest-paid actresses in India, she has received accolades, including four Screen Awards and four Zee Cine Awards, in a ...
,
Kangana Ranaut
Kangna Amardeep Ranaut (; born 23 March 1987) is an Indian actress and filmmaker who works in Hindi films. Known for her work in female-led films, she is the recipient of several awards, including four National Film Awards and five Filmfar ...
,
Deepika Padukone
Deepika Padukone ( or ; born 5 January 1986) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. She is one of the highest-paid actresses in India, and her accolades include three Filmfare Awards. She features in listings of the nation's most pop ...
,
Sonam Kapoor
Sonam Kapoor Ahuja (; born 9 June 1985) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. She has won a National Film Award and a Filmfare Award, and from 2012 to 2016, she appeared in ''Forbes India'' Celebrity 100 list based on her income and ...
,
Anushka Sharma
Anushka Sharma (; born 1 May 1988) is an Indian actress and former producer who works in Hindi films. She has received several awards, including a Filmfare Award. One of the highest-paid actresses in India as of 2018, she has appeared in '' F ...
,
Shraddha Kapoor
Shraddha Kapoor (born 3 March 1987 or 1989Alia Bhatt
Alia Bhatt (; born 15 March 1993) is a British actress of Indian descent who predominantly works in Hindi films. She has received several accolades including four Filmfare Awards. One of India's highest-paid actresses, she has appeared in ''F ...
and
Kriti Sanon
Kriti Sanon (born 27 July 1990) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi and Telugu-language films. After pursuing a degree in engineering from the Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, she briefly worked as a fashion model. Sanon began ...
with Balan and Ranaut gaining wide recognition for successful female-centric films such as ''
The Dirty Picture
''The Dirty Picture'' is a 2011 Indian Hindi-language biographical musical drama film inspired by the life of Silk Smitha, an Indian actress noted for her erotic roles. The filmmakers have clarified that the story is not officially or literall ...
'' (2011), ''
Kahaani
''Kahaani'' (; ) is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language thriller film co-written, co-produced and directed by Sujoy Ghosh. It stars Vidya Balan as Vidya Bagchi, a pregnant woman looking for her missing husband in Kolkata during the festival of Durga ...
'' (2012), ''
Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
'' (2014), ''
Tanu Weds Manu Returns
''Tanu Weds Manu Returns'' is a 2015 Indian romantic comedy film directed by Aanand L. Rai which is a sequel to the 2011 film ''Tanu Weds Manu''. R. Madhavan, Kangana Ranaut, Jimmy Sheirgill, Deepak Dobriyal, Swara Bhaskar and Eijaz Khan repris ...
Kareena Kapoor
Kareena Kapoor Khan (; ''née'' Kapoor; born 21 September 1980) is an Indian actress who appears in Bollywood, Hindi films. She is the daughter of actors Randhir Kapoor and Babita, and the younger sister of actress Karisma Kapoor. Noted for pl ...
and
Rani Mukerji
Rani Mukerji (pronounced ; born 21 March 1978) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. Noted for her versatility, she is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Rani Mukerji, multiple accolades, including seven Filmf ...
are among the few working actresses from the 2000s and late 1990s who successfully completed more than 20 years in the industry.
Telugu
B. Narsing Rao
Bongu Narsing Rao (born 1946) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, littérateur, composer, poet, producer, actor and painter known for his works in Telugu cinema, and Telugu theatre. Rao has garnered five National Film Awards, three Nandi ...
Parallel Cinema
Parallel cinema, or New Indian Cinema, is a film movement in Indian cinema that originated in the state of West Bengal in the 1950s as an alternative to the mainstream commercial Indian cinema.
Inspired by Italian Neorealism, Parallel Cinema ...
. Ethnographic films such as ''
Maa Ooru
Maa Ooru () is a 1987 Indian Telugu-language anthropological film written and directed by B. Narsing Rao. The film won the Best Ethnographic Film at the 36th National Film Awards "For recalling with nostalgia the life of a village community of t ...
'' (1987) won the 1992 Hungarian Visual Arts "Main Prize – Media Wave Award". '' Thilaadanam'' (2000) received "New Currents Award" at the 7th
Busan International Film Festival
The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF, previously Pusan International Film Festival, PIFF), held annually in Haeundae-gu, Busan (''also'' Pusan), South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. The first festi ...
.
K. Viswanath
Kasinadhuni Viswanath (born 19 February 1930) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and actor, known for his works primarily in Telugu cinema. He is recipient of five National Film Awards, seven state Nandi Awards, ten Filmfare Awards South ...
's '' Sankarabharanam'' (1980) won the "Prize of the Public" at the "
Besançon
Besançon (, , , ; archaic german: Bisanz; la, Vesontio) is the prefecture of the department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerl ...
Film Festival of
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
Rajnesh Domalpalli
''Vanaja'' is a 2006 Telugu-language drama film written and directed by Rajnesh Domalpalli on a story that constituted his Master of Fine Arts thesis at Columbia University. The film was made on a shoestring budget using a cast of non-profes ...
's '' Vanaja'' (2006) won "Best First Feature Award" at the
57th Berlin International Film Festival
The 57th Berlin International Film Festival was held from 8 to 18 February 2007. The opening film of this year's festival was Olivier Dahan’s '' La Vie En Rose''. ''Angel'' by François Ozon served as the closing night film. American director ...
.
Ram Gopal Varma
Penmetsa Ram Gopal Varma (born 7 April 1962), often referred to by his initials RGV, is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer, known for his works in Telugu cinema in addition to Bollywood, Hindi, Kannada cinema, Kannada language ...
cult following
A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...
is one of the first Telugu films produced after the migration of Telugu film industry from Madras to Hyderabad to feature characters speaking the
Telangana
Telangana (; , ) is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian subcontinent, Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India b ...
dialect. Varma was credited with the introduction of
steadicam
Steadicam is a brand of camera stabilizer mounts for Movie camera, motion picture cameras invented by Garrett Brown and introduced in 1975 by Cinema Products Corporation. It was designed to isolate the camera from the camera operator's movement ...
s and new sound recording techniques in Telugu films. ''Siva'' attracted the young audience during its theatrical run, and its success encouraged filmmakers to explore a variety of themes and make experimental films.
Chiranjeevi
Chiranjeevi (born Konidela Sivasankara Varaprasad; 22 August 1955) is an Indian actor, film producer and former politician, who predominantly works in Telugu cinema. Chiranjeevi starred in over 150 feature films in Telugu language, Telugu, as ...
's works such as the
comedy thriller
Comedy thrillers are a hybrid genre that draw subject matter generally from comedy and thrillers.
Criteria
They often include a darker tone, relative to other genres, of humor.
List of comedy thriller films
* '' The Big Fix'' (1978)
* ''Charad ...
''
Chantabbai
''Chantabbai'' () is a 1986 Indian Telugu-language comedy drama film written and directed by Jandhyala. It is based on the novel of same name by Malladi Venkata Krishna Murthy. Produced by Jyothi Art Pictures, the film stars Chiranjeevi and Suh ...
Kondaveeti Donga
''Kondaveeti Donga'' () is a 1990 Indian Telugu-language vigilante film directed by A. Kodandarami Reddy starring Chiranjeevi, Vijayashanti and Radha in main lead roles. Upon release on 9 April 1990, the film received positive reviews, and emerg ...
Kodama Simham
''Kodama Simham'' () is a 1990 Indian Telugu-language revisionist western action film directed by K. Murali Mohana Rao, starring Chiranjeevi, Mohan Babu, Sonam, Radha, and Pran in pivotal roles.
The film was simultaneously dubbed into Englis ...
'' (1990), and the
action thriller
Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include lif ...
, ''
Gang Leader
''Gang Leader'' is a 1991 Indian Telugu-language action crime film written and directed by Vijaya Bapineedu, and produced by Maganti Ravindranath Chowdary. The film stars Chiranjeevi and Vijayashanti, while Rao Gopal Rao, Anandaraj, Murali Mo ...
'' (1991), popularized genre films with the highest estimated .
Sekhar Kammula
Sekhar Kammula (born 4 February 1972) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer who works in Telugu cinema. He has garnered two Filmfare Awards South, and six state Nandi Awards for his directional works. Sekhar Kammula was among the ...
's ''
Dollar Dreams
''Dollar Dreams'' is a 2000 Indian drama film written, directed and produced by Sekhar Kammula. Primarily shot in Telugu and English, the film starred Santosh Kumar, Anish Kuruvilla, Ravi Raju, Anil Prashant, Dashveer Singh, Priyanka Veer, an ...
'' (2000), which explored the conflict between American dreams and human feelings, re-introduced
social realism
Social realism is the term used for work produced by painters, printmakers, photographers, writers and filmmakers that aims to draw attention to the real socio-political conditions of the working class as a means to critique the power structure ...
to Telugu film which had stagnated in formulaic commercialism.
War drama ''
Kanche
''Kanche'' () is a 2015 Indian Telugu-language romantic war film written and directed by Krish. It stars Varun Tej, Pragya Jaiswal, and Nikitin Dheer. Produced by First Frame Entertainment, ''Kanche'' revolves around the enmity between two f ...
'' (2015, Krish Jagarlamudi) explored the 1944 Nazi attack on the Indian army in the Italian campaign of the Second World War, in a tale of caste-ism with technically brilliant cinematography.
Sankalp Reddy
Sankalp Reddy (born October 20, 1984) is an Indian film director, and screenwriter who primarily works in Telugu films. He made his directorial debut with the war film ''Ghazi'' (2017) which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in ...
explored
submarine
A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
warfare in his directorial debut '' Ghazi'' (2017), based on the mysterious altercation between
PNS Ghazi
PNS/M ''Ghazi (S–130)'' (previously USS ''Diablo'' (SS-479); reporting name: ''Ghazi''), , was a diesel-electric submarine, the first fast-attack submarine in the Pakistan Navy. She was leased from the United States Navy in 1963.
She s ...
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the
Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decem ...
.
Docudrama
Docudrama (or documentary drama) is a genre of television and film, which features dramatized re-enactments of actual events. It is described as a hybrid of documentary and drama and "a fact-based representation of real event".
Docudramas typic ...
''
Major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
'' (2022, Sashi Kiran Tikka) was based on the life of
Sandeep Unnikrishnan
Sandeep Unnikrishnan, AC (15 March 1977 – 28 November 2008) was an Indian Army officer, who was serving in the 51 Special Action Group of the National Security Guards on deputation. He was Martyred in action during the November 2008 Mumbai ...
who was martyred in the
2008 Mumbai attacks
The 2008 Mumbai attacks (also referred to as 26/11, pronounced "twenty six eleven") were a series of Terrorism, terrorist attacks that took place in November 2008, when 10 members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, an Islamist terrorist organisation from P ...
.
S. S. Rajamouli
Koduri Srisaila Sri Rajamouli ( ; born 10 October 1973) is an Indian film director and screenwriter who primarily works in Telugu cinema. He is the highest paid director in India, and is known for his action, fantasy, and epic genre films. T ...
's epic duology ''
Baahubali Bahubali
Bahubali (), a much revered figure among Jains, was the son of Rishabadeva (the first ''tirthankara'' of Jainism) and the brother of Bharata Chakravartin. He is said to have meditated motionless for a year in a standing posture ('' ...
'', and alternate history film ''
RRR RRR may refer to:
Art and entertainment
* ''RRR'' (film), an Indian Telugu film Industry film
** ''RRR'' (soundtrack), soundtrack album of the film of the same name
* RRRecords, a record label
* '' Roots Rock Riot'', a 2007 album by Skindred
* ...
'' are the only Indian films to receive the American
Saturn Award for Best International Film
The Saturn Award for Best International Film is one of the annual awards given by the American professional organization, the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films. The Saturn Awards, which are the oldest film-specialized awards to rew ...
. ''
Nashville Scene
''Nashville Scene'' is an alternative newsweekly in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1989, became a part of Village Voice Media in 1999, and later joined the ranks of sixteen other publications after a merger of Village Voice Media with ...
''s Jason Shawhan wrote about the event "the nationwide encore of ''RRR'' is American audiences reaching with outstretched arms to something so exciting and rock-solid entertaining that its success already happened without insular traditional media even mentioning it. This isn't America dipping a toe in Indian cinema — it's a victory lap".
Tamil
Tamil cinema established Madras (now
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
) as a secondary film production centre in India, used by
Hindi cinema
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
, other South Indian film industries, and Sri Lankan cinema. Over the last quarter of the 20th century, Tamil films from India established a global presence through distribution to an increasing number of overseas theatres.
The industry also inspired independent filmmaking in Sri Lanka and
Tamil diaspora
The Tamil diaspora refers to descendants of the Tamil people, Tamil Emigration, immigrants who emigrated from their native lands (Tamil Nadu, Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry and Sri Lanka) to other parts of the world. They are found pri ...
populations in Malaysia, Singapore, and the
Western Hemisphere
The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the antimeridian. The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Politically, the term We ...
.
''
Marupakkam
''Marupakkam'' ( en, The Other Side, italic=yes) is a 1991 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan. An adaptation of the Tamil novella ''Uchi Veyyil'' by Indira Parthasarathy, the film stars Sivakumar, Radh ...
Kanchivaram
''Kanchivaram'' is a 2008 Indian Tamil-language period drama film written and directed by Priyadarshan. The film stars Prakash Raj and Shriya Reddy and has the musical score by M. G. Sreekumar, cinematography by Tirru, editing by Arun Kumar ...
'' (2007) each won the
National Film Award for Best Feature Film
The National Award for Best Feature Film is one of the categories in the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in India. It is one of sev ...
. Tamil films receive significant patronage in neighbouring Indian states
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
,
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
,
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
,
Maharashtra
Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...
, Gujarat and New Delhi. In Kerala and Karnataka the films are directly released in Tamil but in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh they are generally dubbed into Telugu.
Tamil films have consistent popularity among audiences in
South East Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...
. Since '' Chandralekha'', '' Muthu'' was the second Tamil film to be dubbed into Japanese (as ''Mutu: Odoru Maharaja'') and grossed a record $1.6 million in 1998. In 2010, ''
Enthiran
''Enthiran'' () is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language science fiction action film written and directed by S. Shankar. It is the first instalment in the ''Enthiran'' franchise. The film stars Rajinikanth and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan with Danny De ...
'' grossed a record $4 million in North America. Tamil-language films appeared at multiple film festivals. ''
Kannathil Muthamittal
''Kannathil Muthamittal'' (also released internationally under the translated title ''A Peck on the Cheek'') is a 2002 Indian Tamil-language musical war film produced and directed by Mani Ratnam. It was based on a short story, "Amuthavum Avanum" ...
'' (Ratnam), ''
Veyyil
''Veyil'' ( en, Sunshine, italics=yes or ''Sun Blaze'') is a 2006 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by Vasanthabalan. Bharath and Pasupathy are the male leads whereas Bhavana, Priyanka and Sriya Reddy plays the female lea ...
'' (
Vasanthabalan
Vasanthabalan (sometimes credited as Vasantha Balan) is an Indian Tamil film director and screenwriter, known for his Tragedy Films in Tamil Cinema. He has made critically acclaimed films including '' Veyil'' (2006), '' Angadi Theru'' (2010) and ...
) and ''
Paruthiveeran
''Paruthiveeran'' () is a 2007 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film written and directed by Ameer. The film stars Karthi in his feature film debut as the title character, with Priyamani as the female lead and Ponvannan, Saravanan, Ganja K ...
'' (
Ameer Sultan
Ameer Sultan (born 5 December 1967) is an Indian film director, producer and actor, working in the Tamil film industry.
Early life and career
Ameer Sultan was born in Madurai, Tamil Nadu India. He initially studied economics and worked as an e ...
), ''
Kanchivaram
''Kanchivaram'' is a 2008 Indian Tamil-language period drama film written and directed by Priyadarshan. The film stars Prakash Raj and Shriya Reddy and has the musical score by M. G. Sreekumar, cinematography by Tirru, editing by Arun Kumar ...
'' (
Priyadarshan
Priyadarshan (born 30 January 1957) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer who works predominantly in Malayalam and Hindi films, while also having done six films in Tamil and two films in Telugu. He has done about 31 films in Hi ...
) premiered at the
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...
. Tamil films were submitted by India for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film on eight occasions. Chennai-based music composer A. R. Rahaman achieved global recognition with two
Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
and is nicknamed as "Isai Puyal" (musical storm) and "Mozart of Madras". ''
Nayakan
''Nayakan'' (; ) is a 1987 Indian Tamil-language gangster film written and directed by Mani Ratnam. Produced by Muktha Srinivasan, the film stars Kamal Haasan, Saranya (in her feature debut) and Karthika, with Janagaraj, Vijayan, M. V. Vasu ...
'' (1987,
Kamal Haasan
Kamal Haasan (born 7 November 1954) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, playback singer, television presenter and politician who works mainly in Tamil cinema and has also appeared in some Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Kannada and Bengali l ...
) was included in ''Time'' All-Time 100 Movies list.
Malayalam
Malayalam cinema experienced its own Golden Age in the 1980s and early 1990s. Acclaimed Malayalam filmmakers included
Adoor Gopalakrishnan
Adoor Gopalakrishnan (born 3 July 1941) is an Indian film director, script writer, and producer and is regarded as one of the most notable and renowned filmmakers in India. With the release of his first feature film '' Swayamvaram'' (1972), Go ...
,
G. Aravindan
Govindan Aravindan (23 January 1935 – 15 March 1991) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, musician, cartoonist, and painter. He was one of the pioneers of parallel cinema in Malayalam. He was known for his unorthodox way of filmma ...
Shaji N. Karun
Shaji Neelakantan Karun (born 1 January 1952) is an Indian film director and cinematographer. His debut film '' Piravi'' (1988) won the Caméra d'Or – Mention d'honneur at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival. He was the premiere chairman of the Keral ...
. Gopalakrishnan is often considered to be Ray's spiritual heir. He directed some of his most acclaimed films during this period, including ''
Elippathayam
''Elippathayam'' (Translation: The Rat Trap) is a 1981 Malayalam film written and directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan. It stars Karamana Janardanan Nair, Sharada, Jalaja, and Rajam K. Nair. The film documents the feudal life in Kerala at its twil ...
'' (1981) which won the
Sutherland Trophy
The Sutherland Trophy was created in 1958 by the British Film Institute as an annual award for "the maker of the most original and imaginative film introduced at the National Film Theatre during the year".
History
In 1997, the criteria changed to ...
at the
London Film Festival
The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival founded in 1957 and held in the United Kingdom, running for two weeks in October with co-operation from the British Film Institute. It screens more than 300 films, documentaries and shor ...
. Karun's debut film ''
Piravi
''Piravi'' ( en, italic=yes, The Birth) is a 1989 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed by Shaji N. Karun. It stars Premji, Archana and Lakshmi Krishnamurthy. The film is based on the life of professor T. V. Eachara Warrier, whose son ...
'' (1989) won the
Caméra d'Or
The Caméra d'Or ("''Golden Camera''") is an award of the Cannes Film Festival for the best first feature film presented in one of the Cannes' selections (Official Selection, Directors' Fortnight or International Critics' Week
The International ...
at
Cannes
Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...
, while his second film '' Swaham'' (1994) was in competition for the
Palme d'Or
The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...
. ''
Vanaprastham
''Vanaprastham: The Last Dance'' (french: Vanaprastham: La Dernière Danse) is a 1999 Indo-French psychological drama period film in Malayalam-language that was directed by Shaji N. Karun. It was produced by Pierre Assouline and co-produced b ...
'' was screened at the
Un Certain Regard
(, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob.
The section presents 20 films w ...
section of the Cannes Film Festival. Commercial Malayalam cinema began gaining popularity with the
action films
Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include lif ...
of
Jayan
Krishnan Nair (25 July 1939 – 16 November 1980), better known by his stage name Jayan, was an Indian actor, naval officer, stunt performer and cultural icon of the 1970s and 1980s. He starred in over 150 Malayalam films. During his film caree ...
, the first action-adventure superstar of South Indian Cinema.
Malayalam cinema experienced its own Golden Age in the 1980s and early 1990s. Acclaimed Malayalam filmmakers included
Adoor Gopalakrishnan
Adoor Gopalakrishnan (born 3 July 1941) is an Indian film director, script writer, and producer and is regarded as one of the most notable and renowned filmmakers in India. With the release of his first feature film '' Swayamvaram'' (1972), Go ...
,
G. Aravindan
Govindan Aravindan (23 January 1935 – 15 March 1991) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, musician, cartoonist, and painter. He was one of the pioneers of parallel cinema in Malayalam. He was known for his unorthodox way of filmma ...
Shaji N. Karun
Shaji Neelakantan Karun (born 1 January 1952) is an Indian film director and cinematographer. His debut film '' Piravi'' (1988) won the Caméra d'Or – Mention d'honneur at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival. He was the premiere chairman of the Keral ...
. Gopalakrishnan is often considered to be Ray's spiritual heir. He directed some of his most acclaimed films during this period, including ''
Elippathayam
''Elippathayam'' (Translation: The Rat Trap) is a 1981 Malayalam film written and directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan. It stars Karamana Janardanan Nair, Sharada, Jalaja, and Rajam K. Nair. The film documents the feudal life in Kerala at its twil ...
'' (1981) which won the
Sutherland Trophy
The Sutherland Trophy was created in 1958 by the British Film Institute as an annual award for "the maker of the most original and imaginative film introduced at the National Film Theatre during the year".
History
In 1997, the criteria changed to ...
at the
London Film Festival
The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival founded in 1957 and held in the United Kingdom, running for two weeks in October with co-operation from the British Film Institute. It screens more than 300 films, documentaries and shor ...
. Karun's debut film ''
Piravi
''Piravi'' ( en, italic=yes, The Birth) is a 1989 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed by Shaji N. Karun. It stars Premji, Archana and Lakshmi Krishnamurthy. The film is based on the life of professor T. V. Eachara Warrier, whose son ...
'' (1989) won the
Caméra d'Or
The Caméra d'Or ("''Golden Camera''") is an award of the Cannes Film Festival for the best first feature film presented in one of the Cannes' selections (Official Selection, Directors' Fortnight or International Critics' Week
The International ...
at
Cannes
Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...
, while his second film '' Swaham'' (1994) was in competition for the
Palme d'Or
The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...
. ''
Vanaprastham
''Vanaprastham: The Last Dance'' (french: Vanaprastham: La Dernière Danse) is a 1999 Indo-French psychological drama period film in Malayalam-language that was directed by Shaji N. Karun. It was produced by Pierre Assouline and co-produced b ...
'' was screened at the
Un Certain Regard
(, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob.
The section presents 20 films w ...
section of the Cannes Film Festival. Commercial Malayalam cinema began gaining popularity with the
action films
Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include lif ...
of
Jayan
Krishnan Nair (25 July 1939 – 16 November 1980), better known by his stage name Jayan, was an Indian actor, naval officer, stunt performer and cultural icon of the 1970s and 1980s. He starred in over 150 Malayalam films. During his film caree ...
, the first action-adventure superstar of South Indian Cinema.
Kannada
The Kannada film '' Samskara'' (1970) pioneered the parallel cinema movement in south Indian cinema. The film won Bronze Leopard at the
Locarno International Film Festival
The Locarno Film Festival is an annual film festival, held every August in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narrative, documentary, sh ...
.
Reference
Salim–Javed
Salim–Javed were an Indian screenwriting duo, composed of Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, working in Bollywood. They are noted for being the first Indian screenwriters to achieve star status, becoming the most successful Indian screenwriters o ...
were highly influential in
South Indian cinema
The Cinema of South India refers collectively to the six distinct film industries based in Southern region of India namely Tamil, Telugu, Tulu, Kannada, Konkani, and Malayalam. Although these industries developed independently for a long p ...
. In addition to writing two
Kannada films
Kannada cinema, also known as Sandalwood, or Chandanavana, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Kannada language widely spoken in the state of Karnataka. The 1934 film '' Sati Sulochana'' directe ...
, many of their Bollywood films had remakes produced in other regions, including Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam cinema. While the Bollywood directors and producers held the rights to their films in Northern India, Salim–Javed retained the rights in South India, where they sold remake rights for films such as ''Zanjeer'', ''Yaadon Ki Baarat'' and ''Don''. Several of these remakes became breakthroughs for actor
Rajinikanth
Shivaji Rao Gaikwad (born 12 December 1950), known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor, producer and screenwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 160 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannad ...
.
Sridevi
Shree Amma Yanger Ayyappan (13 August 1963 – 24 February 2018), professionally credited with her stage name Sridevi, was an Indian actress who worked in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, and Kannada language films. Cited as the "First Female ...
is widely regarded as the first female superstar of Indian cinema due to her pan-Indian appeal with equally successful careers in
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
,
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
,
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...
,
Kannada
Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
and
Telugu cinema
Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Telugu cinema is based in Film Nagar, Hy ...
. She is the only Bollywood actor to have starred in a top 10 grossing film each year of her active career (1983–1997).
Cultural context
K. Moti Gokulsing and Wimal Dissanayake identified six major influences that have shaped Indian popular cinema:
*The ancient
epics
The Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System (EPICS) is a set of software tools and applications used to develop and implement distributed control systems to operate devices such as particle accelerators, telescopes and other large sci ...
of ''
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...
'' and ''
Ramayana
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...
'' influenced the narratives of Indian cinema. Examples of this influence include the techniques of a
side story
In fiction, a subplot is a secondary strand of the plot that is a supporting side story for any story or for the main plot. Subplots may connect to main plots, in either time and place or thematic significance. Subplots often involve supporting ...
,
back-story
A backstory, background story, back-story, or background is a set of events invented for a plot, presented as preceding and leading up to that plot. It is a literary device of a narrative history all chronologically earlier than the narrative of p ...
and
story within a story
A story within a story, also referred to as an embedded narrative, is a literary device in which a character within a story becomes the narrator of a second story (within the first one). Multiple layers of stories within stories are sometimes c ...
. Indian popular films often have plots that branch into sub-plots; such narrative dispersals can be seen in the 1993 films ''
Khalnayak
''Khal Nayak'' () is a 1993 Indian Hindi-language action crime film produced and directed by Subhash Ghai. The film's plot centers on the escape and attempted capture of criminal Ballu (Sanjay Dutt as antihero) by Inspector Ram ( Jackie Shrof ...
'' and ''
Gardish
''Gardish'' () is a 1993 Indian Hindi-language action crime film written and directed by Priyadarshan, starring Jackie Shroff, Aishwarya and Dimple Kapadia. It is a remake of the 1989 Malayalam film '' Kireedam''. The film won two Filmfare Aw ...
''.
*Ancient
Sanskrit drama
The term Indian classical drama refers to the tradition of dramatic literature and performance in ancient India. The roots of drama in the Indian subcontinent can be traced back to the Rigveda (1200-1500 BCE), which contains a number of hymns in ...
, with its emphasis on spectacle,
music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...
,
dance
Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
and gesture combined "to create a vibrant artistic unit with dance and mime being central to the dramatic experience". Sanskrit dramas were known as '' natya'', derived from the root word (dance), featuring spectacular dance-dramas. The '' Rasa'' method of performance, dating to ancient times, is one of the fundamental features that differentiate Indian from Western cinema. In the ''Rasa'' method, the performer conveys emotions to the audience through empathy, in contrast to the Western Stanislavski method where the actor must become "a living, breathing embodiment of a character". The ''rasa'' method is apparent in the performances of Hindi actors such as Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan and in Hindi films such as ''
Rang De Basanti
''Rang De Basanti'' () is a 2006 Indian drama film written, produced and directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, and co-written by Rensil D'Silva. The film features an ensemble cast consisting of Aamir Khan, Siddharth, R. Madhavan, Atul Kulkarni, ...
'' (2006), and Ray's works.
*Traditional folk
theatre
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
, which became popular around the 10th century with the decline of Sanskrit theatre. These regional traditions include the
Yatra
( sa, यात्रा, 'journey', 'procession'), in Indian-origin religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, generally means a pilgrimage to holy places such as confluences of sacred rivers, sacred mountains, places associated ...
of
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
, the
Ramlila
Ramlila (Rāmlīlā) (literally 'Rama's lila or play') is any dramatic folk re-enactment of the life of Rama according to the ancient Hindu epic ''Ramayana'' or secondary literature based on it such as the ''Ramcharitmanas''. It particularly ...
of Uttar Pradesh,
Yakshagana
Yakshagaana is a traditional theatre, developed in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, Shimoga and western parts of Chikmagalur districts, in the state of Karnataka and in Kasaragod district in Kerala that combines dance, music, dialogue, ...
of Karnataka, 'Chindu Natakam' of Andhra Pradesh and the
Terukkuttu
Terukkuttu is a Tamil street theatre form practised in Tamil Nadu state of India and Tamil-speaking regions of Sri Lanka. Terukuttu is a form of entertainment, a ritual, and a medium of social instruction. The terukkuttu plays various themes. ...
of Tamil Nadu.
*
Parsi theatre
Parsi theatre is a generic term for an influential theatre tradition, staged by Parsis, and theatre companies largely-owned by the Parsi business community, which flourished between 1850 and 1930s. Plays were primarily in the Hindustani language ( ...
, which blends
realism
Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to:
In the arts
*Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts
Arts movements related to realism include:
*Classical Realism
*Literary realism, a move ...
and fantasy, containing crude humour, songs and music, sensationalism, and dazzling stagecraft. These influences are clearly evident in '' masala'' films such as ''
Coolie
A coolie (also spelled koelie, kuli, khuli, khulie, cooli, cooly, or quli) is a term for a low-wage labourer, typically of South Asian or East Asian descent.
The word ''coolie'' was first popularized in the 16th century by European traders acros ...
'' (1983), and to an extent in more recent critically acclaimed films such as ''Rang De Basanti''.
*Hollywood-made popular musicals from the 1920s through the 1960s, though Indian films used musical sequences as another fantasy element in the song-and-dance tradition of narration, undisguised and "intersect ngwith people's day-to-day lives in compelex and interesting ways."
*Western music videos, particularly
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
, had an increasing influence in the 1990s, as can be seen in the pace, camera angles, dance sequences, and music of recent Indian films. An early example of this approach was ''
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
'' (1995, Mani Ratnam).
Sharmistha Gooptu and Bhaumik identify
Indo-Persian
Indo-Persian culture refers to a cultural synthesis present in the Indian subcontinent. It is characterised by the absorption or integration of Persian aspects into the various cultures of Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. The earliest introductio ...
/
Islamicate
Marshall Goodwin Simms Hodgson (April 11, 1922 – June 10, 1968), was an Islamic studies academic and a world historian at the University of Chicago. He was chairman of the interdisciplinary Committee on Social Thought in Chicago.
Works
Though he ...
culture as another major influence. In the early 20th century,
lingua franca
A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...
of popular performances across northern India, established in
performance art
Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...
traditions such as
nautch
The nautch (; meaning "dance" or "dancing")Scott A. Kugle, 2016When Sun Meets Moon: Gender, Eros, and Ecstasy in Urdu Poetry p.230. was a popular court dance performed by girls (known as "nautch girls") in India. The culture of the performing ...
dancing,
Urdu poetry
Urdu poetry ( ur, ) is a tradition of poetry and has many different forms. Today, it is an important part of the cultures of South Asia. According to Naseer Turabi there are five major poets of Urdu which are Mir Taqi Mir (d.1810), Mirza Ghalib ...
and Parsi theatre. Urdu and related Hindi dialects were the most widely understood across northern India, thus Hindustani became the standardised language of early Indian
talkies
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before ...
. ''
One Thousand and One Nights
''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...
'' (''Arabian Nights'') had a strong influence on Parsi theatre, which adapted "
Persianate
A Persianate society is a society that is based on or strongly influenced by the Persian language, culture, literature, art and/or identity.
The term "Persianate" is a neologism credited to Marshall Hodgson. In his 1974 book, ''The Venture of Is ...
adventure-romances" into films, and on early Bombay cinema where "''Arabian Nights'' cinema" became a popular genre.
Like mainstream Indian popular cinema, Indian
parallel cinema
Parallel cinema, or New Indian Cinema, is a film movement in Indian cinema that originated in the state of West Bengal in the 1950s as an alternative to the mainstream commercial Indian cinema.
Inspired by Italian Neorealism, Parallel Cinema ...
was influenced by a combination of Indian theatre and Indian literature (such as Bengali literature and
Urdu poetry
Urdu poetry ( ur, ) is a tradition of poetry and has many different forms. Today, it is an important part of the cultures of South Asia. According to Naseer Turabi there are five major poets of Urdu which are Mir Taqi Mir (d.1810), Mirza Ghalib ...
), but differs when it comes to foreign influences, where it is influenced more by European cinema (particularly Italian neorealism and French poetic realism) than by Hollywood. Ray cited Vittorio De Sica's ''Bicycle Thieves'' (1948) and Jean Renoir's ''The River (1951 film), The River'' (1951), on which he assisted, as influences on his debut film ''Pather Panchali (film), Pather Panchali'' (1955).
International influence
During colonial rule, Indians bought film equipment from Europe. The British funded wartime propaganda films during the Second World War, some of which showed the Indian Army (1895–1947), Indian army pitted against the Axis powers, specifically the Empire of Japan, which had managed to infiltrate India.Velayutham, 174 One such story was ''Burma Rani'', which depicted civilian resistance to Japanese occupation of Burma, Japanese occupation by British and Indian forces in Myanmar. Pre-independence businessmen such as J. F. Madan and Abdulally Esoofally traded in global cinema.
Early Indian films made early inroads into the Soviet Union, Middle East, Southeast AsiaDesai, 38 and China. Mainstream Indian movie stars gained international fame across Asia and Eastern Europe. For example, Indian films were more List of highest-grossing films in the Soviet Union, popular in the Soviet Union than Cinema of the United States, Hollywood films''Moscow Prime Time: How the Soviet Union Built the Media Empire that Lost the Cultural Cold War'', page 44 Cornell University Press, 2011 and occasionally domestic Soviet films. From 1954 to 1991, 206 Indian films were sent to the Soviet Union, drawing higher average audience figures than domestic Soviet productions, Films such as ''Awaara'' and ''Disco Dancer'' drew more than 60 million viewers. Films such as ''Awaara'', ''3 Idiots'' and ''Dangal'',How To Become A Foreign Movie Star In China: Aamir Khan's 5-Point Formula For Success ''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'', 11 June 2017 were among the 20 List of highest-grossing films in China, highest-grossing films in China.'Dangal' Makes More History In China, Joins List Of All-Time 20 Biggest Box Office Hits ''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'', 9 June 2017
Many Asian and South Asian countries increasingly found Indian cinema more suited to their sensibilities than Western cinema. Jigna Desai holds that by the 21st century, Indian cinema had become 'deterritorialized', spreading to parts of the world where Indian expatriates were present in significant numbers and had become an alternative to other international cinema.Desai, 37
Indian films frequently appeared in international fora and film festivals. This allowed Parallel Bengali filmmakers to achieve worldwide fame.
Indian cinema more recently began influencing Western musical films, and played a particularly instrumental role in the revival of the genre in the Western world. Ray's work had a worldwide impact, with filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese, James Ivory (director), James Ivory, Abbas Kiarostami, François Truffaut, Carlos Saura, Isao Takahata and Gregory Nava citing his influence, and others such as Akira Kurosawa praising his work. The "youthful coming-of-age dramas that flooded art houses since the mid-fifties owe a tremendous debt to the The Apu Trilogy, Apu trilogy". Since the 1980s, overlooked Indian filmmakers such as Ghatak and Dutt posthumously gained international acclaim. Baz Luhrmann stated that his successful musical film ''Moulin Rouge!'' (2001) was directly inspired by
Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
musicals. That film's success renewed interest in the then-moribund Western musical genre, subsequently fuelling a renaissance.
Danny Boyle
Daniel Francis Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English director and producer. He is known for his work on films including ''Shallow Grave'', '' Trainspotting'' and its sequel ''T2 Trainspotting'', '' The Beach'', '' 28 Days Later'', '' Su ...
's ''Slumdog Millionaire'' (2008) was directly inspired by Indian films, and is considered to be an "homage to Hindi commercial cinema".
Indian cinema has been recognised repeatedly at the US-based Academy Awards. Indian films ''Mother India'' (1957), ''Salaam Bombay!'' (1988) and ''Lagaan'' (2001), were nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...
. Indian Oscar winners include Bhanu Athaiya (costume designer), Ray (filmmaker), A. R. Rahman (music composer), Resul Pookutty (sound editor) and Gulzar (lyricist), Cottalango Leon and Rahul Thakkar Sci-Tech Award.
Genres and styles
Masala film
Masala is a style of Indian cinema that mixes multiple Film genre, genres in one work, especially in Bollywood, Cinema of West Bengal, West Bengal and Cinema of South India, South India. For example, one film can portray
action
Action may refer to:
* Action (narrative), a literary mode
* Action fiction, a type of genre fiction
* Action game, a genre of video game
Film
* Action film, a genre of film
* ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford
* ''Action'' (1980 fil ...
,
comedy
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
,
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
,
romance
Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to:
Common meanings
* Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings
* Romance languages, ...
and
melodrama
A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exces ...
. These films tend to be musicals with songs filmed in picturesque locations. Plots for such movies may seem illogical and improbable to unfamiliar viewers. The genre is named after Spice mix, masala, a mixture of spices in Indian cuisine.
Parallel cinema
Parallel Cinema, also known as Art film, Art Cinema or the Indian New Wave, is known for its realism and naturalism, addressing the sociopolitical climate. This movement is distinct from mainstream Bollywood cinema and began around the same time as the French New Wave, French and Japanese New Waves. The movement began in Bengal (led by Ray, Sen and Ghatak) and then gained prominence in other regions. The movement was launched by Bimal Roy's ''
Do Bigha Zamin
''Do Bigha Zamin'' () is a 1953 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Bimal Roy. Based on Rabindranath Tagore's Bengali poem " Dui Bigha Jomi", the film stars Balraj Sahni, Nirupa Roy in lead roles. Known for its socialist theme, it is c ...
'' (1953), which was both a commercial and critical success, winning the International Prize at 1954 Cannes Film Festival, Cannes. Ray's films include the three instalments of ''
The Apu Trilogy
''The Apu Trilogy'' comprises three Indian Bengali-language drama films directed by Satyajit Ray: ''Pather Panchali'' (1955), ''Aparajito'' (1956) and ''The World of Apu'' (1959). The original music for the films was composed by Ravi Shankar.
...
'' which won major prizes at the Cannes Film Festival, Cannes, Berlin International Film Festival, Berlin and Venice Film Festivals, and are frequently listed among the greatest films of all time."The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made" by the Film Critics of ''The New York Times'', 2002.
Other Neorealism (art), neo-realist filmmakers were Shyam Benegal, Karun, Gopalakrishnan and Kasaravalli.Gokulsing & Dissanayake, 132
Multilingual
Some Indian films are known as "multilinguals", filmed in similar but non-identical versions, in different languages. According to Ashish Rajadhyaksha and Paul Willemen in the ''Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema'' (1994), in its most precise form, a multilingual is
Rajadhyaksha and Willemen note that in seeking to construct their ''Encyclopedia'', they often found it "extremely difficult to distinguish multilinguals in this original sense from dubbed versions, remakes, reissues or, in some cases, the same film listed with different titles, presented as separate versions in different languages ... it will take years of scholarly work to establish definitive data in this respect".
Pan-India film
Pan-India film is both a style of cinema and a distribution strategy, designed to universally appeal to audiences across the country and simultaneously released in multiple languages. It is a film movement that has gained popularity following the success of ''Baahubali: The Beginning'' (2015) which was a Tollywood (Telugu), Tollywood film. The term "Pan-Indian film" is used for a film that is simultaneously released in Telugu language, Telugu, Tamil language, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi languages, with an aim to maximize the target audience and thus increase revenues.
Music
Music is a substantial revenue generator for the Indian film industry, with music rights alone accounting for 4–5% of net revenues.Potts, 75 The major film music companies are T-Series (company), T-Series at Delhi, Sony Music India at
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
and Zee Music Company at
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
, Aditya Music at
Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
and Saregama at
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
. Film music accounts for 48% of net music sales in the country. A typical film may feature 5–6 choreographed songs.Thompson, 74
The demands of a multicultural, increasingly globalised Indian audience led to a mixing of local and international musical traditions. Local dance and music remain a recurring theme in India and followed the Non-resident Indian and Overseas Citizen of India, Indian diaspora. Playback singers such as Mohammad Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, K. J. Yesudas, P.Susheela, S. Janaki, Asha Bhosle, K. S. Chitra, Kumar Sanu, Udit Narayan and S. P. Balasubrahmanyam drew crowds to presentations of film music. In the 21st century interaction increased between Indian artists and others.Zumkhawala-Cook, 312
Filming locations
A filming location is any place where acting and dialogue are recorded. Sites where filming without dialogue takes place are termed a second unit photography site. Filmmakers often choose to shoot on location because they believe that greater
realism
Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to:
In the arts
*Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts
Arts movements related to realism include:
*Classical Realism
*Literary realism, a move ...
can be achieved in a "real" place. Location shooting is often motivated by budget considerations.
The most popular locations for filming in India are the main cities of their state for regional industry. Other locations include Manali, Himachal Pradesh, Manali and Shimla in Himachal Pradesh; Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir; Ladakh; Darjeeling in
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
; Ooty and Kodaikanal in Tamil Nadu; Amritsar in Punjab, India, Punjab; Udaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Jaipur in Rajasthan; Delhi;
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
; and Goa and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry.
Production companies
More than 1000 production organisations operate in the Indian film industry, but few are successful.
AVM Productions
AVM Productions is an Indian film production studio founded by A. V. Meiyappan. It is the final oldest survived studio in India. The filming studios are located in Vadapalani, Chennai. It has produced over 300 films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, ...
is the oldest surviving studio in India. Other major production houses include
Yash Raj Films
Yash Raj Films (YRF) is an Indian film production and distribution company founded by veteran filmmaker Yash Chopra in 1970. It mainly produces and distributes Hindi and Punjabi films. The company has grown to be one of the largest film studios ...
, T-Series (company), T-Series,
Lyca Productions
Lyca Productions is an Indian entertainment company, which was established by Subaskaran Allirajah in 2014. A subgroup of Lycamobile, the production studio has been involved in the production and distribution of Tamil films made in India. It h ...
, Madras Talkies,
AGS Entertainment
AGS Entertainment is an Indian film production, distribution company and multiplex chain in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was established in 2006 by three brothers Kalpathi S. Aghoram, Kalpathi S.Ganesh and Kalpathi S. Suresh.
History
AGS Entertain ...
, Sun Pictures, Red Chillies Entertainment, Dharma Productions,
Eros International
Eros International Media Ltd (also known as Eros India) is an Indian motion picture production and distribution company, based and originated in Mumbai, India. Founded by Arjun Lulla in 1977, it is one of the leading production and distribut ...
, Ajay Devgn FFilms, Balaji Motion Pictures,
UTV Motion Pictures
UTV Motion Pictures (also known as Disney-UTV) was the feature film unit of UTV Software Communications founded by Ronnie Screwvala and Zarina Screwvala in 1996 as UTV Motion Pictures Plc., the film distribution division of UTV Software Communica ...
, Raaj Kamal Films International,
Aashirvad Cinemas
Aashirvad Cinemas is an Indian film production company based in Kochi, Kerala. It was established in 2000 by Antony Perumbavoor, since then, it has produced over 30 Malayalam films, starring Mohanlal. Since 2009, the company co-operates with th ...
, Wunderbar Films, Cape of Good Films and
Geetha Arts
Geetha Arts is an Indian film production and distribution company known for its works in Telugu cinema. It is established in 1972 by Allu Aravind. The company is based out of Hyderabad. It has produced around 60 films majority of them in Tel ...
.
Cinema by language
Films are made in many cities and regions in India including Assamese cinema, Assam, Cinema of West Bengal, Bengal, Cinema of Bihar, Bihar, Gujarati cinema, Gujarat, Haryanvi cinema, Haryana, Dogri cinema, Jammu, Kashmiri cinema, Kashmir, Cinema of Jharkhand, Jharkhand, Kannada cinema, Karnataka, Konkani cinema, Konkan (Goa), Malayalam cinema, Kerala, Marathi cinema, Maharashtra, Cinema of Manipur, Manipur, Cinema of Odisha, Odisha, Chhattisgarhi cinema, Chhattisgarh, Punjabi cinema, Punjab, Cinema of Rajasthan, Rajasthan, Tamil cinema, Tamil Nadu, Telugu cinema, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Chakma cinema, Tripura and Mizoram.
Assamese
The Assamese-language film industry is based in Assam in northeastern India. It is sometimes called Jollywood, for the Jyoti Chitraban Film Studio. Some films have been well received by critics but they have not yet captured national audiences. The 21st century has produced Hindi cinema, Bollywood-style Assamese movies which have set new box office records for the small industry.
Bengali
The Bengali-language cinematic tradition of Tollygunge,
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
, is also known as Tollywood.Gokulsing & Dissanayake, 138 When the term was coined in the 1930s, it was the centre of the Indian film industry. West Bengal cinema is historically known for the
parallel cinema
Parallel cinema, or New Indian Cinema, is a film movement in Indian cinema that originated in the state of West Bengal in the 1950s as an alternative to the mainstream commercial Indian cinema.
Inspired by Italian Neorealism, Parallel Cinema ...
movement and art films.
Braj Bhasha
Braj-language films present Braj, Brij culture mainly to rural people, predominantly in the nebulous Braj region centred around Mathura, Agra, Aligarh and Hathras in Western Uttar Pradesh and Bharatpur, Rajasthan, Bharatpur and Dholpur in Rajasthan (northern India). It is the predominant language in the central stretch of the Ganges-Yamuna Doab in Uttar Pradesh. The first Brij Bhasha movie was ''Brij Bhoomi (film), Brij Bhoomi'' (1982, Shiv Kumar), which was a success throughout the country. Later Brij Bhasha cinema saw the production of films like ''Jamuna Kinare'' and ''Brij Kau Birju''.
Bhojpuri
Bhojpuri-language films predominantly cater to residents of western Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh and also have a large audience in Delhi and Mumbai due to the migration of Bhojpuri speakers to these cities. International markets for these films developed in other Bhojpuri-speaking countries of the West Indies, Oceania and South America.
Bhojpuri film history begins with ''Ganga Maiyya Tohe Piyari Chadhaibo'' (''Mother Ganges, I will offer you a yellow sari'', 1962, Kundan Kumar). Throughout the following decades, few films were produced. The industry experienced a revival beginning with the hit ''Saiyyan Hamar'' (''My Sweetheart'', 2001, Mohan Prasad). Although smaller than other Indian film industries, these successes increased Bhojpuri cinema's visibility, leading to an awards show and a trade magazine, ''Bhojpuri City''.
Chakma
The Chakma language is spoken in Tripura and Mizoram (Northeast India), as well as in the Chittagong Hill Tracts region of Bangladesh. Films in Chakma include ''Tanyabi Firti'' (''Tanyabi's Lake'', 2005, Satarupa Sanyal).
Chhattisgarhi
The Chhattisgarhi-language film industry of Chhattisgarhi state, central India, is known as Chhollywood. Its beginnings are with ''Kahi Debe Sandesh'' (''In Black and White'', 1965, Manu Nayak) No Chhattisgarhi films were released from 1971 until ''Mor Chhainha Bhuinya'' (2000).
English
Indian filmmakers also produce English language films. Deepa Mehta, Anant Balani, Homi Adajania, Vijay Singh, Vierendrra Lalit and Sooni Taraporevala have garnered recognition in Indian English cinema.
Gujarati
The Gujarati-language film industry, also known as Gollywood or Dhollywood, is currently centered in the state of Gujarat. During the silent era, many filmmakers and actors were Gujarati and Parsi, and their films were closely related to Culture of Gujarat, Gujarati culture. Twenty film companies and studios, mostly located in Bombay, were owned by Gujaratis and at least 44 major Gujarati directors worked during this era. The first film released in Gujarati was ''Narsinh Mehta (1932 film), Narsinh Mehta'' (1932). More than one thousand Gujarati films have been released.
Gujarati cinema ranges from mythology to history and from social to political. Gujarati films originally targeted a rural audience, but after its revival () catered to an urban audience.
Hindi
The Hindi language film industry of
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
(formerly Bombay), also known as Bollywood, is the largest and most powerful branch of
Hindi cinema
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
. Hindi cinema explores issues of caste and culture in films such as ''Achhut Kanya'' (1936) and ''Sujata (1959 film), Sujata'' (1959).Gokulsing & Dissanayake, 10–11 International visibility came to the industry with
Raj Kapoor
Raj Kapoor (pronunciation: aːd͡ʒ kəpuːɾ born Shrishti Nath Kapoor; also known as Ranbir Raj Kapoor; 14 December 1924 2 June 1988) was an Indian actor, film director and producer, who worked in Hindi cinema. He is considered one of th ...
's ''Awaara, Awara'' and later in Shakti Samanta, Shakti Samantha's '' Aradhana''.Gokulsing & Dissanayake, 10 Art film directors include Kaul, Kumar Shahani, Ketan Mehta, Govind Nihalani, Shyam Benegal, Mira Nair, Nagesh Kukunoor, Sudhir Mishra and Nandita Das.
Hindi cinema grew during the 1990s with the release of as many as 215 films annually. Magazines such as ''Filmfare'', ''Stardust (magazine), Stardust'' and ''Cine Blitz'' popularly cover the industry.Gokulsing & Dissanayake, 11
Kannada
Kannada cinema, also known as Sandalwood or Chandanavana, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Kannada language, which is widely spoken in
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
state. ''Sati Sulochana'' (1934, Yaragudipati Varada Rao, Y. V. Rao) was the first talkie film in the Kannada language.
Kannada films include adaptations of major literary works and experimental films.
Konkani
Konkani-language films are mainly produced in Goa, one of India's smallest film regions which produced four films in 2009. The first full-length Konkani film was ''Mogacho Anvddo'' (1950, Jerry Braganza). The film's release date, 24 April, is celebrated as Konkani Film Day. An immense body of Konkani literature and art is a resource for filmmakers. ''Kazar'' (''Marriage'', 2009, Richard Castelino) and ''Ujvaadu'' (''Shedding New Light on Old Age Issues'', Kasaragod Chinna) are major releases. The pioneering Mangalorean Konkani film is ''Mog Ani Maipas''.
Maithili
Maithili cinema is made in the Maithili language. The first full-length film was ''Kanyadan (film), Kanyadan'' (1965). There are numerous films made in the Maithili over the years The film ''Mithila Makhaan'' (2019) won a National Award in the regional films category.
Malayalam
The Malayalam-language film industry, also known as Mollywood, is India's fourth-largest film industry. It is mainly based at
Kochi
Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...
,
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
state. ''Neelakkuyil'' (1954) is often considered the first authentic Malayali film. ''Newspaper Boy (1955 film), Newspaper Boy (1955)'', made by a group of students, was the first Neorealism (art), neo-realistic Malayalam film. ''Chemmeen'' (1965, Ramu Kariat), based on a story by Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai, became the first South Indian film to win the
National Film Award for Best Feature Film
The National Award for Best Feature Film is one of the categories in the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in India. It is one of sev ...
.
Malayalam cinema has been in the forefront of technological innovation in Indian filmmaking. The first Neorealism (art), neorealistic film (''Newspaper Boy (1955 film), Newspaper Boy''), the first CinemaScope film (''Thacholi Ambu''), the first 70 mm film (''Padayottam (1982 film), Padayottam''), the first 3D film (''My Dear Kuttichathan''), the first Panavision film (''
Vanaprastham
''Vanaprastham: The Last Dance'' (french: Vanaprastham: La Dernière Danse) is a 1999 Indo-French psychological drama period film in Malayalam-language that was directed by Shaji N. Karun. It was produced by Pierre Assouline and co-produced b ...
''), the first digital cinema, digital film (''Moonnamathoral''),History of Malayalam Cinema Cinemaofmalayalam.net. Retrieved on 29 July 2013. the first Camera phone, Smartphone film (''Jalachhayam''), and the first 8K resolution, 8K film (''Villain (2017 film), Villain'') in India were made in Malayalam.
The period from 1986 to 1990 is regarded as the Golden Age of Malayalam cinema, with four Malayalam films recognized by selection at the Cannes Film Festival—Shaji N. Karun-directed ''
Piravi
''Piravi'' ( en, italic=yes, The Birth) is a 1989 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed by Shaji N. Karun. It stars Premji, Archana and Lakshmi Krishnamurthy. The film is based on the life of professor T. V. Eachara Warrier, whose son ...
Vanaprastham
''Vanaprastham: The Last Dance'' (french: Vanaprastham: La Dernière Danse) is a 1999 Indo-French psychological drama period film in Malayalam-language that was directed by Shaji N. Karun. It was produced by Pierre Assouline and co-produced b ...
'' (1999), and Murali Nair-directed ''Marana Simhasanam'' (1999). ''Piravi'' (1989) won the Caméra d'Or, Caméra d'Or — Mention Spéciale and ''Marana Simhasanam'' has won the
Caméra d'Or
The Caméra d'Or ("''Golden Camera''") is an award of the Cannes Film Festival for the best first feature film presented in one of the Cannes' selections (Official Selection, Directors' Fortnight or International Critics' Week
The International ...
.
The Kerala State Film Awards established by the Government of Kerala recognizes the best works in Malayalam cinema every year, along with J. C. Daniel Award for lifetime achievement in Malayalam cinema. K. R. Narayanan National Institute of Visual Science and Arts (KRNNIVSA) is a training and research centre for film and video technology.
Manipuri
Manipuri cinema is a small film industry of Manipur, encompassing Meitei language and other languages of the state. It began in the 1970s and gained momentum following a 2002 state ban on Hindi films. 80–100 movies are made each year. Among the notable Manipuri films are ''Imagi Ningthem'' (1982, Aribam Syam Sharma), ''Yenning Amadi Likla'', ''Phijigee Mani'', ''Leipaklei'', ''Loktak Lairembee'' and ''Eikhoishibu Kanano''.
Marathi
Marathi films are produced in the Marathi language in Maharashtra state. It the oldest of India's film industries, which began in Kolhapur, moved to
Pune
Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...
and is now based in old
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
.
Some of the more notable films are ''Sangte Aika'', ''Ek Gaon Bara Bhangadi'', ''Pinjara'', ''Sinhasan'', ''Pathlaag'', ''Jait Re Jait'', ''Saamana'', ''Santh Wahate Krishnamai'', ''Sant Tukaram'' and ''Shyamchi Aai''.
Nagpuri
Nagpuri films are produced in the Nagpuri language in Jharkhand state. The first Nagpuri feature film was ''Sona Kar Nagpur'' (1992). With a mainly rural population and cinema halls closing, non-traditional distribution models may be used.
Gorkha
Indian Gorkha, Gorkha cinema consists of films produced by Nepali language, Nepali-speaking Indians.
Odia
The Odia-language film industry of
Bhubaneswar
Bhubaneswar (; ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. The region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Ekamra Kshetra'' (area (''kshetra'') adorned with mango trees (''ekamra'')). Bhubaneswar is ...
and
Cuttack
Cuttack (, or officially Kataka ) in Odia is the former capital and the second largest city in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised form of ''Kataka'' which literall ...
, Odisha state, is also known as Ollywood. The first Odia-language film was ''Sita Bibaha'' (1936). The best year for Odia cinema was 1984 when ''Maya Miriga'' (Nirad Mohapatra) and ''Dhare Alua'' were showcased in Indian Panorama and ''Maya Miriga'' was invited to Critics Week at Cannes. The film received the Best Third World Film award at Mannheim Film Festival, Jury Award in Hawaii and was shown at the London Film Festival.
Punjabi
The Punjabi-language film industry, based in Amritsar and Mohali, Punjab, is also known as Pollywood. K. D. Mehra made the first Punjabi film, ''Sheela (film), Sheela'' (1935). As of 2009, Punjabi cinema had produced between 900 and 1,000 movies.
Sindhi
The Sindhi-language film industry is largely based in Sindh, Pakistan, and with Sindhi speakers in North Gujarat and Southwestern Rajasthan, India, and elsewhere among the Sindhis, Sindhi diaspora. The first Indian-made Sindhi film was ''Ekta'' (1940). while the first Sindhi film produced in Pakistan was ''Umar Marvi (film), Umar Marvi'' (1956). The industry has produced some Bollywood-style films.
The Sindhi film industry produces movies at intervals. The first was ''Abana'' (1958), which was a success throughout the country. Sindhi cinema then produced some Bollywood-style films such as ''Hal Ta Bhaji Haloon'', ''Parewari'', ''Dil Dije Dil Waran Khe'', ''Ho Jamalo'', ''Pyar Kare Dis: Feel the Power of Love'' and ''The Awakening''. Additionally, numerous Sindhi have contributed in Bollywood, including G P Sippy, Ramesh Sippy, Nikhil Advani, Tarun Mansukhani, Ritesh Sidhwani and Asrani.
Sherdukpen
Director Songe Dorjee Thongdok introduced the first Sherdukpen language, Sherdukpen-language film ''Crossing Bridges (film), Crossing Bridges'' (2014). Sherdukpen is native to the north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh.
Tamil
The Tamil-language film industry based in Chennai, also known as Kollywood, once served as a hub for all
South India
South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...
n film industries.
The first South Indian talkie film ''Kalidas'' (1931, H. M. Reddy) was shot in Tamil.
Sivaji Ganesan
Villupuram Chinnaiya Manrayar Ganesamoorthy, better known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan, (1 October 1928 – 21 July 2001) was an Indian actor and producer. He was active in Tamil cinema during the latter half of the 20th century. Sivaji Ga ...
became India's first actor to receive an international award when he won Best Actor at the Afro-Asian film festival in 1960 and the title of ''Chevalier'' in the
Legion of Honour
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...
by the
French Government
The Government of France (French: ''Gouvernement français''), officially the Government of the French Republic (''Gouvernement de la République française'' ), exercises executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister, who i ...
in 1995.
Tamil cinema is influenced by Dravidian politics and has a tradition of addressing social issues. Many of Tamil Nadu's prominent Chief Ministers previously worked in cinema: Dravidian stalwarts
C N Annadurai
Conjeevaram Natarajan Annadurai (15 September 1909 – 3 February 1969), popularly known as Anna also known as Arignar Anna or Perarignar Anna (''Anna, the scholar'' or ''Elder Brother''), was an Indian Tamil politician who served as the fo ...
and
M Karunanidhi
Muthuvel Karunanidhi (3 June 1924 – 7 August 2018) was an Indian writer and politician who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for almost two decades over five terms between 1969 and 2011. He was popularly referred to as Kalaignar (Art ...
were scriptwriters and
M G Ramachandran
Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran (17 January 1917 24 December 1987), also popularly known as M.G.R., was an Indian politician, actor, philanthropist, and filmmaker who served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 1977 until his death in 1987 ...
and
Jayalalithaa
Jayaram Jayalalithaa (24 February 1948 – 5 December 2016) was an Indian politician and actress who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for more than fourteen years over six terms between 1991 and 2016. From 9 February 1989 to 5 December 2 ...
gained a political base through their fan followings.
Tamil films are distributed to
Tamil diaspora
The Tamil diaspora refers to descendants of the Tamil people, Tamil Emigration, immigrants who emigrated from their native lands (Tamil Nadu, Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry and Sri Lanka) to other parts of the world. They are found pri ...
populations in various parts of Asia, Southern Africa, Northern America, Europe, and Oceania.Gokulsing & Dissanayake, 133 The industry-inspired Tamil film-making in Sri Lankan Tamil cinema, Sri Lanka, Malaysian Tamil cinema, Malaysia, Singapore and Canada.
Telugu
The Telugu-language film industry based in
Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
, Telangana, also known as Tollywood, is the third-largest film industry in India. The more-successful Telugu films are frequently remade for the Bengali and Hindi markets.
The Film and Television Institute of Telangana, Film and Television Institute of Andhra Pradesh, Ramanaidu Film School and Annapurna International School of Film and Media are among the largest film schools in India. The Telugu states are home to approximately 2800 theaters, more than any single state in India. Being commercially consistent, Telugu cinema had its influence over commercial cinema in India.
The industry holds the Guinness World Record for the largest film production facility in the world, Ramoji Film City. The Prasads IMAX located in Hyderabad is one of the largest 3D IMAX screens, and is the most attended cinema screen in the world. As per the Central Board of Film Certification, CBFC report of 2014, the industry is placed first in India, in terms of films produced yearly. In the years 2005, 2006, 2008, and 2014 the industry has produced the largest number of films in India, exceeding the number of films produced in
Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
.
Tulu
The Tulu-language film industry based in the port city of Mangalore, Karnataka, is also known as Coastalwood. A small industry, its origins trace to the release of ''Enna Thangadi'' (1971) with about one release per year until growth was spurred by the commercial success of ''Oriyardori Asal'' (2011). Films are released across the Tulu Nadu cultural region, with some recent films having a simultaneous release in Mumbai, Bangalore, and Arabian Gulf countries.
Awards
The Dadasaheb Phalke Award, named for "father of Indian cinema"
Dadasaheb Phalke
Dhundiraj Govind Phalke (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, ̪ʱuɳɖiɾaːd͡ʒ pʰaːɭke, popularly known as Dadasaheb Phalke () (30 April 1870 – 16 February 1944), was an Indian producer-director-screenwriter, known as "the Father of In ...
, is given in recognition of lifetime contribution to cinema. It was established by the government of India in 1969, and is the country's most prestigious film award.
Film education
Government-run and private institutes provide formal education in various aspects of filmmaking. Some of the prominent ones include:
* State Institute of Film and Television
* AJK Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi
* Annapurna International School of Film and Media, Hyderabad
* Asian Academy of Film & Television, Asian Academy of Film and Television
* Biju Pattnaik Film and Television Institute of Odisha
* BOFTA – Blue Ocean Film and Television Academy, Kodambakkam, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
* Centre for advanced media studies, Patiala
* Mass Communication and the New Media Central University of Jammu
* Department of Culture and Media studies, Central University of Rajasthan
* Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune
* Film-Theater Studies, SOH, Tamil Nadu Open University, Saidapet, Chennai
* Government Film and Television Institute, Bangalore
* K. R. Narayanan National Institute of Visual Science and Arts (KRNNIVSA), Kottayam, Kerala
* L. V. Prasad Film and TV Academy,
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
* M.G.R. Government Film and Television Training Institute, M.G.R. Government Film and Television Training Institute, Chennai
* Matrikas Film School
* National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad
* Palme Deor Media College, Tambaram west, Chennai and Arulananda Nagar, Thanjavur
* Regional Government Film and Television Institute (RGFTI), Guwahati
* Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute, Calcutta
* School of Media and Cultural Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
* Srishti School of Art, Design, and Technology, Bangalore, Karnataka
* Whistling Woods International
* National School of Drama, National School of Drama, Delhi
See also
* List of Indian winners and nominees of the Academy Awards
* List of Indian winners and nominees at the Cannes Film Festival
* International Film Festival of India
* Indian animation industry#List of Indian Animated Movies, List of Indian animated movies
* Lists of Indian actors
* List of Indian film actresses
Explanatory notes
References
Further reading
* Celli, Carlo. (2013) "The Promises of India" ''National Identity in Global Cinema: How Movies Explain the World''. Palgrave MacMillan, 61–70. .
*
*
*
*
* Gulzar, Govin Nihalanni, & Saibel Chatterjee. ''Encyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema'' New Delhi: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2003. .
* Khanna, Amit (2003), "The Business of Hindi Films", ''Encyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema: historical record, the business and its future, narrative forms, analysis of the medium, milestones, biographies'', Encyclopædia Britannica (India) Private Limited, .
*
* Narweker, Sanjit, ed. ''Directory of Indian Film-Makers and Films''. Flicks Books, 1994.
*
*
*
*
*
*
* Watson, James L. (2009), ''Globalization'', Encyclopædia Britannica.
*
*
* Culture and Representation: The Emerging Field of Media Semiotics/J A H Khatr Ruby Press & Co. / 2013.
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:India (cinema)
Cinema of India,
Arts in India
Indian culture
Entertainment in India