How The History of Cinema in India Unveils The Facts of Evolution in The Film Industry

To understand the whole concept, we have to go a bit back in history. The year was 1896 approx., the first-ever steppingstones got laid and a short film came up in the then Bombay by the Lumiere brothers. However, the history got written by Harishchandhra sakharam bhatdevkar known as “save dada” in the year 1897 that made a film named “the wrestler” with a motion camera ordered from England. Influenced by both the films the pioneer of the Indian film industry “Dada Saheb Phalke” then created the first-ever full feature film named “Raja Harishchandra” in 1913. The scenario changed and an important chapter got written on the history of cinema in India. Since the film industry didn’t have too many pioneers back then so it staggered from 1913-to 1918 and the only man working behind it was dada Saheb Phalke. He was the hero behind the camera, but one man is not enough to pull up a whole industry to put it in the column of demand. Due to this it staggered and fabled in the early days and couldn’t keep up with the Hollywood industry.

In the 1920s the scenario changed and the man who started this movement got recognized all over the world. There is no doubt about the fact that dada Saheb Phalke’s revolution of the Indian film industry got Hollywood films introduced in India and people started liking them, action films. That even impressed many of the new upcoming production companies and new full-length feature films started coming in. But lack of content was visible in those days due to the involvement not so skilled story writers and lack of professionalism. So, people and production companies started creating films based on two epic tales of Ramayana and Mahabharata. It was famous in the beginning but soon thirst for latest content started emerging and Hollywood films started quenching it and landed their mark on the history of cinema in India. Then came 1931, and it changed the whole scenario of films, and we witness it till date, the invention and introduction of sound to film was a bliss. Indians started seeing the emergence of audiovisual films into the industry and how the demand for them increased with it. With this invention, the first song too came named “de de Khuda ka Naam par” used for the first-ever talkie film made in India named “Alam ara” by Ardeshir Irani.

During the era 1931 to 1941, British India not only showcased their filmmaking talent but also came up with too many scripts. The golden era of the Indian film industry hence started with it and as many as 328 films were made in just one year and it kept increasing. However only making films and playing in the local theatre didn’t solve the problem back then and so one more turning point stood up still in the history of cinema in India. New halls and bigger theatres started producing it to make the viewers satisfied and engrossed in it while watching it. 1931 also saw the growth in the making of regional films which were led by Bengal and Tamil Nadu. An interesting fact about the history of cinema in India is that not only dada saheb Phalke but even his daughter Mandakini was the first-ever child artist to play a part in Indian film.

Here comes the birth of the new era, the post-independence era, the era of the greats like Satyajit Ray and Bimal Roy. The era which made Indian film internationally recognizable also movie business expanded due to the export of made-in-India movies. New scripts, modern techniques, and hardcore filmmaking emerged as the three pillars of the Indian film industry. Mythological scripts and films started taking a back seat and modern problems came up through films, it was no more limited to a mode of entertainment now it acted as a mode of communication. The 1950s to 1970s was the era of neoclassicism and it gave birth to many new writers, directors, lyricists, filmmakers, and most important actors. Even after giving out brilliant scripts those subjects didn’t do well at the box office due to leakage of so-called “internal problems” and didn’t fit well with the audiences. So that led the Indian film industry to write a new chapter in the book of the history of cinema in India.

In the era of 1970s, the actual word “masala” came up, and then the obvious thing happened; masala Bollywood films started coming up in huge volume. With this, the dance thing got introduced into Indian film history and separated songs got made to dance on it. Unlike the era of neoclassicism, this genre did fit the mood of Indian audiences and it served well into it. Fan bases started getting created and many famous and memorable stars got into it and ruled the hearts of people. The so-called concept of “Bollywood hero” also came with it, only a handful of people got a chance into it and soon it became an industry of glam and glitz envied by all. This motion lasted for around 40 years which is still the 2010s; however, the current era is seeing the biggest transition in the history of cinema in India. The invention of OTT platforms did dismantle many superficial and typical theories of the film industry and now it looks like it is again back on the track of neoclassicism. Masala movies intervention has gone down people are more into societal films, even average-looking guys have started starring in the films. With this transition, it can be said for sure stereotypes have been put to an end and it is for the betterment. The history of cinema in India has seen many difficulties but, in the end, it is, and it will always be a mode of communication rather than an only mode of entertainment.

Sushovan Mondal a student of journalism and mass communication and this blog will be about the reviews of new and old movies. I am also into football and Relationships music and those updates will also be there through the blogs. hope you guys like it. The blog that i am presenting over here is regarding History of cinema in India and its evolution with the timeshare.