An ode to Indian cinema

looking back

When Dadasaheb Phalke made ‘Raja Harishchandra’ in 1913, little did he realise that he was laying the foundation for an industry that was to become one of the biggest in the world! Ranjan Das Gupta traces the journey of Indian cinema over the last 100 years.

Indian cinema is set to complete 100 years in May next year! A remarkable achievement indeed. The nation from where a maximum number of films in the world are churned out is definitely proud of this unique achievement. Films in languages ranging from Hindi, English, Kannada and Telugu to Tamil, Bengali, Malayalam and many others are released each year with the sole objective of entertaining the audience, though a select few are made with the purpose of arousing social consciousness too.

Way back in 1913, Dadasaheb Phalke directed the first ever silent film, Raja Harishchandra. As far as history takes viewers, Raja Harishchandra remains the debut of Indian cinema. Those were the days of British rule and a costume drama about one of the earliest mythological characters of India was well received due to its pure Indian quality.
Then came World War I.

This, however, did not deter the production of films in India. Most of the films made between 1913 and 1930 were religious or historical ones with costumes playing the lead in them. The cinematic qualities of these films were poor and the acting style in them more of the gharana of Parsi style drama.

In 1931, Ardeshar Irani directed the first talkie film, Alam Ara. Viewers were so excited about the movie that they saw it again and again. It was not a cinematic masterpiece by any means, but surely a trendsetter.

Bombay Talkies and director Himanshu Rai brought in some touch of modernisation to Hindi films with their creations like Jeevan Naiya and Achhut Kanya which established the Ashok Kumar-Devika Rani pair. Ashok Kumar later became one of India’s truly versatile actors and Devika Rani is still considered the first lady of Indian Talkies, years after her demise.

Late 30s and 40s saw scores of escapist entertainers that were deeply influenced by Hollywood. However, it was Dr V Shantaram who first introduced some amount of dignity to the language of cinema through his socially relevant films like Duniya Na Mane, Padosi and Dr. Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani. His films had poignant and relevant themes, though the acting style still remained theatrical.

In 1946, immediately after World War II, Indian cinema finally came out of its drama-oriented mood and achieved international acclaim. Debut director Chetan Anand directed his first film, Neecha Nagar, which was influenced by Maxim Gorky’s Lower Depths. The first anti-imperialist film of India, it had the influences of Russian maestros — Sergei Eisenstein’s dialectical montages and also the light and shade creations of Pudovkin. The climax scene in which the entire lot of villagers walk with burning torches in their hands, protesting against the autocratic mayor, was a piece of cinematic genius.

Neecha Nagar won the Grand Prix at the first Cannes Film Festival jointly with Sir David Lean’s Brief Encounters. It was a miserable flop in its own nation and the film print went missing for a long time. It was ultimately cinematographer Subrata Mitra who discovered the film’s print from a grocer’s shop at Kolkata and presented it to the National Film Archives, Pune.

Indian cinema thus grew in stature and in 1951, the first technicolor magnum opus in Hindi, Aan, directed by Mehboob Khan, was a rip-roaring success at the box office. Starring the biggest star of that era, Dilip Kumar, it also had Nimmi and Nadira in stellar characters. Aan was a costume fantasy and the usage of technicolor in it was really praiseworthy.

Movies with a message

In 1953, Bimal Ray directed Do Bigha Zamin which, for the first time highlighted the plight of farmers and the working class, influenced by De Sica’s neo-realism of Bicycle Thieves. An all-time memorable performance by the main cast, Balraj Sahni and Nirupa Roy, was the highlight of the film along with excellent cinematography and direction.

Do Bigha Zamin earned a lot of critical acclaim in the maiden Venice, Moscow and Peking International Film Festivals along with films like Awara, Aandhiyan and Rahi. The first film delegation of India, led by Bimal Ray, also had Chetan Anand, K A Abbas, Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand and Nargis. The delegation received a standing ovation at Venice after which Sir Charles Chaplin invited all the delegates for a constructive discussion on cinema to his villa at Monteux.

The 50s was the decade of thespian Dilip Kumar, serio comedian Raj Kapoor and evergreen romantic Dev Anand. The leading ladies were Meena Kumari, Nargis, Geeta Bali and Madhubala. Nargis brought international fame to Indian cinema by winning the Best Actress Award for her commendable performance in Mother India in 1958.

The 60s saw more advanced technology with Guru Dutt directing the first ever cinemascope film, Kagaz Ke Phool. It earned a lot of critical acclaim but failed to create any impact at the box office. Colour was introduced to Hindi films with memorable musical romances like Junglee, Professor and Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon.

It required the genius of Raj Kapoor to explore the panoramic locations of Europe in his triangular love story, Sangam, in 1964. Shanker Jaikishan recorded the first English song for Hindi movies, I Love You, and created a tremendous impact in Sangam. Dilip Kumar had already reached the peak of popularity with Mughal-E-Azam, directed by K Asif, known as the Cecil D’ Mill of India. Mughal-E-Azam was the first film for which viewers queued from one night earlier than the release to avail tickets for the blockbuster. Dilip Kumar’s controlled and measured performance in the film is followed by actors even to this day. Raj Kapoor proved he had no peers in mingling tears with laughter in films like Jagte Raho, Sangam and Teesri Kasam. 

With Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor creating history, Dev Anand could not lag behind. He, along with Nobel Laureate Pearl S Buck, produced and acted in the mother of all joint co-productions, The Guide. Based on the award winning novel by R K Narayan, the English version of Guide was the first Indo-US joint venture starring Dev Anand and Waheeda Rehman. It was directed by Polish director Ted Danwielesky, but did not create the sensation the Hindi version did. Ted Danwielesky wanted to expose Waheeda Rehman’s beautiful figure by insisting her on wearing a robe made of green grass.

She strongly protested and was supported by her male co-star Dev Anand who pointed out to the director that no such scene existed in the script by Pearl S Buck and it was never shot. The Guide had landmark performances by both Dev Anand and Waheeda Rehman.

Sunil Dutt acted, produced and directed Yaadein in 1967, which still remains the only Indian film with a singular character. Yaadein is considered Sunil Dutt’s best cinematic creation and won international laurels too. The 60s ended with a revolution created by Mrinal Sen’s Bhuvan Shome, the maiden neo-realistic film in Hindi which was far superior in quality as compared to the existing mainstream and middle of the road films.

The 70s gave birth to the first superstar, Rajesh Khanna, who created a sensation like no other star prior to him had done. He had four of his films running jubilees simultaneously in various halls of all territories. The Rajesh Khanna hysteria was short-lived as he lacked the originality and consistency of his more illustrious seniors, Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand. Besides, Rajesh Khanna’s talents were limited.

A new dawn

M S Sathyu carried on from where Mrinal Sen left by directing the pathbreaking Garm Hawa in 1973. After him, Jabbar Patel, Shyam Benegal and Govind Nihalani carried on the trend of neo wave films with authentic works like Subah, Ankur, Nishant and Aakrosh. Satyajit Ray proved he was the director of directors with his only Hindi feature film, Shatranj Ke Khiladi, in 1977.

He brought back Sir Richard Attenborough to acting in Shatranj Ke Khiladi as General James Outram, extracting a memorable performance from him. The brilliant actor was in hibernation for a period of six years prior to Shatranj Ke Khiladi. Mrinal Sen proved his brilliance once again with classics like Mrigaya in 1977 and Kandahar in 1984.

Tapan Sinha silenced his critics permanently with a haunting Ek Doctor Ki Maut in 1991, proving that cinema could move far beyond box office. His earlier Hindi films, Zindagi Zindagi and Sagina, were bad creations.   

The year 1975 gave birth to the eternal angry young man, Amitabh Bachhan. Blessed with a six-feet-two-inches height, his eyes seeping with intensity and a baritone unknown to Indian cinema before, Amitabh Bachhan became the messiah of the oppressed and unemployed youth. He was Vijay, anger personified, ready to fight injustice at all costs. Though he came into limelight with Zanjeer in 1973, Deewar in 1975 established him as the great star actor after Dilip Kumar.

The same year also saw the release of the biggest multi-starrer Sholay, which set the box office on fire, breaking all previous records. The 80s did not show much improvement in cinematic content. Most of the films churned out in this decade were larger than life, unrealistic and inane potboilers. The exceptional films of the 80s were again of the parallel breed including 36 Chowringhee Lane, Sparsh, Masoom, Ardhya Satya and Paar.

The leap to the 90s was a continuity of the 80s. Gorgeous Bobby Girl Dimple Kapadia was the first actress of the new generation of popular actresses to experiment with offbeat films like Drishti, Lekin and Rudali. She certainly was not as highly gifted as her more well known predecessors, Shabana Azmi and Smita Patil. The only actress of the next lot who did surpass her with sheer histrionic abilities was Tabu.

By the 90s, Aamir Khan, Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan and Ajay Devgan started ruling the roost. They did not have any inhibitions and created an aura of their own. However, none of them could match Amitabh Bachhan in class and versatility.

Ram Gopal Verma ushered in the trend of New Age cinema with his hard hitting Satya. He was ably followed by Madhur Bhandarkar, Ashutosh Gowarikar, Anurag Kashyap and Vishal Bharadwaj. Together they changed the concept of larger than life, formula-oriented cinema to a more realistic and socially concerned type. Not that any of them was a genius like Bimal Ray, Chetan Anand or Guru Dutt. They knew how to make intelligent films which entertained as well as conveyed certain messages.

Lagaan, which saw the Ashutosh Gowarikar-Aamir Khan combination at its hilt, was the first ever Indian film to compete for the final rounds at the Oscars. Amitabh Bachhan, after a series of flops as the leading man, shifted gracefully to mature characters with Khakee, Kabhi

Khushi Kabhi Gham, Black and Sarkar. He performed with more confidence and restraint in his later films, showing an unchallengeable maturity which none of his juniors possessed. Rani Mukherjee, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Katrina Kaif were the popular heroines who looked promising. The new millennium had already set in and it started the era of Vidya Balan, the most photogenic, confident and natural actress of the lot

The influence of Hollywood still dominated Hindi films as it did in the 50s, 60s and 70s. Media hype, created both in print and via satellite channels, has completely changed the technique of marketing and publicising films of late. It has become ruthless, aggressive and at times more than actually required. Yet, with all this hullabaloo, the films of recent times have not been able to involve viewers and catch as much attention as films made five to six decades earlier did.

A major reason for this is the creation of multiplexes which are out of the reach of the common man. The musical sound tracks of films in the past decade have also failed to touch or stir souls of countless listeners as it would in the days of yore. People appreciate Corporate, Taare Zameen Par and even Dabaang. But none of these films have been able to create the impact once created by Awara, Daag, Bazi, Sujata, or even a Teesri Manzil.

There is a lot of talk in the media that there is a plethora of talent today in Hindi films as compared to the past. Astonishingly, none of the present day actors have been able to come anywhere near a Rajesh Khanna, Ashok Kumar, Dilip Kumar or Raj Kapoor. Even the best actor of the past three-and-a-half decades, Naseeruddin Shah, has not been able to achieve the high standards set by Balraj Sahni. A Vidya Balan, in all fairness, is not a Nutan, Waheeda Rehman or Sadhana.

Present day actors are smarter and media savvier than their seniors, but dangerously lack their innocence, integrity and commitment to cinema, the greatest medium of art. At hundred, Indian cinema has still not been able to come out of its juvenility and be adult. Only gloss, polish and technical extravaganza are not enough to make a film memorable for all times.

In its centenary year, Indian cinema needs to gain back its originality, be more grounded and give prime importance to quality as compared to any other aspect. Only then can there be chances of it achieving new heights of glory and competing with the best in the world.