I have always had a fascination to know more about the origin of Cinema as we know it now. It must have begun with still photography and then moved on to moving pictures. Capturing human and inanimate object actions must have been a great way to capture movie clips that lasted a few seconds to a few minutes.
Lumière brothers’ movie of The Train Arriving at La Ciotat
The clip, of an approaching steam engine train accelerating towards the audience, has been a classic example of motion capturing pictures in reel. The Lumière brothers’ ‘L’arrivée d’un train à La Ciotat,’ was the first picture of a moving train taken between 1895-96 and screened in Paris.
The birth of present-day movies, wherein both audio and video were presented synchronously together for the audience was a slow progress. In India movies were made with content from Indian subcontinent after it gained the early and later independence era. After the British colonial rule ended the materials of these movies were more works of popular writer.
In some cases, these movies were written by screenwriters with sensitivity to Indian audience. As the movies spread across various states it became more divergent and unique. The technology which brought in Studios and even to this day we have studios ruling the roaster of the film unit.
First Indian Silent Movie
The progress in the filming technology soon resulted in these short clips to be replaced with long format movies. By the time, it became popular in India it took quiet some time. ‘Alam Ara’ (1931) directed by Ardeshir Irani was the first talkies movie in India.
First Sound, Colour, and Long Format Movies
First sound and colour movie done entirely in India was ‘Kisan Kanya’ (1937) directed by Moti Gidwani, music by Ram Gopal Pandey. The movie was 137 minutes (2 hours 17 minutes). Somehow, the time frame of 2 plus hours became the standard in India.
Unlike the Hollywood movies which is under 2 hours, Indian movies were all, 2 plus hours. There are movies that go up to three or four hours too! The audience were never tried from watching these long format movies. That is a typical laid-back attitude of Indian viewership that makes us, a movie watching lifestyle choice of India.
Movie Content and Its Influence
The interesting thing about the movies made in India were all long and completely sentimental with Indian emotional spices added to it. I had an opportunity of seeing movies during the election vote counting day during younger days. During the grand days of Government run Door darshan channel.
The movies were used as a break while the votes were counted and result reported live. I remember Prannoy Roy reporting on the progress of the winning party. Later, he set up NDTV, a channel that covered the entire gamut of news reporting from Main news to Entertainment.
During this period of vote counting the movies list were a wide collection of old movies. The movie like Raj Harishchandra (1913) a silent movie, old black & white movies like Satyajit Ray’s movies and much more were screened. I still remember watching “Parash Pathar (1958) with such fascination.
Other movies that I loved watching was MR. & Mrs. 55, Mera Naam Joker, to name a few. I loved the works of actors-directors like Raj Kapoor, Guru Dutt, and others. I also loved to watch light-hearted movies by Kishore Kumar, and other actors of the time.
Films Used as Creative Social Tool Down South
Old movies were great to watch and seeing the experimentation of their work is truly worth the ticket money. Equally, down south I had very little hero choices. MGR and Sivaji Ganesan were leading the way. A few others who were not so popular actors like Gemini Ganesan, SSR, and others were involved in family and socio-political format films.
The one thing that you could say about all these movies are, that you could watch them with all members of the family. These days to achieve that is almost close to impossible. I will not dwell on the impropriety content; but I will move on to speak about movies in India are always a musical.
Indian Movies Musicals
We may not have a separate stream of song albums, but our movies still come with inbuilt song and dance format. I cannot imagine a movie without song or at least some background scores.
The west has popularised the Bollywood movies and the truth be told the movies made in India are different for each region. Sometimes every state has its own films to portray life and people’s sentimentality.
Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu Movies
The four states in the south region that are leading the way of Southern movies are Kerala, Tamilnadu, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. The fact that each of them has something unique to offer. These four states are collectively called Kollywood moviemaking team.
Movies from these four regions have a flavour of their own. The more, you watch them, the more you know, for sure, that a lot of effort goes into the making of movies. The human centric movies have played major role in portraying the lifestyle of the common man or ideal hero with his challenge path. Sadly, woman-centric movies are not commercial success though.
Breaking into a Song and Dance Sequence
It could be quiet an alien idea to break into a song and dance sequence during an emotional moment. Yet, Indians express their joy, sorrow, and elation by breaking into a song. This is then, well cashed in by the moviemakers. Sometimes, I am not able to imagine a film without the accompaniment of music.
Hollywood had given up on using songs and tap dance in their movies for quite some time. You can never find a blockbuster movie having any song sequence maybe a background score. This is rather a kaleidoscopic view of movies made in India. The use of colours and lighting be they for art movies or commercial movies has always been just like its people.
South Movies and Its Influences
The Southies or Movies from the South, as we generally call it, have immense influence in the political scenario of the South. Our politicians make it to the assembly using their fame in the movie frame. The belief that the actor who plays the role in a movie have those personality traits in real-life, is a conundrum of the South, especially Tamilnadu.
The medium had been used as a propaganda tool to convey ideologies and to bring about societal changes. There is a huge question: Should the public expect our politician to be educated or experienced in social work? Sometimes, hands-on experience truly matters more than the flimsy guise of being a virtuous person.
Bollywood Movies Vs. Other Movies
Bollywood movies alone does not make up Indian Movies. The fact that every region has its own interpretation of life, and its values comes are a gift package from divergent languages. The North-South-East-West regions cover our emotions and values with such ease that our movies are great way to understand Indian values that bisects at various points.
With the different languages every 5 miles the Spirit of India is a rare phoenix that rises to the challenge in the changing societal value system. Change being the constant in the technology of filming doesn’t stop the genres to be wholistic and close to human values.
Itinerant Storyteller 