History of Indian

Cinema

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Edition: 2012
History of Indian Cinema
By- Renu Saran
 Contents
Introduction
Cinema of India
Regional Cinema of India
Indian Cinema: Features
Indian Cinema: History
Regional Cinema: Malayalam
Regional Cinema: Telugu
Regional Scenarios: Kannada
Regional Cinema: Tamil
Regional Cinema: Punjabi
Regional Cinema Bhojpuri
Regional Cinema: Assamese
Regional Scenarios: Bengali
Regional Scenarios: Marathi
Regional Cinema: Oriya
Awards and Honours
Training and Certification
Some Interesting Facts
 Introduction

The Indian film industry is the oldest and the largest in the world with over
1000 movies released annually. The majority of films are made in the South
Indian languages mostly Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam, but Hindi films take
the largest box office share. Mumbai (Bombay), Chennai (Madras), Kolkata
(Calcutta), Bengaluru (Bangalore) and Hyderabad are the main film
production centers. With more than 12000 cinema halls, the Indian film
industry churns out more than 1000 films a year to hugely appreciative
audiences around the world. The history of Indian Cinema can be traced back
to 1896 when the famous Lumiere Brothers’ of France demonstrated six
soundless short films in Bombay. By 1899, Harishchandra Bhatvadekar made
India’s first short film. This was one of the major milestones in Indian
cinema. Throughout the first two decades, the trend continued with
filmmakers. By 1920 there was a regular industry bringing out films starting
with 27 per year and reaching 207 films in 1931. Today India makes about
800 feature films every year. Alam Ara (1931) was the genesis of the talkie
feature films. The film’s popular Hindustani dialogues and seven songs made
it a big hit which resulted in other filmmakers to raise the number of songs in
their films till it reached a whooping 71 in Indrasabha. Film songs became a
pan Indian phenomenon. The most remarkable things about the birth of the
sound film in India is that it came with a bang and quickly displaced the
silent movies. The first Indian talkie Alam Ara produced by the Imperial
film company and directed by Ardershir Irani was released on March 14,
1931 at the Majestic Cinema in Bombay; The talkie had brought
revolutionary changes in the whole set up of the industry. The year 1931
marked the beginning of the talking ear in Bengal and South India. The first
talkie films in Bengali (Jamai Shasthi), Telugu (Bhakta Prahlad) and
Tamil (Kalidas) were released in the same year.
Regional culture and craving to see-hear a film in one’s own language
caused the mushrooming of the regional film industries beginning with
Bengali, Tamil and Telugu followed by Marathi, Gujarati, Kannada,
Malayalam, Oriya, Assamese, English and several other dialects. The post
independence period saw the golden era of Indian cinema with melodious
socials and melodramas. International recognition came with Satyajit Ray’s
Pather Panchali in 1955. Satyajit Ray is considered as one of the greatest
directors of all times. He was awarded an Oscar for life time achievement
short before his death in 1995. The 70’s saw the birth of the parallel cinema
which promoted realistic cinema. At the same time the long lasting trend of
the angry young man pitted against the establishment, was born. It was
represented by Amitabh Bachchan. Amitabh was virtually a one-man
industry and this trend lasted till the late eighties. The thirties is recognised as
the decade of social protests in the history of Indian Cinema. Three big
banners—Prabhat, Bombay Talkies and New Theatres—gave the lead in
making serious but gripping and entertaining films for all classes of the wide
audience. Many films portrayed social injustice in this period like V.
Shantaram’s Duniya Na Mane, Aadmi and Padosi, Franz Osten’s Achhut
Kanya, Damle and Fatehlal’s Sant Tukaram, Mehboob’s Watan, Ek Hi
Raasta and Aurat. For the first time Ardeshir Irani attempted a colour
picture in 1937 with Kisan Kanya. The decade also witnessed the release of
the first talkie films in Marathi (Ayodhiyecha Raja1932), Gujarati
(Narasinh Mehtain 1932), Kannada (Dhruv Kumarin 1934); Oriya (Sita
Bibahain 1934); Assamese (Joymatiin 1935); Punjabi (Sheilain 1935) and
Malayalam (Balanin 1938).The decade during which the second world was
fought and Indian independence won, was a momentous one for
cinematography all over India. Some memorable films were produced during
the forties such as Shantaram’s Dr. Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani, Mehboob’s
Roti, Chetan Anand’s Neecha Nagar, Uday Shankar’s Kalpana, Abbas’s
Dharti Ke Lal, Sohrab Modi’s Sikander, Pukar and Prithvi Vallabh,
J.B.H. Wadia’s Court Dancer, S.S. Vasan’s Chandralekha, Vijay Bhatt’s
Bharat Milap and Ram Rajya, Rajkapoor’s Barsaat and Aag. The first
International Film Festival of India held in early 1952 at Bombay had great
impact of Indian Cinema. The big turning point came in 1955 with the arrival
of Satyajit Ray and his classic Pather Panchali which opened up a new path
leading the Indian film to the world film scenario. International recognition
came to it with the Cannes award for best human document followed by an
unprecedented crop of foreign and national awards. In Hindi Cinema too, the
impact of neorealism was evident in some distinguished films like Bimal
Roy’s Do Bigha Zamin, Devadas and Madhumati, Rajkapoor’s Boot
Polish, Shri 420 and Jagte Raho, V. Shantaram’s Do Aankhen Barah
Haath and Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje, Mehboob’s Mother India,Guru
Dutt’s Pyasa and Kagaz Ke Phool and B.R. Chopra’s Kanoon. The first
Indo-Soviet co-production Pardesiby K.A. Abbas was also made during the
fifties. The transition to colour and the consequent preference for escapist
entertainment and greater reliance on stars brought about a complete change
in the film industry. The sixties was a decade of mediocre films made mostly
to please the distributors and to some extent, meet the demands of the box
office. The sixties began with a bang with the release of K. Asif’s Mughal-e-
Azam which set a record at the box-office. It was followed by notable
productions which include musical and melodramas of a better quality.
Rajkapoor’s Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai, Sangam, Dilip Kumar’s
Gunga Jamna, Gurudutt’s Sahib Bibi Aur Gulam, Dev Anand’s Guide;
Bimal Roy’s Bandini, S. Mukherjee’s Junglee, Sunil Dutt’s Mujhe Jeene
Do and the experimental Yadein, Basu Bhattacharya’s Teesri Kasam,
Pramod Chakravarty’s Love in Tokyo, Ramanand Sagar’s Arzoo, Shakti
Samanta’s Aradhana, Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Aashirwad and Anand, B.R.
Chopra’s Waqt, Manoj Kumar’s Upkar, and Prasad Productions Milan were
the significant Hindi films of the decade. Malayalam cinema derived much of
its strength from literature during the sixties. Malayalam cinema hit the head
lines for the first time when Ramu Kariat’s Chemmeen(1965) won the
President’s Gold Medal. Towards the end of the decade, Mrinal Sen’s
Bhuvan Shome, signalled the beginnings of the new wave in Indian Cinema.
The New Indian Cinema emerged as a reaction to the popular cinema’s Other
Worldliness. It is a cinema of social significance and artistic sincerity,
presenting a modern, humanist perspective more durable than the fantasy
world of the popular cinema. Ritwik Ghatak swooped on the Indian scene
with new dynamism. His films constitute a record of the traumas of change
form the desperation of the rootless and deprived refugees from East Bengal
(Meghe Dhaka Tara, Ajantrik, Komal Ghandhar, Subarnarekha). Mrinal
Sen is the ebullient one-experimenting with neorealism as well as new wave
and fantasy. His notable films are Bhuvan Shome, Chorus, Mrigaya, Ek
Din Pratidin, Akaler Sandhane, Kharij and Khandahar. In Mumbai,
many directors emerged, viz., Basu Chatterjee (Sara Akash), Rajinder Singh
Bedi (Dastak), Mani Kaul (Uski Roti, Duvidha), Kumar Shahani (Maya
Darpan), Avtar Kaul (27-Down), Basu Bhattacharya (Anubhav), M.S.
Sathyu (Garam Hawa), Shyam Benegal (Ankur), and Kanthilal Rathod
(Kanku). In Calcutta, following the trend set by Ray, Ghatak and Sen, Tapan
Sinha and Tarun Majumdar also made some note worthy films. (Kabuliwala,
Hatey Bazarey, Harmonium, Safed Haathi; Balika Bodhu, Nimantran,
Ganadevta, Dadar Kirti). The seventies has further-widened the gap
between multistar big budgeted off beat films. The popular Hindi hits of the
decade include Kamal Amrohis Pakeezah, Rajkapoor’s Bobby, Devar’s
Haathi Mere Saathi,Ramesh Sippy’s Sholay, Zanjeer, Deewar, Khoon
Pasina, Yaadon Ki Baarat, Kabhi Kabhi, Dharamveer, Amar Akbar
Anthony, Hum Kisise Kum Nahin, and Muqaddar Ka Sikandar. Of these
majority of the films were action oriented with revenge as the dominating
theme. Down in the South, the new wave cinema originated in Karnataka and
Kerala. Pattabhi Rama Reddy’s Damskara(1970) and Adoor
Gopalakrishnan’s Swayamvaram(1972) were the trend setters in Kannada
and Malayalam respectively. This continued with a series of socially
conspicuous films like M.T. Vasudevan Nair’s Nirmalyam, B.V. Karanth’s
Chomana Dudi, Girish Karnad’s Kaadu, Girish Kasara Valli’s
Ghatasradha, G. Aravindan’s Uttarayanam and Thamp, K. Balachander’s
Arangetram, Avargal and Apoorva Ragangal, Adoor’s Kodyettam, K.G.
George’s Swapnadanam and P.A. Backer’s Chuvanna Vithukal and G.V.
Iyer’s Hamsageethe. The Hindi avante garde or new wave seems to have
reached its bloom period towards the end of the seventies with the coming of
film makers like Govind Nihalani (Aakrosh), Saeed Mirza (Albert Pinto Ko
Gussa Kyon Aata Hai, Arvind Desai ki Ajeeb Daastan), Rabindra
Dharmaraj (Chakra), Sai Paranjpe (Sparsh), Muzaffar Ali (Gaman) and
Biplab Roy Chowdhari (Shodh). The movement spread to the other regional
cinemas such as Marathi, Gujarati, Assamese, Oriya and Telugu. Directors
like Jabbar Patel (Samna, Simhasan), Ramdas Phuttane (Sarvasakshi),
Ketan Mehta (Bhavni Bhavai). Babendranath Saikia (Sandhya Rag), Jahanu
Barua (Aparoopa, Papori), Manmohan Mohapatra (Klanta Aparanha,
Majhi Pahacha), Nirad Mohapatra (Maya Miriga) and Gautam Ghose (Ma
Bhoomi) came to the scene with their films. The first half of nineties
witnessed the release of some better films in Hindi as well as in other
regional languages. Drishti and Drohkal (Govind Nihalani), Lekin (Gulzar),
Disha (Sai Paranjpe), Prahar (Nana Patekar), Parinda (Vinod Chopra),
Diskha (Arun Kaul), Kasba (Kumar Shahani), Rudaali (Kalpana Lajmi),
Maya Memsaab (Ketan Mehta), Mujhse Dosti Karoge (Gopi Desai), Suraj
Ka Satwan Ghoda and Mammo (Benegal), Who Chokri (Subhankar
Ghosh) and Ek Doctor Ki Maut (Tapan Sinha), were some of the notable
Hindi films from Bengal, Orissa, Assam and Manipur came films like
Tahader Katha, Bagh Bahadur, Charachar (Buddhadeb Dasgupta),
Uttoran (Sandip Ray), Wheel Chair (Tapan Sinha), Unishe April
(Rituparno Ghosh), Adi Mimansa, Lavanya Preethi (A.K. Bir),
Nirbachana (Biplab Roy Chowdhari), Halodhia Choraya Baodhan Khai,
Firingoti (Jahau Barua), Haladhar (Sanjeev Hazarika), and Ishanou
(Aribam Shayam Sharma). In the South Malayalam Cinema presented some
notable films. They include Vasthuhara (Aravindan). In the late 1990s,
“Parallel Cinema” began experiencing a resurgence in Hindi cinema, largely
due to the critical and commercial success of Satya (1998), a low-budget film
based on the Mumbai underworld, directed by Ram Gopal Verma and written
by Anurag Kashyap. The film’s success led to the emergence of a distinct
genre known as Mumbai noir, urban films reflecting social problems in the
city of Mumbai. Later films belonging to the Mumbai noir genre include
Madhur Bhandarkar’s Chandni Bar(2001) and Traffic Signal (2007), Ram
Gopal Verma’s Company (2002) and its prequel D (2005), Anurag
Kashyap’s Black Friday(2004), and Irfan Kamal’s Thanks Maa (2009).
Other art film directors active today include Mrinal Sen, Buddhadeb
Dasgupta, Gautam Ghose, Sandip Ray, Aparna Sen and Rituparno Ghosh in
Bengali cinema; Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Shaji N. Karun and T. V. Chandran
in Malayalam cinema; Nirad Mohapatra in Oriya cinema; Mani Kaul, Kumar
Shahani, Ketan Mehta, Govind Nihalani, Shyam Benegal, Mira Nair, Nagesh
Kukunoor, Sudhir Mishra and Nandita Das in Hindi cinema; Mani Ratnam
and Santosh Sivan in Tamil cinema; and Deepa Mehta, Anant Balani, Homi
Adajania, Vijay Singh and Sooni Taraporevala in Indian English cinema.
Now, Indian cinema and Hindi cinema is not only popular in India, Middle
East, Pakistan and the UK. It crossed many milestones with advanced
technologies.
In this unique book of its kind I will try to cover all available information
about Indian Film History. Special emphasis is given to the regional cinema
that our readers lack in information. This book will surely help all movie
lovers and general readers to find exactly what our film industry is.
—Renu Saran
 1. Cinema of India

Introduction
The cinema of India consists of films
produced across India, including the
cinematic culture of Maharashtra, Assam,
Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa,
Punjab, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
Indian films came to be followed throughout
South Asia and the Middle East. As cinema
as a medium gained popularity in the
country as many as 1,000 films in various
languages of India were produced annually.
Expatriates in countries such as the United
Kingdom and the United States continued to give rise to international
audiences for Indian films of various languages especially Marathi, Telugu,
Tamil, Oriya, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali and Hindi.
In the 20th century, Indian cinema, along with the American and Chinese
film industries, became a global enterprise. Enhanced technology paved the
way for upgradation from established cinematic norms of delivering product,
radically altering the manner in which content reached the target audience.
Indian cinema found markets in over 90 countries where films from India are
screened. The country also participated in international film festivals,
especially Satyajit Ray (Bengali), Adoor Gopalakrishnan (Malayalam), Mani
Ratnam (Tamil), Girish Kasaravalli (Kannada). Indian filmmakers such as
Shekhar Kapur, Mira Nair, Deepa Mehta etc. found success overseas. The
Indian government extended film delegations to foreign countries such as the
United States of America and Japan while the country’s Film Producers
Guild sent similar missions through Europe.
India is the world’s largest producer of films. In 2009, India produced a
total of 2961 films on celluloid, that include a staggering figure of 1288
feature films. The provision of 100% foreign direct investment has made the
Indian film market attractive for foreign enterprises such as 20th Century
Fox, Sony Pictures, and Warner Bros. Prominent Indian enterprises such as
Zee, UTV, Adlabs and Sun Network’s Sun Pictures also participated in
producing and distributing films. Tax incentives to multiplexes have aided
the multiplex boom in India. By 2003 as many as 30 film production
companies had been listed in the National Stock Exchange of India, making
the commercial presence of the medium felt.
The Indian diaspora consists of millions of Indians overseas for which
films are made available both through mediums such as DVDs and by
screening of films in their country of residence wherever commercially
feasible. These earnings, accounting for some 12% of the revenue generated
by a mainstream film, contribute substantially to the overall revenue of Indian
cinema, the net worth of which was found to be 1.3 billion US Dollars in
2000. Music in Indian cinema is another substantial revenue generator, with
the music rights alone accounting for 4 to 5% of the net revenues generated
by a film in India.
Following the screening of the Lumière moving pictures in London (1895)
cinema became a sensation across Europe and by July 1896 the Lumière
films had been in show in Bombay (now Mumbai). The first short films in
India were directed by Hiralal Sen, starting with The Flower of Persia
(1898). The first full-length motion picture in India was produced by
Dadasaheb Phalke, a scholar on India’s languages and culture, who brought
together elements from Sanskrit epics to produce his Raja Harishchandra
(1913), a silent film in Marathi (interestingly, the female roles in the film
were played by male actors). The first Indian chain of cinema theaters was
owned by the Calcutta entrepreneur Jamshedji Framji Madan, who oversaw
production of 10 films annually and distributed them throughout the Indian
subcontinent.
During the early twentieth century cinema as a medium gained popularity
across India’s population and its many economic sections. Tickets were made
affordable to the common man at a low price and for the financially capable
additional comforts meant additional admission ticket price. Audiences
thronged to cinema halls as this affordable medium of entertainment was
available for as low as an anah (4 paisa) in Bombay. The content of Indian
commercial cinema was increasingly tailored to appeal to these masses.
Young Indian producers began to incorporate elements of India’s social life
and culture into cinema. Others brought with them ideas from across the
world. This was also the time when global audiences and markets became
aware of India’s film industry. Ardeshir Irani released Alam Ara, the first
Indian talking film, on 14 March 1931. Following the inception of ‘talkies’ in
India some film stars were highly sought after and earned comfortable
incomes through acting. As sound technology advanced the 1930s saw the
rise of music in Indian cinema with musicals such as Indra Sabha and Devi
Devyani marking the beginning of song-and-dance in India’s films. Studios
emerged across major cities such as Chennai, Kolkata, and Mumbai as film
making became an established craft by 1935, exemplified by the success of
Devdas,which had managed to enthrall audiences nationwide. Bombay
Talkies came up in 1934 and Prabhat Studios in Pune had begun production
of films meant for the Marathi language audience. Filmmaker R. S. D.
Choudhury produced Wrath(1930), banned by the British Raj in India as it
depicted actors as Indian leaders, an expression censored during the days of
the Indian independence movement.
The Indian Masala film—a slang used for commercial films with song,
dance, romance etc.—came up following the second world war. South Indian
cinema gained prominence throughout India with the release of S.S. Vasan’s
Chandralekha. During the 1940s cinema in South India accounted for nearly
half of India’s cinema halls and cinema came to be viewed as an instrument
of cultural revival. The partition of India following its independence divided
the nation’s assets and a number of studios went to the newly formed
Pakistan. The strife of partition would become an enduring subject for film
making during the decades that followed.
Following independence the cinema of India was inquired by the S.K. Patil
Commission. S.K. Patil, head of the commission, viewed cinema in India as a
“combination of art, industry, and showmanship” while noting its commercial
value. Patil further recommended setting up of a Film Finance Corporation
under the Ministry of Finance. This advice was later taken up in 1960 and the
institution came into being to provide financial support to talented
filmmakers throughout India. The Indian government had established a Films
Division by 1949 which eventually became one of the largest documentary
film producers in the world with an annual production of over 200 short
documentaries, each released in 18 languages with 9000 prints for permanent
film theaters across the country.
The Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA), an art movement with a
communist inclination, began to take shape through the 1940s and the 1950s.
A number of realistic IPTA plays, such as Bijon Bhattacharya’s Nabanna in
1944 (based on the tragedy of the Bengal famine of 1943), prepared the
ground for the solidification of realism in Indian cinema, exemplified by
Khwaja Ahmad Abbas’s Dharti Ke Lal (children of the earth) in 1946. The
IPTA movement continued to emphasise on reality and went on to produce
Mother India and Pyasa, among of India’s most recognisable cinematic
productions.
The Golden Era
Following India’s independence, the period from the late
1940s to the 1960s is regarded by film historians as the
“Golden Age” of Indian cinema. Some of the most critically
acclaimed Indian films of all time were produced during this
period. In commercial Hindi cinema, examples of famous
films at the time include the Guru Dutt films Pyaasa(1957)
and Kaagaz Ke Phool(1959) and the Raj Kapoor films
Awaara (1951) and Shree 420 (1955). These films expressed
social themes mainly dealing with working-class urban life in India; Awaara
presented the city as both a nightmare and a dream, while Pyaasa critiqued
the unreality of city life.
Some of the most famous epic films of Hindi cinema were also produced at
the time, including Mehboob Khan’s Mother India(1957), which was
nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and K.
Asif’s Mughal-e-Azam(1960). V. Shantaram’s Do Aankhen Barah
Haath(1957) is believed to have inspired the Hollywood film The Dirty
Dozen(1967). Madhumati(1958), directed by Bimal Roy and written by
Ritwik Ghatak, popularized the theme of reincarnation in Western popular
culture. Other mainstream Hindi filmmakers at the time included Kamal
Amrohi and Vijay Bhatt.
While commercial Indian cinema was thriving, the period also saw the
emergence of a new Parallel Cinema movement, mainly led by Bengali
cinema. Early examples of films in this movement include Chetan Anand’s
Neecha Nagar(1946), Ritwik Ghatak’s Nagarik(1952), and Bimal Roy’s
Two Acres of Land(1953), laying the foundations for Indian neorealism and
the “Indian New Wave.”
Pather Panchali(1955), the first part of The Apu Trilogy(1955–
1959) by Satyajit Ray, marked his entry in Indian cinema. The
Apu Trilogy won major prizes at all the major international film
festivals and led to the “Parallel Cinema” movement being firmly
established in Indian cinema.
Its influence on world cinema can also be felt in
the “Youthful coming-of-age dramas that have
flooded art houses since the mid-fifties” which “Owe
a tremendous debt to The Apu Trilogy.” Satyajit
Ray and Ritwik Ghatak went on to direct many more
critically-acclaimed “Art films,” and they were
followed by other acclaimed Indian independent
filmmakers such as Mrinal Sen, Adoor
Gopalakrishnan, Mani Kaul and Buddhadeb
Dasgupta. During the 1960s, Indira Gandhi’s
intervention during her reign as the Information and
Broadcasting Minister of India further led to
production of offbeat cinematic expression being supported by the official
Film Finance Corporation.
The cinematographer Subrata Mitra, who made his debut with Satyajit
Ray’s The Apu Trilogy, also had an importance influence on
cinematography across the world. One of his most important techniques was
bounce lighting, to recreate the effect of daylight on sets. He pioneered the
technique while filming Aparajito(1956), the second part of The Apu
Trilogy. Some of the experimental techniques which Satyajit Ray pioneered
include photonegative flashbacks and X-ray digressions while filming
Pratidwandi(1972).
Ray’s 1967 script for a film The Alien, which was eventually cancelled, is
also widely believed to have been the inspiration for Steven Spielberg’s E.T.
(1982). Some of Ritwik Ghatak’s films also have strong similarities to later
famous international films, such as Bari Theke Paliye(1958) resembling
Francois Truffaut’s The 400 Blows(1959) and Ajantrik(1958) having
elements that resemble Taxi Driver (1976) and the Herbie films (1967–
2005).
Other regional industries also had their “Golden Age” during this period.
Commercial Tamil cinema experienced a growth in the number of
commercially successful films produced. Some of the most famous Tamil
film personalities at the time included M.G. Ramachandran, Sivaji Ganesan,
M.N. Nambiyar, Asokan and Nagesh. Marathi cinema also ushered in a
“Golden Age” at this time, with some of its directors such as V. Shantaram
later playing in instrumental role in mainstream Hindi cinema’s “Golden
Age.”
Ever since Chetan Anand’s social realist film Neecha Nagar won the
Grand Prize at the first Cannes Film Festival, Indian films were frequently in
competition for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival for nearly every
year in the 1950s and early 1960s, with a number of them winning major
prizes at the festival. Satyajit Ray also won the Golden Lion at the Venice
Film Festival for Aparajito(1956), the second part of The Apu Trilogy, and
the Golden Bear and two silver bears for Best Director at the Berlin
International Film Festival. Ray’s contemporaries, Ritwik Ghatak and Guru
Dutt, were overlooked in their own lifetimes but had belatedly generated
international recognition much later in the 1980s and 1990s. Ray is regarded
as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema, while Dutt and Ghatak
are also among the greatest filmmakers of all time. In 1992, the Sight and
Sound Critics’ Poll ranked Ray at #7 in its list of “Top 10 Directors” of all
time, while Dutt was ranked 73 in the 2002 Sight and Sound greatest
directors’ poll.
A number of Indian films from this era are often included among the
greatest films of all time in various critics’ and directors’ polls. A number of
Satyajit Ray films appeared in the Sight and Sound Critics’ Poll, including
The Apu Trilogy (ranked 4 in 1992 if votes are combined), The Music
Room (ranked 27 in 1992), Charulata (ranked 41 in 1992) and Days and
Nights in the Forest (ranked 81 in 1982).
The 2002 Sight and Sound critics’ and directors’ poll also included the
Guru Dutt films Pyaasa and Kaagaz Ke Phool (both tied at 160), the Ritwik
Ghatak films Meghe Dhaka Tara (ranked 231) and Komal Gandhar
(ranked 346), and Raj Kapoor’s Awaara, Vijay Bhatt’s Baiju Bawra,
Mehboob Khan’s Mother India and K. Asif’s Mughal-e-Azam all tied at
rank 346. In 1998, the critics’ poll conducted by the Asian film magazine
Cinemaya included The Apu Trilogy (ranked 1 if votes are combined),
Ray’s Charulata and The Music Room (both tied at rank 11), and Ghatak’s
Subarnarekha (also tied at rank 11). In 1999, The Village Voice top 250
“Best Film of the Century” critics’ poll also included The Apu Trilogy
(ranked 5 if votes are combined). In 2005, The Apu Trilogy and Pyaasa
were also featured in Time magazine’s All-Time 100 best movies list.
Modern Indian Cinema
Some filmmakers such as Shyam Benegal continued
to produce realistic Parallel Cinema throughout the
1970s, alongside Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal
Sen, Buddhadeb Dasgupta and Gautam Ghose in
Bengali cinema; Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Shaji N.
Karun, John Abraham and G. Aravindan in Malayalam
cinema; Nirad Mohapatra in Oriya cinema; and Mani
Kaul, Kumar Shahani, Ketan Mehta, Govind Nihalani
and Vijaya Mehta in Hindi cinema. However, the “Art
film” bent of the Film Finance Corporation came
under criticism during a Committee on Public
Undertakings investigation in 1976, which accused the
body of not doing enough to encourage commercial cinema. The 1970s did,
nevertheless, see the rise of commercial cinema in form of enduring films
such as Sholay (1975), which solidified Amitabh Bachchan’s position as a
lead actor. The devotional classic Jai Santoshi Mawas also released in 1975.
Another important film from 1975 was Deewar,directed by Yash Chopra and
written by Salim-Javed. A crime film pitting “A policeman against his
brother, a gang leader based on real-life smuggler Haji Mastan,” portrayed by
Amitabh Bachchan, it was described as being “Absolutely key to Indian
cinema.”
Commercial cinema further grew throughout the 1980s and the 1990s with
the release of films such as Ek Duje Ke Liye(1981) Mr India(1987),
Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak(1988), Tezaab(1988), Chandni(1989), Maine
Pyar Kiya(1989), Bazigar(1993), Darr(1993), Dilwale Dulhaniya Le
Jayenge(1995) and Kuchh Kuchh Hota Hai(1998), many of which starred
Shahrukh Khan, Aamir Khan and Salman Khan.
The 1990s also saw a surge in the national popularity of Tamil cinema as
films directed by Mani Ratnam captured India’s imagination. Such films
included Roja(1992) and Bombay(1995). Ratnam’s earlier film
Nayakan(1987), starring Kamal Haasan, was included in Time magazine’s
All-Time 100 best movies, alongside four earlier Indian films: Satyajit Ray’s
The Apu Trilogy(1955–1959) and Guru Dutt’s Pyaasa(1957). Another
Tamil director S. Shankar also made waves through his film Kadhalan,
famous for its music and actor Prabhu Deva’s dancing. The South Indian film
industry not only released cinema with national appeal but also featured
multi-cultural music which found appreciation among the national Indian
audience. Some Tamil film composers such as A.R. Rahman and Illyaraja
have since acquired a large national, and later international, following.
Rahman’s debut sound track for Roja was included in Time Magazine’s “10
Best Soundtracks” of all time, and he would later go on to win two Academy
Awards for the sound track of Slumdog Millionaire(2008). Desavathaaram
(2008), in which Kamal Haasan portrayed 10 historical roles, went on to
achieve significant success. Tabarana Kathe, a Kannada film, was screened
at various film festivals including Tashkent, Nantes, Tokyo, and the Film
Festival of Russia.
Long after the Golden Age of Indian cinema, South India’s Malayalam
cinema of Kerala experienced its own “Golden Age” in the 1980s and early
1990s. Some of the most acclaimed Indian filmmakers at the time were from
the Malayalam industry, including Adoor Gopalakrishnan, G. Aravindan, T.
V. Chandran and Shaji N. Karun. Adoor Gopalakrishnan, who is often
considered to be Satyajit Ray’s spiritual heir, directed some of his most
acclaimed films during this period, including Elippathayam(1981) which
won the Sutherland Trophy at the London Film Festival, as well as
Mathilukal(1989) which won major prizes at the Venice Film Festival. Shaji
N. Karun’s debut film Piravi (1989) won the Camera d’Or at the 1989
Cannes Film Festival, while his second film Swaham(1994) was in
competition for the Palme d’Or at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival.
In the late 1990s, “Parallel Cinema” began experiencing a resurgence in
Hindi cinema, largely due to the critical and commercial success of Satya
(1998), a low-budget film based on the Mumbai underworld, directed by Ram
Gopal Verma and written by Anurag Kashyap. The film’s success led to the
emergence of a distinct genre known as Mumbai noir, urban films reflecting
social problems in the city of Mumbai. Later films belonging to the Mumbai
noir genre include Madhur Bhandarkar’s Chandni Bar (2001) and Traffic
Signal(2007), Ram Gopal Verma’s Company(2002) and its prequel
D(2005), Anurag Kashyap’s Black Friday(2004), and Irfan Kamal’s Thanks
Maa(2009). Other art film directors active today include Mrinal Sen,
Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Gautam Ghose, Sandip Ray, Aparna Sen and
Rituparno Ghosh in Bengali cinema; Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Shaji N. Karun
and T. V. Chandran in Malayalam cinema; Nirad Mohapatra in Oriya cinema;
Mani Kaul, Kumar Shahani, Ketan Mehta, Govind Nihalani, Shyam Benegal,
Mira Nair, Nagesh Kukunoor, Sudhir Mishra and Nandita Das in Hindi
cinema; Mani Ratnam and Santosh Sivan in Tamil cinema; and Deepa Mehta,
Anant Balani, Homi Adajania, Vijay Singh and Sooni Taraporevala in Indian
English cinema.
Influence
There have generally been six major influences that have shaped the
conventions of Indian popular cinema. The first was the ancient Indian epics
of Mahabharata and Ramayana which have exerted a profound influence on
the thought and imagination of Indian popular cinema, particularly in its
narratives. Examples of this influence include the techniques of a side story,
back-story and story within a story. Indian popular films often have plots
which branch off into subplots; such narrative dispersals can clearly be seen
in the 1993 films Khalnayakand Gardish. The second influence was the
impact of ancient Sanskrit drama, with its highly stylised nature and
emphasis on spectacle, where music, dance 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 Nrit (dance), characterising them as spectacular dance-dramas which
has continued in Indian cinema. The Rasa method of performance, dating
back to ancient Sanskrit drama, is one of the fundamental features that
differentiate Indian cinema from that of the Western world.
The Rasa method of performance is clearly apparent in the performances
of popular Hindi film actors like Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan,
nationally-acclaimed Hindi films like Rang De Basanti(2006), and
internationally-acclaimed Bengali films directed by Satyajit Ray.
The third influence was the traditional folk theatre of India, which became
popular from around the 10th century with the decline of Sanskrit theatre.
These regional traditions include the Yatra of Bengal, the Ramlila of Uttar
Pradesh, and the Terukkuttu of Tamil Nadu. The fourth influence was Parsi
theatre, which “Blended realism and fantasy, music and dance, narrative and
spectacle, earthy dialogue and ingenuity of stage presentation, integrating
them into a dramatic discourse of melodrama. The Parsi plays contained
crude humour, melodious songs and music, sensationalism and dazzling
stagecraft.” All of these influences are clearly evident in the masala film
genre that was popularised by Manmohan Desai’s films in the 1970s and
early 1980s, particularly in Coolie(1983), and to an extent in more recent
critically-acclaimed films such as Rang De Basanti.
The fifth influence was Hollywood, where musicals were popular from the
1920s to the 1950s, though Indian filmmakers departed from their Hollywood
counterparts in several ways. “For example, the Hollywood musicals had as
their plot the world of entertainment itself. Indian filmmakers, while
enhancing the elements of fantasy so pervasive in Indian popular films, used
song and music as a natural mode of articulation in a given situation in their
films. There is a strong Indian tradition of narrating mythology, history, fairy
stories and so on through song and dance.” In addition, “Whereas Hollywood
filmmakers strove to conceal the constructed nature of their work so that the
realistic narrative was wholly dominant, Indian filmmakers made no attempt
to conceal the fact that what was shown on the screen was a creation, an
illusion, a fiction. However, they demonstrated how this creation intersected
with people’s day to day lives in complex and interesting ways.” The final
influence was Western musical television, particularly MTV, which has had
an increasing influence since 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 in Mani Ratnam’s Bombay(1995).
Like mainstream Indian popular cinema, Indian Parallel Cinema was also
influenced also by a combination of Indian theatre (particularly Sanskrit
drama) and Indian literature (particularly Bengali literature), but differs when
it comes to foreign influences, where it is more influenced by European
cinema (particularly Italian neorealism and French poetic realism) rather than
Hollywood. Satyajit Ray cited Italian filmmaker Vittorio De Sica’s Bicycle
Thieves(1948) and French filmmaker Jean Renoir’s The River(1951), which
he assisted, as influences on his debut film Pather Panchali(1955). Besides
the influence of European cinema and Bengali literature, Ray is also indebted
to the Indian theatrical tradition, particularly the Rasa method of classical
Sanskrit drama. The complicated doctrine of Rasa “Centers predominantly on
feeling experienced not only by the characters but also conveyed in a certain
artistic way to the spectator. The duality of this kind of a rasa imbrication”
shows in The Apu Trilogy. Bimal Roy’s Two Acres of Land(1953) was
also influenced by De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves and in turn paved the way for
the Indian New Wave, which began around the same time as the French New
Wave and the Japanese New Wave.
 2. Regional Cinema of India

Introduction
Bollywood may be the buzz word for the Indian film industry, but bolder
themes and corporate funding are signalling a rebirth for regional cinema in
the country.
The Mumbai film industry, home to Bollywood, has been the face of
commercial Indian cinema for several decades, relegating non-Hindi films to
the sidelines.
But now the trend has been slowly changing. Films made in Marathi,
Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Bengali languages increasingly are
wooing mainstream audiences, aided by funding from studios rushing to cash
in on untapped markets.
Bengali Cinema
The Bengali language cinematic
tradition of Tollygunge in West Bengal has
had reputable filmmakers such as Satyajit
Ray, Ritwik Ghatak and Mrinal Sen among
its most acclaimed. Recent Bengali films
that have captured national attention
include Rituparno Ghosh’s Choker Bali,
starring Aishwarya Rai. Bengali filmmaking also includes Bangla science
fiction films and films that focus on social issues. In 1993, the Bengali
industry’s net output was 57 films.
The history of cinema in Bengal dates back to the 1890s, when the first
‘biscopes’ were shown in theatres in Calcutta. Within a decade, the first seeds
of the industry was sown by Hiralal Sen, considered a stalwart of Victorian
era cinema when he set up the Royal Bioscope Company, producing scenes
from the stage productions of a number of popular shows at the Star Theatre,
Calcutta, Minerva Theatre, and Classic Theatre. Following a long gap after
Sen’s works, Dhirendra Nath Ganguly (known as D.G) established Indo
British Film Co, the first Bengali owned Production Company in 1918.
However, the first Bengali Feature film, Billwamangal, was produced in
1919, under the banner of Madan Theatre. Bilat Ferat was the IBFC’s first
production in 1921. The Madan Theatres production of Jamai Shashthi was
the first Bengali talkie.
In 1932, the name ‘Tollywood’ was coined for the Bengali film industry
due to Tollygunge rhyming with ‘Hollywood’ and because it was the center
of the Indian film industry at the time. It later inspired the name ‘Bollywood,’
as Mumbai (then called Bombay) later overtook Tollygunge as the center of
the Indian film industry, and many other Hollywood-inspired names. The
“Parallel Cinema” movement began in the Bengali film industry in the 1950s.
A long history has been traversed since then, with stalwarts such as Satyajit
Ray, Mrinal Sen, Ritwik Ghatak and others having earned international
acclaim and securing their place in the history of film.
Marathi Cinema
Marathi cinema refers to films produced in the
Marathi language in the state of Maharashtra, India.
Marathi Cinema is as old as Indian Cinema. In fact the
pioneer of cinema in Union of India was Dadasaheb
Phalke, who brought the revolution of moving images to
India with his first indigenously made silent film Raja
Harishchandra in 1913, which is considered by IFFI
and NIFD part of Marathi cinema as it was made by a
Marathi crew. The first Marathi talkie film, Ayodhyecha
Raja (produced by Prabhat Films) was released in 1932,
just one year after Alam Ara the first Hindi talkie film. Marathi cinema has
grown in recent years, with two of its films, namely Shwaas(2004) and
Harishchandrachi Factory(2009), being sent as India’s official entries for
the Oscars. Today the industry is based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, but it
sprouted and grew first from Kolhapur and then Pune.
Assamese Cinema
The Assamese language film industry traces its origins works s of
revolutionary visionary Rupkonwar Jyotiprasad Agarwala, who was also a
distinguished poet, playwright, composer and freedom fighter. He was
instrumental in the production of the first Assamese film Joymati in 1935,
under the banner of Chitrakala Movietone. Although the beginning of the
21st century has seen Bollywood-style Assamese movies hitting the screen,
the industry has not been able to compete in the market, significantly
overshadowed by the larger industries such as Bollywood.
Bhojpuri Cinema
Bhojpuri language films predominantly cater to people who live in the
regions of Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh. These films also have a large
audience in the cities of Delhi and Mumbai due to migration to these metros
from the Bhojpuri speaking region. Besides India, there is a large market for
these films in other bhojpuri speaking countries of the West Indies, Oceania,
and South America.
Bhojpuri language film’s history begins in 1962 with the well-received
film Ganga Maiya Tohe Piyari Chadhaibo which was directed by Kundan
Kumar. Throughout the following decades, films were produced only in fits
and starts. Films such as Bidesiya directed by S. N. Tripathi and Ganga
directed by Kundan Kumar were profitable and popular, but in general
Bhojpuri films were not commonly produced in the 1960s and 1970s.
The industry experienced a revival in 2001 with
the super hit Saiyyan directed by Mohan Prasad,
which shot the hero of that film, Ravi Kishan, to
superstardom. This success was quickly followed
by several other remarkably successful films,
including Panditji Batai Na Biyah Kab Hoi
directed by Mohan Prasad and Sasura Bada Paisa
Wala. In a measure of the Bhojpuri film industry’s
rise, both of these did much better business in the
states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar than mainstream
Bollywood hits at the time, and both films, made
on extremely tight budgets, earned back more than
ten times their production costs. Although a smaller industry compared to
other Indian film industries, the extremely rapid success of their films has led
to dramatic increases in Bhojpuri cinema’s visibility, and the industry now
supports an awards show and a trade magazine, Bhojpuri City.
Bhojpuri films have got a distinguished name in whole world. There is a
proposal to start a film Industry in Rajgir (distance from Patna is
80 kilometers). That film industry will provide job for a lot of people belongs
to Bihar and East U.P. There are many films in which the bollywood actors
such as Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgan, Nagama, Mithun Chakraborti etc.
worked it and supported to Bhojpuri film industry.
Hindi Cinema
The Hindi language film industry of Mumbai—also known as the Bombay
Film Industry—is the largest and most popular branch of Indian cinema.
Hindi cinema initially explored issues of caste and culture in films such as
Achhut Kanya(1936) and Sujata(1959). International visibility came to the
industry with Raj Kapoor’s Awara. Hindi cinema grew during the 1990s
with the release of as many as 215 films in 1991. With Dilwale Dulhania Le
Jayenge, Hindi cinema registered its commercial presence in the Western
world.
In 1995 the Indian economy began showing
sustainable annual growth, and Hindi cinema,
as a commercial enterprise, grew at a growth
rate of 15% annually. With growth in
commercial appeal the earnings of known
Indian stars such as Shahrukh Khan, Aamir
Khan and Hrithik Roshan reached Rs.150
million per film by the year 2010. Female stars
such as Madhuri Dixit, too, earned as much as
Rs. 12.5 million for a film. Many actors signed
contracts for simultaneous work in 3–4 films.
Institutions such as the Industrial Development
Bank of India also came forward to finance
Hindi films. A number of magazines such as
Filmfare, Stardust, Cineblitz, etc., became
popular.
Gujarati Cinema
This regional film industry of Gujarat started its journey in 1932. Since
then Gujarati films immensely contributed to Indian cinema. Gujarati cinema
has gained popularity among the regional film industry in India. Gujarati
cinema is always based on scripts from mythology to history and social to
political. Since its origin Gujarati cinema has experimented with stories and
issues from the Indian society. Furthermore, Gujarat has immense
contribution to Bollywood as several Gujarati actors have brought glamour to
the Indian film industry.
Many famous actors have worked in Gujarati film industry like Sanjeev
Kumar, Rajendra Kumar, Bindu, Asha Parekh, Kiran Kumar, Arvind Trivedi,
Aruna Irani, Mallika Sarabhai, and Asrani.
The scripts and stories dealt in the
Gujarati films are intrinsically humane.
They include relationship-and family-
oriented subjects with human
aspirations and deal with Indian family
culture. Thus, there can be no turning
away from the essential humanity of
these Gujarati cinema. The first
Gujarati movie, Narasinh Mehta, was
released in the year 1932 and was
directed by Nanubhai Vakil. The film starred Mohanlala, Marutirao, Master
Manhar, and Miss Mehtab. It was of the “Saint film” genre and was based on
the life of the saint Narasinh Mehta who observed a creed that was followed
centuries later by Mahatma Gandhi. The film was matchless as it avoided any
depiction of miracles. In 1935, another social movie, Ghar Jamai was
released, directed by Homi Master. The film starred Heera, Jamna, Baby
Nurjehan, Amoo, Alimiya, Jamshedji, and Gulam Rasool. The film featured a
resident son-in-law (ghar jamai) and his escapades as well as his problematic
attitude toward the freedom of women. It was a comedy-oriented movie that
was a major success in the industry.
Gujarati films thus proceeded with several other important social, political
as well as religious issues. The years 1948, 1950, 1968, 1971 moved in a
wide variety of dimensions. The Gujarati movies such as Kariyavar, directed
by Chaturbhuj Doshi, Vadilona Vank directed by Ramchandra Thakur,
Gadano Bel directed by Ratibhai Punatar and Leeludi Dharti directed by
Vallabh Choksi brought immense success to the industry. The problems of
modernisation are the underlying concern of several films. The movies like
Gadano Bel had strong realism and reformism.
The film industry in Gujarat experimented with issues. Gujarati films such
as Leeludi Dharti reflect the rural world with its fertility rituals. In 1975
Tanariri, directed by Chandrakant Sangani presents highlights the little-
known side of Akbar who is usually presented as a consistently benign ruler.
The first cinemascope film of Gujarati cinema was Sonbaini Chundadi,
directed by Girish Manukant released in 1976. Besides these, Bhavni Bhavai
released in 1980 was directed by Ketan Mehta. It boasted superlative
performances, fine camera work and won two awards: National Award for
Best Feature Film on National Integration and an award at the Nantes Three
Continents Festival in France. In 1992, Hun Hunshi Hunshilal, directed by
Sanjiv Shah was sought to be post-modern.
Gujarati films were further enriched by the brilliant performances of the
film personalities. Anupama, Upendra Trivedi, Arvind Trivedi, Ramesh
Mehta and Veljibhai Gajjar, Dilip Patel, Ranjitraj, Sohil Virani, Narayan
Rajgor, Premshankar Bhatt, Jay Patel, Ashvin Patel, Girija Mitra, Anjana,
Manmohan Desai, Sanjay Gadhvi, Kalyanji Anandji, Deepika Chikhalia,
Bindu Desai, Renuka Shahane and Priti Parekh are celebrities who have
contributed a lot to the Gujarati film industry.
Kannada Cinema
Kannada film industry, also known as
Sandalwood, is based in Bangalore and
caters mostly to the population of state
of Karnataka.
Dr. Rajkumar is an icon for Kannada
film industry. In his career, he
performed versatile characters and sung
nearly 3,000 songs for movies and
albums. Some noted Kannada directors
include Girish Kasaravalli, Puttanna
Kanagal, G.V.Iyer, Girish Karnad, T.S. Nagabharana, Yograj Bhat, Suri. The
popular actors include Vishnuvardhan, Ambarish, Ravichandran, Ramesh,
Ananth Nag, Shankar Nag, Prabhakar, Ganesh, Upendra, Sudeep, Darshan,
Shivaraj Kumar, Puneet Rajkumar, Kalpana, Bharathi, Jayanthi, Pandari Bai,
B. Sarojadevi, Sudharani, Malashri, Tara, Umashri and Ramya.
G.K. Venkatesh, Vijaya Bhaskar, T.G. lingappa, Rajan-Nagendra,
Hamsalekha and Gurukiran are noted music directors.
Kannada cinema, along with Bengali and Malayalam movies, has
contributed to Indian parallel cinema. Some of the influential movies in this
genre are Samskara (based on a novel by U. R. Ananthamurthy), Chomana
Dudi by B. V. Karanth, Tabarana Kathe, Vamshavruksha, Paniyamma,
Kadu Kudure, Hamsageethe, Chomana Dudi, Accident, Ghatashraddha,
Akramana, Mooru Dhaarigalu, Tabarana Kathe, Bannada Vesha, Mane,
Kraurya, Thaayi Saheba, Dweepa are other acclaimed ‘Arthouse’ movies.
Malayalam Cinema
The Malayalam film industry, based in
the southern state of Kerala, is known for
films that bridge the gap between parallel
cinema and mainstream cinema by
portraying thought-provoking social
issues. Noted filmmakers include Adoor
Gopalakrishnan, Shaji N. Karun, G.
Aravindan, Padmarajan, Sathyan
Anthikad, Priyadarsan and Sreenivasan.
Vigathakumaran, a silent movie
released in 1928 produced and directed by J. C. Daniel, marked the
beginning of Malayalam cinema. Balan, released in 1938, was the
first Malayalam ‘talkie.’ Malayalam films were mainly produced
by Tamil producers till 1947, when the first major film studio,
Udaya, was established in Kerala. In 1954, the film
Neelakkuyilcaptured national interest by winning the President’s
silver medal. Scripted by the well-known Malayalam novelist,
Uroob, and directed by P. Bhaskaran and Ramu Kariat, it is often
considered as the first authentic Malayali film. Chemmeen (1965),
directed by Ramu Kariat and based on a story by Thakazhi
Sivasankara Pillai, went on to become immensely popular, and
became the first Malayalam film to win the National Film Award
for Best Film. This early period of Malayalam cinema was
dominated by actors Prem Nazir, Sathyan, Sheela and Sharada.
The 70s saw the emergence of “New Wave Malayalam Cinema.” Adoor
Gopalakrishnan captured international acclaim through his debut film
Swayamvaram (1972). Other noted movies of the period include Nirmalyam
by M. T. Vasudevan Nair, Uttarayanam by G. Aravindan, Cheriyachante
Kroorakrithyangal (1979) and Amma Ariyan (1986) by John Abraham etc.
The period from late 1980s to early 1990s is popularly regarded as the
“Golden Age of Malayalam Cinema” with the emergence of actors
Mammootty and Mohanlal and filmmakers like I.V. Sasi, Bharathan,
Padmarajan, Sathyan Anthikad, Priyadarsan, A. K. Lohithadas, Siddique-Lal
and Sreenivasan. This period of popular cinema is characterised by the
adaptation of everyday life themes and exploration of social and individual
relationships. These movies interlaced themes of individual struggle with
creative humour as in Nadodikkattu (1988). Piravi (1989) by Shaji N.
Karun was the first Malayalam film to win the Camera d’Or-Mention at the
Cannes Film Festival. This period also marked the beginning of movies rich
in well-crafted humour like Ramji Rao Speaking (1989). Malayalam is the
original version of first 3D movie in India (My Dear Kuttichattan) by
Navodaya Appachan, a notable film producer of Kerala.
During late 1990s and 2000s, Malayalam cinema witnessed a shift towards
formulaic movies and slapstick comedies. The Malayalam film industry in
recent times has also been affected by the rise of satellite television and
widespread film piracy.
Oriya Cinema
The Oriya Film Industry refers to the Bhubaneswar and Cuttack based
Oriya language film industry. The first Oriya talkie Sita Bibaha was made by
Mohan Sunder Deb Goswami in 1936. Prashanta Nanda started the revolution
in the Oriya film industry by not only securing a huge audience but also
bringing in newness in the presentation. His movies heralded in the golden
era of the Oriya commercial industry by bringing in freshness to Oriya
movies. Then the 1st color film was made by Nagen Ray and photographed
by a Pune Film Institute trained cinematographer Mr. Surendra Sahu titled
“Gapa Hele Be Sata”—meaning although its a story, its true. But the golden
phase of Oriya Cinema was 1984 when two Oriya films “Maya Miriga” and
“Dhare Alua” was showcased in “Indian Panorama” and Nirad Mohapatra’s
“Maya Miriga” was invited for the “Critics Week” in Cannes. The film
received “Best Third World Film” award at Mannheim Film Festival, Jury
Award at Hawaii and was shown at London Film Festival.
Punjabi Cinema
K.D. Mehra made the first Punjabi film Sheila (also known as Pind Di
Kudi). Baby Noor Jehan was introduced as an actress and singer in this film.
Sheila was made in Calcutta and released in Lahore, the capital of Punjab; it
ran very successfully and was a hit across the province. Due to the success of
this first film many more producers started making Punjabi films. As of 2009,
Punjabi cinema has produced between 900 and 1,000 movies.
The average number of releases per year in the
1970s was nine; in the 1980s, eight; and in the
1990s, six. In 1995, the number of films released
was 11; it plummeted to seven in 1996 and
touched a low of five in 1997. Since 2000s the
Punjabi cinema has seen a revival with more
releases every year featuring bigger budgets,
home grown stars as well as bollywood actors of
Punjabi descent taking part.
Tamil Cinema
The Tamil language film industry, known as
Tamil cinema, is the third largest film industry in India in terms of number of
movies it produces. It is based in the Kodambakkam district of Chennai,
Tamil Nadu.
Tamil Nadu cinema has had a profound effect on the filmmaking industries
of India, with Chennai becoming a hub for the filmmaking industries of other
languages, including Telugu cinema, Malayalam cinema, Kannada cinema,
Hindi cinema, Sinhalese cinema and Sri Lankan Tamil cinema in the 1900s.
Tamil-language films are further made in other countries.
Today, Tamil films are distributed to theatres around the world: Sri Lanka,
Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia, Mauritius, South Africa, Western Europe,
North America, and other significant Tamil diaspora regions. Tamil films are
screened by the Tamil diaspora all over the world and people of all states of
South India. Tamil films have good portrayal of Tamil culture which has
subdued sexual expressions and moderate glamour, unlike its northern
counterpart. Tamil cinema has been a force in
 the local politics of the Tamil Nadu state with
some of the industry’s personalities, such as M.
G. Ramachandran, M. Karunanidhi, and J.
Jayalalitha, having held political offices. The
renowned actor Chevalier Sivaji Ganesan found
fame for his versatility and expressive prowess
in Tamil cinema.
With the establishment of the Madras Film
Institute the quality of Tamil cinema improved
during the 1980s and it further gained
international exposure with the works of
filmmakers like Mani Ratnam. In 1993 the
Tamil industry’s net output was 168 films. Tamil
star Kamal Haasan shares the record for the most
National Film Awards won with Hindi actor Amitabh Bachchan and also
shares the record for the actor with the most films submitted by India in
contest for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film with
Bachchan while Rajinikanth is the highest paid actor in India.
Great music directors like Maestro Illayaraja, who is the first Asian
composer to score a symphony for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the two
Academy Award winner A.R. Rahman are from Tamil Film Industries.
Legendary directors like Kailasam Balachander, Mani Ratnam, Bharathiraja,
Balumahendra, Bala and India’s expensive filmmaker S. Shankar are from
the Tamil cinema industry.
Telugu Cinema
The Telugu language film industry
of Andhra Pradesh is currently the
second largest in India in terms of
number of movies produced in a
year. The state of Andhra Pradesh
has the highest number of cinema
halls in India. In 2006, the Telugu
film industry produced the largest
number of films in India, with about
245 films produced that year. The
largest film studio complex in the world—Ramoji Film City is in the
outskirts of Hyderabad, the capital city of Andhra Pradesh.
The film industry of India comprises several smaller regional industries,
each catering largely to a specific language audience. However, a significant
degree of regional interaction is seen between the various regions as
filmmakers and actors from one region often contribute to films meant for
another region. B.N. Reddy, K.V. Reddy, L.V. Prasad, Ramakrishna, C.
Pullayya, P. Pullayya, C.S. Rao, Adurti Subba Rao, V. Madhusudan Rao, K.
Vishwanath, Bapu, Jandhyala, Singitham Srinivasarao, Dasari Narayana Rao,
K.Raghavendra Rao, B.Gopal, Ramgopal Verma, are some of the best
directors of Telugu cinema history. Legendary actors SV Ranga Rao, NTR,
Bhanumati, Savitri are from Telugu Industry. Chiranjeevi a recent politician
in Andhra Pradesh started his career as an actor in the Telugu film industry.
 3. Indian Cinema: Features

Introduction
Indian cinema, in toto, is known for its typical terms, trends or jargon. We
are describing the same in this chapter, as follows.
Masala Films
Masala is a style of Indian cinema, especially in Bollywood and South
Indian films, in which there is a mix of various genres in one film. For
example, a film can portray action, comedy, drama, romance and melodrama
all together. Many of these films also tend to be musicals, including songs
filmed in picturesque locations, which is now very common in Bollywood
films. Plots for such movies may seem illogical and improbable to unfamiliar
viewers. The genre is named after the masala, a term used to describe a
mixture of spices in Indian cuisine.
Parallel Cinema
Parallel Cinema, also known as Art Cinema or the Indian New Wave, is a
specific movement in Indian cinema, known for its serious content, realism
and naturalism, with a keen eye on the social-political climate of the times.
This movement is distinct from mainstream Bollywood cinema and began
around the same time as the French New Wave and Japanese New Wave. The
movement was initially led by Bengali cinema (which has produced
internationally acclaimed filmmakers such as Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen,
Ritwik Ghatak, and others) and then gained prominence in the other film
industries of India. Some of the films in this movement have garnered
commercial success, successfully straddling art and commercial cinema. An
early example of this was Bimal Roy’s Two Acres of Land (1953), which
was both a commercial success and a critical success, winning the
International Prize at the 1954 Cannes Film Festival. The film’s success
paved the way for the Indian New Wave.
The most famous Indian ‘Neo-realist’ was the Bengali filmmaker Satyajit
Ray, closely followed by Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen, Shyam Benegal, Adoor
Gopalakrishnan and Girish Kasaravalli. Ray’s most famous films were The
Apu Trilogy, consisting of Pather Panchali (1955), Aparajito (1956) and
The World of Apu (1959). The three films won major prizes at the Cannes,
Berlin and Venice Film Festivals, and are frequently listed among the greatest
films of all time.
The term “Parallel Cinema” has started being applied to offbeat films
produced in Bollywood, where art films have begun experiencing a
resurgence. This led to the emergence of a distinct genre known as Mumbai
Noir, urban films reflecting social problems in the city of Mumbai.
Other modern examples of art films produced in Bollywood which are
classified as part of the parallel cinema genre include Mani Ratnam’s Dil Se
(1998) and Yuva (2004), Nagesh Kukunoor’s 3 Deewarein (2003) and Dor
(2006), Sudhir Mishra’s Hazaron Khwahishein Aisi (2005), Jahnu
Barua’s Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara (2005), Pan Nalin’s Valley of
Flowers (2006), Nandita Das’ Firaaq (2008), Onir’s My Brother… Nikhil
(2005) and Bas Ek Pal (2006), Anurag Kashyap’s Dev D (2009) and Gulaal
(2009) and Piyush Jha’s Sikandar (2009).
New Wave Cinema
Through his first film Pather Panchali (1955) Satyajit Ray became the
pioneer of a genre of films latter known as the “Indian Parallel Cinema.”
Even though Ritwik Ghatak made his first film Nagarik in 1952, he became
well known by his film Ajantrik (1958) and became a strong presence in
parallel cinema. Mrinal Sen made his first film Raatbhor in 1955.
The first film society was founded in Bombay in 1943 and Satyajit Ray
founded a film society in Calcutta in 1947. By the beginning of 1970s there
existed above 150 film societies all over India. Through these societies
people could see the best of Indian cinema and also they got access to the
best of foreign cinema. The first International Film Festival of India was held
in Bombay, Madras and Calcutta by the Films Division in 1952. Western
classics like De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves shown in the film festival created
waves among young filmmakers who were frustrated with the mindless song-
dance dramas made in India. The Film Training Institute of India (FTII -
presently Film and Television Institute of India) was set up in Pune in 1961
and the National Film Archives of India (NFAI) was established in 1964. The
Film Finance Corporation (FFC) was set up by the Government in 1960, with
the objective of giving loans to directors who wanted to make feature films
outside the commercial circuit. All these factors lead Indian cinema to a
revolutionary change, a new genre of Indian films arrived, which are often
termed as the “New Wave Indian Cinema” or the “New Indian Cinema.”
Mrinal Sen’s Bhuvan Shome (1969) and Mani Kaul’s Uski Roti (1969),
both sponsored by State owned Film Finance Corporation (FFC), inspired by
the French trend, set new film sensibility and cinematic language in India.
This movement was labelled as the “New Indian Cinema” or the “New Wave
Indian Cinema.” FTII graduates Kumar Shahani, Mani Kaul, Saeed Mirza,
Shyam Benegal and Ketan Mehta were the important names of New Wave
Indian Cinema in Hindi. Mani Kaul’s Ashadh Ka Ek Din (1971) and
Duvidha (1973), Kumar Shahni’s Maya Darpan (1972) and Shyam
Benegal’s Ankur (1973) played important role in this new movement in
Hindi during the 1970s. M S Sathyu’s Garam Hawa (1973) Govind Nihalani
who entered film industry as Shyam Benegal’s cameraman made his
directorial debut through Aakrosh (1980) he continued making socio-
political films like Party (1984), Tamas (1987) and Drishti (1990). Saeed
Mirza made notable political films like Arvind Desai ki Ajeeb Dastaan
(1978), Albert Pinto ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai (1980), Mohan Joshi
Haazir Ho! (1984) and Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro (1989).
Adoor Gopalakrishnan through his first film Swayamvaram (1972)
extended the New Wave Cinema to Malayalam cinema. Aravindan through
his first film Uttarayanam (1974) strengthened the movement. John
Abraham, K R Mohanan and P.A. Backer were strong presence of the new
Malayalam cinema.
Kannada was the other film industry in South India, which took over the
cinema movement in South India. B.V. Karanth, Girish Karnad and Girish
Kasaravalli spearheaded the Kannada parallel cinema. Girish Kasaravalli,
graduated from the Pune Film Institute, directed his first film, Ghata
Shradha in 1977, which won the National award for best film.
In Assamese, Janu Barua made his first film Aparoopa (1982). His
Halodhia Choraye Baodhan Kali (1987), which achieved international
recognition, dealt with social problems of rural Assam. Bhupendra Nath
Saikia made his first film Sandhyarag (1977) followed by Agnisnaan
(1985), Kolahal (1988), Sarothi (1991) and Abarthan (1993).
By the early 1990s, the rising costs involved in film production and the
commercialisation of the films had a negative impact on the art films. The
fact that investment returns cannot be guaranteed made art films less popular
amongst filmmakers. Underworld financing, political and economic turmoil,
television and piracy proved to be fatal threat to parallel cinema, as it
declined.
Music
Music in Indian cinema is a substantial revenue generator, with the music
rights alone accounting for 4–5% of the net revenues generated by a film in
India. The major film music companies of India are Saregama, Sony Music
etc. Commercially, film music accounts for 48% India’s net music sales. A
film in India may have many choreographed songs spread throughout its
length.
The demands of a multicultural, increasingly globalized
Indian audience often led to a mixing of various local and
international musical traditions. Local dance and music
nevertheless remain a time tested and recurring theme in
India and have made their way outside of India’s borders
with its diaspora. Playback singers such as Lata Mangeshkar
drew large crowds with national and international film music
stage shows. The end of the 19th century and the beginning
of the 21st saw extensive interaction between artists from
India and the western world. Artists from Indian diaspora
blended the traditions of their heritage to those of their
country to give rise to popular contemporary music.
Indians during the colonial rule bought film equipment
from Europe. The British funded wartime propaganda films
during the second world war, some of which showed the Indian army pitted
against the axis powers, specifically the Empire of Japan, which had managed
to infiltrate into India. One such story was Burma Rani, which depicted
civilian resistance offered to Japanese occupation by the British and Indians
present in Myanmar. Pre-independence businessmen such as J. F. Madan and
Abdulally Esoofally traded in global cinema.
Indian cinema’s early contacts with other regions became visible with its
films making early inroads into the Soviet Union, Middle East, Southeast
Asia, and China. Mainstream Hindi film stars like Raj Kapoor gained
international fame across Asia and Eastern Europe. Indian films also
appeared in international fora and film festivals. This allowed ‘Parallel’
Bengali filmmakers such as Satyajit Ray to achieve worldwide fame, with his
films gaining success among European, American and Asian audiences.
Ray’s work subsequently had a worldwide impact, with filmmakers such as
Martin Scorsese, James Ivory, Abbas Kiarostami, Elia Kazan, François
Truffaut, Steven Spielberg, Carlos Saura, Jean-Luc Godard, Isao Takahata,
Gregory Nava, Ira Sachs and Wes Anderson being influenced by his
cinematic style, and many others such as Akira Kurosawa praising his work.
The Youthful coming-of-age dramas that have flooded art houses since the
mid-fifties owe a tremendous debt to The Apu Trilogy. Subrata Mitra’s
cinematographic technique of bounce lighting also originates from The Appu
Trilogy. Since the 1980s, some previously overlooked Indian filmmakers
such as Ritwik Ghatak and Guru Dutt have posthumously gained
international acclaim.
Many Asian and south Asian countries increasingly came to find Indian
cinema as more suited to their sensibilities than Western cinema. Jigna Desai
holds that by the 21st century Indian cinema had managed to become ‘de-
territorialised,’ spreading over to the many parts of the world where Indian
diaspora was present in significant numbers, and becoming an alternative to
other international cinema.
Indian cinema has more recently begun influencing Western musical films,
and played a particularly instrumental role in the revival of the genre in the
Western world. Baaz Luhrmann stated that his successful musical film
Moulin Rouge! (2001) was directly inspired by Bollywood musicals. The
critical and financial success of Moulin Rouge! renewed interest in the then-
moribund Western musical genre, subsequently fueling a renaissance of the
genre. Danny Boyle’s Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire (2008) was
also directly inspired by Indian films. Other Indian filmmakers are also
making attempts at reaching a more global audience, with upcoming films by
directors such as Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Jahnu Barua, Sudhir Mishra and Pan
Nalin.
 4. Indian Cinema: History

Introduction
The history of this versatile media can be traced back to the silent era. We
are appending the details of all phases of Indian cinema’s history, as follows:
Silent Era
The iconic Indian film industry which has
been enchanting and enthralling Indians and
the world, is today over 110 years old.
The First Indian film was made in 1899
by Calcutta based Harishchandra Sakharam
Bhatavdekar (better known as Savey Dada).
He, using a projection apparatus and an
imported British camera made two short
films namely, The Wrestlersand Man and
Monkey. Next pioneering step was the
opening of Grand Kinetoscope newsreels by
F.B. Thanawala in 1900 in Calcutta to produce movies commercially.
Janshedji Framjee Madan, started showing movie shows in tents in 1902,
who later on went on to establish India’s first Permanent cinema house—
Elphinstone Picture Palace, which is now known by the name of Chaplin.
First dramatic full length film was made by R.G. Torney and N.G. Chitre,
in collaboration with the British, was titled Pundalik, which was a movie
about a Maharashtrian saint. This film was released on May 18, 1912, at
Coronation cinema in Bombay. The film ran to packed houses. The first
indigenous full-length feature film was made by Dundiraj Govinda Phalke,
who is better known as Dada Saheb Phalke. The film was titled Raja
Harishchandra and was released on May 3, 1914 at the Coronation theatre,
Bombay. The film ran for 23 days. Phalke’s Lanka Dahan, which came out
in 1917, went on to become India’s first box office hit. Dada Saheb Phalke’s
contribution to Indian cinema was tremendous and hence, Dada Saheb Phalke
lifetime achievement awards were started in his honour in 1969. Devika Rani
won the first award.
 By 1920, there was a regular industry making films at the rate of 27 per
year and reaching out to 207 films per year in 1931. Today India makes about
900 films per year, which is a world record. By 1927, world began making
talkie movies, The Jazz singer, being the first one to be released as a talkie
film. First talkie to be exhibited in India was Melody. India made its first
talkie in 1931. Alam Ara was the first full length indigenously made talkie
film, which was produced by imperial films and was directed by Ardeshir
Irani. It also contained seven songs and was released on March 14, 1931,
Bombay’s Majestic cinema. With this beginning, songs were included in
every film and the song count reached the value 71 in Indrasabha. Songs of
this film became a phenomenon for Indian film industry.
Telling stories from the epics using hand-drawn tableaux images in scroll
paintings, with accompanying live sounds have been an age old Indian
tradition. These tales, mostly the familiar stories of gods and goddesses, are
revealed slowly through choreographic movements of painted glass slides in
a lantern, which create illusions of movements. And so when the Lumire
brothers’ representatives held the first public showing at Mumbai’s (Bombay)
Watson’s Hotel on July 7, 1896, the new phenomenon did not create much of
a stir here and no one in the audience ran out at the image of the train
speeding towards them, as it did elsewhere. The Indian viewer took the new
experience as something already familiar to him.
Harishchandra Sakharam Bhatwadekar, who happened to be present for the
Lumiere presentation, was keen on getting hold of the Lumiere
Cinematograph and trying it out himself rather than show the Lumiere films
to a wider audience. The public reception accorded to Wrangler Paranjpye at
Chowapatty on his return from England with the coveted distinction he got at
Cambridge was covered by Bhatwadekar in December 1901— the first
Indian topical or actuality film was born.
In Calcutta, Hiralal Sen photographed scenes from some of the plays at the
Classic Theatre. Such films were shown as added attractions after the stage
performances or taken to distant venue where the stage performers could not
reach. The possibility of reaching a large audience through recorded images
which could be projected several times through mechanical gadgets caught
the fancy of people in the performing arts and the stage and entertainment
business. The first decade of the 20th century saw live and recorded
performances being clubbed together in the same programme.
 The strong influence of its traditional arts, music, dance and popular
theatre on the cinema movement in India in its early days, is probably
responsible for its characteristic enthusiasm for inserting song and dance
sequences in Indian cinema, even till today.
Dhundiraj Govind Phalke (1870-1944) affectionately called Dadasaheb
Phalke is considered as the “Father of Indian Cinema.” Central in Phalke’s
career as a filmmaker was his fervent belief in the nationalistic philosophy of
swadeshi, which advocated that Indians should take charge of their own
economy in the perspective of future Independence.
Phalke, with his imported camera, exposed single frames of a seed
sprouting to a growing plant, shot once a day, over a month-thus
inadvertently introducing the concept of “Time-lapse photography,’ which
resulted in the first indigenous “instructional film”— The Birth of a Pea
Plant (1912)—a capsule history of the growth of a pea into a pea-laden plant.
This film came very handy in getting financial backing for his first film
venture.
Inspired from an imported film—Life of Christ—Phalke started mentally
visualising the images of Indian Gods and Goddesses. What really obsessed
him was the desire to see Indian images on the screen in a purely Swadeshi
venture. He fixed up a studio in Dadar Main Road, wrote the scenario,
erected the set and started shooting for his first venture Raja Harishchandra
in 1912. The first full-length story film of Phalke was completed in 1912 and
released at the Coronation cinema on April 21, 1913, for special guests and
members of the Press. The film was widely acclaimed by one and all and
proved to be a great success.
The opening tableaux presents a scene of royal family harmony—with a
space ‘outside’ the frame from where the people emerge, and to which space
the king when banished seeks shelter. The film’s treatment is episodic,
following the style of the Indian folk theatre and the primitive novel. Most of
the camera setups are static, with plenty of movements within the frame. The
bathtub sequence where Harishchandra comes to call his wife Taramati, who
is in the tub, with her fully drenched attendants is indeed the first bathtub
scene in Indian cinema. All the females in their wet saris and blouses clinging
to their bodies are in fact all males in female grab.
Phalke hailed from an orthodox Hindu household—a family of priests with
strong religious roots. So, when technology made it possible to tell stories
through moving images, it was but natural that the Indian film pioneer turned
to his own ancient epics and puranas for source material. The phenomenal
success of Raja Harishchandra was kept up by Phalke with a series of
mythological films that followed - Mohini Bhasmasur (1914), significant for
introducing the first woman to act before the cameras - Kamalabai Gokhle.
The significant titles that followed include - Satyawan Savitri (1914),
Satyavadi Raja Harischandra (1917), Lanka Dahan (1917), Shri Krishna
Janma (1918) and Kalia Mardan (1919).
Silent Movies from Lahore
The United States, France, and Germany, lay claims and counterclaims
about being the first to have invented the motion picture as a commercially
viable form of recreation. Whatever the truth may be, it has been reckoned by
all that cinema, the most wonderful of all entertainment arts, was born in
1895.
The Lumiere Brothers of France exhibited their short films in December
1895 at Grande Cafe, Paris. The following year, they brought the show to
India and held its premiere at the Watson Hotel in Bombay on 7 July 1896.
From 18 July 1896, films were released at the Novelty Theatre on a regular
basis. Entrance tickets ranged from four annas, i.e., twenty-five paisas, to two
Rupees. That was how cinema came to the subcontinent. Soon after, other
major cities, including Lahore, had their first brush with the new invention
and were listed in the film distribution territory.
In the next eighteen years, many cinema houses were built all over the
country, exhibiting silent films from the West, mostly from the United States.
Great excitement was generated amongst young people related to the
indigenous production of theatre, radio and still photography. But film, unlike
other forms of expression, involved understanding of a technology that
integrated many different arts and crafts. There were no schools or
institutions that imparted training of this sort. Moreover, the finances needed
for such an enterprise were beyond the means of middle class enthusiasts.
Neither the government of British India nor the distributors of foreign films
were keen to augment their ambitions. But the zeal for the medium was too
intense to be subdued. All over India, many individuals tried to make some
sort of a film with their own meagre resources but to no avail.
 However, in 1913, Raja Harishchandra, the first local and economically
viable film, was produced in Bombay. It was almost a solo effort by
Dhundiraj Govind, popularly known as Dadasaheb Phalke. He is the
undisputed father of Indian cinema, and his Raja Harishchandra (1913) can
be regarded as the first full-length feature film though it had no sound and
music. He remained the uncrowned king of the Indian film scene for more
than two decades. His reign ended when the first talkie Alam Ara gave
sound and music to the Indian cinema in 1931.
Lahore’s first silent film, The Daughter of Today, was made in 1924,
almost eleven years after the release of Phalke’s maiden venture. At that time
the city had nine cinema houses, mostly showing films from Bombay and
Calcutta, besides movies produced in Hollywood and London. The Daughter
of Today was the brainchild of G.K. Mehta, an officer with NWR (North
Western Railways), who managed to bring a movie camera from abroad.
Mehta started with supplying newsreel coverage to international agencies and
made some documentaries as well. But his interest in movie making was
short-lived and he left for other commercial ventures.
In Lahore, Bhati Gate’s Mian Abdur Rashid Kardar (A.R. Kardar) should
be given the credit for establishing filmmaking in this city, which was later to
become Lollywood. He started in the era of silent movies with the production
of Mysterious Eagle alias Husn Ka Daku that started earlier but was
released in 1930, and founded the industry in Lahore. With him was Bhati
Gate’s M. Ismail, another name among the pioneers of cinema in Lahore, a
great friend of Kardar’s who had a similar passion for acting. They were
professional calligraphers who also prepared posters and paint boards for
silent films occasionally.
The two went to Bombay in 1927 and were lucky in getting roles in
Imperial Film Company’s Heer Ranjha, in which Ismail played the villain
Kaido and Kardar did a side role. But they returned to Lahore in 1928 to
pursue a career in filmmaking, which was to credit them as bellwethers of the
film industry in northern India.
Kardar had started his career as assistant director and hero of The
Daughter of Today, produced by G.K. Mehta under the banner of Premier
Film Company in 1928. The film was directed by Shankradev Arya with
Wilayat Begum in the female lead and M. Ismail, Vijay Kumar, Heera Lal
and Master Ghulam Qadir in the supporting cast. G.K. Mehta may thus be
regarded as the first filmmaker of Lahore. The Daughter of Todaywas
produced in the first open studio in the city set up near the Bradlaw Hall.
Some more films were also produced in this studio but it was closed down for
financial reasons.
In 1925, Himanshu Rai, a young foreign qualified Bengali, arrived in Delhi
with a well-planned proposal to launch a joint film venture in collaboration
with the Emelka Film Company of Munich, Germany. Himanshu Rai was
given financial support by Justice Moti Sagar, a retired Lahore High Court
Judge and his businessman brother, Prem Sagar. Rai, was thus able to set up
the Great Eastern Film Corporation. He produced The Light of Asiaor Prem
Saryas. Its German title was Die Lenchte Asien. The movie was based on
the life and times of Gautama Buddha. Rai played the main role with Sita
Devi from Calcutta in the female lead. Franz Osten and Josef Wirsching, both
from Germany, held the megaphone and did the camera work respectively.
The post-production work was carried out abroad. The film was a tremendous
success both in India and Europe.
Osten and Wirsching stayed on in India. The former directed many notable
projects, including Bombay Talkies’ Achhut Kanya, Kangan, etc. Besides
Osten’s films, Wirsching’s cinematography includes two of the finest pieces
of Kamal Amrohi’s cinema art titled Mahal and Pakeezah. These films are
best remembered for their deeply focused imagery and the dramatic effects
achieved by the clever use of light and shade.
The success of Prem Sanyas prompted the Great Eastern Film Corporation
to expand their activities in the Punjab capital. They selected Syed Imtiaz Mi
Taj’s famous play Anarkali as the basis of their second ambitious project,
The Loves of a Mughal Prince. Artists from The Light of Asia, along with
Imtiaz Ali Taj, Hakim Ahmed Shuja, and M.S. Dar acted in this venture. It
offered a real opportunity for Lahore to enter mainstream cinema. Directed
by Charu Roy, the art designer of the Buddha movie, it turned out to be a
well-crafted and extravagant undertaking, both in terms of time and money.
But the Imperial Film Company of Bombay, sensing the possibility of
making good money from such a novel idea, made a quick film based on the
same theme and ran it throughout the country before The Loves of a Mughal
Prince could be released. As a result, this far superior and original work was
looked upon as a copy. When it failed to click, the fate of the Lahore mission
was sealed. Himansu Rai settled in Bombay and there, with the support of his
highly educated and beautiful actress—wife Devika Rani, established
Bombay Talkies.
With no work left after The Daughters of Today, A.R. Kardar and M.
Ismail sold their belongings to set up a studio and a production company
under the name of United Players Corporation in 1928. The studio was set up
at Ravi Road (now timber market) where shooting was possible in daylight
only. But they had good sites of the Ravi forest (Zakheera) and tombs of
Jahangir and Noor Jahan to shoot at.
Their team reached the spot on tongas and once during a tonga ride a
camera went down the river along with a technician. United Players produced
eight successful films. The first was Mysterious Eagle, which was a debut
for Kardar as director. He cast himself as the male lead opposite Gulzar
Begum. Others in the cast included M. Ismail, Master Ghulam Qadir, Ahmad
Din and an American actor Iris Crawford.
Kardar left acting and introduced debonair Gul Hameed as hero in his
second film Brave Heart alias Sarfrosh, with more or less the same cast in
addition to giving roles to Rafiq Ghaznavi who later became a music director.
Simultaneously, Roop Lal Shori, a resident of Brandreth Road, returned to
Lahore after training in photography from America. He succeeded in getting
finances from McLeod Road’s Dr. Amar Barocha and Fleming Road’s trader
Sheikh Mubarak Ali to produce Life After Deathalias Qismat Ka Her Pher.
Khurshid Begum and Herald Louis were the leading pair. The Shoris also
made a great contribution in making Lahore as one of the top filmmaking
centres of India and their name may be ranked with A.R. Kardar and Seth
Dilsukh M. Pancholi.
Kardar’s third film was Safdar Jang in which he introduced Mumtaz
Begum as heroine. All these films were released in Lahore’s Deepak cinema
at Bhati Gate (later called Paramount, which no longer exists) between June
and October 1930. His next film was Shephard King alias Gudaria Sultan.
The fifth was Golden Dagger alias Sunehri Khanjar in which he
introduced Nazeer, later a famous producer-director who married Swarnlata,
in the male lead opposite Gulzar Begum.
Now that Kardar had established himself as a director, he hired the services
of Jhelum’s J.K. Nanda, who had training in direction and photography from
Germany, to direct his sixth film Wandering Dancer alias Aawara
Raqqasa, which was a plagiarized version of a well-known Rudolph
Valentino film, The Son of the Sheikh. The screenplay was written by M.
Sadiq.
Kardar’s seventh film was Mistress Bandit. In the last three films Nazeer
and Gulzar Begum had established themselves as successful leading pair and
M. Ismail as a leading villain. Kardar’s eighth and last film was Sweetheart
alias Qatil Katar, in which he again appeared as the hero opposite debutante
Bahar Akhtar whom he introduced with her sister Sardar Akhtar, later a
leading actress.
J.K. Nanda was the director of the film which could not be completed
because Kardar married Bahar and destroyed all its negatives. This marked
the end of the United Players Corporation—Mahmood Zaman and Mushtaq
Gazdar.
History of Hindi Cinema
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used
for the Hindi-language film industry based in
Mumbai, India. The term is often incorrectly used
to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a
part of the total Indian film industry, which
includes several regional film industries sorted by
language. Bollywood is the largest film producer
in India and one of the largest centers of film
production in the world.
Bollywood is formally referred to as Hindi
cinema though frequent use of poetic Urdu words
is fairly common. There has been a growing
presence of Indian English in dialogue and songs as well. It is common to see
films that feature dialogue with English words phrases, or even whole
sentences.
Poster of First Hindi Talkie—Alam Ara
The name ‘Bollywood’ is derived from Bombay (the former name for
Mumbai) and Hollywood, the center of the American film industry However,
unlike Hollywood, Bollywood does not exist as a physical place. Though
some deplore the name, arguing that it makes the industry look like a poor
cousin to Hollywood, it has its own entry in the Oxford English Dictionary.
The term ‘Bollywood’ has origins in the 1970s, when India overtook
America as the world’s largest film producer. Credit for the term has been
claimed by several different people, including the lyricist, filmmaker and
scholar Amit Khanna, and the journalist Bevinda Collaco. The naming
scheme for ‘Bollywood’ was inspired by ‘Tollywood,’ the name that was
used to refer to the cinema of West Bengal. Dating back to 1932,
‘Tollywood’ was the earliest Hollywood-inspired name, referring to the
Bengali film industry based in Tollygunge, which rhymed with ‘Hollywood’
and was the center of the cinema of India at the time. The name ‘Bollywood’
later arose as the Bombay-based film industry overtook the one in
Tollygunge as the centre of the Indian film industry.
Raja Harishchandra (1913), by Dadasaheb Phalke, was the first
silent feature film made in India. By the 1930s, the industry was
producing over 200 films per annum. The first Indian sound film,
Ardeshir Irani’s Alam Ara (1931), was a major commercial
success. There was clearly a huge market for talkies and musicals;
Bollywood and all the regional film industries quickly switched to
sound filming.
The 1930s and 1940s were tumultuous times: India was buffeted by the
Great Depression, World War II, the Indian independence movement, and the
violence of the Partition. Most Bollywood films were unabashedly escapist,
but there were also a number of filmmakers who tackled tough social issues,
or used the struggle for Indian independence as a backdrop for their plots.
In 1937, Ardeshir Irani, of Alam Ara fame, made the first colour film in
Hindi, Kisan Kanya. The next year, he made another colour film, Mother
India. However, colour did not become a popular feature until the late 1950s.
At this time, lavish romantic musicals and melodramas were the staple fare at
the cinema.
Golden Age
Following India’s independence, the period from the late 1940s to the
1960s are regarded by film historians as the “Golden Age” of Hindi cinema.
Some of the most critically-acclaimed Hindi films of all time were produced
during this period. Examples include the Guru Dutt films Pyaasa (1957) and
Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959) and the Raj Kapoor films Awaara (1951) and
Shree 420 (1955). These films expressed social themes mainly dealing with
working-class urban life in India; Awaara presented the city as both a
nightmare and a dream, while Pyaasa critiqued the unreality of city life.
Some of the most famous epic films of Hindi cinema were also produced at
the time, including Mehboob Khan’s Mother India (1957), which was
nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and K.
Asif’s Mughal-e-Azam (1960).
Madhumati (1958), directed by Bimal Roy
and written by Ritwik Ghatak, popularised the
theme of reincarnation in Western popular
culture. Other acclaimed mainstream Hindi
filmmakers at the time included Kamal Amrohi
and Vijay Bhatt. Successful actors at the time
included Dev Anand, Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor
and Guru Dutt, while successful actresses
included Nargis, Meena Kumari, Nutan,
Madhubala, Waheeda Rehman and Mala Sinha.
While commercial Hindi cinema was thriving,
the 1950s also saw the emergence of a new
Parallel Cinema movement. Though the
movement was mainly led by Bengali cinema, it also began gaining
prominence in Hindi cinema. Early examples of Hindi films in this
movement include Chetan Anand’s Neecha Nagar (1946) and Bimal Roy’s
Two Acres of Land (1953). Their critical acclaim, as well as the latter’s
commercial success, paved the way for Indian neorealism and the Indian
New Wave. Some of the internationally-acclaimed Hindi filmmakers
involved in the movement included Mani Kaul, Kumar Shahani, Ketan
Mehta, Govind Nihalani, Shyam Benegal and Vijaya Mehta.
Ever since the social realist film Neecha Nagar won the Grand Prize at the
first Cannes Film Festival Hindi films were frequently in competition for the
Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival throughout the 1950s and early
1960s, with some of them winning major prizes at the festival. Guru Dutt,
while overlooked in his own lifetime, had belatedly generated international
recognition much later in the 1980s. Dutt is now regarded as one of the
greatest Asian filmmakers of all time, alongside the more famous Indian
Bengali filmmaker Satyajit Ray. The 2002 Sight and Sound critics’ and
directors’ poll of greatest filmmakers ranked Dutt at #73 on the list. Some of
his films are now included among the greatest films of all time, with Pyaasa
(1957) being featured in Time magazine’s “All Time 100 Best Movies List.”
With both Pyaasa and Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959) tied at rank 160 in the 2002
Sight and Sound critics’ and directors’ poll of all-time greatest films. Several
other Hindi films from this era were also ranked in the Sight and Sound poll,
including Raj Kapoor’s Awaara (1951), Vijay Bhatt’s Baiju Bawra (1952),
Mehboob Khan’s Mother India(1957) and K. Asif’s Mughal-e-Azam
(1960) all tied at #346 on the list.
Modern Cinema
In the late 1960s and early 1970s,
romance movies and action films
starred actors like Rajesh Khanna
and Dharmendra, and actresses like
Sharmila Tagore, Mumtaz, Leena
Chandavarkar and Helen. In the
mid-1970s, romantic confections
made way for gritty, violent films
about gangsters and bandits.
Amitabh Bachchan, the star known
for his “Angry young man” roles, rode the crest of this trend with actors like
Mithun Chakraborty and Anil Kapoor, which lasted into the early 1990s.
Actresses from this era included Hema Malini, Jaya Bachchan and Rekha.
Some Hindi filmmakers such as Shyam Benegal continued to produce
realistic Parallel Cinema throughout the 1970s, alongside Mani Kaul, Kumar
Shahani, Ketan Mehta, Govind Nihalani and Vijaya Mehta. However, the
“Art film” bent of the Film Finance Corporation came under criticism during
a Committee on Public Undertakings investigation in 1976, which accused
the body of not doing enough to encourage commercial cinema. The 1970s
thus saw the rise of commercial cinema in the form of enduring films such as
Sholay (1975), which solidified Amitabh Bachchan’s position as a lead actor.
The devotional classic Jai Santoshi Ma was also released in 1975. Another
important film from 1975 was Deewar, directed by Yash Chopra and written
by Salim-Javed. A crime film pitting “A policeman against his brother, a
gang leader based on real-life smuggler Haji Mastan,” portrayed by Amitabh
Bachchan, it was described as being “Absolutely key to Indian cinema” by
Danny Boyle. The most internationally-acclaimed Hindi film of the 1980s
was Mira Nair’s Salaam Bombay! (1988), which won the Camera d’Or at
the 1988 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Academy Award
for Best Foreign Language Film.
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, the pendulum swung back toward
family-centric romantic musicals with the success of such films as Qayamat
Se Qayamat Tak (1988), Maine Pyar Kiya (1989), Hum Aapke Hain
Kaun (1994) and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), making stars out of
a new generation of actors (such as Aamir Khan, Salman Khan and Shahrukh
Khan) and actresses (such as Sridevi, Madhuri Dixit, Juhi Chawla and Kajol).
In that point of time, action and comedy films were also successful, with
actors like Govinda and Akshay Kumar and actresses such as Raveena
Tandon and Karisma Kapoor appearing in films of this genre. Furthermore,
this decade marked the entry of new performers in arthouse and independent
films, some of which succeeded commercially, the most influential example
being Satya (1998), directed by Ram Gopal Verma and written by Anurag
Kashyap. The critical and commercial success of Satya led to the emergence
of a distinct genre known as Mumbai noir, urban films reflecting social
problems in the city of Mumbai. This led to a resurgence of Parallel Cinema
by the end of the decade. These films often featured actors like Nana Patekar,
Manoj Bajpai, Manisha Koirala, Tabu and Urmila Matondkar, whose
performances were usually critically approved.
The 2000s saw a growth in
Bollywood’s popularity in the world.
This led the nation’s filmmaking to
new heights in terms of quality,
cinematography and innovative story
lines as well as technical advances in
areas such as special effects, animation,
etc. Some of the largest production
houses, among them Yash Raj Films
and Dharma Productions were the
producers of new modern films. The
opening up of the overseas market,
more Bollywood releases abroad and the explosion of multiplexes in big
cities, led to wider box office successes in India and abroad, including
Lagaan (2001), Devdas (2002), Koi... Mil Gaya (2003), Kal Ho Naa Ho
(2003), Veer-Zaara (2004), Rang De Basanti (2006), Lage Raho
Munnabhai (2006), Krrish (2006), Dhoom 2 (2006), Om Shanti Om
(2007), Chak De India (2007), Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008), Ghajini
(2008), 3 Idiots (2009), My Name is Khan (2010) and Raajneeti (2010)
delivering a new generation of popular actors (Hrithik Roshan, Abhishek
Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor) and actresses (Aishwarya Rai, Preity Zinta, Rani
Mukherjee, Kareena Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra, and keeping the
popularity of actors of the previous decade. Among the mainstream films,
Lagaan won the Audience Award at the Locarno International Film Festival
and was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 74th Academy
Awards, while Devdas and Rang De Basanti were both nominated for the
BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
The Hindi film industry has preferred films that appeal to all segments of
the audience (see the discussion in Ganti, 2004, cited in references), and has
resisted making films that target narrow audiences. It was believed that
aiming for a broad spectrum would maximise box office receipts. However,
filmmakers may be moving towards accepting some box-office segmentation,
between films that appeal to rural Indians, and films that appeal to urban and
overseas audiences.
Influence of Bollywood
In the 2000s, Bollywood began influencing musical films in the Western
world, and played a particularly instrumental role in the revival of the
American musical film genre. Baz Luhrmann stated that his musical film
Moulin Rouge! (2001) was directly inspired by Bollywood musicals. The
film incorporated an Indian-themed play based on the ancient Sanskrit drama
The Little Clay Cart and a Bollywood-style dance sequence with a song from
the film China Gate. The critical and financial success of Moulin Rouge!
renewed interest in the then-moribund Western musical genre, and
subsequently films such as Chicago, The Producers, Rent, Dreamgirls,
Hairspray, Sweeney Todd, Across the Universe, The Phantom of the
Opera, Enchantedand Mamma Mia! were produced, fueling a renaissance
of the genre.
 A.R. Rahman, an Indian film composer, wrote the music for Andrew Lloyd
Webber’s Bombay Dreams, and a musical version of Hum Aapke Hain
Koun has played in London’s West End. The Bollywood musical Lagaan
(2001) was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language
Film, and two other Bollywood films Devdas (2002) and Rang De Basanti
(2006) were nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Language
Film. Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire (2008), which has won four
Golden Globes and eight Academy Awards, was also directly inspired by
Bollywood films, and is considered to be a “Homage to Hindi commercial
cinema. “The theme of reincarnation was also popularized in Western
popular culture through Bollywood films, with Madhumati (1958) inspiring
the Hollywood film The Reincarnation of Peter Proud (1975), which in
turn inspired the Bollywood film Karz (1980), which in turn influenced
another Hollywood film Chances Are (1989). The 1975 film Chhoti Si Baat
is believed to have inspired Hitch(2005), which in turn inspired the
Bollywood film Partner(2007).
The influence of Bollywood filmi music can also be seen in popular music
elsewhere in the world. For example, Devo’s 1988 hit song Disco Dancer
was inspired by the song “I am a Disco Dancer” from the Bollywood film
Disco Dancer (1982). The 2002 song ‘Addictive,’ sung by Truth Hurts and
produced by DJ Quik and Dr. Dre, was lifted from Lata Mangeshkar’s
“Thoda Resham Lagta Hai” from Jyoti (1981). The Black Eyed Peas’
Grammy Award winning 2005 song “Don’t Phunk with My Heart” was
inspired by two 1970s Bollywood songs: “Ye Mera Dil Yaar Ka Diwana”
from Don (1978) and “Ae Nujawan Hai Sub” from Apradh (1972). Both
songs were originally composed by Kalyanji Anandji, sung by Asha Bhosle,
and featured the dancer Helen. Also in 2005, the Kronos Quartet rerecorded
several R. D. Burman compositions, with Asha Bhosle as the singer, into an
album You’ve stolen my heart—Songs From R. D. Burman’s Bollywood,
which was nominated for “Best Contemporary World Music Album” at the
2006 Grammy Awards. Filmi music composed by A. R. Rahman (who would
later win two Academy Awards for the Slumdog Millionnaire sound track)
has frequently been sampled by musicians elsewhere in the world, including
the Singaporean artist Kelly Poon, the Uzbek artist Iroda Dilroz, the French
rap group La Caution, the American artist Ciara, and the German band
Löwenherz, among others. Many Asian Underground artists, particularly
those among the overseas Indian diaspora, have also been inspired by
Bollywood music.
Cast and Crew
Bollywood employs people from all parts of India. It attracts thousands of
aspiring actors and actresses, all hoping for a break in the industry. Models
and beauty contestants, television actors, theatre actors and even common
people come to Mumbai with the hope and dream of becoming a star. Just as
in Hollywood, very few succeed. Since many Bollywood films are shot
abroad, many foreign extras are employed too.
Stardom in the entertainment industry is very fickle, and Bollywood is no
exception. The popularity of the stars can rise and fall rapidly. Directors
compete to hire the most popular stars of the day, who are believed to
guarantee the success of a movie (though this belief is not always supported
by box-office results). Hence, many stars make the most of their fame, once
they become popular, by making several movies simultaneously. Only a very
few non-Indian actors are able to make a mark in Bollywood, though many
have tried from time to time. There have been some exceptions, one recent
example is the hit film Rang De Basanti, where the lead actress is Alice
Patten, an Englishwoman. Kisna, Lagaan, and The Rising: Ballad of
Mangal Pandey also featured foreign actors.
Bollywood can be very clannish, and the relatives of film-industry insiders
have an edge in getting coveted roles in films or being part of a film’s crew.
Industry connections are no guarantee of a long career: competition is fierce
and if film industry scions do not succeed at the box office, their careers will
falter. Some of the biggest stars, such as Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan,
and Shahrukh Khan have succeeded despite total lack of show business
connections.
Sound
Sound in Bollywood films is rarely recorded on location (otherwise known
as sync sound). Therefore, the sound is usually created (or recreated) entirely
in the studio, with the actors reciting their lines as their images appear on-
screen in the studio in the process known as “Looping in the sound” or ADR
—with the foley and sound effects added later. This creates several problems,
since the sound in these films usually occurs a frame or two earlier or later
than the mouth movements or gestures. The actors have to act twice: once on-
location, once in the studio—and the emotional level
on set is often very difficult to recreate. Commercial
Indian films, not just the Hindi-language variety, are
known for their lack of ambient sound, so there is a
silence underlying everything instead of the
background sound and noises usually employed in
films to create aurally perceivable depth and
environment.
The ubiquity of ADR in Bollywood cinema became
prevalent in the early 1960s with the arrival of the Arriflex 3 camera, which
required a blimp (cover) in order to shield the sound of the camera, for which
it was notorious, from on-location filming. Commercial Indian filmmakers,
known for their speed, never bothered to blimp the camera, and its excessive
noise required that everything had to be recreated in the studio. Eventually,
this became the standard for Indian films.
The trend was bucked in 2001, after a 30-year hiatus of synchronised
sound, with the film Lagaan, in which producer-star Aamir Khan insisted
that the sound be done on location. This opened up a heated debate on the use
and economic feasibility of on-location sound, and several Bollywood films
have employed on-location sound since then.
Song and Dance
Bollywood film music is called filmi music (from Hindi, meaning “Of
films”). Songs from Bollywood movies are generally pre-recorded by
professional playback singers, with the actors then lip synchronising the
words to the song on-screen, often while dancing. While most actors,
especially today, are excellent dancers, few are also singers. One notable
exception was Kishore Kumar, who starred in several major films in the
1950s while also having a stellar career as a playback singer. K. L. Saigal,
Suraiyya, and Noor Jehan were also known as both singers and actors. Some
actors in the last thirty years have sung one or more songs themselves; for a
list, see Singing actors and actresses in Indian Cinema. Playback singers are
prominently featured in the opening credits and have their own fans who will
go to an otherwise lackluster movie just to hear their favourites. Going by the
quality as well as the quantity of the songs they rendered, most notable
singers of Bollywood are Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Geeta Dutt,
Shamshad Begum and Alka Yagnik among female playback singers; and K.
L. Saigal, Talat Mahmood, Mukesh, Mohammed Rafi, Manna Dey, Hemant
Kumar, Kishore Kumar, Kumar Sanu, S.P. Balasubramanyam, Udit Narayan
and Sonu Nigam among male playback singers. Mohammed Rafi is often
considered arguably the finest of the singers that have lent their voice to
Bollywood songs, followed by Lata Mangeshkar, who, through the course of
a career spanning over six decades, has recorded thousands of songs for
Indian movies. The composers of film music, known as music directors, are
also well-known. Their songs can make or break a film and usually do.
Remixing of film songs with modern beats and rhythms is a common
occurrence today, and producers may even release remixed versions of some
of their films’ songs along with the films’ regular sound track albums.
The dancing in Bollywood films, especially older ones, is primarily
modelled on Indian dance: classical dance styles, dances of historic northern
Indian courtesans (tawaif), or folk dances. In modern films, Indian dance
elements often blend with Western dance styles (as seen on MTV or in
Broadway musicals), though it is usual to see Western pop and pure classical
dance numbers side by side in the same film. The hero or heroine will often
perform with a troupe of supporting dancers. Many song-and-dance routines
in Indian films feature unrealistically instantaneous shifts of location or
changes of costume between verses of a song. If the hero and heroine dance
and sing a duet, it is often staged in beautiful natural surroundings or
architecturally grand settings. This staging is referred to as a ‘picturisation.’
Songs typically comment on the
action taking place in the movie, in
several ways. Sometimes, a song is
worked into the plot, so that a
character has a reason to sing. Other
times, a song is an externalisation of
a character’s thoughts, or presages
an event that has not occurred yet in
the plot of the movie. In this case,
the event is often two characters
falling in love. The songs are also
often referred to as a “Dream sequence,” and anything can happen that would
not normally happen in the real world. Previously song and dance scenes
often used to be shot in Kashmir, but due to political unrest in Kashmir since
the end of the 1980s, those scenes have since then often been shot in Western
Europe, particularly in Switzerland and Austria. Bollywood films have
always used what are now called “Item numbers.” A physically attractive
female character (the “item girl”), often completely unrelated to the main cast
and plot of the film, performs a catchy song and dance number in the film. In
older films, the “Item number” may be performed by a courtesan (tawaif)
dancing for a rich client or as part of a cabaret show. The actress Helen was
famous for her cabaret numbers. In modern films, item numbers may be
inserted as discotheque sequences, dancing at celebrations, or as stage shows.
For the last few decades Bollywood producers have been releasing the film’s
sound track, as tapes or CDs, before the main movie release, hoping that the
music will pull audiences into the cinema later. Often the sound track is more
popular than the movie. In the last few years some producers have also been
releasing music videos, usually featuring a song from the film. However,
some promotional videos feature a song which is not included in the movie.
Finances
Bollywood films are multimillion dollar productions, with the most
expensive productions costing up to 100 crores Rupees (roughly USD 20
million). Sets, costumes, special effects, and cinematography were less than
world-class up until the mid-to-late 1990s, although with some notable
exceptions. As Western films and television gain wider distribution in India
itself, there is an increasing pressure for Bollywood films to attain the same
production levels, particularly in areas such as action and special effects.
Recent Bollywood films have employed international technicians to improve
in these areas, such as Krrish (2006) which has action choreographed by
Hong Kong based Tony Ching. The increasing accessibility to professional
action and special effects, coupled with rising film budgets, has seen an
explosion in the action and sci-fi genres.
Sequences shot overseas have proved a real box office draw, so Mumbai
film crews are increasingly filming in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the
United Kingdom, the United States, continental Europe and elsewhere.
Nowadays, Indian producers are winning more and more funding for big-
budget films shot within India as well, such as Lagaan, Devdas and other
recent films. Funding for Bollywood films often comes from private
distributors and a few large studios. Indian banks and financial institutions
were forbidden from lending money to movie studios. However, this ban has
now been lifted. As finances are not regulated, some funding also comes
from illegitimate sources, such as the Mumbai underworld. The Mumbai
underworld has been known to be involved in the production of several films,
and are notorious for their patronisation of several prominent film
personalities; On occasion, they have been known to use money and muscle
power to get their way in cinematic deals. In January 2000, Mumbai mafia
hitmen shot Rakesh Roshan, a film director and father of star Hrithik Roshan.
In 2001, the Central Bureau of Investigation seized all prints of the movie
Chori Chori Chupke Chupke after the movie was found to be funded by
members of the Mumbai underworld. Another problem facing Bollywood is
widespread copyright infringement of its films. Often, bootleg DVD copies
of movies are available before the prints are officially released in cinemas.
Manufacturing of bootleg DVD, VCD, and VHS copies of the latest movie
titles is a well established Small scale industry in parts of South Asia and
South East Asia. The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and
Industry (FICCI) estimates that the Bollywood industry loses $100 million
annually in loss of revenue from pirated home videos and DVDs. Besides
catering to the homegrown market, demand for these copies is large amongst
some sections of the Indian diaspora, too. (In fact, bootleg copies are the only
way people in Pakistan can watch Bollywood movies, since the Government
of Pakistan has banned their sale, distribution and telecast). Films are
frequently broadcast without compensation by countless small cable TV
companies in India and other parts of South Asia. Small convenience stores
run by members of the Indian diaspora in the US and the UK regularly stock
tapes and DVDs of dubious provenance, while consumer copying adds to the
problem. The availability of illegal copies of movies on the Internet also
contributes to the piracy problem. Satellite TV, television and imported
foreign films are making huge inroads into the domestic Indian entertainment
market. In the past, most Bollywood films could make money; now fewer
tend to do so. However, most Bollywood producers make money, recouping
their investments from many sources of revenue, including selling ancillary
rights. There are also increasing returns from theatres in Western countries
like the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States, where Bollywood is
slowly getting noticed. As more Indians migrate to these countries, they form
a growing market for upscale Indian films. For an interesting comparison of
Hollywood and Bollywood financial figures, see chart. It shows tickets sold
in 2002 and total revenue estimates. Bollywood sold 3.6 billion tickets and
had total revenues (theatre tickets, DVDs, television etc.) of US$1.3 billion,
whereas Hollywood films sold 2.6 billion tickets and generated total revenues
(again from all formats) of US$51 billion.
Advertising
Many Indian artists used to make a living by hand-painting movie
billboards and posters (the well-known artist M.F. Hussain used to paint film
posters early in his career). This was because human labour was found to be
cheaper than printing and distributing publicity material. Now, a majority of
the huge and ubiquitous billboards in India’s major cities are created with
computer-printed vinyl. The old hand-painted posters, once regarded as
ephemera, are becoming increasingly collectible as folk art.
Releasing the film music, or music videos, before the actual release of the
film can also be considered a form of advertising. A popular tune is believed
to help pull audiences into the theaters.
Bollywood publicists have begun to use the Internet as a venue for
advertising. Most of the better-funded film releases now have their own
websites, where browsers can view trailers, stills, and information about the
story, cast, and crew.
Bollywood is also used to advertise other products. Product placement, as
used in Hollywood, is widely practiced in Bollywood.
Awards
The Filmfare Awards ceremony is one of the most prominent film events
given for Hindi films in India. The Indian screen magazine Filmfare started
the first Filmfare Awards in 1954, and awards were given to the best films of
1953. The ceremony was referred to as the Clare Awards after the magazine’s
editor. Modelled after the poll-based merit format of the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences, individuals may submit their votes in separate
categories. A dual voting system was developed in 1956. Like the Oscars, the
Filmfare awards are frequently accused of bias towards commercial success
rather than artistic merit.
As the Filmfare, the National Film Awards were introduced in 1954. Since
1973, the Indian government has sponsored the National Film Awards,
awarded by the government run Directorate of Film
Festivals (DFF). The DFF screens not only Bollywood
films, but films from all the other regional movie
industries and independent/art films. These awards are
handed out at an annual ceremony presided over by the
President of India. Under this system, in contrast to the
National Film Awards, which are decided by a panel
appointed by Indian Government, the Filmfare Awards
are voted for by both the public and a committee of
experts.
Additional ceremonies held within India are:
•Stardust Awards
•Star Screen Awards
Ceremonies held overseas are:
•Bollywood Movie Awards - Long Island, New York, United States
•Global Indian Film Awards - (different country each year)
•IIFA Awards - (different country each year)
•Zee Cine Awards- (different country each year)
Most of these award ceremonies are lavishly staged spectacles, featuring
singing, dancing, and numerous celebrities.
New Wave Cinema
Through his first film Pather Panchali (1955) Satyajit Ray became the
pioneer of a genre of films latter known as the “Indian Parallel Cinema.”
Even though Ritwik Ghatak made his first film Nagarik in 1952, he became
well known by his film Ajantrik (1958) and became a strong presence in
parallel cinema. Mrinal Sen made his first film Raatbhor in 1955.
The first film society was founded in Bombay in 1943 and Satyajit Ray
founded a film society in Calcutta in 1947. By the beginning of 1970s there
existed above 150 film societies all over India. Through these societies
people could see the best of Indian cinema and also they got access to the
best of foreign cinema. The first International Film Festival of India was held
in Bombay, Madras and Calcutta by the Films Division in 1952. Western
classics like De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves shown in the film festival created
waves among young filmmakers who were frustrated with the mindless song-
dance dramas made in India. The Film Training Institute of India (FTII -
presently Film and Television Institute of India) was set up in Pune in 1961
and the National Film Archives of India (NFAI) was established in 1964. The
Film Finance Corporation (FFC) was set up by the Government in 1960, with
the objective of giving loans to directors who wanted to make feature films
outside the commercial circuit. All these factors lead Indian Cinema to a
revolutionary change, a new genre of Indian films arrived, which are often
termed as the “New Wave Indian Cinema” or the “New Indian Cinema.”
Mrinal Sen’s Bhuvan Shome (1969) and Mani Kaul’s Uski Roti (1969),
both sponsored by State owned Film Finance Corporation (FFC), inspired by
the French nouvelle vague, set new film sensibility and cinematic language in
India. This movement was labelled as the “New Indian Cinema” or the “New
Wave Indian Cinema.” FTII graduates Kumar Shahani, Mani Kaul, Saeed
Mirza, Shyam Benegal and Ketan Mehta were the important names of New
Wave Indian Cinema in Hindi. Mani Kaul’s Ashadh Ka Ek Din (1971) and
Duvidha (1973), Kumar Shahni’s Maya Darpan (1972) and Shyam
Benegal’s Ankur (1973) played important role in this new movement in
Hindi during the 1970s. M S Sathyu’s Garam Hawa (1973) Govind Nihilani
who entered film industry as Shyam Benegal’s cameraman made his
directorial debut through Aakrosh (1980) he continued making socio-
political films like Party (1984), Tamas (1987) and Drishti (1990). Saeed
Mizra made notable political films like Arvind Desai ki Ajeeb Dastan
(1978), Albert Pinto ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai (1980), Mohan Joshi
Haazir Ho! (1984) and Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro (1989).
Adoor Gopalakrishnan through his first film Swayamvaram (1972)
extended the New Wave Cinema to Malayalam cinema. Aravindan through
his first film Uttarayanam (1974) strengthened the movement. John
Abraham, K. R. Mohanan and P.A. Backer were strong presence of the new
Malayalam cinema.
Kannada was the other film industry in South India, which took over the
cinema movement in South India. B.V. Karanth, Girish Karnad and Girish
Kasaravalli spearheaded the Kannada parallel cinema. Girish Kasaravalli,
graduated from the Pune Film Institute, directed his first film, Ghata
Shradha in 1977, which won the National award for best film.
In Assamise, Janu Barua made his first film Aparoopa (1982). His
Halodhia Choraye Baodhan Kali (1987), which achieved international
recognition, dealt with social problems of rural Assam. Bhubendra Nath Sikia
made his first film Sandhyarag (1977) followed by Agnisnaan (1985),
Kolahal (1988), Sarothi (1991) and Abarthan (1993).
By the early 1990s, the rising costs involved in film production and the
commercialisation of the films had a negative impact on the art films. The
fact that investment returns cannot be guaranteed made art films less popular
amongst filmmakers. Underworld financing, political and economic turmoil,
television and piracy proved to be fatal threat to parallel cinema, as it
declined.
The term “parallel cinema” has started being applied to off-beat films
produced in Bollywood, where art films have begun experiencing a
resurgence. This led to the emergence of a distinct genre known as Mumbai
noir, urban films reflecting social problems in the city of Mumbai.
Other modern examples of art films
produced in Bollywood which are
classified as part of the parallel cinema
genre include Mani Ratnam’s Dil Se
(1998) and Yuva (2004), Nagesh
Kukunoor’s 3 Deewarein (2003) and
Dor (2006), Sudhir Mishra’s Hazaaron
Khwaishein Aisi (2005), Jahnu Barua’s
Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara
(2005), Pan Nalin’s Valley of Flowers
(2006), Nandita Das’ Firaaq (2008), Onir’s My Brother… Nikhil (2005)
and Bas Ek Pal (2006), Anurag Kashyap’s Dev. D (2009) and Gulaal (2009)
and Piyush Jha’s Sikandar (2009).
Independent films spoken in Indian English are also occasionally
produced; examples include Revathi’s Mitr, My Friend (2002), Aparna
Sen’s Mr. and Mrs. Iyer (2002) and 15 Park Avenue (2006), Anant
Balani’s Joggers’ Park (2003), Piyush Jha’s King of Bollywood (2004),
Homi Adajania’s Being Cyrus (2006), Rituparno Ghosh’s The Last Lear
(2007) and Sooni Taraporevala’s Little Zizou (2009).
 Other Indian art film directors active today include Mrinal Sen, Buddhadeb
Dasgupta, Gautam Ghose, Sandip Ray (Satyajit Ray’s son) and Rituparno
Ghosh in Bengali cinema; Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Shaji N. Karun and T. V.
Chandran in Malayalam cinema; Mani Kaul, Kumar Shahani, Ketan Mehta,
Govind Nihalani and Shyam Benegal and Deepa Mehta in Hindi cinema; and
Mani Ratnam, Bala and Kamal Haasan in Tamil cinema.
Regional Cinema
The first film in Southern India was made in 1916 by R. Nataraja
Mudaliar- Keechaka Vadham. As the title indicates the subject is again a
mythological from the Mahabharata. Another film made in Madras - Valli
Thiru-Manam (1921) by Whittaker drew critical acclaim and box office
success.
Hollywood returned Ananthanarayanan Narayanan founded General
Pictures Corporation in 1929 and established filmmaking as an industry in
South India and became the single largest producer of silent films.
Kolhapur in Western Maharashtra was another centre of active film
production in the twenties. In 1919 Baburao K Mistry - popularly known as
Baburao Painter formed the Maharashtra Film Co. with the blessings of the
Maharaja of Kolhapur and released the first significant historical -
Sairandhari (1920) with Balasheb Pawar, Kamala Devi and Zunzarrao
Pawar in stellar roles. Because of his special interest in sets, costumes, design
and painting, he chose episodes from Maratha history for interpreting in the
new medium and specialised in the historical genre. The exploits of Shivaji
and his contemporaries and their patriotic encounters with their opponents
formed the recurring themes of his ‘historicals’ which invariably had a
contemporary relevance to the people of a nation, who were fighting for
liberation from a colonial oppressor.
The attack against the false values associated with the Western way of life
and their blind imitation by some Indians was humorously brought out by
Dhiren Ganguly in his brilliant satirical comedy - England Returned (1921)
- presumably the first “social satire” on Indians obsessed with Western
values. And with that another genre of Indian cinema known as “the
contemporary social” slowly emerged. Baburao Painter followed it up with
another significant film in 1925 - Savkari Pash (The Indian Shylock) - an
attempt at realistic treatment of the Indian peasant exploited by the greedy
moneylender.
In Bengal, a region rich in culture and intellectual activity, the first Bengali
feature film in 1917, was remake of Phalke’s Raja Harishchandra. Titled
Satyawadi Raja Harishchandra, it was directed by Rustomjee Dotiwala.
Less prolific than Bombay based film industry, around 122 feature films was
made in Calcutta in the Silent Era.
The first feature film in Tamil, also the first in entire South India,
Keechakavatham was made during 1916-17, directed by Nataraja Mudaliar.
Marthanda Verma (1931) produced by R. Sunder Raj, under Shri
Rajeswari Film, Nagercoil, directed by P.V. Rao, got into a legal tangle and
was withdrawn after its premiere. Based on a celebrated novel by C.V.
Raman Pillai, the film recounts the adventures of the crown prince and how
he eliminates the arch-villains to become the unquestioned ruler of the
Travancore State. The film has title cards in English and Malayalam, some of
which are taken from the original text. A few of the title cards and action
make obvious reference to the Swadeshi Movement of the time. Had it not
been for the legal embargo, the film would have had a great impact on the
regional cinema of the South.
 5. Regional Scenarios:
Malayalam

Introduction
Cinema is the popular art form that has proved itself to be a good
entertainer and a strong means of mass communication in Kerala since the
last century. It has the elements of different art forms including architecture
and sculpture in it.
Moreover, Malayalam films have their own existence in Kerala and is the
most popular form of art enjoyed by the masses. Hence, cinema has its own
influence on their culture.
The viewers in Kerala enjoy the films while comprehending the reality in
it. They possess a high degree of insight and intuition and distinguish reality
from fiction in the themes of experimentalism. Malayalam Cinema has
contributed much to the creative and critical analysis sectors of Malayalam
literature.
Kerala has a very rich art and cultural background. Its films are unique in
several aspects. Unlike the other linguistic films, which have started off
taking themes from the Puranas, Malayalam films have taken relevant social
issues as its theme from the beginning.
Historical First
The first cinema hall in Kerala was established in Trichur by K.W. Joseph
in 1907 and it had a manually operated film projector. The first electrically
operated film projector too was established in Trichur by Jose Kattukkaran in
1913 and was called the “Jose Electrical Bioscope.” Soon such cinema halls
were established in other major cities of Kerala. At the initial stage only
Tamil, Hindi and English films were exhibited in these theatres; it was,
however, Tamil cinema, which dominated Kerala. The Malayalee audience
welcomed Tamil films because of the cultural similarities between the two
states.
 The history of Indian Cinema began at the early part of the twentieth
century. Malayalam cinema had to wait a few more decades to get its first
film. The first feature film in Malayalam ‘Vigathakumaran’ was released in
1928. Produced and directed by the Chennai returned business man J.C.
Daniel, who himself handled the role of the protagonist, the film stood apart
with a social theme while mythological films ruled the film arena all over
India.
Kerala had to wait another five years to get its next film, but only to be
shelved after a few exhibitions due to a legal entanglement. ‘Marthanda
Verma’ based on the famous novel by C.V. Raman Pillai was produced by
Sunderraj, a historical silent film, would have had a great impact on the
cinema of South India if it had not met with legal confrontation.
The first Malayalam cinema with a sound track was released in 1938. The
film ‘Balan’ produced by R.Sundaram and directed by Notani was a
melodrama with more Tamil influence than Malayalam. Following the
commercial success of ‘Balan’, more films like ‘Jnambika’ (1940) and
‘Prahlada’ (1941) came out to the theatres. P.J.Cheriyan’s ‘Nirmala’ (1948)
was the first film to explore the possibility of music and songs in cinema. The
lyrics of the film penned by the legendary Malayalam poet G. Shankara
Kurup became so popular that song-dance sequences became essential
ingredients of Malayalam cinema.
‘Jeevithanouka’ (1951) a melodramatic musical could be considered as
the first ‘super-hit’ film with the first Malayalam ‘superstar’, Thikkurishi
Sukumaran Nair. The success formula of ‘Jeevithanouka’ was repeated for
many films to come out after that till the path breaking film ‘Neelakuyil’ saw
the light.
‘Neelakuyil’ (1954) broke away from the Tamil–Hindi influence of
Malayalam cinema and had an authentic story penned by renowned writer
Uroob. Directed by the duo of P.Bhaskaran and Ramu Karyat, the film dealt
with the story of untouchables prevailed in the society. This also was the first
Malayalam film shot outdoors and also the first film to be recognised in the
National level.
The next year saw yet another novel venture in Malayalam cinema. A
group of students, influenced by the wave of neo-realism in the West,
ventured out to produce the film Newspaper Boy, directed by P. Ramadas.
The film which came out even before Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali, dealt
with the issue of poverty.
The first full-length colour film of Malayalam came out in 1960, Kandam
Bacha Coat, which otherwise was a film of no much relevance.
Chemmeen (1965) directed by Ramu Karyat was the first South Indian
film to bag the President’s Golden Lotus Award for the best film. Based on
the famous novel by renowned Malayalam writer Takazhi Shivashanakara
Pillai, Chemmeen pioneered the growth of Malayalam cinema in technical
and artistic aspects. It brought together some of the best technical talents then
available in India, Salil Chowdhari (music), Markes Burtly (cinematography)
and Hrishikesh Mukharjee (editing). It also had a huge star cast.
Some of the films like P.N. Menon’s Oolavum Theeravum (1969)
announced the arrival of a great movement, which changed the face of
Malayalam cinema during the early 1970s.
The early 1970s witnessed a radical change in the perspective towards
cinema by filmmakers as well as film viewers of Kerala. The beginning of
film society movement resulted in the exposure to world classics, which
helped a group of young filmmakers realise the uniqueness of the language of
this medium, which till then was in the clutches of the forms used for stage
dramas. Influenced by the French and Italian New Wave, as elsewhere in
India, the Malayalam New Wave was born. The arrival of young filmmakers
from the newly constituted Film Institute in Pune acted as a catalyst for this
radical change.
Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s Swayamvaram (1972) unplugged a stream of
extraordinary films, often termed as Parallel Cinema, by film institute trained
and self-taught young directors, which surpassed the superficiality of mere
story telling and made maximum use of the possibilities cinema as a medium.
Through Uttarayanam (1974) G. Aravindan joined this movement followed
by directors like P.A. Backer with Kabani Nadi Chuvannappol (1975), K.P.
Kumaran with ‘Athithi’ (1975) and K.R.Mohanan with Ashwatthama
(1978). Renowned writer M.T. Vasudevan Nair made his directorial debut
with Nirmalyam (1973), which won the Golden Lotus award, during this
period. Padmarajan and K.G. George who later became the proponents of the
stream of cinema often termed ‘Middle Cinema’ too made their debuts in
1979 with their films Swapnadanam and Peruvazhiyambalam respectively.
 Even though the Parallel Cinema movement had a slow down during
1980s, some of the best films of Malayalam cinema from directors like Adoor
and Aravindan came out during this period. Shaji N. Karun’s Piravi(1988)
created stir in the International Film Festival circuits and refreshed the
Malayali film sensibility. The major development during this decade was the
growth of another stream of Malayalam cinema, the “Middle Cinema,” which
fused the artistic qualities of “Parallel Cinema” and the popular form of the
commercial Malayalam cinema. This resulted in the birth of a number of
films with down to earth stories, but with most of them becoming commercial
successes. K.G. George with his films ‘Kolangal’ (1980), Yavanika (1982),
Lekhayude Maranam Oru Flashback (1983), Adaminte Variyellu (1983)
and Irakal (1985), P.Padmarajan with his films like Oridathoru Phayalwan
(1981), Koodevide? (1983), Namakku Parkan Munthiri Thoppukal
(1986), Moonnampakkam (1988) and Aparan (1988), Bharathan with
Lorry (1980), Marmaram (1982) and Ormakkayi (1982), Mohan with
Vidaparayum Munpe (1981), Lenin Rajendran with Chillu (1982) and
Meenamasathile Sooryan (1985), Pavithran with Uppu(1986) and K.S.
Sethumadhavan with Oppol (1980) all were strong presence in Malayalam
cinema during the 80s.
Barring films from Adoor, Aravindan and Shaji 1990s didn’t see many
good films. Murali Nair’s film Maranasimhasanam (1999) was an
exception. T.V. Chandran who started with Alicinte Anveshanam (1989) too
continued with his films like Ponthan Mada (1993)
Ormakalundayirikanam (1995) and Mankamma (1997). The commercial
cinema came out with films cut-off from the real Kerala society and larger
than human chauvinist characters. Soft porno films too flooded the theatres,
which won huge commercial gains.
The new millennium too didn’t had much to offer to Malayalam cinema,
though some works like Sarath’s Sayahnam (2000) and Stithi (2002), Satish
Menon’s Bhavam (2002), Rajiv Vijayaraghavan’s Margam (2003), T V
Chandran’s Susannah (2001), Danny (2001), Padam Onnu Oru Vilapam
(2003) and Kathavasheshan (2004), Adoor’s Nizhalkkuthu (2004) and
Pradip Nair’s Oridam (2005) came out during this period.
As with most of the other Indian film industries, the Malayalam film
industry is driven by male actors. None of the female actors who have been
part of the industry have come to be known as superstars, though there were
immensely popular stars like Miss Kumari, Sharada, Sheela, Shobhana,
Urvashi, sujatha, vidhubala, Navya nair, Manju Warrier, Samyuktha Verma,
Kavya Madhavan and Meera Jasmine.
Many actors have brought laurels to Malayalam films with their
performances. As of 2007, Malayalam film actors have won 11 out of the 42
National Film Awards for Best Actor ever given away, including two
occasions of double awardees. 11 is the second highest number of award wins
by a film industry trailed only by Hindi (17 awards). The Malayalam film
actors who have won the award are P. J. Antony (1974), Gopi (1978), Balan
K. Nair (1981), Premji (1988), Mammootty (1989, 1993, 1999), Mohanlal
(1991, 2000), , Suresh Gopi (1998), Balachandra Menon (1998) and Murali
(2002). Additionally, Malayalam film actors have won several Special Jury
Awards as well: Mohanlal (1990), Kalabhavan Mani (2000), Nedumudi Venu
(2004) and Thilakan (2007).
Malayalam female actors are not far behind. As of 2007, they have won the
National Film Award for Best Actress 5 times. The winners are Sharada
(1969, 1973, 1979), Monisha (1987), Shobana (1994, 2002), Meera Jasmine
(2004) and Priyamani (2007). The actresses to win the Special Jury Award
are Jomol (1998), Manju Warrier (1999) and Jyothirmayi (2003). Sharada did
win another award in 1979 for the Telugu film Nimajjan; so did Shobana in
2002 for the English film Mitr, My Friend.
National Acceptance
Some of the best films in India have been produced in Malayalam.
National awards for the best film were won by Chemmeen(1965),
Swayamvaram(1972), Nirmalyam (1973), Chidambaram( 1985), Piravai
( 1988), and Kathaporushan. Malayalam film actors P. J. Antony, Balan K
Nair, Gopi Premji, Mammutty, Mohan Lal, Suresh Gopi and Balachandra
Menon have won national awards for best acting, while Sarada, Monisha and
Sobhana bagged best actress awards. Yesudas, Jayachandran and Chitra have
won best singer awards and Vayalar and O.N.V. Kurup , best lyricist award at
the national level. Aranmula Ponnamma, Santha Devi, Nedumudi Venu and
Tilakan have also won national awards in acting. Best cameraman awards
were won by Santhosh Sivan, Mankada Ravi Verma and Venu while Sound
recording awards were won by Devadas and Krishna Unni.
Children’s films like My Dear Kuttichathan, Kummatti Manu Uncle
and Kochaniyan have won national awards. The awards for the Best Director
were won by Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Aravindan, Shaji, T.V. Chandran and
Jayaraj.
Many persons working in this field are men of eminence. Prem Nazir was a
recipient of Padma Bhushan Award and Thikkurissai had received Padma
Shri. Padma Shri was also conferred on Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Gopi, O.N.V.
Kurup, and Mammutty. M.T. Vasudevan Nair is a Gyanpith Award winner.
Even though Cable TV has made strong inroads in Kerala, the number of
theatre audience has not shown any significant decline. Malayalam films
have come a long way since 1928 by providing wholesome entertainment and
meaningful cinema to its viewers.
Music
In the initial years, the lyricists used to write songs according to the tunes
of popular Hindi and Tamil songs. However, the arrival of popular poets like
P. Bhaskaran (1950), O.N.V. Kurup (1955), Vayalar Rama Verma (1956) and
brilliant music directors like V. Dakshinamurthy (1950), K. Raghavan
(1954), G.Devarajan (1955) and M.S. Babu Raj (1957) on the scene changed
the scenario.
This welcome trend was followed by poets like Sreekumaran Thampy and
Yusaf Ali Kecheri. Among the early playback singers were Kanukara
Purushothaman, K.P. Udayabhanu and A.M. Raja. Popular female playback
singers included P. Leela, Santha P.Nair, P. Susheela and Janaki.
Even though A.M. Raja, P. Susheela and Janaki hailed from Andhra
Pradesh, Malayalis had no hesitation in accepting them as Kerala’s own
singers. Later on many such singers from outside Kerala, like Manna Dey,
Talat Mehmood, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsle and S.P. Balasubramanian
lent their voice to Malayalam films. Even music directors like Naushad, Usha
Khanna, Ravi Bombay and Ilaya Raja from other states composed music for
Malayalam films.
The uncrowned king of Malayalam playback singers, Yesudas, continues
to be the most popular singer of Kerala even at the age of 58 and has, in fact,
become a living legend.
Film music, which refers to playback singing in the context of Indian
music, forms the most important canon of popular music in India. The film
music of Kerala in particular is the most popular form of music in the state.
Before Malayalam cinema and Malayalam film music developed, the
Keralites eagerly followed Tamil and Hindi film songs, and that habit has
stayed with them till now. The history of Malayalam film songs begins with
the 1948 film Nirmala. The film’s music director was P. S. Divakar, and the
songs were sung by P. Leela, T. K. Govinda Rao, Vasudeva Kurup, C. K.
Raghavan, Sarojini Menon and Vimala B. Verma, who is credited as the first
playback singer of Malayalam cinema.
The main trend in the early years was to use the tune of hit Hindi or Tamil
songs in Malayalam songs. This trend changed in the early 1950s with the
arrival of a number of poets and musicians to the Malayalam music scene.
People who stormed into the Malayalam film music industry in the 1950s
include musicians like V. Dakshinamurthy (1950), K. Raghavan (1954), G.
Devarajan (1955) and M.S. Babu Raj (1957) and lyricists like P. Bhaskaran
(1950), O. N. V. Kurup (1955) and Vayalar Rama Verma (1956). They are
attributed with shaping Malayalam film music stream and giving it its own
identity. [16] Major playback singers of that time were Kamukara
Purushothaman, K. P. Udayabhanu, A. M. Raja, P. Leela, Santha P. Nair, P.
Susheela and S. Janaki. Many of these singers like A. M. Raja, P. Susheela
and Janaki were not Malayalis and their pronunciation was not perfect.
Despite that, these singers got high popularity throughout Kerala. In the later
years many non-Malayalis like Manna Dey, Talat Mahmood, Lata
Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle and S. P. Balasubrahmanyam sang for Malayalam
films. This trend was also found among music directors to an extent, with
outside musicians like Naushad, Usha Khanna, Bombay Ravi, Laxmikant-
Pyarelal, Ilaya Raja, Vishal Bharadwaj and A.R. Rahman scoring music for
Malayalam films. This can be attributed to the fact that film music in South
India had a parallel growth pattern with so many instances of cross-industry
contributions.
K. J. Yesudas, who debuted in 1961, virtually revolutionised the
Malayalam film music industry and became the most popular Malayalam
singer ever. He became equally popular with classical music audience and
people who patronised film music. He along with P. Jayachandran gave a
major facelift to Malayalam playback singing in the 1960s and 1970s.
Malayalam film music also received heavy contributions from musicians like
Johnson, M. G. Radhakrishnan, Raveendran, S. P. Venkitesh and
Ouseppachan, lyricists like Sreekumaran Thampi, Yusuf Ali Kechery, and
Kaithaprom Damodaran Namboodiri, and singers like M. G. Sreekumar, G.
Venugopal, K. S. Chitra and Sujatha Mohan. A notable aspect in the later
years was the extensive of classical carnatic music in many film songs of the
later 1980s and early 1990s. Interestingly, that particular period is also
considered as the peak time for Malayalam cinema itself and is quite widely
known as the Golden Age of Malayalam cinema, a period in which the
difference between art films and popular films was least felt. Similarly,
classical carnatic music was heavily used in several popular film songs, most
notably those in films like Chithram (1988), His Highness Abdullah
(1990), Bharatham (1991), Sargam (1992) and Sopanam (1993).
Vidyasagar was the leading music composer in Malayalam films, from the
late nineties to the early 2000s.
At present, the major players in the scene are young telents like musicians
Rahul Raj, Deepak Dev, Alphonse, Jassie Gift and Biji Pal, lyricists Gireesh
Puthanchery, Vayalar Sarath and Anil Panachooran, and singers Madhu
Balakrishnan, Afsal, Manjari and Jyotsna, along with stalwarts in the field.
Young composers like Rahul Raj and Gopi Sundar are not only known for
their catchy tunes, but also known for bringing in a lot of electronics, digital
sound and a variety of genres in Malayalam film songs.
The national award winning music directors of Malayalam cinema are
Johnson (1994, 1995), Bombay Ravi (1995) and Ouseppachan (2008). The
1995 National Award that Johnson received for film score of Sukrutham
(1994) was the only instance in the history of the award in which the awardee
composed film sound track rather than songs. He shared that award with
Bombay Ravi who received the award for composing songs for the same
film. Additionally Ravindran have received a Special Jury Award in 1992 for
composing songs for the film Bharatham. The lyricists who have won the
national award are Vayalar Rama Verma (1973), O. N. V. Kurup (1989) and
Yusuf Ali Kechery (2001). The male singers who got national award are K. J.
Yesudas (1973, 1974, 1988, 1992, 1994), P. Jayachandran (1986) and M. G.
Sreekumar (1991, 2000). Yesudas has won two more national awards for
singing in Hindi (1977) and Telugu (1983) films, which makes him the
person who has won the largest number of National Film Award for Best
Male Playback Singer with 7 awards, closely followed by S. P.
Balasubrahmanyam with six awards. The female singers who have won the
award are S. Janaki (1981) and K. S. Chitra (1987, 1989). Chitra had also
won the award for Tamil (1986, 1997, 2005) and Hindi (1998) film songs,
which makes her the person with the largest number of National Film Award
for Best Female Playback Singer wins with 6 awards, closely followed by P.
Susheela with 5 awards.
Popular Faces of Malayalam Cinema
Malayalam cinema refers to the films made in the Malayalam language In
the Indian state of Kerala. Malayalam films with its strong footage forms a
significant position in Indian cinema. The Malayalam actors with their
powerhouse performance have added color to the industry whilst making
Malayalam films to stand apart with pride. The journey was long. The initial
steps were indeed unsure as once upon a time the very word Malayalam
Cinema only referred to the remakes of Tamil and Telugu movies. The entire
Malayalam cinema industry was somewhat based on Chennai then. Kerala as
the legacy of visual art stood apart much later. The history is rich although
the voyage was long and it was with the success of Neelakuyil in the year
1954, Malayalam film first took the initial steps to stand apart, from just
being the remakes of the Tamil and Telugu movies. The journey began; and
the Malayalam actors further added to the novel concept of Malayalam
cinema. Given under the life sketches of some popular Malayalam film
personalities:
Adoor Gopalakrishnan
Moutatthu Adoor Gopalakrishnan Unnithan born
3 July 1941 is a National Award winning Indian
film director, script writer, and producer. Adoor
Gopalakrishnan had a major role in revolutionizing
Malayalam cinema. Adoor’s first film
Swayamvaram (1972) pioneered the new wave
cinema movement in Kerala. Most of his films go
to festivals around the world, and are released in
Kerala. All the eleven films he directed, from
Swayamvaram to Oru Pennum Randaanum,
were screened at several International film festivals
and won him several National and International
awards. He won National Film Awards fifteen
times, Kerala State Film Awards seventeen times and also won several
International Film Awards. He won the prestigious British Film Institute
award for Elippathayam. Adoor received the Padma Shri in 1984 and the
Padma Vibhushan in 2006. The Nation honoured Adoor for his valuable
contributions to Indian cinema by awarding him the highest cinema award of
India, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2004. He is one among the
very few Indian film makers who are well known in the international film
fraternity.
Gopalakrishnan was born on 3 July 1941 in the village of Pallickal
(Medayil Bungalow) near Adoor, present day Kerala, India as the son of
Madhavan Unnithan and Mouttathu Gauri Kunjamma. He started his artistic
life as an actor in amateur plays when he was 8. Later he shifted his base to
writing and direction and wrote and directed a few plays. After securing a
degree in Economics, Political Science and Public Administration in 1961
from the Gandhigram Rural Institute, he worked as a Government officer
near Dindigul in Tamilnadu. In 1962, he left his job to study screen writing
and direction from the Pune Film Institute. He completed his course from
there with a scholarship from the Government of India. With his classmates
and friends, Adoor established Chithralekha Film Society and Chalachithra
Sahakarana Sangham; the organisation was the first film society in Kerala
and it aimed at production, distribution and exhibition of films in the
cooperative sector.
Adoor has scripted and directed eleven feature films and about thirty short
films and documentaries. Notable amongst the non-feature films are those on
Kerala’s performing arts.
Adoor’s debut film, the national award winning Swayamvaram (1972)
was a milestone in Malayalam film history. The film was exhibited widely in
various international film festivals including those held in Moscow,
Melbourne, London and Paris. The films that followed namely Kodiyettam,
Elippathayam, Mukhamukham, Anantharam, Mathilukal, Vidheyanand
Kathapurushan lived up to the reputation of his first film and were well
received by critics at various film festivals and fetched him many awards.
However, Mukhamukham was criticised in Kerala while Vidheyan was at the
centre of a debate due to the differences in opinion between the writer of
story of the film Sakhariya and Adoor.
Adoor’s later films are Nizhalkuthu, narrating the experiences of an
executioner who comes to know that one of his subjects was innocent, and
Naalu Pennungal, a film adaptation of 4 short stories by Thakazhi
Sivasankara Pillai.
All his films have won national and international awards (National award
for best film twice, best director five times, and best script two times. His
films have also won his actors and technicians several national awards).
Adoor’s third feature, Elippathayam won him the coveted British Film
Institute Award for “The most original and imaginative film” of 1982. The
International Film Critics Prize has gone to him six times successively for
Mukhamukham, Anantaram, Mathilukal, Vidheyan, Kathapurushanand
Nizhalkkuthu. Winner of several international awards like the UNICEF film
prize (Venice), OCIC film prize (Amiens), INTERFILM Prize (Mannheim)
etc, his films have been shown in Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Toronto, London,
Rotterdam and every important festival around the world. In consideration of
his contribution to Indian cinema, the nation honoured him with the title of
Padmashri in 1984.
Adoor’s daughter Aswati Dorje IPS took charge as Deputy Commissioners
of Police in Mumbai on June 2010.
Apart from nine feature films, he has over 30 short films and
documentaries to his credit. The Helsinki Film Festival was the first film
festival to have a retrospective of his films. He has headed the jury at the
National Film Awards and many international film festivals.
Apart from his films, Adoor’s major contribution towards introducing a
new cinema culture in Kerala was the constitution of the first Film Society in
Kerala, “Chitralekha Film Society.” He also took active part in the
constitution of “Chitralekha,” Kerala’s first Film Cooperative Society for film
production. These movements triggered a fresh wave of films, called “Art
Films,” by directors like G Aravindan, P.A. Becker, K.G. George, Pavithran,
and Raveendran. At a time this movement was so strong that even popular
cinema synthesised with art cinema to create a new genre of films.
Adoor has been known as a director who completely dictates every fine
detail of his films. On the performance of actors in his movies, he stated that
—”It is not the artist’s job to do the detailing. I do not want different
interpretations of roles that may clash with each other. It has to be absolutely
unified.” He normally does not encourage his crew to read the script or even
the stories. The actors are told at the time of shooting about the role and the
scenes before conducting several rehearsals.
I.V. Sasi
Irruppam Veedu Sasidaran, better known as I.V.
Sasi is a Malayali Indian film director who is
known for his films of the 1970s, 1980s and early
1990s He has directed about 150 films in various
South Indian languages and Hindi.
I.V. Sasi started his film career as an art director.
Later, after working as an assistant director in some
films, he directed his first film at the age of twenty
seven. Though his name was not mentioned in the
credit, the film turned out to be a huge success. He
started his directorial career officially with his first
film Ulsavam. Soon he carved out a name for himself in the Malayalam Film
Industry. His films were known for their uniqueness and always contained a
stamp of his directorial style. Very few directors have been able to achieve
critical acclaim and box office success in Indian cinema, where commercial
and meaningful cinema are like parallel lines that never meet. In Malayalam,
the only director who has achieved both is director I.V. Sasi, the path breaker
who has directed more than 131 odd films over a span of 34 years and has
constantly delivered super hits and some of them classified as classics or
good cinema. His film Avalude Raavukal, now considered a Malayalam
film classic, permanently established his name in the industry. This film was
later dubbed into many other Indian languages including Hindi. It was the
second film in Malayalam to be rated as “Adults only” even though it was a
family drama.
He introduced Mammootty as a hero in his film Thrishna. Mohanlal’s first
film as hero Uyarangalil was also directed by I.V. Sasi. Also, other combos
such as M.T. Vasudevan Nair-I.V. Sasi and Padmarajan-I.V. Sasi, T.
Damodaran-I.V. Sasi are well remembered. His favorite hero was
Mammootty and they worked in more than 35 films. Within a span of 10
years, they completed 33 films together. He then went on to direct one of his
biggest hits Devasuram which had yet another fascinating combo of Ranjith-
Mohanlal-I.V. Sasi. He has also directed films in several other languages
such as Hindi, Telugu, and Tamil. Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth also have
acted in several of his films. He has directed films with Kamal Haasan in
Tamil (Guru, Alavudhinum Arputhavelakkum), Hindi (Karishma) and
Malayalam (Eeta). Hindi movies Pathitha, Aankhon ka Rishtaand
Karishma were also directed by him. He has directed Malayalam movies in
possibly every genre. He was the first one to make a war based movie ‘1921’
written by T. Damodaran (also, 1921 was the first ever Malayalam movie to
be nominated in the Italian Film Festival), the first ever political movie Ee
Nadu the first ever movie based on the military backdrop Thusharam, the
second ever adult rated movie Avalude Ravukal, 1st being Kalyana
Rathriyil released in 1966), and the first ever movie about child marriage
(Ina) in Malayalam film history.
I.V. Sasi met his ‘future’ wife, Malayalam actress Seema, on the sets of his
film, Avalude Raavukkal. Ever since, she has been his favourite heroine.
They have worked together in more than 30 movies. He has two children,
daughter Anu and son Ani.
K.S. Chitra
Born on July 27, 1963, in
Thiruvananthapuram (formerly Trivendrum),
Kerala, into a family of musicians, Chithra’s
talent was recognized and nurtured from an
early age by her father, the late Krishnan
Nair. He was also her first guru (teacher).
Chithra received her extensive training in
Carnatic music from Dr. K. Omanakutty,
after she was selected for the National Talent
Search Scholarship from the Central
Government from 1978–1984. She is
married to Vijayashankar, an engineer and
businessman. Her only daughter Nandana,
was born in 2002.
Chitra was introduced to Malayalam playback singing by M. G.
Radhakrishnan in 1979 and went on to become a regular singer for many
malayalam musicians including Raveendran and the likes. Her hundreds of
duets with K. J. Yesudas in Malayalam and thousands with S. P.
Balasubrahmanyam in all other languages are the most hummed songs by the
music lovers. She made her debut in the Tamil film industry in Chennai
under the guidance of film music composer Illyaraja. Poojaikketra poovithu
song Film- Neethana Antha kuil is the first song in Tamil music by Illyaraja.
Her knowledge of South Indian languages and Hindi enables her to render
songs with originality and perfection. Illyaraja has contributed so much to
Chitra’s glory. Fazil was doing a remake his Malayalam movie in Tamil
Poove Poochudava a strong subject movie with wonderful music of
Illayaraja. Raja heard Chitra’s voice in the Malayalam version and got
impressed by that and asked her for audition. Then her turn came for the
movie Nee thana antha kuyil with a beautiful song “Poojaiketa Poovidhu.”
“Antha Kuyil has incidentally become China Kuyil of South India.” Since
then, she has sung some wonderfully melodious songs mostly with classical
overtures in Tamil Films and it is astounding that Ilaiyaraaja and A. R.
Rahman have fetched her some memorable songs leading to the National
awards. She also delivered some most memorable songs for M. S.
Viswanathan, G. Devarajan, Deva, Vidyasagar, Ouseppachan, M.
Jayachandran, M. M. Keeravani, Hamsalekha, Sharath, Raj-Koti, Rajan-
Nagendra, S. A. Rajkumar, Mani Sharma, Harris Jayaraj, Devisri Prasad and
many other south Indian music directors. She gave a touch of vibrance and
youthfulness to many actresses in southern Cinema with her lovely voice.
She is the inspiration for many upcoming female playback singers. She is the
only south Indian playback singer who well accepted in all major Indian
languages after P. Leela.
Chitra is also a house hold name in Bollywood music. She has recorded
many memorable Hindi songs for various music directors of bollywood
namely Anand-Milind, Anu Malik, Rajesh Roshan, Viju Shah, Laxmikant-
Pyarelal, Naushad, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Jatin-Lalit and many others. She
also recorded the Hindi versions of her own Tamil songs sung for A. R.
Rahman.
Chithra has recorded more than 25 thousands of film and non-film songs to
date. During her illustrious career which is still continuing, numerous
recognitions have come her way including six National Awards for best
female playback singer. She is just behind K.J. Yesudas who has won 7
national awards as a singer. This is the highest number of national awards
awarded to any female playback singer.
K.J. Yesudas
Dr. Kattassery Joseph Yesudas or Yesudas
born on Januray 10, 1940 is a Indian classical
musician as well as play back singer.
He has won the National Award for the best
male playback singer seven times, the most by
any singer. Yesudas sings Indian classical
music, devotional and popular songs. He has
recorded more than 40,000 songs in many
languages including Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi,
Kannada, Telugu, Bengali, Gujarati, Oriya,
Marathi, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tulu, Malay,
Russian, Arabic, Latin and English through his long career. He has been
singing for most Indian languages except Assamese and Kashmiri.
He is fondly known as the Ganagandharva.
K. J. Yesudas was born in Fort Kochi, Kingdom of Cochin, British Raj into
a Latin Rite Catholic family, to Augustine Joseph and Alicekutty. His father,
who was a well-known Malayalam classical musician and stage actor, was
his first guru. Later he joined the Music Academy in Thrippunithura and
underwent training. For a brief period, he was with Sri Vechur Hari Hara
Subramania Iyer after which he took advanced training from Chembai
Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar, a maestro of Classical Music.
Shree Narayana Guru’s great message, “One caste, One religion and One
God for all humanity,” influenced young Yesudas in his dealings with his
fellow men. He had his own heroes among the musicians too. Mohammed
Rafi, Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar and Balamurali Krishna are the ones
he admired the most.
Yesudas is married to Prabha for more than 30 years. They have three
sons, Vinod, Vijay and Vishal. The second son Vijay Yesudas is a budding
musician who won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Male Playback
Singer in 2007. The family is currently settled in Chennai and Trivandrum.
He also owns estates in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA and Flower Mound,
TX, USA for personal and business reason.
In 1980 Yesudas established the Tharangni Studio at Trivandrum. In 1992
the office and studio were moved to Chennai, Tamil Nadu and the company
was incorporated in the US in 1998. Tharangni Studio and Tharangni
Records became a recording center in Kerala which, for the first time,
brought out audio cassettes of Malayalam film songs in stereo. The record
company also had a voice mixing studio in Studio27, Chennai. The studio
continues to produce and present events of Yesudas both for film and Indian
classical music concerts throughout the world.
Mammootty
Mammootty is the mega star of Malayalam cinema. He is an actor in all
senses of the word. It was his childhood dream to act in a movie and become
a great star. Mammootty’s father, Mr. Ismail is an agriculturist and his
mother, Mrs. Fathima is a housewife. He has a daughter, Surmi, and a son,
Dulquar Salman.
Although a lawyer by qualification, Mammootty
always wanted to be an actor. His entry into
filmdom was rather late. As bad luck would have
it, his first film, Devalokam (‘World of Gods’),
never saw the light of the day. None other than the
colossal figure in Malayalam cinema M. T.
Vasudevan Nair discovered him and it was veteran
director K. G. George who brought Mammootty’s
career graph is dotted with highs and lows. His
career saw a spectacular rise after the release of
Joshi’s New Delhi. This film was based on the
story, Almighty by Irving Wallace. It heralded the
arrival of Mammootty the super star. His
performance as a victimized journalist, who systematically took revenge on
politicians who beguiled him, caught the imagination of many in the film
world.
Then came his Oru CBI Diary Kurippe (‘A CBI diary entry’), which
was a sort of a landmark, in Malayalam cinema. It brought to fore a new
concept of villainy and a refreshing idea of a hero. Without even a single
song or dance number, Oru CBI Diary kurippe went on to create box-office
history in Kerala. For all these, major credit goes to Mammootty for his
enactment of the role of an upright CBI officer. The film made such an
impact that two more films Jaagratha, Sethurama Iyer CBI and Nerariyan
C.B.I starring Mammootty as Sethurama Iyer, the CBI officer, were made
and received very well. This in itself is a record of sorts in the Malayalam
film industry, with four movies with the same lead character.
Mammootty touched higher pinnacles of his career in Oru Vadakkan
Veeragatha again an M T creation. His depiction of a ‘Chekavan’ (usually a
person of a warrior clan who would fight for a king or other nobles of the
land) won him the top honours of the country, National Award for best
acting. It was his acting talent, coupled with his willingness to go to any
extent to rationally portray the roles, that helped enabled him to act in both
offbeat and commercial movies and other in art movies. Mammootty became
almost a regular face in Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s films. He starred in three of
his movies, Anantharam, Mathilukkal, and Vidheyan. The ease with which
he acted as the protagonist in Mathilukkal was also instrumental in winning
his first National award for best acting. His performance in a commercially
offbeat movie, Ponthan Mada, and Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s Vidheyan won
him the award for the second time. His performance in Ambedkar, a Hindi
movie by Jabbar Patel, won him the National award for a third time. He is
also a recipient of Padma Shri.
Mohanlal
Mohanlal is highly talented and popular
actor cum producer of the South Indian film
industry. A national award winner for acting,
what makes Mohanlal distinct are his
versatility, natural acting and right body
language in films. Due to these factors,
Mohanlal has availed the opportunity to work
with the creme directors and scriptwriters of
Malayalam films.
Mohanlal is highly talented and popular
actor cum producer of the South Indian film
industry. A national award winner for acting, Mohanlal hails from the
beautiful South Indian state of Kerala and has worked in numerous good
movies. What make Mohanlal distinct are his versatility, natural acting and
right body language in films. Due to these factors, Mohanlal has availed the
opportunity to work with the top directors and scriptwriters of Malayalam
films. To highlight his contribution in Indian cinema, the Government of
India awarded him the coveted Padma Shri in 2001.
Mohanlal’s popularity soared with the release of some lighthearted roles
during the 1980s. The 1990s is called the golden age of Malayalam film
industry as it churned out some of the all time greatest movies, with most of
them starring Mohanlal. This brought the actor tremendous success and fame.
Born on 21 May in 1960 at Elanthur in Pathanamthitta district of Kerala,
Mohanlal Viswanathan Nair or Mohanlal was interested into acting from his
very childhood. Though average in studies, young Mohanlal was elected as
the best actor in school when he was in class six.
Mohanlal got entry into movies when his friends opened up a film
company called Bharath Cine Group and started making a film Thiranottam,
in which Mohanlal was given a comic role to enact. Unfortunately, due to
certain reasons this film was never released. As such, the first meaningful
break into movies came into 1980s for Mohanlal. There was a production
house that was looking for fresh faces. Mohanlal’s friends applied for this
post on his behalf, which got him selected.
The period (1986–1995) is widely regarded as the golden age of
Malayalam cinema with films characterised by detailed screenplays, lucid
narration and fresh ideas narrowing the gap between art and commercial
films. As a young talent on the rise, Mohanlal obtained roles that gave him
ample scope to display a wide range of emotions and started some very
fruitful associations with many of the better directors and writers in
Malayalam cinema.
1986 was one of his best years. Sathyan Anthikad’s T.P. Balagopalan M.A
got him his first Kerala State award for best actor. His role of an underworld
don in Rajavinte Makan saw the emergence of Mohanlal as the superstar of
Malayalam cinema. Rajavinte Makan was the block buster movie of the
year 1986. In the same year, he played an asylum inmate in Thalavattom, a
harassed house-owner in Sanmanassullavarku Samadhanam, a journalist
in M.T.Vasudevan Nair’s Panchagni, a farm owner in love in Namukku
Parkkan Munthiri Thoppukal and an unemployed youth forced to become
a Gurkha in Gandhi Nagar 2nd Street.
His association with the writer-director combination of Sreenivasan and
Sathyan Anthikkad, who excelled in making socially hard-hitting satires,
resulted in films such as Nadodikkattu, in which he played an unemployed
youth and Varavelpu, in which he played a Gulf returnee who is welcomed
back home to greedy relatives and a state with a hostile climate for
entrepreneurs. Director Priyadarshan’s musical comedies, notably Chithram
and Kilukkam had him playing the typical Indian romantic hero and
increased his popularity among the teenage moviegoers.
Thoovanathumbikal in which he portrayed a person torn between his
twin love interests, broke many stereotypes in Indian films such as the
leading man falling in love with a second woman immediately after he is
rejected by the first. Amrithamgamaya was about a man who ends up at the
house of a boy whom he had unknowingly killed in college during a ragging
session. Thazhvaram was another notable film of this period.
The combination of writer Lohitha Das and director Sibi Malayil is
considered to have produced some of his most haunting roles. His role of
Sethu Madhavan, who dreams of becoming a police officer but ends up as a
criminal in the film Kireedam earned him a Special Jury award. Another role
of a classical singer who is burdened by the jealousy and final death of his
singer brother in Bharatham helped him bag the Best Actor National Award
the following year.
The 90s saw him continuing his success with more entertainers like His
Highness Abdullah, where he played a Muslim disguised as a Namboodiri to
assassinate a royal. His other notable commercial movies during this period
such as Midhunam, Minnaram, Thenmavin Kombath continued the
tradition of the 80s with neat well-written scripts and a rich set of characters.
Devaasuram, written by Ranjith and directed by I. V. Sasi, set in the feudal
atmosphere of central Kerala, was particularly noted for Mohanlal’s portrayal
of a proud, rich and brash young man who is slowly humbled by a chain of
events. Director Bhadran’s Spadikam became a cult classic for the
revolutionary way in which the stunts were picturised. Critically acclaimed
films were few in number during this period and were mostly semi-
entertainers like Manichitrathazhu, which had the female lead Shobhana
bagging a National award for best actress.
This was also a period when father-son duo of Thilakan and Mohanlal had
a great impact on Malayalam film industry and especially on fans of both
actors.
 After 1995 film makers cashed in on the immense popularity that Mohanlal
enjoyed in Kerala by portraying him as an invincible larger-than-life hero in
movies. Movies like Aaram Thamburan, Narasimham, Ravanaprabhu
and Naran used this image of his to great effect and became blockbusters.
After their initial novelty, these films faced criticism from many quarters over
their lack of realism and for creating movies around Mohanlal.
Priyadarshan’s Kalapani (an account of India’s freedom struggle against the
British that focused on the Cellular prisons of Andaman islands) and
Lohithadas’s Kanmadam were some of his notable films during the late
1990s.
It was at this time that Mohanlal started getting noticed outside the
Malayalam-speaking world. He acted in his first non-Malayalam movie when
popular director Mani Ratnam roped him in for the Tamil film Iruvar. It had
Mohanlal playing MGR, a cult figure in the neighbouring Tamil Nadu. The
Indo-French production, Vaanaprastham, in which he played the role of a
Kathakali dance artist with an identity crisis, won him the second National
award for Best actor and was the first film that got him international
recognition. The film was selected for the competitive section at the Cannes
Film Festival and his performance was critically acclaimed.
In 2002, Mohanlal acted in his first Bollywood movie, Company, which
introduced him to the wider Hindi-speaking audience in India. It was a
critical and commercial hit. He won the IIFA award, Star Screen Award for
best supporting actor for this role. In 2006, the film Thanmathra
(Molecule), won him the Kerala State Award for Best Actor for portraying a
person affected by Alzheimer’s disease. His second Bollywood movie, Ram
Gopal Verma Ki Aag, was the remake of the 1975 blockbuster movie
Sholay, in which he played the character of the inspector played by Sanjeev
Kumar in the original. Mohanlal won the 2007 Kerala State Award for Best
Actor for his performance as Valiakathu Moosa in the movie Paradesi. In
2009, Mohanlal acted with Kamal Haasan in a Tamil movie called Unnaipol
Oruvan. He started the year 2010 with the realistic family entertainer
Evidam Swargamanu, directed by Roshan Andrews, and the comedy film
Alexander the Great, directed by Murali Nagavalli.
Prem Nazir
Abdul Khader (7 April 1926-16 January 1989), better known by his stage
 name Prem Nazir, was a Malayali Indian film
actor. He was considered as one of the all time
popular actors in Malayalam cinema. He was
referred to as Nithya Haritha Nayakan (Ever
green hero) of Malayalam film industry.
Nazir holds three Guinness records; one for
playing opposite the same heroine (107 films
with Sheela), for the lead role in over 700 films
and for acting in lead role in all 39 films which
were released in a single year (1979). The
Government of India had honoured him with the Padma Bhushan and Padma
Shri, the third and fourth highest civilian honours respectively, for his
contribution towards Indian cinema.
Nazir was born in (Chirayinkeezhu) in the princely state of Travancore, to
Akkode Shahul Hamid and Asuma Beevi. His mother died when he was very
young. He completed his formal education from Kadinamkulam Lower
Primary School, Sri Chithiravilasam School, S.D. College (Alappuzha), and
Saint Berchman’s College (Changanassery). By the time he completed his
education, he had become an experienced drama artist. It was on the sets of
his first movie that Abdul Khader was renamed Prem Nazir by Thikkurussi
Sukumaran Nair.
Prem Nazir’s brother Prem Nawaz (Abdul Wahab) also acted in a few
films. Although he was the first in the family to begin acting in movies, he
later began producing films—Agniputhri, Thulaavarsham, Poojakku
Edukatha Pookkal, Neethi and Keni to name a few. Prem Nawaz’s only
son, Prem Kishore has also had a stint with the industry by acting in two
Malayalam films-Vacation and Thaskaraputran. Prem Nawaz has the
distinction of acting in the first ever colour film made in Malayalam
—Kandam Vechu Kottu. Prem Nazir’s son Shahnawaz acted in a few films
as well but could not succeed like his father.
He started acting for the Excel company and most of his films were for the
Udaya and Merryland Studios. His first film was Marumakal (1952),
directed by S. K. Chari and produced by Paul Kallungal. In 1979, 39 of his
films got released; a record. He also holds the record for having acted in the
most leading roles—about 700 films (with 85 heronies). Another record is for
the most enduring screen team along with actress Sheela. They played
opposite each other in 130 movies by 1975. His association with playback
singer K. J. Yesudas was perfect for the audience. Even today many consider
the Nazir—Yesudas combination of song sequences remains the best ever on
screen. He is quite popularly described as Nithyaharithanayakan (The
Evergreen Hero), which do justice to the fact that he was acting as the hero in
his elder years as well. His last film was Dhwani.
He won the Kerala State Special Jury Award in 1981. He was awarded the
Padma Bhushan in 1983 by the President of India in recognition of
distinguished services of a high order to the nation in his field (acting). The
Prem Nazir Award was initiated in his memory, in 1992, for excellence in
contributions to the Malayalam Cinema Industry. Nazir also wrote a book on
the film characters he essayed, Enne Thediyetha Kathapatrangal.
Many consider the role of Bhranthan Velayudhan (Deranged Velayudhan)
in the film Iruttinte Atmavu (The Soul of the Darkness) as his masterpiece.
Written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair, the film provided Malayalam cinema with
a new direction; that of the low budget film. One could see a lot of the pre-
occupations of the scenarist, who carried the touches of human relationships
through all of his subsequent films whether as screenplay writer or director.
In spite of its large number of studio shots and overall theatricality, the film
was so culturally rich that many of the episodes would become archetypes for
future Malayalam film makers dealing with family drama. It depicted the
story of an imbecile (finely portrayed by Prem Nazir) in a joint family with
remarkable sensitivity and seriousness of purpose.
He tried his hand in politics and had joined the Congress party but he never
contested elections. He was also a social reformer and with a helping
mentality to others. He helped with money to some public needs in and
aournd Chirayinkeezhu. e.g. Koonthalloor School, Chirainkeezhu Hospital,
Palakunnu Library etc.
Priyadarshan
Priyadarshan is a film director and screenwriter. In his career spread over
30 years, Priyadarshan has directed around 80 films in several Indian
languages including Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi. Though began his
career in Malayalam in 1984, Priyadarshan is now active in Bollywood for
past one decade. Famous for his comedy films, Priyadarshan has also tried
his hands at several action films from time to time. His combination with
Mohanlal has been very successful.
Born in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala,
Priyadarshan did his education from the
Government. Model School and completed M.A.
in Psychology from University College,
Thiruvananthapuram. As the son of a college
librarian, he was a voracious reader during
teenage days and started writing short plays and
skits for Akashavani during his college days. He
along with his close buddies, including Mohanlal,
M.G. Sreekumar, Suresh Kumar, Sanal Kumar,
Jagadish, Maniyan Pillai Raju and Ashok Kumar
were serious about movies in those days. It was
then, that Mohanlal got into movies. The rest of
the guys followed him to Chennai, looking for a chance in movies.
Priyadarshan, with the help of Mohanlal, got a few chances to work as
assistant script writer in a couple of movies and slowly started writing scripts,
with many turning into hits. But, the lady luck didn’t show much kindness
towards him, making him come back to Kerala. In 1984, Priyadarshan, along
with his close friends Suresh Kumar and Sanal Kumar decided to produce a
film. Mohanlal, who was by then a commercially viable star was decided as
the hero. In 1984, thus Priyadarshan made his debut as director with
Poochakkoru Mookkuthi, which was a surprise hit.
The success of Poochakkoru Mookkuthi was followed by
Odaruthammava Aalariyam, another full length comedy film, with
Mukesh, Jagadish, and Sreenivasan and Shankar in lead roles. The script was
written by Sreenivasan and this film also enjoyed a huge success at box
office. Then came out a series of slapstick comedy films in the next couple of
years, all big hits, except one or two. Mohanlal, his close friend, was the hero
in most of the films and their chemistry was well received by viewers. In the
year 1986, Priyadarshan came out with Thalavattom, a turning point in his
career. Loosely adapted from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,
Thalavattom spoke about the story of a young mental patient, who
undergoes treatment in a mental asylum in Ooty. This film was a huge hit and
the performance of Mohanlal is considered as one of the best in his career.
After the success of Thalavattom, Priyadarshan again came out with another
serious movie, Cheppu, again starring Mohanalal as a college lecturer.
The year 1988 was a landmark in the career of Priyadarshan. He directed
Vellanakalude Nadu, based on the script by Sreenivasan, with Mohanlal in
the leading role. This film revolved around the corruption, land mafia and
other social issues. This film ended as the biggest hit in the career of
Priyadarshan by then. Then came Aryan, a complete action film based on
Mumbai underworld, which also completed 150 days in theaters. Chithram,
the all time biggest hit of Priyadarshan was also released in 1988. Chithram
completed 350 days in theaters and created records in collections, until it was
broken by Manichitrathazhu in 1993. But, the year 1989 and 1990 were not
that good for him. His films, Vandanam (1989), Kadathanadan Ambadi
(1990), and Akkareyakkareyakkare (1990) were not well received at box
office. In the year 1991, Priyadarshan brought out Kilukkam, loosely based
on Roman Holiday, with Mohanlal, Jagathi Sreekumar and Revathi in lead
roles. Kilukkam broke several collection records and is still considered as
one of the best films among the Priyadarshan-Mohanlal team. His next
couple of films Abhimanyu (1991), Adwaitom (1992), and Thenmavin
Kombathu (1994) successfully completed 100 days at box office. But
Midhunam (1993) and Minnaram (1994) failed to evoke good response. In
the mean while Priyadarshan made his debut in both Tamil and Telugu
cinema with Gopura Vasalile in Tamil in 1991 and Nirnayam in Telugu in
1992 respectively. Nirnayam was the remake of his earlier Malayalam film
Vandanam. In the year 1992, Priyadarshan made his debut in Bollywood
with Muskurahat, a remake of Kilukkam, but ended up as a disastrous flop.
He, in 1993, but made a come back in Hindi with Gardish, the remake of
Malayalam film Kireedom, which was originally directed by Sibi Malayil.
Priyadarshan, successfully added ingredients required for Hindi audience and
the film was a huge hit, opening him the doors to Bollywood. In the year
1994, Priyadarshan also directed his second Telugu film, Gandeevam,
starring Balakrishna. He was also assigned the direction of Miss World 1994
event that was held in Banglore, which made him a known face around the
country. In the year 1996, Priyadarshan came up with his dream project
Kalapani, a periodical film based on Indian struggle for Independence. With
Mohanlal, Tabu, Prabhu Ganesan and Amrish Puri, in main roles, Kalapani
took the career graph of Priyadarshan to new heights. This film was also
released in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi simultaneously. Kalapani also brought
him several awards, for the first time in his career. In the year 1997,
Priyadarshan directed two films, Chandralekha in Malayalam and Virasat
in Hindi, both super hits. The success of Virasat made Priyadarshan a
household name in Hindi cinema.
In the year 1998, Priyadarshan directed three films, Saat Rang Ke Sapne,
Doli Saja Ke Rakhnaand Kabhi Na Kabhi, but all three bombed at box
office. Priyadarshan joined with Mammooty after a long gap in 1999 for
Megham, but was a disappointment at the box office. In the year 1999, Hera
Pheri got released in Hindi, which for once and all changed the destiny of
Priyadarshan in Bollywood. The huge success of Hera Pheri, a remake of
Ramjirao Speaking (1989), a Malayalam film, was a huge hit at the box
office. Starring Sunil Shetty, Akshay kumar and Paresh Rawal, this film is
now considered as a landmark in the history of Hindi cinema. This film also
gave birth to the famous Priyadarshan-Akshay Kumar team, which in the
later years brough out several hits. After Hera Pheri, Paresh Rawal became
another regular face in Priyadarshan films. This was followed a series of
films in Hindi including Yeh Teraa Ghar Yeh Meraa Ghar, Hungama,
Hulchul, Garam Masala, and Kyon Ki.... In the year 2000, Priyadarshan
did an experimental film Snegithiye, a film with all female characters, which
was critically well appreciated. This film was later dubbed into Malayalam as
Rakkilipatt, but got bombed at box office. His recent films in Malayalam
Kilichundan Mampazhamand Vettom were complete disappointments,
which made him concentrate more in Bollywood. But at the same time in
Hindi Priyadarshan continued his success run with Chup Chup Ke, Bhagam
Bhag, Malamaal Weekly, Dhol, Bhool Bhulaiyaa, Mere Baap Pehle Aap,
Billu, De Dana Dan and Khatta Meeta.
In the meantime, Priyadarshan stunned everyone with Kanchivaram, an
off beat film that revolved around the weavers in Kanchipuram. Prakash raj,
who did the central character won the national award for the best actor in
2008. Kanchivaram also won accolades at several film festivals.
It was on the sets of Odaruthammava Aalariyam, that he met Lizy, his
future wife. She was a regular face in his all his movies in the 1980s. Lizy
acted in his 16 films in a row and got married to him in 1990.
Sathyan
Sathyan whose original name is Sathyaneshan Nadar was a Malayalam
movie actor of yesteryears. He was known for his versatile
 and natural acting, when compared to his colleagues who at
that time essentially followed the drama-style rendering of
the dialogues.
Before starting his acting career, Sathyan was a soldier
and also an Inspector with the then Travancore State Police.
During the communist riots in 1947-1948, Sathyan was the
Inspector at Alleppey North Police Station. He is supposed
to have crushed the riots quite mercilessly.
Sathyan was born to a Christian Nadar family in the village of Aramada,
near Thirumala at Thrikkannapuram in Southern Travancore on 9 November
1912 as the first child of Cheruvilakathu Veettil Manuel and Lilly Amma.
Sathyan passed the Vidwan exam, equivalent to Master of Arts before joining
Saint Joseph’s School as teacher. After sometime, he got job as a clerk in the
Kerala Secretariat and worked there for about a year. He joined the army in
1941 and got posted as a Commissioned Officer of the Viceroy of India. He
served the British army in Manipur, Burma (now Myanmar) and British
Malaya (now Malaysia) during the World War II period. After finishing his
term in the army, he returned home and joined the then Travancore State
Police as a Police Inspector. During the communist riots in 1947–1948,
Sathyan was the Police Inspector at Alappuzha North Police Station. He was
publicly known as Nadar Inspector.
Sathyan’s entry into the field of acting started during his tenure as the
police officer. At that time he acted in several amateur plays and that
experience made him more interested in acting. His entry to film industry was
accidental. He got introduced to a film musician Sebastian Kunjukunju
Bhagavathar during his tenure as Inspector in Alappuzha North Police
Station. The musician introduced Sathyan to various film personalities and
one producer promised to cast him in a film; however, Sathyan did not get
any calls from the producer. Sathyan came to know about a film that
Kaumudi Chief Editor K. Balakrishnan was planning. He met Balakrishnan
and the latter was impressed by Sathyan. Balakrishnan cast him as the
protagonist in the film written and produced by him, titled Thyagaseema.
Sathyan resigned his job from Police to concentrate in acting and shortened
his name to Sathyan from Sathyaneshan Nadar. However, the film was never
released. That was in 1951.
In 1952, Sathyan’ first film got released. The film was titled Athmasakhi
and it earned him recognition in the industry. Sathyan rose to fame with the
legendary Neelakkuyil (1954). The film was also a milestone in Malayalam
film history. It was the first film to have an authentic Malayalam story. The
film was written by renowned literary figure Uroob and directed by Ramu
Karyat-P. Bhaskaran duo. The songs in the film written by P. Bhaskaran and
set to tunes by K. Raghavan were superhits. The film became the first
Malayalam film to win national recognition when it was awarded the Rajat
Kamal (Silver Lotus Award). The film’s success at the box office raised
Sathyan and his co-star Miss Kumari to stardom. Sathyan’s career was
influenced by great directors like K. S. Sethumadhavan, A. Vincent and
Ramu Karyat. Sathyan’s roles in various films directed by K. S.
Sethumadhavan like Pappu in Odayil Ninnu, Jayarajan in Daham, Professor
Sreeni in Yakshi and the pratogonist in Vazhve Mayam were well
appreciated. Sathyan’s other major performances include those in
Snehaseema, Nair Pidicha Pulival, Mudiyanaya Puthran, Bharya,
Sakunthala, Kayamkulam Kochunni, Adimakaland Karakanakadal.
Sathyan is considered as one of the most talented actors the Malayalam film
industry ever had. His role in Chemmeen, the poignant love story set against
the background of the coast of Alappuzha did not win him the best actor
award for the year, but is one of the most popular roles of his career. He acted
in over 150 Malayalam films and 2 Tamil films.
Sathyan won the first Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor in 1969. He
was posthumously awarded the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor in
1971 for his performance in Karakanakadal.
Sathyan died on June 13, 1971.
Suresh Gopi
Suresh Gopi, born 25 June 1960, is a National
Award-winning Malayalam film actor who is famous
for his roles in police dramas. He is noted for his leading
roles as much as his character roles.
He was born in Kollam to Gnanalekshmi and
Gopinathan Pillai. Suresh Gopi did his schooling at the
Infant Jesus Anglo-Indian High School at Thangasseri.
He graduated in English Literature from Fatima Mata
National College at Kollam. He is married to Radhika,
and has four kids: Lekshmi (died), Gokul, Bhagya, Bhavna, and Madhav.
Suresh Gopi first appeared onscreen as a child in K. S. Sethumadhavan’s
Odeyil Ninnu (1965). It was a popular film during the 1960s which had
Sathyan in the lead role along with Prem Nazir.
He came back into acting during the mid-80s in Sathyan Anthikkad’s T.P.
Balagopalan M.A. (1986), where he played a prospective groom in a small
scene. He went on to play supporting and villain roles. Some other roles of
his include Balan in Nandi Veendum Varika (1986), Kumar in Rajavinte
Makan (1986), Vinod in January Oru Orma (1987), Shekaran Kutty in
Irupatham Noottandu (1987), Suresh in New Delhi (1987), Harry in Oru
CBI Diary Kurippu (1988), Unni in1921 (1988), and Aromal Chekavar in
Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha(1989). He played the comic role of Inspector
Minnal Prathapan in Manu Uncle (1988) and of Dr. Narendran in
Padmarajan’s Innale (1989).
He played Sethumadhavan in Siddique-Lal’s blockbuster In Harihar
Nagar (1990). Another role was of Christopher Luke in Viji Thampy’s
Nagarangalil Chennu Raparkam (1990). The film that helped him get
noticed as a serious police officer was the satirical comedy Aanaval
Mothiram (1990), where he played Sub-Inspector Nandakumar and co-
starred with Sreenivasan.
The films that made Suresh Gopi a bankable lead actor were Thalastanam
(1992), Ekalavyan (1993), Mafia (1993) and Commissioner (1994), all by
Shaji Kailas and scripted by Ranji Panicker. All of them were police dramas
and had, more or less, similar themes. He became immensely popular with
his role as Bharathchandran IPS in the blockbuster movie Commissioner.
Renji Panicker’s dialogues employed by Suresh Gopi in English became
quite popular with the masses.
During this period, most of his films were dubbed and simultaneously
released in Telugu, which made him a sensation in Andhra Pradesh.
During the early to mid 90s, he also played characters of substance in films
such as Jayaraj’s Paithrukam (1993), Fazil’s Manichithrathazhu (1993),
Sathyan Anthikkad’s Samooham (1993) and Sibi Malayil’s Sindoora
Rekha (1995).
The success of his cop roles led to more films of such nature, where he
either played police officers or other tough characters in films such as City
Police (1993), The City (1994), Rudraksham (1994), Kashmeeram (1994),
and Mahatma (1996), with most of them failing to get noticed.
In 1997, with Jayaraj’s Kaliyattam (1997), an adaptation of Shakespeare’s
Othello, Suresh Gopi won the precious National Film Award for Best Actor
for playing Kannan Perumalayan. He proved he was more than just another
mainstream actor. This certainly was a turning point in his career.
In the late 90s, Suresh Gopi was noted for playing in Joshi’s films such as
Lelam (1998) and Pathram (1999), again, scripted by Ranji Panicker. He
played Nasrani character Chackochi in Lelam and journalist Nandagopal in
Pathramwhere he co-starred with Manju Warrier. Suresh Gopi, Jayaram,
and Manju Warrier teamed up in Sibi Malayil’s Summer in
Bethlahem(1998) which was a commercial success.
He started off 2000 with Millennium Stars directed by Jayaraj. The movie
was a colossal flop and severely affected the careers of all the stars involved.
But he had another success later the same year in Thenkasipattanam. After
2000, when his films were doing fairly good in box office, he decided to stop
acting in movies depicting violence, a decision which he would regret later. It
was also rumored that he was giving up his acting career for pursuing a
political career. He acted in offbeat movies and accepted only soft roles in the
period 2001-05. With movies failing to make an impact, he started to fade out
with just one release each in 2002 and 2003. But in 2005, realising his
mistake, he decided to make a comeback in action movies. Ranji Panicker,
script writer of his most successful movie Commissioner, directed the sequel
Bharathchandran I.P.S. portraying him as the police commissioner. The
movie was a super hit and was followed by a number of movies in the same
genre in which he played the typical police officer or detective. While some
of them like The Tiger, Chinthamani Kolacase directed by Shaji Kailas,
Nadiya Kollappetta Rathri directed by K. Madhu and Detective were
successful, all the others such as Time, Aayuddham, Thavalam, Rashtram,
Pathaka, Bullet and Smart City were flops. In between he attempted to do a
different role with negative shades in Lanka which, however, flopped in the
box-office and also ignited a controversy for an unaesthetic kissing scene
with his female co-star, Mamta Mohandas. In 2006 he reunited with his
favorite director Shaji Kailas for the movie Time which had huge
expectations, but failed miserably in the Box Office. It was dubbed into
Telugu as Police Ante Veedera and Hindi as On Duty, but failed to fetch
better results.
Before coming to the film world, he had displayed great interest in the field
of literature; his favourite authors are Bernard Shaw and Shakespeare. He is
famous for his philanthropic efforts.
In 2008, Suresh Gopi appeared in multi-starrer Twenty: 20produced by
AMMA. Again, he acted with Mohanlal in Pakal Nakshatrangal, an offbeat
movie.
T. Sukumaran Nair
Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair was a
Malayali Indian poet, playwright, script writer,
lyricist, orator, film director and actor, though
he is best known as an actor in Malayalam
cinema. He is the recipient of Padmashri from
the Government of India, which is one of the
highest civilian honours in India. In a career
that spanned about 47 years, he acted in over
700 films. He is considered to be the first
movie star in Malayalam cinema.
Sukumaran Nair was born on 16 October
1916 in the village of Thikkurissy, then a part of Travancore. Thikkurissy, the
village is now in Nanchinadu, Kanyakumari district, Tamilnadu. He was born
in an aristocratic family to Mangat C. Govinda Pillai and N. Lekshmi Amma.
He was proved a good writer and orator even when he was schooling in
Marthanda Verma School. He wrote his first poem at the age of 8 and his
poem was published for the first time when he was 14 in Dhakshina Bharathi.
His poems were collectively published as a book named Kedavilakku when
he was 20. His parents wanted him to secure a government job, but he
launched his career in writing and arts even before he completed his studies.
Incidentally, his sister L. Omanakkunjamma was the first female magistrate
in India and the first female I. A. S. officer from Kerala.
He launched his career as a playwright. His plays Mareechika and
Kalakaran were hugely successful. He then went on to write 3 more plays
tilted Sthree, Maya and Sariyo Thetto which revolutionised the professional
play scenario in Malayalam. He replaced the melodramatic romantic musicals
that ruled the roost till then, with dialogue focused prose plays having themes
of realism and social importance. He entered into the Malayalam film
industry in 1950, which was at its early years with only about 10 films
produced till then. He debuted in the film industry with the film adaptation of
breakthrough play Sthree with the same title. He produced the film and
played the protagonist as well. But, the film failed to make much impact at
the box-office, the film scene in Kerala then being ruled by Tamil and Hindi
films. Thikkurussy’s next film Jeevithanauka (1951) produced by K and K
Productions and directed by K. Vembu was a turning point in Malayalam
film history. The film which dealt with the theme of ego clashes in a joint
family was a big commercial success and is being touted as the first superhit
in Malayalam film history. The success of the film also made Thikkurissy the
first superstar of Kerala. Jeevithanaukawas dubbed into four languages
including Hindi. In 1952, he acted in Navalokam with a socially significant
theme along with Miss Kumari, who would later become the pet of the
masses after the success of Neelakkuyil (1954). Navalokam did not make it
big at the box office, but Thikkurissy cemented his superstardom with a big
hit in the same year. The film titled Visappinte Vili also had Prem Nazir,
then a novice. Thikkurissy was the person who coined Prem Nazir’s screen
name whose actual name was Abdul Khader. In 1953, another landmark film
of his titled Sariyo Thetto was released. The film was a film adaptation of
his play in the same name. The film had him handling the story, screenplay,
dialogues, lyrics and direction departments besides playing the pivotal role.
With that Thikkurissy established himself as an inseparable element of
Malayalam film industry. He was credited with lyrics, screenplay and
direction in many films. The 13 films for which he was the lyricist includes
Sthree, Palunku Paathram, Devasundari, Urvashi Bharathi,
Poojapushpamand Balloon. He wrote story and screenplay for the films
Swami Ayyappan, Muthalaliand Aana Valarthiya Vanampadi. He
directed the films Sariyo Thetto, Poojapushpam, Achante Bharya,
Palunkupathram, Saraswati, Nurseand Urvashi Bharathi. His major
acting ventures are Jeevithanauka, Navalokam, Visappinte Vili, Iruttinte
Atmavu, Swayamvaram, Umma, Bhakthakuchela, Nadi, Thulabharam,
Maya, Abhijathyam, Surveykkallu, Avanazhiand Aryan.
 6. Regional Scenarios:
Telugu

Introduction
Telugu Cinema was established and developed in Chennai and up to 1970
Telugu cinema was located in Chennai. Veteran actor and the recipient of
Dadasaheb Falke award, Dr. Akkineni Nageswara Rao was the first person to
come to Hyderabad and build a studio named Annapurna Studios. Later on by
the early 1990s the industry was completely shifted to Hyderabad.
Telugu Cinema is next to Bollywood going by number of films produced a
year. Telugu is the largest spoken language in any single state in India.
Although Hindi speakers are the biggest lot in the country, but they are
spread over many states. Andhra Pradesh, where Telugu is spoken, has also
the largest film studio—Ramoji Film City—in the world.
The first Telugu Silent film Bhisma Pratigya was made by R.S. Prakash in
1922. The first big movies in Telugu were made by the Surabhi Theatres
troupes. They produced the first Telugu talkie, Bhakta Prahlad, directed by
Hanumappa Munioappa Reddy in 1931.
Initially, mythological stories dominated Telugu films. In 1936, Krittiventi
Nageswara Rao made the first social Telugu film Premavijayam. The film
influenced other Telugu filmmakers to produce films on social issues. Some
popular social themes were feudal system, for example Raitu Bidda made in
1939 and untouchability shown in Mallapilla released in 1938. Although
social Telugu films were quite popular, yet films based on mythological or
folk stories continued to be produced till late 1970s.
Early Telugu film had close connections with stage. Most of them were
conducted as screen versions of the stage. There were no cinematic scripts,
body language and dialogues. Those were of the theaters. Maya Bazaar was
a classic example of film version of stage. The people used to hold cinemas
as fast moving plays. The major silent movies, made in early 1920s, include
Malla Pilla and Gunasundari Katha narrated the stories of Rajas and
landlords.
The pioneer of stage-cut Silent Telugu film was Adruti Subba Rao. His
movies including Tenemansuluand Kaemansulu brought new actors and
actresses in the Telugu film world. Yaragudipati Varada Rao continued the
tradition through his films Pandava Nirvana (1930) Pandava Agnathayaas
(1930) and Hari Maya(1932).
In 1950, nineteen Telugu films were made. This time the trend was making
films in both Telugu and Tamil languages. However, expression in Telugu
ethos in Tamil language created some problems and those led to the complete
stoppage of the trend of making bilingual movies.
Telugu films’ first star Akkineni Nageswar Rao or ANR was a stage actor
and his first film Sriram of Balaramiah was released in 1944 wherein he
played as a character actor. In Janam, ANR played a hero for the first time.
ANR ruled over Telugu films for a considerable time.
Telugu films’ another hero N.T. Rama Rao or NTR, who later joined
politics and became chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, emerged in films in
1950. Both ANR and NTR played together for the first time in Palletnori
Pilla of B.A. Subba Rao and also in Samsaram. Both the films were great
hits. ANR and NTR filmed together in 15 films including the famous
Gundamma Katha, Missammaand Chanakya-Chandgragupta.
NTR was held as darling of Telugu films. Mostly seen in mythological
movies, NTR ruled the Telugu filmdom for twenty long yeas since 1962.
With S.V. Ranga Rao, NTR played in mostly mythological films and almost
reached the status of a demigod to the audience. Krishna is another film
personality who has left indelible marks in Telugu films. He encouraged new
talents to flourish and many actors and actresses were indebted to him.
Chiranjeevi is the new cult figure that emerged in Telugu filmdom in 1987.
He is still going on in full strength. His ability to dance, fight and the
superlative performance as an “angry young man” has made him a living icon
in modern Telugu films.
Telugu Cinema has been revolutionized by three art movies of Shyam
Benegal’s Anugraham (1977), Mrinal Sen’s Oka Kuri Katha (1977) and
Gautam Ghosh’s Maa Bhoomi (1979). These three films proved that Telugu
films could come out of mythological bend and focus on reality. The talent of
Telugu actors and actresses in playing such realistic roles also gave
confidence to the film men and women of Telugu movies.
Influenced by these art films, Narsingh Rao produced Dassi in 1988 and
the film won five National Awards including an award for best actress for
Archana who played the lead role. S.S. Rao mixed entertainment and reality
in his films including Samskara (1977), Mayuri (1985) and Puspak
Vimanam (1988).
Telugu movies won National awards for best feature film since 1983. The
award winning films are Meghasandesam (1983), Sagara Sangamam
(1984). Swathy Muthyam (1986), Shruthi Layalu (1988), Dassi (1989),
Ninne Pilledatha (1996), Shinduram (1997), Toli Prema
(1998).Kalisundam Ra (2000), Nuve Kaveli (2001), Aithe (2004)
and Swarabhishekam (2005).
Like all regional movies, present-day Telugu films too nakedly copy
Bollywood form and content to attract the audience. By doing so, Telugu
films are fast losing the spirit of the soil. It is high time, Telugu filmmakers
explore their own culture in their movies for taking a giant tread to
modernity.
Popular Faces of Telugu Cinema
The official name of the Telugu Film Industry is Vendithera. In Telugu,
Vendi means Silver and Thera means screen.
Tollywood was also coined in reference to the Bengali film industry, based
in Tollygunge in Kolkata, West Bengal. However, the phrase is less used than
simply Bengali Cinema. See more on Bengali Cinema.
Tollywood is based in the state of Andhra Pradesh in southern India.
Between 100 and 150 Telugu Tollywood films are released each year.
There are generally at least two releases each week. Popular movies tend to
open during the three festive seasons of the region: Sankranti (Pongal),
Summer, and Dussehra.
Given hereunder profiles of some leading Telugu film personalities:
A. Nageswara Rao
Akkineni Nageswara Rao was born in a poor farmer’s family on the 20th
of September 1924 at Ramapuram. He has stated on record in several
interviews that his education was limited to primary schooling due to the
poor economic conditions of his parents. Nageswara Rao took to acting at a
very early age. He started acting in street plays at
the age of 9 and acted in several plays.
Indian plays in those days used to have all
male casts and male leads often played female
roles as evidenced in the first Indian feature film
Raja Harishchandra. Nageswara Rao in his
early days as an actor used to enact such female
roles on stage. He acted more than 260 movies in
his career.
Nageswara Rao’s first Telugu film was
Dharmapatni, a 1941 Telugu film, wherein he
played the role of one of the hero’s childhood
friends. He later continued his career as a part
time stage actor and acted in several renowned Telugu plays such as Ashoka
Jyothy, Sathyanveshana and Telugu Talli. On one such occasion, when he
was travelling back from a play in Tenali, he was spotted on the Vijayawada
railway station by Ghantasala Balaramaiah a Telugu film maker of those days
and was immediately offered a role in his upcoming movie Seeta Rama
Jananam. He was later cast in this movie in the role of Lord Rama.
In his career spanning 69 years in the Telugu film industry, he has played
the lead role in over 256 telugu films and 26 tamil films. Several of these
films turned out to be financial and critical successes.
Amongst other things, Nageswara Rao is credited for influencing telugu
film producers and creating a base for telugu films in Hyderabad.
Telugu film industry in its early days worked out of Madras (Chennai) in
Tamilnadu. The new state of Andhra Pradesh was carved out from the
Madras Presidency on 1 November 1956 and several leaders opined that in
order to create a separate identity for the Telugu film industry, it had to be
based out of Hyderabad—the then capital of Andhra Pradesh. ANR was one
of the actors of that period who insisted on creating a base for telugu films in
Hyderabad and established his own production studio, Annapurna Studios, to
facilitate this.
ANR acted in several landmark Telugu films. Some of his prominent films
that have been financial and critical successes are Tenali Rama Krishna,
Kalidasu, Devadasu, Maya Bazaar, Missamma, Dr. Chakravarthi,
Ardhangi, Muga Manasulu, Dasara Bullodu, Prem Nagarand
Premabhishekam amongst others. The film Premabhishekam deserves a
special mention as it has been one of his biggest hits.
He is the recipient of Dada Saheb Phalke Award, Padma Bhushan Award,
Padma Sri Award, Kalimamani the Raghupati Venkayya Award, he won 7
Filmfare Awards Best Telugu Actor and the Kalidasa award granted by MP
Government at national level.
Balakrishna
Nandamuri Balakrishna entered the film
Industry at the age of 14 through his home
production Tathammakala, in which he had
the opportunity to work with NTR and Dr.
Bhanumati Ramakrishna. For 10 successive
years he acted off and on in movies mostly
produced under his home production. 1984 is
the year when his first movie as a solo hero
was released and interestingly he acted in
very less number of movies made under his
home productions after that.
Even though entered the film industry
because of his father, later his hard work, discipline, talent and dedication
made him stand in the industry. He believes in astrology and numerology.
He acted in a movie called Annadammula Anubandham, a remake of
Dharmendra’s Hindi hit Yadon Ki Barat at the age of 16. He acted in a
brother’s role to his real life father in that movie as well as in Roudi
Ramudu Konte Krishnudu, and in a son’s role to his real life brother Hari
Krishna in the movie Dana Veera Sura Karna. In the year 1984, he acted in
3 popular films, Mangamma Gari Manavadu, Kathanayakudu and his
home production Sri Madvirat Potuluri Virabrahmendra Swamy
Charitra.
In the year 1986, the magazine “The Week” published Balakrishna’s
picture as cover page. During the year of 1993 only two of his movies were
released and surprisingly both of them were released on the same day. This is
a very rare event in the Telugu film industry. He ended the millennium with a
popular movie Samara Simha Reddy.
 Balayya is famous for his roles in the movies made with village backdrop.
He worked as an associate director for his father’s last directional venture
Samrat Asoka.
Bhanumathi
Dr. Paluvayi Bhanumathi Ramakrishna born
September 7, 1925 was a film actress, music
director, singer, and songwriter. She was born
in Doddavaram village of Guntur District (now
in Prakasam district), Andhra Pradesh.
She married P.S. Ramakrishna Rao, a film
producer, director and editor of Telugu and
Tamil films on 8 August 1943. The couple had
one son and later launched a Production
company, Bharani Pictures.
She entered the film industry in 1935, and
acted in over 200 films in Telugu and Tamil.
She made her debut in Telugu cinema in 1939
in Varavikrayam (Telugu), directed by P
Pulliah. In 1953, she made her directorial debut with Chandi Rani (made
simultaneously in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi). Her last film was made in 1998,
entitled Pelli Kanuka.
Apart from being an exceptional actress, she was also a very talented
musician. She gave voice to her songs long after it became the norm to use
playback singers for actors. Some of her songs are still popular like “Pilichina
biguvatara,” “Kila kila navvula,” “Preme nerama.” She also provided music
to a lot of her films.
Bhanumati was also a talented writer with a number of short stories to her
credit. Her autobiography, Nalo Nenu, was published in Telugu and later,
released in English as Musings. Bhanumati was awarded the Padma Bhushan,
the third highest civilian recognition by the Government of India. She won
the best actress awards multiple times. She also won the Best Director award
at the state level.
Bhanumathi was an extremely versatile actress who was equally adept at
social dramas, mythologicals, comedies as well as adventure and
swashbuckling films particularly those where she was paired with MGR. She
acted opposite all the top heroes of her day—MGR, Sivaji Ganesan, A
Nageshwara Rao and N.T. Rama Rao. Special mention must be made of her
films with MGR. She was often cast as the Damsel-in-Distress in these films
with MGR cast as a Robinhood like vigilante. Malaikallan(1954),
Alibabavum Narpatha Thirudargalum (1955) and Madurai Veeran
(1956) etc.
Some of her popular films with Sivaji Ganesan include Rangoon Radha
(1956), Ambikapathy (1957) and Makkalai Petra Maharasi (1957). A
compilation film, Chitramala (1985), features her songs and dances, she also
wrote her autobiography, Naalo Neno (1993) which won an award.
Bhanumathi, in fact, received several awards and felicitations in her lifetime
including the Padma Shri. Her collection of short stories about mother in
laws, Attagari Kathalu won her the Sahitya Academy award in 1966. In 1994,
the London Doctors Association honoured her as a “Great Artiste.”
Chiranjeevi
Heroic looks, daredevil stunts and mesmerising dance movements, together
make Telugu mega star Chiranjeevi, a director’s delight and one of the most
adored actors in South India. Fondly called “Chiru”, he is one of the super
stars of Telugu film industry (Tollywood). Associated with the industry for
the past 30 years, Chiranjeevi has shown his artistic excellence in numerous
blockbusters. Apart from being the ultimate hero of Telugu movie-lovers, he
is the dream star package for the film producers in Tollywood. Chiranjeevi
has recently joined politics and runs a renowned Charitable Trust as well.
The megastar of Telugu cinema, Chiranjeevi was born on August 22, 1955
in Mogultoor, a small town in the West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh.
His father - Late Sri Venkat Rao and mother—Anjana Devi named him
Konidela Siva Sankara Vara Prasad. He has two brothers—Nagendra Babu
and Kalyan Babu and one sister—Vijaya. Chiranjeevi studied in schools
located in Nidadavolu, Gurajala, Ponnuru, Mangalagiri and Mogalturu in
Andhra Pradesh. He pursued his intermediate studies at C.S.R. Sharma Junior
College (Ongole) and graduated with a B.Com. degree from Y.N. College in
Narasapur, Andhra Pradesh.
After completing education, Chiranjeevi moved to Madras (Chennai) to
chase his dream of becoming a star in the film
 industry. Soon after attaining a diploma in acting,
in June 1978, he was offered a small role in the film
Punadi Rallu, directed by Raj Kumar. Although he
acted for the first time in Punadi Rallu, Chiru’s
first film to be released was Pranam Kharidu
(1978), a directorial venture of K. Vasu. Thereafter,
he was offered a series of small and villainous roles
in films, including Manavoori Pandavulu (1978),
Adavi Donga, released in the same year, was
another important movie in his career. In 1979,
Chiranjeevi had eight releases and by its last
quarter, he had started gaining pace in the industry.
Chiranjeevi shined as a star during 1980s, with
critically acclaimed roles and big hits. His roles in Punnami Naagu (1980)
and Nyayam Kavali (1981) received equal appreciation from the critics as
well as the audience. The turning point in the film career of Chiranjeevi came
with Khaidi (1983), which fetched him immediate stardom. This film
marked the beginning of his dominance in Tollywood (Telugu film industry).
Directed by A Kodanda Rami Reddy, the film became a super-hit. The
director-actor duo proved to be one of the most successful combinations in
the industry during that period. Subsequently, they worked together in 23
films, a majority of which proved to be blockbusters.
Known for his daredevil stunts, Chiranjeevi met with a number of
accidents on the sets. He was injured while shooting for the climax of the
film Sangharshana(1983). Thereafter, he underwent an operation in London.
However, he continued to perform tough and risky stunts in his films. In the
film Intiguttu (1984), he was injured when he tried fighting using the tube
light. Bavagaru Bagunara is yet another movie in which Chiranjeevi
displayed the carefree attitude of a teenage boy, while performing bungee
jumping.
Chiranjeevi continued to give hits to Tollywood. Some of his blockbusters
are Abhilasha (1983), Challenge (1984), Pasivadi Pranam (1987), Athaku
Yamudu Ammayiki Mogudu (1989), Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka
Sundari (1990), Kodama Simham (1990), Gang Leader (1991), Rowdy
Alludu (1991) and Gharana Mogudu (1992). After a phase of low-career,
during the mid 1990’s, Chiranjeevi made a comeback in the late 1990’s with
another series of blockbusters, including Master (1997), Choodalani Vundi
(1998), Bavagaru Bagunnara (1998) and Sneham Kosam (1999). Indra
(2002) proved to be a mega hit and was one amongst the highest grossing
movies of the year.
With an ideology of social democracy, mega star Chiranjeevi entered the
political arena and established “Praja Rajyam” party in 2008. The
headquarters of his regional party is located in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh.
Chiranjeevi Charitable Trust (CCT)
Chiranjeevi founded a charitable trust, named Chiranjeevi Charitable Trust,
on October 2, 1998. The Trust includes a blood bank and a couple of eye
banks, named after the mega star. It has received lots of blood and eye
donations till date. CCT was awarded the “Best Voluntary Blood Bank
Award” by the AP State Government, in 2002 and 2003.
On February 20, 1980, Chiranjeevi married Surekha, the daughter of
yesteryear’s renowned comedian—Allu Rama Lingaiah. They have two
daughters—Sushmita (eldest) and Sreeja (youngest) and a son—Ram Charan
Tej. Sushmita is married to the Chennai business man Vishnu Prasad and
Sreeja got married to Sirish Bharadwaj, an engineering student from
Begumpet.
Awards
•1982: Filmfare Award for Best Actor (Subhalekha)
•1984: Filmfare Award for Best Actor (Inti Guttu)
•1987: Nandi Award for Best Actor (Swayamkrushi)
•1988: Filmfare Award for Best Actor (Rudraveena),Nargis Dutt
Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration
(Rudraveena)
•1992: Nandi Award for Best Actor (Aapathbandhavudu)
•1993: Filmfare for Best Actor Award (Muta Mesthri)
•1999: Filmfare Award for Best Actor (Sneham Kosam)
•2002: Nandi Award for Best Actor (Indra)
 •Filmfare Award for Best Actor (Indra)
•2003: Tagore Award for Best Actor (Santosham)
•2004: Filmfare Award for Best Actor (Shankar Dada MBBS)
•2006: Padma Bhushan Award
•2007: Filmfare Special Legend Award
D. Rama Naidu
D. Ramanaidu was born on 6th June 1936. He was
born in a remote village Karamchedu in Andhra
Pradesh. His father’s name was Sri D.
Venkateshwarlu and mother’s name was Smt.
Lakshmidevamma. He completed his schooling from
the village of Karamchedu. His higher education was
from Chirala and Chennai. He pursued his graduation
from Presidency College, Chennai.
He shifted to Chennai in order to make a career in
cinema. His relationship with the cinema started with Anuragam as co–
producer. He then went on to establish his own banner by name Suresh
Productions. The first movie to roll out of his production house was
Ramudu–Bhimudu (1964). This movie had the legendary actor N. T.
Ramarao in the lead. Then came Premnagar (1974) which was also a super
hit. This was remade to tamil and hindi. In Tamil it was Vasanthamaligai
and in hindi it was Premnagar. His production house went on to make many
films. Dr. Ramanaidu earned a place in the Guinness Book of World Records
for being the most Prolific Producer with 110 films. This was a remarkable
achievement. He Introduced 21 new directors to the industry. He also
introduced many fresh faces in acting and new music composers. Besides this
he introduced number of character artistes and technicians. He also
established a distribution network of his own all over the state of Andhra. He
has not only produced telugu movies but also in languages like Hindi, Ttamil,
Oriya, Bengali, Kannada.
He is also a active member when it comes to social service. He established
Ramanaidu Charitable Trust in 1991. He is the member of TDP and has stood
for elections from Bapatla in Guntur District in the 13th Lok Sabha elections.
 Dr. Daggubati Ramanaidu is the Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner for the
year 2009.
Jaya Prada
Jaya Prada is a known Indian film actress
and politician. Born in Andhra Pradesh, she
started her film career with a Telugu film, at a
young age of fourteen. Since then, she never
looked back. Apart from being an actress, she
is a trained classical dancer, who has
mesmerised audience with her skills.
Moreover, the actress is highly versatile and
has worked in various language films with
equal magnificence. Later, she even plunged in
politics and has been felicitated with numerous
awards for her contribution to art and cinema.
Jaya Prada was born as Lalit Rani on April 3, 1962 in Rajahmundry town
of Andhra Pradesh. Her father, Shri Krishna was a Telugu film financier,
while her mother Shrimati Neelavani was a housewife. She was educated at
Rajalakshmi Women’s College, situated in Rajahmundry, East Godavari
District. At an early age, Jaya was enrolled for classical dance and music,
which helped her gain entry into the world of cinema. While performing
dance at school, a renowned director saw her and offered her a small role in
Bhoomi Kosam.This was the beginning of her acting career in Tollywood.
Jaya Prada’s first biggest hit was Anthuleni Khatha, directed by K.
Balachander, which was released in 1976. This was followed by “Siri Siri
Muvva,” directed by K. Vishwanath, which also went onto become a
blockbuster hit. The Hindi version of the movie Sargam was also a smash
hit. After this, the N.T. Rama Rao (NTR) starrer Adavi Ramudu broke all
box office records. Moreover, her duet with NTR Aaresukoboyi
Paaresukunnanu became an all-time classic hit. This gave her immense
success and she claimed the no 1 slot in Tollywood.
Following this, she even starred in films of other languages, such as Tamil,
Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi, Marathi, etc. She won her first Filmfare
nomination for Best Actress for the film Sargam. Her next nominations came
in 1984 and 1985 for Prakash Mehra’s Sharaabi and K. Vishwanath’s
Sanjog, respectively. Jaya Prada’s versatility gave her an opportunity to act
with almost all the great actors in the industry like NTR, Akkineni
Nageswara Rao, Krishna, Shoban Babu, and Krishnam Raju, Chiranjeevi,
Rajnikanth, Kamal Haasan, etc.
In Bollywood, Jaya Prada successfully paired up with Jeetendra,
Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna, Rakesh Roshan and Rishi
Kapoor. She even teamed well with her immediate screen rival Sridevi. Her
role in Hindi film Tohfaa, released in 1984, gave her a traditional
conservative image, which helped her immensely when she plunged into
politics later in life. In her 30-year old career, Jaya Pradha has acted in 300
films. Since 2004, the actress has taken up mature roles.
Jaya Prada entered into politics, at N.T. Rama Rao’s invitation, in 1994.
She initially joined the Telugu Desam party and later, joined Chandra Babu
Naidu Group of the ruling Telugu Desam Party. She was nominated to be an
MP in Rajyasabha by TDP party. Due to her differences with party Supremo
N. Chandrababu Naidu, she switched over to Samajwadi Party and contested
elections from Rampur parliamentary constituency in UP, during the last
General elections, in 2009. She even owns the Jaya Prada Theater in Chennai.
Jaya Prada created much controversy in 1986, when she married film
producer Srikanth Nahata, who was already married and had three children.
Awards
•2007 - Lifetime Achievement Award (South)
•1979 - Best Actress for Sargam
•1984 - Best Actress for Sharaabi
•1985 - Best Actress for Sanjog
L.V. Prasad
Akkineni Lakshmi Varaprasada Rao better known as L.V. Prasad—The
Doyen of Indian Cinema—From struggling to make ends meet in Mumbai to
having a postage stamp issued in his honour, L.V. Prasad’s is a life out of the
ordinary. But then, it wasn’t a cake walk for the thespian. Akkineni Lakshmi
Varaprasada Rao was born on 17 January in the year 1908 as the second son
to Akkineni Sriramulu and Basavamma in a remote village, Somavarapadu,
 in Eluru Taluk in the State of Andhra Pradesh in
India. Born into an agricultural family; he also
used to do small roles in the local dramas
regularly. This was the passion that drove his life
—the passion for acting and the moving image.
At the dawn of the New Year, the lanky young
man of 22 L.V. Prasad, from a remote village in
Andhra Pradesh alighted from a third class
compartment at the Victoria Terminus. What
brought him this far was his burning desire to
make it big in films. He neither knew the
language nor anyone in the Mecca of Indian
cinema. Hoping to find a job at Kohinoor Film
Company Studios, Dadar, he stood at the
entrance peeping through the closed zinc doors for days together. Like many
aspiring actors, he too nurtured a wish to become a movie star and boarded a
train to Bombay with just Rs.100 in his pocket. He sneaked out of his house
leaving behind his wife Soundarya Manoharamma and a toddler daughter.
For 21 months, they did not know his whereabouts. Nor was he aware that he
had lost his daughter. When nothing happened at the Kohinoor Studio gates
and he was robbed of most of his money, he took shelter at a tailor’s shop
opposite the studios. The tailor got him a job in Venus Pictures but the
company neither made any movie nor paid him. He worked during the
evenings in a carnival for a salary of Rs. 1.50 per day, acted in bit roles in
silent films and did odd jobs of carrying reflectors and camera stands.
He then joined Ardeshir Irani’s Imperial Film Company and acted in Alam
Ara in 1931, India’s first talkie. H. M. Reddy was an assistant director with
Irani then. The same year Irani produced the first Telugu talkie Bhaktha
Prahlada and the first Tamil talkie Kalidas, both directed by H. M. Reddy.
As a company employee, Prasad had acted in both the talkies, as
Chandaamarkulu and temple priest respectively. Thus, he had the rare
distinction of acting in the first talkie films of the three languages. Though
Kalidas is called the first Tamil talkie, the hero spoke in Telugu, the heroine
in Tamil and L.V. Prasad in Hindi. The film was made in hurry and ran to
about 6,000 ft. At the Imperial Film Company, a clerk in charge of the junior
actors’ roll call shortened his name as L.V. Prasad, which struck. When
Imperial Film Company retrenched its employees, Prasad found himself
working as a ticket collector at Dreamland Theatre. Interestingly, in 1970,
Prasad celebrated the silver jubilee run of his home production, Khilona, at
the same theatre. In 1940, Prasad boarded a third class compartment, this
time towards Madras. H. M. Reddy invited him to join as an assistant director
for Satyame Jayam and Tenali Ramakrishna. Prasad acted in both the
films besides working as an assistant director. He then returned to Bombay at
the request of Tandra Subrahmanya Sastry to direct the film Kashta Jeevi,
Anjali Devi’s first film as heroine. But the film never got completed.
Prasad stayed back in Bombay and worked as an assistant director for a
few films, wrote the script for Devar and acted in plays by Prithvi Theatres.
The never-say-die attitude helped Prasad to face dramatic changes in life.
Prasad donned many roles in Mumbai—actor, gatekeeper, film
representative, production manager, assistant cameraman and an assistant
director. In 1945, Prasad returned to Madras at the invitation of K.S. Prakasa
Rao to direct and act in Gruhapravesam, which turned out to be a big hit.
Successful films followed: Palnati Yuddham, Drohi in which he was the
hero too, Manadesam that introduced N.T. Rama Rao, Shavukaru, Pelli Chesi
Choodu Kalyanam Panni Paar in Tamil, Missamma Missiamma in Tamil,
Appu Chesi Pappu Koodu Kadanvangi Kalyanam in Tamil and
Samsaram with N.T. Rama Rao and Nageswara Rao, their first film together
and the landmark film in Sivaji Ganesan’s career, Manohara in three
languages—Tamil, Telugu and Hindi. The film was a huge hit in all the three
languages. In 1955, Prasad took possession of an unfinished studio in Madras
and named it Prasad Studios. If Prasad first appeared on screen in 1931, fifty
years later he made his last screen appearance in a major role in Raja Parvai
Amavasya Chandrudu in Telugu.
In 1955 he assigned D. Yoganand to direct his first production Ilavelpu in
Telugu under the banner Lakshmi Productions. His second son Ramesh
returned from the US after obtaining his B.E.M.S degree and established
Prasad Film Labs in Chennai in 1974. Prasad Productions made many
memorable box office hits including Milan, Khilona, Sasural and Ek Duuje
Ke Liye.He contributed generously towards the establishment of L.V. Prasad
Eye Institute in Hyderabad, which is today, one the foremost eye research
institutes in the world. The efforts started by him in 1956 is today one of the
largest infrastructure for feature film post production in India with facilities
and offices in India, Singapore, Dubai and Hollywood. A humble and simple
man, Prasad had given liberal donation to found the L.V. Prasad Eye Institute
at Hyderabad. He made Prasad Studios a house of excellence. His son
Ramesh Prasad has carried on the legacy by making it the best in the country.
He was the first person to be awarded the prestigious Raghupathy Venkaiah
award by the State Government of Andhra Pradesh for his outstanding
contribution to Telugu cinema in 1981. India Posts has honoured L.V. Prasad
by issuing a special stamp in his memory.
Mahesh Babu
‘Prince Mahesh’ is what he is popularly
known as in Telugu Cinema. Mahesh (Full
Name: Gattamaneni Mahesh Babu) was born on
9 August 1975 to legendary actor, Super Star
Krishna and Indira Devi.
He studied at St. Bede’s School, Chennai and
graduated in commerce from Loyola College,
Chennai.
Mahesh married former Miss India and
Bollywood actress Namrata Shirodkar on
February 10, 2005, and the couple is blessed
with a son, Gautham.
Prince Mahesh’s film career began as a child actor in his father’s films. His
debut as hero was K. Raghavendra Rao directed Raja Kumarudu in the year
1999. He won the Best Debutant Nandi Award for his role in the film. Also,
the film went to be hit at the Box Office. His second and third films
Yuvaraju and Vamsi released in the year 2000 failed to make a good
impact. Then came the muck-liked Murari (2001 release) directed by
Krishna Vamshi. The film, in addition to giving a big break through to his
career, also won him the Special Jury Nandi Award. Takkari Donga and
Bobby released in 2002 sank down at the Box office. Nijam released in 2003
saw his young talent achieve great heights in acting. He won Nandi Award
for Best Actor.
Okkadu (2003) directed by Gunasekhar needs special mentioning as the
film set a new trend in the Telugu Cinema with the high speed car chases.
The film was a huge hit at box office. The following year saw him in Arjun
(2004) and Naani(2004). Then came the assassin Mahesh Babu in Athadu
(2005). This fetched him Nandi Best Actor Award. Pokiri (2006) set the cash
registers ringing. This was a huge box office hit and was a landmark
achievement. His portrayal of the character of ‘Pandu’ in the film fetched him
Filmfare Best Telugu Actor Award. He has one more release Sainikudu in
the same year (2006). Next came Athidi (2007) directed by Surender Reddy.
Both the films were average performers. In the year 2008, he gave voice over
to the film Jalsa.
After Athidi, Mahesh kept away from silver screen for over two and half
years. In late 2009, he had signed up for an action-based romantic entertainer
in the direction of Trivikram Srinivas.
Apart from films, Prince Mahesh has also done several commercials for
ThumsUp, Navratna and Univercell. He is brand Ambassador for the
Univercell mobile phones and services.
Mohan Babu
Mohan Babu was born on 19 March 1952 in
Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh. His birth name
was Bhaktavatsala Naidu. He was born to Manchu
Narayanaswamy Naidu and Lakshmamma. He did
schooling in Yerpedu village and Tirupati. He
pursued degree in Physical Education at Chennai.
Before his foray into the cinema industry he
worked has a Physical Education Instructor for a
while.
Mohan Babu took up direction before he started
his innings as an actor. He made his debut as a full
fledged actor with the movie Swargam Narakam
(1975). The movie was directed by
Dr. Narayana Rao Dasari. This gave him a huge break. He hit the right
notes with his selection of movies. He displayed versatility by playing
different roles. He did not stick to one role and was open for experiment. In
this way he took up character of villain, comedian and hero. He was
successful in doing so. He went on to do many movies. The list includes
Khaidi Kalidasu (1977), Simha Garjana (1978), Kondaveeti Simham
(1981), Mayagadu (1983), Rayudu (1998), Yamadonga(2007),
Krishnarjuna (2008), Bujjigadu: Made in Chennai (2008),
Pandurangadu (2008). The movies like Devatha (1982), Prathignya
(1982), Gruha Pravesam (1982), Billa Ranga (1982) are the movies which
top his list.
Mohan Babu is also a successful producer. He produced many movies
which included Prathignya (1982), Assembly Rowdy (1991), Major
Chandrakanth (1993), Peda Rayudu (1995), Suryam (2004), Raju Bhai
(2007), Krishnarjuna (2008).
Mohan Babu was also part of Telugu Desam Party. He served one term as
a parliamentarian. He is founder of Sree Vidyanikethan Educational
Institutions.
Nagarjuna
Akkineni Nagarjuna or simply Nagarjuna is
one of the gems of the Telugu Film Industry.
Nag, as he fondly called, is the son of the
veteran actor, Akkineni Nageswara Rao. His
magnificence and on-screen charisma is a
spectacular-watch for all the movie buffs in
South India. In a career expanding to four and a
half decades, this Yuva Samrat (a title given to
Nagarjuna by his fans) has come to be regarded
as one of the finest actors, film directors and
producers of Tollywood. Nagarjuna is known
for his ace acting skills and instinctive nature.
Right from the power-packed performance in front of the camera to handling
almost all the departments behind the scenes, Nagarjuna has proved his
artistic excellence in almost everything related to film-making.
Akkineni Nagarjuna Rao was born on August 29, 1959. He is the son of
Telugu actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao and his wife - Annapurna Akkineni.
Nag did his schooling from Hyderabad Public School and completed his
senior secondary from Ratna Junior College. Thereafter, he attained a degree
in mechanical engineering from the College of Engineering, Guindy
(Chennai). Nagarjuna’s academic record was further enhanced with a
Master’s Degree in Automobile Engineering from the University of
Louisiana, Lafayette.
Nagarjuna stepped into the world of entertainment with the movie Vikram
(1986), a remake of the Hindi film - Hero, starring Jackie Shroff. Four films
old, Nag tried his hand at tragedy, playing the protagonist for a tragic love
story - Majnu. The movie Collector Gari Abbayi saw the father-son duo
sharing space on the big screen. Though Nagarjuna continued to act in a
number of movies thereafter, success eluded him. It was only in 1988 that
Nagarjuna tasted victory, with the movie Akhari Poraatam, in which he was
paired opposite Sridevi. The film was a big hit and ran for 100 days in 12
centers.
Akhari Poraatam was the movie that laid the foundation of success for
Nagarjuna. However, it was films like Maniratnam’s Geethanjali and Ram
Gopal Verma’s Shiva that escalated his status, further, from that of a star to a
super star. The actor fully exploited the freshness of the young directors by
revamping his image as an actor and adding ‘charisma’ to his roles in the
movies. During this period, this Yuva Samrat also tried his hand at
Bollywood.
He debuted with the Hindi remake of Shiva, made under the same name.
Some of the other Hindi flicks in which he acted are Criminal, Zakhmand
LOC Kargil.
Krishna Vamsi’s Ninne Pelladutha is one of the movies that enhanced
Nagarjuna appeal amidst the Tamilians. He was admired and appreciated by
people spanning all the age groups and genders. However, he still lacked that
punch in his acting career. That punch came when he grabbed the challenging
role of Annamacharya, the legendary singer/poet of medieval times, in the
movie Annamayya,a decade after making his debut. The movie is still
known to be one of the biggest hits in Tollywood. It ran for 100 days in 42
centers and also got Nagarjuna his first National Award.
One of the most flourishing production houses in today’s time, Annapurna
Studios, primarily started by Akkineni Nageswara Rao, was revived by
Nagarjuna. Apart from being a production company, it also houses a film
studio, in which 90% of the Tamil movies are shot. Nagarjuna’s instinctive
nature and prompt decision making skills not only brought him personal
success, but also gave the Indian film industry some ace directors. Ram
Gopal Verma and Krishna Vamsi are amongst the directors who were given
their first break by Nagarjuna. Nagarjuna owns several restaurants in India
and abroad and is believed to have invested large sums of money in real
estate projects in Dubai.
 Nagarjuna tied the nuptial knot two times. Presently, he is married to
Amala, a popular actress in Tamil and Telugu film industry. He has two sons
—Naga and Chaitanya, from his first marriage. From his second marriage, he
has another son—Akhil Akkineni, who was seen in the film—Sisindri.
N.T. Ramarao (NTR)
Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao born 28 May 1923 more commonly known
as N.T. Rama Rao, NTR, and Pedala Pennidhi by his fans, or Anna garu, was
a Telugu film actor, director, producer, and politician. He founded the Telugu
Desam Party and served three times as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. His
repertoire of films included mythological, social, and folk themes. He was
awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in the 1960s,
recognising his contribution to Telugu cinema. After his film career, N.T.
Rama Rao became a political activist and party leader.
He was born in Nimmakuru, Krishna District,
and Andhra Pradesh. He graduated with a
Bachelor of Arts degree from the Andhra-
Christian College of Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. He
later received an honorary doctorate from
Andhra University.
N.T. Rama Rao highlighted Andhra Pradesh’s
distinct cultural identity, distinguishing it from
Madras State with which it was so often
associated.
N.T. Rama Rao was referred to by fans as
“Nata Sarvabhouma” (Emperor of Acting) in
Telugu.
Though widely recognised for his mythological characters, N.T. Rama Rao
is considered one of the greatest actors in Telugu film, and in general in
South Indian films. His portrayal of Lord Krishna in Maya Bazaar by B.
Nagi Reddy, a producer at Vijaya Productions, was a turning point in his life.
His portrayal of avatars of Vishnu, especially Rama Ravana and Krishna,
mesmerised an entire generation who saw the face of N.T. Rama Rao when
these gods were mentioned.
N.T. Rama Rao had a major contribution to what can be considered the
golden age of Telugu film making, between 1950 and 1965. Analysts believe
that the Telugu film industry produced some of the best mythological movies
from India, while the Tamil and Hindi movie industry produced better
socially oriented films.
NTR was naturally talented and extremely disciplined about various
aspects of acting like preparation, punctuality, and dialogue delivery. An
important factor that made him a great actor was his ability to deliver
extremely lengthy dialogues that were original verses from the Ramayana and
the Mahabharata with a fervor and command unmatched by most of his
contemporaries, with certain exceptions like S. V. Ranga Rao whom people
and industry will consider as best actor in Telugu film industry. In addition,
he generally played multiple roles in the same movie, which increased the
number of dialogues and hence the preparation required.
N.T. Rama Rao was very versatile. In Tamil Nadu, Shivaji Ganesan was
much better known for his acting skill and talent and M. G. Ramachandran
was much more known for his commercial movies. N.T. Rama Rao struck a
balance between both kinds of cinema. He used to perform roles in
mythological movies like those only Shivaji could perform and even do
commercial Janapadham (where the adventurous prince saves the damsel in
distress) films which were Ramachandran’s forte.
N.T. Rama Rao, in fact, played the role of Lord Krishna not only in Telugu
Movies, but also in Tamil and Kannada movies. While the megastars—
Ramachandran, Shivaji Ganesan and Kannada Rajkumar vied for the roles of
other Mahabharata heroes like Karna, Arjuna and Bhima, there was no
denying that NTR would be the only one to play Lord Krishna. This is
probably the greatest tribute to N.T. Rama Rao’s charismatic skills in cinema.
One of his greatest janapadams was Jagadekaveeruni katha (the story of
the universal hero) where he plays the role of Pratap, the prince of Ujjain. He
dreams of celestial damsels as his wives, but on revealing the dream to his
father, he is banished from the kingdom. The heroic prince then does the
impossible—passing the various tests put to him, winning the celestial
damsels and bringing them home to his kingdom. Another one of his
janapadams was Gulebakavali katha (the story of Gulebakavali) where he
plays the role of a prince who sets out to the heavens to bring the flower
named “Gulebakavali” in order to cure his poisoned father, even wining
Indra’s daughter in the process.
 As time passed by, N.T. Rama Rao stopped playing the role of the prince
in films. Instead, he played the role of a poor yet heroic young man against
the system in his kingdom. To the lakhs of the denizens in Andhra Pradesh,
he became ‘one of us’ — one who assures the poor that he is there to rescue
them from the wicked traitors in the kingdom.
The most notable movies acted by N.T. Rama Rao in mythological
characters are Maya Bazaar(Sri Krishna), Lava Kusa(Lord Rama), Sri
Krishnaarjuna Yuddham(Sri Krishna), Bheeshma(Bheeshma),
Bhookailas(Raavana), Nartanasala(Arjuna also as Bruhannala), Panadava-
vanavsam(Bheema), Sri Venkateswara Mahatyam(Lord Venkateswara),
Maha Mantri Thimmarusu(Sri Krishna Devarayalu)and Dana Veera Sura
Karna(Duryodhana, Sri Krishna, Karna). Apart from these he played a
variety of roles in folklore characters like Jagadeka Veeruni Katha, Pathala
Bhairavi etc. On the social front he played roles in the movies Malliswari,
Kanyasulkam, Gundamma Katha, Missamma, Raktha Sambandham,
Ramudu Bheemudu, Adavi Ramudu, Vetagadu, Gajadonga, Driver
Ramudu, Sardar Paparayudu, Kondaveeti Simham, Justice Chaudhary,
Bobbili Puli etc. He acted in over two hundred and eighty movies in the lead
role.
He also donned the roles of an elderly teacher (Badi Pantulu) becoming a
model to his pupils, as a prince and pauper (Raju-Peda), a down to earth
servant dedicated to his master (Aatma Bhanduvu).
Politician NTR
N.T. Rama Rao formed the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on 29 March 1982.
While promoting a new film, he was asked a question by a person in the
audience “ayya, memu mimmalni devudu laga adarincamu, kani meeru maku
emi chesaru?” meaning Sir, we have treated you like a God but what have
you done for us? He was so moved by this that he formed TDP, and with a
victory in the immediate election, formed the government and ruled the state
of AP for a full term. He went into the elections with the slogan “Atma
Gauravam” which meant “self-pride.”
Like his films, the formation of the party and storming into the assembly
was very dramatic. TDP came into power within nine months of its
formation. Initially ridiculed by the Congress that state politics is not like
movie acting among others, TDP was considered a
no match for the Congress, with the local
representatives unheard of, the complete burden
rested on the shoulders of NTR, and true to his
charisma he won the elections with a landslide
majority. Among other reasons why he won the
elections was no real alternative to the Congress,
lack of development, unemployment etc. He was
very well supported by Ramoji Rao who gave wide
publicity through the Telugu daily Eenadu. NTR
himself contested elections from the constituency
of Hindupur in Anantapur District and Gudivada in
Krishna district.
During the first term as Chief Minister of AP, he got into the costumes of
Swami Vivekananda and tried to govern the entire state solely on ideological
terms which later proved to be disastrous. On Independence day, August 15,
1984, he was removed from office by the Governor of AP in view of a revolt
by his aide and 2nd in command Nadella Bhaskar Rao. Due to the public
agitation in favor of N.T. Rama Rao the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
had to dismiss the Nadella Bhaskar Rao government in just one month and
hand power back to N.T. Rama Rao. Then N.T. Rama Rao dissolved the
assembly and asked for fresh mandate in 1985.
He was returned to power; among the most significant changes he made
was to abolish the legislative council of the state of Andhra Pradesh, citing
the reason that it was a non-performing body which just a burden on the state
exchequer. N.T. Rama Rao lost the subsequent elections held in 1989, but
during the same period he gained valuable experience and had people like N.
Chandrababu Naidu and Daggubati Venkateswara Rao (both sons-in-law) in
his party.
Other contributions of N.T. Rama Rao included the educational reforms he
brought about in the state, where he overhauled the entire state’s education
syllabus for schools. He instituted statewide entrance examinations for all
disciplines of higher education vis-a-vis engineering, medicine, pharmacy,
law, and MBA to name a few. Students, based on the merit of their ranks
obtained in these tests, could join any state college of their choice.
It is noteworthy that though he didn’t know Hindi, he gave a speech for
forty-five minutes in a packed stadium in Haryana. He later revealed that he
had memorised the speech phonetically. Devilal, the Haryana leader, was
shocked to learn this, but N.T. Rama Rao was always an electrifying man.
Even though he lost the 1989 elections, he shot to fame at the national
level and was capable of uniting many regional parties. He formed the
National Front with parties like Janata Dal, Bharateeya Janata Party, CPI and
CPM as an alternative to Congress.
NTR stormed back to power in 1994 when he promised he would offer rice
at Rs. 2/kg and to make AP an “Alcohol Free” state. True to his word he kept
his promises only to burden the state exchequer. He also faced serious
problems within his party. N. Chandrababu Naidu led a sudden revolt against
N.T. Rama Rao and split the TDP into two. Naidu survived N.T. Rama Rao’s
onslaught when N.T. Rama Rao approached the public for an opinion. The
break-up of the party and the drama that took place on the Tank Bund near
Hotel Viceroy (road connecting Hyderabad and Secunderabad on the banks
of Hussain Sagar) were probably the last significant events in N.T. Rama
Rao’s life. Naidu became the chief minister of AP on 29 August 1995.
The loss of power and the subsequent events can be summed up as the start
of anti-climax in N.T. Rama Rao’s life with several people believing that his
second wife Lakshmi Parvathi was responsible for happenings. N.T. Rama
Rao died soon after on 18 Jaunary 1996. Lakhs of people flooded to pay
homage. Even today crore of people remember Telugu bidda and mourn for
his loss man who left ever lasting image among Indians and especially
Telugu people and a man revived spiritual films industry.
NTR is survived by eight sons and four daughters. He has several grand
sons and daughters, the best known amongst them are NTR Jr. and
Nandamuri Kalyan Ram. Among his sons Nandamuri Balakrishna is a
popular film actor in Telugu. N.T. Rama Rao’s daughter Bhuvaneswari who
is also the wife of N. Chandrababu Naidu is the vice chairman of Heritage
Foods one of South India’s largest dairy company Finally, Purandhreswari,
the wife of D.Venkateswara Rao is a minister in the current central
government.
Junior NTR
Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (born May 20, 1983) more popularly known
as Jr. NTR and Young Tiger NTR., is an Indian Film actor in Tollywood. He
is the grandson of late actor Nandamuri Taraka
Rama Rao, who was the founder of the Telugu
Desam Party and son of Nandamuri
Harikrishna.
Jr. NTR is son of Nandamuri Harikrishna
and Shalini, grandson of Andhra Pradesh’s
Former Chief Minister NTR. He finished his
high school studies in Sri Vidyaranya School,
Hyderabad, and later went to St Rakesh’s
Junior College. He has a sister and two
brothers, Kalyan Ram and Janaki Ram. His
uncle Nandamuri Balakrishna is also a famous
Telugu actor. Jr. NTR’s wedding was
announced on Jan 28, 2010 with Lakshmi
Pranathi, the daughter of Narne Srinivas Rao and Smt. Narne Mallika. NTR.
Jr was engaged to Lakshmi Pranathi on 1 April 2010.
He began his career as a child artist. His first movie he starred in was
Brahmarshi Viswamithra and then Bala Ramayanam, directed by
Gunasekhar in 1996. Coincidentally, his character in the second movie was
Lord Sri Rama, a role often played by his grandfather NTR. NTR first movie
as a hero was Ninnu choodalanireleased in the year 2000. It was produced
by RamojiRao under Ushakiron movies banner. Written off by critics in his
first film, he made a striking comeback with the film student No.1 which was
released after 4 months. The movie went on to become an instant hit with
both classes and masses. The next movie was Subbu which is directed by
Suresh Verma. However, it was Aadi that catapulted him in to the big league.
Suddenly the critics took notice of this wiry young man and opined that there
are sparks of his grandfather in him. Aadi had stood as blockbuster of the
year 2002. In January 2003, Tarak came up with Naaga; though the movie
raised some worthy political issues, it bombed at the box-office. However, in
July 2003, his movie Simhadri made Tarak and director S. S. Rajamouli as
household names. It broke all the Telugu Film Industry records and became a
milestone in NTR’s career. Simhadri stabilised his status as the next mass
hero of tollywood.
His 2004 release Andhrawala, was a disaster at the box office, and the
next movie Samba was a hit film.
His next movie Rakhi, directed by Pasupuleti Krishna Vamsi, was a
critically acclaimed movie. The next one was Yamadonga, which became a
blockbuster. It has collected a share of 36 crores and it was the second
highest grosser of Telugu cinema. Following Yamadonga, Jr. NTR’s next
film was Kantri, which was released on May 2008. Very high range of
expectation, the film turned out to be an average flick. Adhurswas released
in January 2010, in which he played a dual role which became a hit at the box
office.
Venkatesh
A versatile actor of Telugu Film Industry,
Daggubati Venkatesh was born in Karamchedu.
He is a member of one of the most well-known
families of Telugu Cinema. His father and brother
head the most prestigious production company of
Tollywood, Suresh Productions. Victory
Venkatesh, as he is fondly called, has till date
played various roles and tried his hand at almost
all the genres of movies—be it comedy, action or
love and romance. Though he is known to be
aggressive at work, his down-to-earth nature and
amicable behavior has made him endearing amongst his colleagues as well as
his fans.
Born to a veteran film producer of Tollywood—D Rama Naidu, Venkatesh
celebrates his birthday on the 13th of December. He attained his graduation
degree from the prestigious school—Don Bosco Egmore, in Chennai.
Thereafter, he went to the United States and came back with an MBA degree
from the Monterey Institute of International Studies. On his return, though he
wished to work in his father’s production house, Suresh Productions, he
became involved in the Telugu film industry as an actor.
Kaliyuga Pandavulu (1986) served as the launch pad for Venkatesh in the
Telugu Film Industry. Venky, as he is popularly known as, tasted success in
1988, with the movie ‘Swarnakamalam.’ In the same year, he delivered
another hit—in the form of Varasudochadu. However, Venkatesh could not
capitalise on the success and make the most of it. He failed to give a
consistent performance, which led to a downfall in his career graph.
Nonetheless, the musical ‘‘ revived his career once again. The film not only
brought Venky back to the limelight, but also proved to be one of the greatest
hits of the year.
Venkatesh’s venture with Bollywood director Ram Gopal Verma, for the
movie Kshana Kshanam, earned him accolades as an actor. Then came
Chanti, a remake of the Tamil movie Chinna Thambi, which proved to be
the biggest milestone of his career. Later, it was remade into a Bollywood
movie as well, with the name Anari and Venkatesh as the main protagonist.
With the movie, he became a family hero and received huge fan following.
Venkatesh’s artistic skills are a complete package, giving his audience a taste
of everything, right from comedy to love and romance to anger.
 7. Regional Scenarios:
Kannada

Introduction
1931 saw the emergence of talking pictures in the regional languages of
South India with the release of Kalidas. In 1934, the first talky in Kanawha,
Sati Sulochana, was followed by Bhakta Dhruva.
Both Sati Sulochana and Bhakta Dhruva were major successes. But
prospective filmmakers in Karnataka were handicapped by the lack of studios
and technical crews. Sati Sulochana was shot in Kolhapur at the Chatrapathi
studio; most filming, sound recording, and post-production was done in
Madras (now Chennai). It was difficult, as well, to find financial backing for
new film projects in the region; thus, very few movies in Kanawha were
released during the early years of Indian sound cinema.
Gubbi Veeranna could be considered the doyen of Kannada Cinema during
the mid to late forties. He brought his talent as an actor from the theatrical
stage to Kannada Cinema through his Gubbi Veeranna Theater.
Subsequently, Gubbi Karnataka Productions of which he was a shareholder
produced famous movies such as Bhaktha Kumbara, Gunasagari,
Hemareddi Mallamma, Adarsha Sati,and Sadarame during the mid forties
all the way up to late fifties.
The 1950s will be remembered as the decade that introduced the doyen of
Kannada cinema—Dr.Rajkumar. Rajkumar, originally known as Mutturaju
was a theater artist, discovered by HLN Simha. HLN offered him a lead role
in the mythological movie, Bedara Kanawha. The movie proved to be a
blockbuster. It also launched the careers of comedian Narasimharaju and
director G.V. Iyer.
Even after the success of Bedara Kanawha, Kannada film industry
remained stagnant. Lack of financiers, technicians and studios proved to be a
hindrance to film making. Rajkumar, along with Narasimharaju and G.V.
Iyer decided to form a partnership and produce movies. The partnership
lasted for only a couple of movies. Ranadhira Kanteerava was one such
successful joint venture. The majority of the films during this decade were
either mythological or historical in nature.
The 1970s and the ‘80s is heralded as the Golden Age of Kanawha cinema.
It was also the period that witnesses the birth of alternate cinema or parallel
cinema. Kannada cinema spearheaded the parallel cinema movement in India
along with Bengali and Malayalam cinemas. B V Karanth’s Chomana Dudi-
an evocative film on caste distinctions, Girish Karnad’s Kaadu and Girish
Kasaravalli’s Ghatashraddha spearheaded the Kannada parallel cinema.
Vamshavruksha, Prema Karanth’s Phaniyamma, Kadu Kudure,
Hamsageethe, Accident, Akramana, Mooru Dhaarigalu, Tabarana
Kathe, Bannadha Vesha, were some of the important movies of this decade.
Girish Kasaravalli, a gold medalist from the Pune’s FTII, first film
Ghatashraddha in 1977, won him the National award for best film. He has
won the National award for best film four times including for his latest film
Dweepa. His award winning films include Akramana (1979), Mooru
Dhaarigalu(1981), Tabarana Kathe (1987), Bannadha Vesha (1989),
Mane(1989), Kraurya (1996), Taayi Saaheba (1998) and Dweepa(2002).
Girish Karnad’s Kaadu (1973), Ondanondu Kaladalli(1978), M.S.
Sathyu’s Kanneshwara Rama (1977), Chithegu Chinthe (1978), Pattabhi
Rama Reddy’s Samskara (1970) were some the important movies of this
decade.
This decade also witness the rise of Puttanna Kanagal, who is widely
acknowledged as the greatest director in Kanawha film history. His movies
like Bellimoda, Gejje Pooje, Sharapanjara, Sakshatkara, Nagara Havu
bought new style of film making which acted as a bridge between
commercial and parallel cinema. In a bid to popularise film making, the
Government of Karnataka in the 1980s granted a 50 percent tax exemption to
Kanawha films completely made in Karnataka and it increased the subsidy
amount to Kanawha films.
The rise of Rajkumar gave a path to Kanawha film industry to make more
historical movies which attracted people towards theater that time, Bedara
Kannappa was the first Kanawha movie which completed 100 days and it
also got appreciation letter from central government. Later rajkumar also did
some movies like Naandi, Chandavalli Thotadalli, Kan Theradu Nodu
which gained popularity and critical acclaim for social themes. Dr. Rajkumar
and other co artists worked hard to establish a movie studio in Bangalore,
finally Balakrishan succeeded by opening Abhiman studio in Bangalore. The
golden era in the history of Kannada Cinema was here, which gave rise to not
only talents of Kanawha Cinema but even other film industries. Although
lacking a local studio due to which industry had to rely on erstwhile Madras
or Bombay studios, the industry had its own era of theater personalities
making the cinema an art. It’s not surprising how films made in this era were
able to clinch major awards at national level.
Starting from Gubbi Veeranna, R. Nagendra Rao (RNR), HLN Simha,
Kurasi, B.R.Panthulu, M.R. Vittal, Sampath, Hunsoor Krishnamurthy,
Sathyu, Girish Karnad, U.R. AnanthaMurthy the time found its peak with
Puttanna Kanagal’s masterpieces which introduced a galaxy of stars on to the
screen.
Kalyan Kumar, Udaya Kumar, Rajesh, Gangadhar are some of the veteran
actors and B. Jayamma, B. Saroja Devi, Pandari Bhai, Leelavathi, Rajamma,
Kalpana, Manjula, Aarathi, and Jayanthi were some of the veteran actresses
who left special mark.
NarasimhaRaju, Balakrishna, NataBhayankara Vajramuni carved their own
niche as supporting stars.
This was the peak period as well as testime time for Rajkumar and rising
strides in Kannada film industry. He gave blockbuster movies which created
history and established the Kannada film industry in firm footing. Bangarada
Manushya created history. Daari Thappida Maga, Mayura, Premada
Kanike, Babruvahana, Baktha Kumbara, Krishnadevaraya were huge
success which established Rajkumar and gave him an iconic status which
lasts until this day, even posthumously. The arrival of another two super stars
Ambarish and Vishnuvardhan put Kannada film industry in to the context.
Shankar nag is another famous actor in Kannada Industry. Shankar Nag made
his own mark by the internationally acclaimed Ondanondu Kaaladalliand
Malgudi Days along with some of the commercial superhits. Anant Nag,
Ambareesh, Prabhakar, Lokesh, Ashok, Srinath, M. P. Shankar, Sunder
Krishna Urs were some of the actors who made their own mark in the
industry. Puttana Kanagal paved way to the above mentioned actors as well
as RamaKrishna, Kokila Mohan, Chandrashekar and also Lakshmi, Padma
Vaasanthi, Geetha, Madhavi, Saritha, Jayamala were some of the actresses
who made their mark.
H.R Bhargava directed numerous popular Kanawha movies during the 80’s
and 90’s. His movies were very family oriented and loved by all.
Bhagyavantaru, Avala Hejje, Guru Shishyaru, Preeti Vatsalyaand
Jananayaka are some of his superhit movies. Sandesh Nagaraj known for his
off beat films, joesimon given action with sentiment success films. Sunil
Kumar Desai known for his versatility, Dinesh Babu known for his story
depth, T.S. Nagabharana known for his involvement in Jaanapada and
historical melodramas, Kodlu Ramakrishna for his subjects based on
common man and narrative stories, Phani Ramachandra with his comic
flicks, Rajedra Singh Babu were prominent figures of this time. This was the
time where the once actors meant for villainous role gradually tried other
roles. Ravichandran and Hamsalekha were successful in creation of a blend
exclusively for the youth. Ravichandran masterminded in bringing out the
actresses from other industries. Ravichandran, Devaraj, Jaggesh, Maanu,
Suresh Heblikar, Lokanath, Lohithaswa, Sudheer were some of veterans who
made their wave in the cinema. Shivarajkumar also started his career in this
time with a hatrick superhit. Bhavya, Mahalaxmi, Sudharani, Thara, Vanitha
Vasu, Anjana, Shruti came to limelight.
At the late 90’s approached there was a need for gamut of new and fresh
talents. As the time progressed more involvement with the changing film
scenarios were seen in this era. The south Indian film Industry gradually
segregated and Kannada and Malayalam were subdued under the huge
business oriented industries of Tamil and Telugu. New and fresh talents of
Sunil, Shashikumar, Ramesh Aravind, Ramkumar, along with Malashri did a
commercial survival not maintain the same order. But still this era found a
little respite with movies like Nammoora Mandara Hoove,
Amruthavarshini, America AmericaandUpendra’s Om and A.
The kidnap and later demise of Rajkumar, M.P. Shankar did a lot in losing
aura for an already subdued industry. But introduction of some of the best
looking talents, superstars like Sudeep, Upendra and Darshan with likes of
Puneet Rajkumar and Ganesh along with female superstar Ramya gave the
industry a respite to compete with other Language Industries.
Yajamaana which broke all the previous records in the history of Kannada
film industry in collection as well as running. It grossed more than 42 crores
which record was later over taken by Mungaru Male after 7 years which
grossed 45 crores but still Yajamaana maitains its records of running in
number of theatres and also collection made in few centres hasn’t been
broken, Raktakanneeru, Jogi, Gaalipata, Apthamithra, Aptharakshaka
were some of the blockbusters commercially. Aa Dinagalu, Cyanide was a
special attempt.
Upendra was recognised as a very good, dynamic and different director
and the best one to follow the greats of Puttanna Kanagal and Shankar Nag.
Taara, Prema and Bhavana (with her dynamic and offbeat appearances like
in single actor movie-Shanti) led the female brigade.
Girish Kasaravalli made huge waves with his subjects in art based films.
Nagathihalli Chandrashekhar, T.S. Nagabharana and Girsh Karnad were
instrumental throughout in bringing masterpieces.
Coincidentally the sons of Dr. Rajkumar, Shiva Rajkumar, Raghavendra
Rajkumar and Puneet Rajkumar have acted in films which are commercial
blockbusters
Popular Faces of Kannada Cinema
Kannada film industry is located in Bagaluru (Bangalore), Karnataka.
Given hereunder are brief profiles of some of the leading Kannada film
personalities.
Saroja Devi
Saroja Devi was born to Bhairappa and Rudramma in
the year 1938 in Karnataka. It was B. Krishnamurthy
who spotted her at a function where she was singing.
She was 13 then.
She made her debut in Telugu Cinema with
Mahakavi Kalidasa (1955).This movie was directed by
K. R. Seetarama Sastry. Her Kannada debut Kittuura
Rani Chennama (1962) fetched a National Award for
her. Her contributions towards cinema fetched her title
“Kannadathu Paingkili” (Kannada’s Parrot) in Tamil language. She is the
Chairperson for Karnataka Film Development Corporation.
Saroja Devi was first spotted by B.R. Krishnamurthy while she was
singing at a function at the age of 13. Initially, she refused his offer to act in
movies. She debuted with the Kannada film Sri Rama Puja in 1955-56,
which went on to win the National Award.
 Saroja Devi was married to Sri Harsha, an engineer by profession on 1
March 1967.
She acted in more than 170 films in Tamil, Kannada, Hindi and Telugu
languages. Her Kannada film Kittuura Rani Chennama won the national
award. She is also known in Tamil as: ‘Kannadathu Paingkili’ (Kannada’s
Parrot) in Tamil films.
Her debut movie in Telugu was Panduranga Mahathmyam(1957) in
which she acted opposite N.T. Rama Rao. Another Telugu actress Krishna
Kumari dubbed her voice in this movie for Saroja devi. Later, without any
dubbing for her voice Saroja Devi acted in many Telugu films.
Saroja Devi was Chairperson of the Karnataka Film Development
Corporation. She was also the chairperson of Kantheerava Studios,
Bangalore.
She actively took part in social welfare programmers and organized
donation camps. She is the recipient of the prestigious Padma Shri and Padma
Bhushan award.
Girish Karnad
Girish Raghunath Karnad was born on 19 May
1938 born in Matheran, Maharashtra in a Konkani
speaking family. He has become one of India’s
brightest shining stars, earning international
praise as a playwright, poet, actor, director, critic,
and translator is a contemporary writer,
playwright, actor and movie director in Kannada
language. His initial schooling was in Marathi. As
a young man studying at Karnataka University,
Dharwar, he earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in
Mathematics and Statistics in 1958, Karnad
dreamed of earning international literary fame,
but he thought that he would do so by writing in
English. Upon graduation, he went to England and studied at Oxford where
he earned a Rhodes scholarship and went on to receive a Master of Arts
Degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics.
His directorial debut came with the movie Vamsha Vruksha (1971) based
on a Kannada novel by S.L. Bhairappa. The movie went on to win several
national and international awards. Before that Karnad had acted in a movie
called Samskara (1970) which was based on a novel by U.R. Ananthamurthy
directed by Pattabhirama Reddy. That movie bagged the first President’s
Golden Lotus Award for Kannada cinema.
Karnad later directed several movies in Kannada and Hindi. Some of his
famous Kannada movies include Tabbaliyu neenade magane (1977),
Ondanondu Kaaladalli, Cheluvi (1992) and Kadu. His other notable Hindi
films are Nishant(1975), Manthan (1976) and Swami (1977). In Swami, he
played Shabana Azmi’s husband who is devoid of any worldly pleasures and
wants to run away from marital responsibility. This role got him a lot of
critical as well as audience acclaim. In 1982 he featured in a Marathi film
Umbartha, opposite the sultry Smita Patil and though the script of the film
was completely woman-centric, he still left a mark on the minds of the
audiences.
Hindi movies directed by him include Utsav (1984) and Godhuli (1977).
A recently acclaimed movie by Karnad is Kanooru Heggaditi based on a
novel by Kannada writer Kuvempu. Apart from directing and screenwriting
all the above movies, Karnad has also acted in several other movies and
received critical acclamation. In 1985, he was seen in Subhash Ghai’s Meri
Jung which did very well at the box-office. After this, in 1990 he appeared in
the historical film Nehru: The Jewel of India. He continued playing
character roles in selective films, some of them being Sapnay (1997), China
Gate (1998), Pukarand Hey Ram (2000). Out of these his role in the latter
two was largely noticed and appreciated. But what brought him right back to
public memory was Nagesh Kukonoor’s Iqbal (2005) where he played the
scheming cricket coach and Dor (2006) in which he was the main
protagonist’s father-in-law. Both these films had him play a character with
grey shades and were stories that touched a chord.
In 1978 he won the Silver Lotus Award in National Films Award as Best
Screenplay for movie Bhumika: The Role (1977) In 1980 he won the
Filmfare Award as Best Screenplay for the movie Godhuli (1979). He is the
latest one among seven recipients of Jnanpith Award for Kannada the highest
literary honour conferred in India. He was conferred Padma Shri and Padma
Bhushan by Government of India.
His plays, written in Kannada, have been widely translated into English
and all major Indian languages. He has played the role of Karadi, the
sootradhar, for several stories in the popular audiobook series for kids Karadi
Tales. He has also been the voice of Abdul Kalam, President of India in the
audio book of Kalam’s autobiography by Charkha Audiobooks Wings of
Fire.
M.P. Shankar
M.P. Shankar was the third son of Puttalingappa
and Gangamma and was born on August 20, 1935.
Puttalingappa ran a handloom textile industry near
the now existing Shankar Mutt and later suffered
losses, following which the family got into
financial crisis.
Shankar had his primary and secondary
education in Dalvoy School and higher secondary
education in Banumaiah’s High School.
M.P. Shankar could not even appear for SSLC
exams because of financial problems. He worked
as a daily wager in the then Mysore Electricity Board on a daily wage of 14
annas per day. Shankar started his career as a Foundry man in the Railway
workshop at Mysore in 1955 on a monthly wage of Rs. 80. This iron grinding
work had an impact on his body. Shankar, who practised wrestling,
participated in the Dasara wrestling competition in 1956 and received title
from the then Chief Minister B. D. Jatti.
He dreamed of winning the “Sri Mysore” wrestling title. But the wrestling
competition was suspended for three years from 1957, following the violence
which broke out during the competition that year, and as such his dream of
winning the “Sri Mysore” title remained unfulfilled. His acting talent came to
light when he played the role of Kadu Kuruba in the diamond jubilee
celebration of Banumaiah’s Institutions and received a prize from Sri
Jayachamaraja Wadiyar.
He formed a drama troupe under the banner Bharani Kalavidaru and
enacted plays such as Gadayuddha, Yechchama Nayaka, Yelahanka
Bhoopala and Raja Gopichand throughout the State.
M. P. Shankar made his entry into films in 1962 as a villain in the film
Ratnamanjari, directed by Hunsur Krishnamurthy and made a name for him
in the cinema industry. He earned the distinction of acting in 108 films.
Shankar acted as a villain in films such as Veera Sankalpa, Kadina
Rahasya, Naari Munidare Maari, Gandhada Gudi, Rama Lakshmana
and Bhootayyana Maga Ayyu and with his flawless dialogues, clear voice
and acting talent, made an indelible mark in the minds of the audience. Some
of the roles he had played are only typical of Shankar. Shankar started his
own production unit in 1968 under the banner “Bharani Chitra.” He began
creating awareness about environment and wildlife through his films,
beginning with the film Kaadina Rahasya.
He passed away on 17 July 2008.
Rajkumar
Dr. Rajkumar (real name Singanalluru Puttaswamayya Mutturaju) was one
of the most popular actors of movies made in Kannada, the language of
Karnataka, a southern state of India. He was an icon in Karnataka and was
seen as a role model to millions of Kannadigas. “Dr. Raj” or “Annavru” (big
brother) to millions of his fans, he was sometimes called the John Wayne of
South Indian cinema. He acted in more than 200 movies over 50 years in
Kannada. Some of his popular films include Bangaaradha Manushya (The
Golden Man), Kasturi Nivasa, Gandhadha Gudi, Gandhadha Gudiand
Jeevana Chaitra. He was also a well-known singer, as a playback singer as
well as of devotional songs.
Rajkumar was born on Aril 24 1929 in Gajanur, a
village near Karnataka—Tamil Nadu border in Tamil
Nadu, India. He was born to Puttaswami who was a
famous Kannada dramatist. Rajkumar’s mother
tongue was Kannada. He was the eldest son of his
family. His official name was S.P. Muthuraju, which
was named after Lord Muthathi-rai (Lord Hanuman).
His name was changed to ‘Rajakumar’ (meaning
Prince) when he entered films, by HLN Simha who
directed Rajkumar’s first movie Bedara Kannappa.
The title of Doctor in his name came after he was
awarded a doctorate by Mysore University for his
contribution to films.
 Rajkumar started his career as a dramatist with his father in a troupe led by
Gubbi Veeranna. There, he learned all his acting and singing skills. During
his career on stage he became famous for his role as Arjuna.
Bedara Kannapa was his first movie in the lead role. He made the
first independent Kannada movie called Ranadheera
Kantheerava exclusively with pure Kannada technicians and cast,
and succeeded in a big way. The same event marked the emergence
of the Kannada Cinema industry as an independent entity separate
from other south Indian cinema industries.
Dr. Rajkumar was also one of the most versatile actors in Indian cinema.
His character depictions ranged from comedy to action, from lover to
double/triple roles, from mythological characters to portrayal of modern day
social causes. He acted with the most popular heroines in southern Indian
cinema, such as Kannada’s Pandaribai, Leelavathi, Jayanti, Bharati, Arati, ,
Jayaprada, Madhavi, Geetha, Sarita and others from neighbouring states. He
acted with many directors of the south Indian cinema from B.R. Pantulu,
Puttanna Kanagal to Shankar Nag and Nagabharana. He was known for only
acting in Kannada movies, even though he got many offers from different
movie industries in India. Actors who have acted with him considered it an
achievement of their lifetime. Prithviraj Kapoor acted in the movie
Saakshatkara in the role of Dr. Rajkumar’s father.
In his lifetime, Dr. Rajkumar acted in 206 Kannada movies, excluding the
guest appearances. He had a film production company called Vajreshwari
Combines. Bhagyada Bagilu was his 100th movie and Devatha Manushya
was his 200th movie. He was also well trained in Yoga and horse riding. At
his peak he is said to have worked out for 3 hours and practised pranayama, a
form of meditation, every day.
Two of his most famous performances were in his own productions
—Kaviratna Kalidasaand Shankar-Guru. He produced movies based on
famous Kannada novels. He was ably supported by his friend and script
writer Chi. Udayashankar. He chose stories which usually had a social
message for the audience. He also made many movies against social evils.
One such movie is Shabdavedi which is against the evil of drugs.
He never smoked a cigarette or acted as an alcoholic in any of his movies
(excepting a few in the initial days of his film career). In real life too, he was
a nonsmoker and nonalcoholic and maintained a very high standard of living,
performing daily Yogasanas and following a strict diet. Though he had
numerous chances to try his hand at Indian politics owing to his mass
following, he shied away from active politics focussing his energy towards
art and cinema.
Dr. Rajkumar still has a large fan following throughout the world. His
most memorable films include Bedara Kannapa, Bangarada Manushya,
Kastoori Nivasa, Sri Krishnadevaraya, Kula Gowrava, Gandhada Gudi,
Sampathige Sawal, Shankar-Guru, Babruvahana, Bhakta Prahalada,
Halu Jenu, Bhagyada Lakshmi Baramma, Jeevana Chaitra, Akasmika,
Premada Kanike, Vasantha Geetha, Apoorva Sangama, Daari Tappida
Maga, and many others.
Dr. Rajkumar was also a famous singer. He won the national award for the
song ‘Naadamaya’ of the movie Jeevana Chaitra. His singing career started
with the song “Yaare Koogadali” in the hugely popular movie Sampathige
Savaal. Later he went on to sing for most of his movies and for many private
albums which were mainly devotional albums. His song renditions would
range from pure classical to disco and fast numbers to pathos.
Although his singing was greatly appreciated, his fans of the days of black-
and-white movies in 1960s and 1970s, swear by the fact that his true identity
was P.B. Srinivas, who did the playback singing for most of Rajkumar’s
movies, until Rajkumar himself started to sing. P.B. Srinivas continued
singing for him in many of the movies in which Rajkumar starred in
double/triple roles.
In his final years, Rajkumar had lent his voice to a few other actors and
sang many background solos. One such song which holds a unique
distinction was for the movie Muddina Maava wherein he had provided
playback to the legendary singer S.P.Balasubramaniyam, who had acted in
the movie. This is probably a rare occasion where an actor sings for a singer,
which is probably unmatched in the world of cinema. He had sung many
devotional songs on Hanuman and Sri Raghavendra Swamiji. One of his
most famous songs was “Huttidare Kannada Nadalli Hutta Beku.” The last
movie he acted in was Shabdavedi, in which he co-starred along with the
famous actress Jayaprada.
 The “Gokak Report” popularly known as “Gokak Varadi” was about
making Kannada a compulsary language for primary education. Considering
that the language is spoken by a majority of people in Karnataka, the Gokak
movement’s goal was to give Kannada the same basic right already enjoyed
by other official languages in their respective states of India. When the
Kannada literary experts and students started this movement there was a
popular positive response from the common man in Karnataka. It gained
momentum when Rajkumar was asked to lead the movement. He became
actively involved in the movement and soon became the force behind the
Gokak movement that was designed to bring Kannada to the forefront. He
took a rally from Belgaum to Bangalore and gave speeches about the
importance of Kannada. The government responded positively and Kannada
was to become a compulsary language of education in Karnataka. Ensuring
respect and dignity for Kannada language and Kannada culture were the
corner stones of his life.
Rajkumar received numerous state, national and international awards. He
received an honorary doctorate from Mysore University in 1976. He won 10
Filmfare awards for the best actor category which happens to be the second
highest in the history of Indian films. He won 9 state awards in the best actor
category. He also won a National award in best singer category. He received
the Padma Bhushan award from the Government of India in 1983 and the
Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1995, in recognition of his contributions to the
Kannada film industry. He was rewarded as Karnataka Ratna in the year 1993
by the Government of Karnataka. In the year 1985, Dr. Rajkumar had also
won the prestigious Kentucky Colonel award presented in Bangalore by the
then Governer of Kentucky state, USA. His fans have conferred him the title
“Nata Saarvabhowma” (The Emperor of Acting).
Rajkumar had a brother S.P.Varadaraju who worked with him in his
production company. He also had a sister by name Sharadamma. He was
married to Parvathamma, who later became a film producer. They had 3 sons
(Shiva Rajkumar, Ragavendra Rajkumar and Punith Rajkumar) and 2
daughters (Lakshmi and Poornima). He launched all his three sons as actors
in Kannada films. On July 30, 2000, at the age of 71, Rajkumar, his son-in-
law Govindaraju and two others were kidnapped from the actor’s country
cottage at Gajanur in Tamil Nadu by the bandit and terrorist Veerappan.
Veerappan was demanding the release of his gang members who were being
held in jail under a defunct antiterrorism law. The event prompted a massive
manhunt and threw the Karnataka government into crisis. Rajkumar was
released unharmed on November 15, 2000, after 108 days of captivity. His
kidnapping and the manner in which his release were secured are a mystery
to this day. Dr. Rajkumar passed away in M.S. Ramaiah hospital, Bangalore,
on April 12, 2006 (13.45 IST) following a cardiac arrest. Following his death,
April 13 was declared a stateside holiday, in order to mourn the thespian’s
passing. His last movie was Shabdhavedi and he was believed to have been
willing to act again as ‘Bhakta Ambareesha.’ He was laid to rest in
Kanteerava Studios in Bangalore on 13 April 2006. The city virtually came to
a halt as the news spread about the death. The news of his death precipitated
a city-wide reaction comparable to the time he was kidnapped by Veerappan.
Following the news of his death, Bangalore city saw mob violence by people
who seemed to be his fans who had come to mourn for him. An unofficial
‘bundh’ (closure of all shops and other establishments) was announced. A
book Bangarada Manushya, a chronicle on Dr. Rajkumar written by
A.N.Prahlada Rao has been published in July 2005. The book is a referral
volume about the history of Kannada film industry in general and about the
history of Dr. RajKumar, in particular, for the life and works of Dr.
Rajkumar.
Vishnuvardhan
Sampath Kumar professionally known as
Vishnuvardhan was regarded as one of the
most versatile, talented, stylish and popular
actors in the Kannada film industry. He also
acted in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam
films. He has acted in nearly 220 movies in
total. Born on 18 September 1950 in Mysore,
Karnataka in a Brahmin family to the H.L.
Narayana Rao and Kamakshamma. His father
was an artist, music composer and a film
script writer. His family made a living in Mysore’s Chamundipuram. In those
days, his father was well known for his collection of musical instruments. His
sister Rama Ramachandra, was a Kathak dancer at the Mysore Palace. He did
his primary schooling in Mysore’s Gopalswamy School and his middle
school in Bangalore’s Kannada Madari School. He attended high school and
obtained his degree at the National College, Basavanagudi, Bangalore.
Vishnuvardhan started his career with the national award-winning movie
Vamshavruksha directed by Girish Karnad. Naagarahaavu, directed by
Puttanna Kanagal, in which he played lead role for the first time, made him
an overnight star. Three-and-a-half decades of career and a variety of popular
roles in more than 200 films speak high about his caliber as an actor. Whether
it was his debut role as a rebellious and hot-headed young man, or a sensitive
lover, or the likeable ‘Captain’ (to Ramesh’s Vice-Captain), Vishnuvardhan
proved a versatile actor. Many scripts seemed to be written around his on-
screen persona, and the diversity of his fan base is a measure of his talent and
appeal. Young men admired his physical presence, big heart and dialogue
delivery. To more mature, middle class audiences his roles provided
dependable, decent and solid entertainment, in a Kannada film industry
desperately short of quality and marquee names. Some of his hits were
Naagarahaavu, Muthina Haara, Hombisilu, Sahasa Simha, Bandhana,
Naagara Hole, Nishkarsha, Yajamana, Bhootayyana Maga Ayyu and
Apthamitra. While shooting for Muthina Haara, Vishnu performed a
dangerous parachute dive without a double and narrowly escaped death. He
ventured into parallel cinema and acted in movies like Harakeya Kuri
(based on Dr. Chandrashekar Kambar’s novel with same title). Vishnu started
to wear the ‘Kadha’ from 1980. He first wore it in the movie Simhajodi and
this remained with him. It was given to him at a Gurudwara in Bidar. It is
believed that the huge fan following for him made Vishnuvardhan not want
to deviate from his “Star value” and ‘Image.’ He continued to don the roles of
macho hero and the ideal lover husband. He started singing in movies
occasionally and, lately, he started singing devotional songs for albums. The
first song he sang was in the movie Nagarahole. The first devotional album
sung by him was on “Lord Ayappa” and the title of the album was
Jyothiroopa Ayappa. His other albums were “Thayi Bhanashankari” on
goddess Banashankari. One more album on Ayappa is called Vishwapremi
Ayappa. He also sang devotional songs on Dharmastala’s Lord
Manjunathaswamy, Malemadeshwara and Ranachandi Chamundi.
He passed away on 30 December 2009.
 8. Regional Scenarios:
Tamil

Introduction
History of Tamil Cinema can be dated back to 1916 when Nataraja
Rangaswamy Mudaliar made Keechaka Vadham, which was also the first
silent film in South India. Lead actors of Keechaka Vadham were
Jeevarathnam, R. Nataraja Mudaliar and Raja Mudaliar. Other films by
Nataraja Mudaliar were Draupadi Vastrapaharanam (1917), Mayil
Ravana (1918), Lavakusa (1919), Kalinga Mardanam (1920), Rukmini
Kalyanam (1921) and Markandeya (1923). Other names to be mentioned
from the distant past of Tamil cinema are R.Venkaiah, R.Prakash,
A.Narayanan and K.Subramania. The first talkie in Tamil was H.M.Reddy’s
Kalidas in 1931. This film told the familiar tale of Kalidas, the legendary
Sanskrit poet. It had a cast consisting of P.G.Venkatesan, T.P. Rajalakshmi,
Thevaram Rajambal and M.S.Sabthanalakshmi.
Mythologicals, folklores, pseudo historicals and photographed stage plays
were the themes of Tamil cinema in the thirties. Films had as many as 30
songs. Musicians like Dandapani Designer, G.N.Balasubramanian, Musiri,
M.S.Subhalakshmi and others were cast in the Tamil movies of thirties for
the sake of music. A.Narayanan’s 1934 film Srinivasa Kalyanam was the
first Tamil talkie to be produced in a South Indian studio. In 1935, South
India Film Corporation made Kausalya, the first Tamil film on a
contemporary theme. The first female producer and director of Tamil cinema
was T.P Rajalakshmi and the film was Miss Kamala in 1936.
Chinthamani(1937) was the first Tamil film to run for more than a year in a
single cinema house.
Other notable Tamil films of the thirties were A.Narayanan’s Rajambal,
Meerabai and Thenali Raman, Raja Sandow’s Peyum Pennum,
Bhaktavatsala, Chadrakanthaand Thiruneelakantar,K.Subraminiam’s
Pavalakkodi, Balayogini, Seva Sadan and Thyagabhoomi and R.Prakash’s
Lanka Dahanam and Anaadhai Penn.
Stardom in Tamil films had its birth in the thirties itself. The first superstar
(female) of Tamil cinema was K.B.Sundarambal. She received Rs.1 Lakh as
salary for playing the lead role in the movie Nandanar which was produced
by Asandas Classical Talkies.
Second world and the independence struggle had its impacts on Tamil
films of the “furious forties.” Foremost among the directors of forties were
S.S.Vasan, A.V. Meiyappan, L.V.Prasad and T.R. Sundaram.
S.S.Vasan’s Chandralekha in 1948 was a landmark film in the history of
Tamil cinema. Chandralekha was produced on a lavish budget and is among
the most expensive Tamil films of all time. Chandralekha was distributed
by Gemini Studios, which was founded by Vasan in 1940. Later the film was
re-released in Hindi and it became the first All-India hit movie. T.R
Rajakumari, M.K.Radha, Ranjan and N.S.Krishnan were the leading artists of
Chandralekha.
A.V. Meiyappan’s 1947 film Nam Iruvar was another important movie
of the decade. Nam Iruvar was the first production venture of AVM
Productions which was established in 1945. AVM Productions is the largest
and oldest production studio currently active in Tamil film industry.
Popular stars of the decade were M.K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, P.U.
Chinnappa, T.R. Mahalingam, M.K. Radha, Ranjan, K.R. Ramaswamy, T.R.
Rajakumari and Rukmini. M.K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar (MKT) was the
most popular among them and is widely regarded as the first superstar of
Tamil cinema. MKT’s film Haridas in 1944 created history by becoming the
first Indian film to run continuously for three years at a single theatre.
Haridas was directed by Sunder Rao Nadkarni who was Marathi film
director. Other box office hits of MKT include Ambikapathi, Ashok Kumar
and Sivakavi.
The late forties witnessed the excellent exploitation of Tamil cinema for
achieving certain political aims. C.N. Annadurai, who later went on to
become the chief minister of Tamilnadu was the leader of this rare
phenomenon in the history of world cinema. Annadurai wrote the script for
Velaikkari (1949), directed by A.S.A.Swamy. Velaikkari had a cast
consisting of T.S. Balaiah, M.N. Nambiar, K.R.Ramaswamy, M.V. Rajamma
and Balasubramaniam D. Velaikkari was a huge success and it set a new
trend in Tamil cinema.
M. Karunanidhi, Annadurai’s trusted assistant followed his path and wrote
screen plays for several films. Karunanidhi also rose to the level of Chief
Minister of Tamil Nadu. Some of his films as a script writer were
Rajakumari, Parasakthi, Malaikallanand Pudhumai Pithan.
By the early fifties three actors rose to fame in Tamil film industry and
they ruled the film world in the fifties, sixties and seventies. They were M.G.
Ramachandran (M.G.R), Sivaji Ganesan and Gemini Ganesan.
M.G. Ramachandran made his debut in Ellis R Dungan’s 1935 film Sati
Leelavati. His breakthrough role was in the 1947 film Rajakumari, which
was written by M. Karunanidhi. He attained superstardom after his 1954
movie Malaikallan. He played the hero in a number of blockbusters
including Alibabavum Narpadhu Thirudargalum (first full length color
film in Tamil, released in 1955), Madhurai Veeran, Pudhumai Pithan,
Nadodi Mannan, Thaayai Kaatha Thanayan, Dheiva Thaai, En
Kadamai, Aayirathil Oruvan, Enga Veettu Pillai, Anbe Vaa, Nadodi,
Chandhrodhayam, Ragasiya Police 115, Pudhiya Bhoomi, Adimai Penn,
Engal Thangam, Rickshawkaran (won him National Film Award for Best
Actor in 1971), Raaman Thediya Seedhai, Ulagam Sutrum Valiban and
Idhayakkani. M.G.R is considered the numero uno in the history of Tamil
cinema and was fondly called Puratchi Thalaivar. He became the Chief
Minister of Tamilnadu in 1977 and continued in the position till his death in
1987.
Sivaji Ganesan was one of the first and finest method actors in Indian
cinema. His highly expressive eyes, mobile face and fine voice made him a
moving force in Tamil cinema. He was fondly called as Nadigar Thilakam.
Sivaji Ganesan entered film world through the 1952 film Parasakthi which
was written by M. Karunanidhi. Parasakthi is among the classics of Tamil
cinema and helped Sivaji Ganesan rise to instant stardom. He rendered fine
performances in movies like Veerapandiya Kattabomman, Paasamalar,
Kappalottiya Thamizhan, Vietnam Veedu, Vasantha Maligai, Pattikkada
Pattanama, Thangapathakamand Thirisoolam. In the 1964 film
Navarathri, Sivaji Ganesan essayed nine different roles each representing a
different emotional state of a man.
Gemini Ganesan, nicknamed Kadhal Mannan got his first break with Miss
Malini. Then, he played Lord Krishna in Chakravarthi. The actor in him
was noticed with the 1953 film Thai Ullam in which he played the villain.
Next year he was cast as the hero in Manampol Mangalyam opposite his
future wife Savithri. Some of his best works include Missi Amma, Pennin
Perumai, Miss Mary, Maya Bazar, School Master, Parthiban Kanavu,
Kalathur Kannamma, Kalyana Parisu, Konjum Salangai, Kanavane
Kan Kanda Deivam, Vanjikottai Valiban, Then Nilavu, Meenda Sorgam,
Santhi Nilayam, Vaazhkai Padagu, Katpaham, Ramu, Thamarai
Nenjam and Punnagaiand Naan Avan Illai. His talents were not properly
exploited and were mostly confined to boy meets girl romantic films.
Other popular actors in the fifties and sixties include Sivakumar,
Muthumaran, Vijayakumar, Jaishankar, Balaji, Nagesh, M.N. Nambiar, P.S.
Veerappa, Asokan, R.S. Manohar and Major Sundera Rajan. Leading
actresses of this period were Anjali Devi, Savithri, P. Bhanumathi,
Pushpalatha, Padmini, Sowkar Janaki, B. Saroja Devi, K.R. Vijaya, Vanisree,
Kanchana and Jayalalitha. Prominent directors of this period include
Sreedhar, Krishnan Panju, A. Bhim Singh, P. Madhavan, P. Neelakantan,
A.P. Nagarajan, A.C. Trilokchander, C.V. Rajendran and K.S.
Gopalakrishnan.
By the late sixties Tamil cinema witnessed the emergence of a prolific
director and screenwriter, K. Balachander. He discarded the traditional nature
of film making and made movies with bold themes. His films dealt with
unusual and complicated relationships and social themes. Over the decades,
he made many stupendous movies like Ethir Neechal, Arangetram, Aval
Oru Thodar Kathai, Naan Avan Illai, Apoorva Raagangal, Avargal,
Moondru Mudichu, Varumayin Niram Sivappu, Thaneer Thaneer,
Achamillai Achamillai, Sindhu Bhairavi, Manathil Uruthi Vendumand
Unnal Mudiyum Thambi. He introduced and gave breaks to many artists
including Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Vivek and Prakash Raj.
By the late seventies three more directors belonging to the naturalistic
genre entered Tamil filmdom. They were K. Bharathiraja, Balu Mahendra
and K. Bhagyaraj.
Bharathiraja’s films had non-glamourous heroes, as-is-spoken dialogues
and true-to-life costumes. His first directorial venture was 16 Vayathinile in
1977. Bharathiraja himself wrote the script for 16 Vayathinile which had
Kamal Haasan, Rajnikanth and Sridevi in lead roles. His forte was village
themes which he proved through films like Kizhakke Pogum Rail, Alaigal
Oivadhillai, Mann Vasanai and Muthal Mariyathai.His other successful
movies like Sigappu Rojakkal, Tik Tik Tik, Vedham Pudhithu, Kizhakku
Seemayileand Karuththamma proved his ability to handle films with
different themes.
Balu Mahendra’s films were remarkable for their visual appeal, brilliant
characters and complex emotions. The first Tamil film he directed was
Azhiyadha Kolangal in 1979 which had Kamal Haasan as the protagonist.
His other movies include Moodupani, Moondram Pirai, Rettai Vaal
Kuruvi, Veedu, Sandhya Raagam, Marupadiyumand Sathi Leelavathi.
K. Bhagyaraj’s films were laced with earthy humour and the characters
were honest and straight forward. He scripted, directed and acted as the
protagonist in a number of movies. He made his entry into direction with the
1979 movie Suvar Ellatha Chitrangal. His notable movies include
Vidiyum Vari Kaathiru, Mouna Geethanagal, Indru Poyi Naalai Vaa,
Antha Ezhu Natkal, Thooral Ninnu Pochhu, Munthanai Mudichu and
Chinna Veedu.
The mid-late seventies and early eighties saw the emergence of Kamal
Haasan and Rajinikanth as the superstars of Tamil cinema.
Kamal Haasan performed as a child artist in early sixties and did
supporting roles in the early seventies. He got his first break in Tamil cinema
with K. Balachander’s 1975 movie Apoorva Raagangal, which was also
Rajinikanth’s debut movie. He worked with K. Balachander in a number of
movies including Moondru Mudichu, Avargal, Manmadha Leelai, Oru
Oodhappu Kan Simittugiradhuand Varumayin Niram Sivappu. Over the
years Kamal Haasan has done a variety of roles in films like Raaja Paarvai,
Vazhve Mayam, Sakala Kala Vallavan, Moondram Pirai, Nayakan,
Unnal Mudiyum Thambi, Apoorva Sahodarargal, Michael Madana
Kamarajan, Thevar Magan, Guna, Sathi Leelavathi, Avvai Shanmugi,
Indian, Hey Ram, Virumandi, Vasoolraja M.B.B.S, Vettaiyaadu
Vilaiyaaduand Dasavatharam.
Rajinikanth made his debut in Tamil films as a cancer patient in Apoorva
Raagangal (1975). In the mid seventies he played supporting and villainly
roles in films usually with Kamal Haasan as the hero. In S.P. Muthuraman’s
Bhuvana Oru Kelvikkuri (1977), he played a villain in first half and the
protagonist in the second half. Mullum Malarum (1978) directed by J.
Mahendran established Rajinikanth as a hero. Rajinikanth started the eighties
with a bang with the release of Billa. Billa was a remake of the the
bollywood movie Don. Rajinikanth consolidated his stardom in the eighties
with hits like Murattu Kaalai, Pokkiri Raja, Thanikattu Raja, Naan
Mahaan Alla, Moondru Mugam, Netrikan, Padikkathavan, Thee,
Velaikaran, Dharmathin Thalaivan, Mr. Bharath, Maaveeranand Sri
Raghavendra.Rajani continued his good run in the nineties with super hits
like Thalapathy, Mannan, Annamalai, Uzhaippali, Veera, Baasha,
Muthu, Arunachalamand Padayappa. His recent movies Chandramukhi
and Sivaji: The Boss were also stupendous hits.
More actors entered the Tamil film industry in the eighties. Prominent
among them were Vijayakanth, Prabhu Ganesan, Mohan, Sathyaraj, Karthik,
Sarat Kumar, Arjun and Murali. Popular heroines were Khushboo, Radha,
Ambika, Gouthami, Saranya and Rupini.
The eighties and early nineties witnessed the emergence and excellence of
some talented directors like Mani Ratnam, S.A. Chandrasekhar, Manivannan,
T. Rajender, Vikraman, R.K. Selvamani, Santhana Bharathi, K.S. Ravikumar
and S. Shankar. Mani Ratnam and S. Shankar stand out among the others.
Mani Ratnam had scripted and directed critically and commercially
successful films like Mouna Raagam, Nayagan, Agni Natchathiram,
Anjali, Thalapathi, Roja, Bombay, Iruvar, Alaipayutheyand Kannathil
Muthamittal. S. Shankar is known for his excellent treatment of commercial
cinema and has won accolades for his films like Gentleman, Kadhalan,
Indian, Jeans, Mudhalvan, Boys, Anniyan and Sivaji: The Boss.
The Nineties Up To the Present Era
In the nineties actors like Aravind Swamy, Vijay, Ajith, Prasanth and
Prabhu Deva entered Tamil filmdom. Heroines like Nagma, Rambha,
Soundarya, Madhoo, Meena, Devayani, Roja and Simran gained popularity
during this period. Directors like Sundar C, Rajeev Menon, S.J. Sooryah,
S.Ezhil, Selva and Cheran entered Tamil film industry during the nineties.
Vijay and Ajith Kumar rose to fame in the late nineties and became the
new sensations of Kollywood. By the early 2000’s R. Madhavan, Vikram and
Surya Sivakumar also attained stardom. Jyothika and Laila gained popularity
as heroines in the early 2000’s.
Tamil cinema has produced some of the most talented music directors in
India. Foremost among them (currently active) are Ilayaraja and A.R.
Rahman. Notable among the other music directors of Tamil film industry
include Harris Jayaraj, Deva, Yuvan Shankar Raja, Devi Sri Prasad,
Vidyasagar and Srikanth Deva.
At present, superstars Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan dominate the Tamil
filmdom. Behind them Vijay, Ajith, Vikram, Surya and Madhvan also rake in
the moolah. Younger stars like Jayam Ravi, Dhanush, Silambarasan, Vishal,
Arya, Jeeva, Bharath, Jai and Karthi Sivakumar have done good business at
the box office in the recent past. Versatile actors Prakash Raj and Pasupathy
and comedians Vadivelu and Vivek are other prominent actors. Leading
heroines of kollywood are Asin Thottumkal, Nayantara, Trisha Krishnan,
Shriya Saran, Tamanna Bhatia, Sandhya, Reema Sen, Sadha, Sneha,
Bhumika Chawla and Namitha. Prominent among the directors at present are
Mani Ratnam, S. Shankar, P. Vasu, K.S. Ravikumar, Gautham Menon, Bala,
Linguswamy, Vishnuvardhan, Cheran, Hari, Saran, M. Raja, Susi Ganesan,
Myshkin, A. R. Murugadoss, Selva, Perarasu, Prabhu Deva, Balaji Sakthivel,
Ameer and Boopathy Pandian.
Popular Faces of Tamil Cinema
Tamil Film Industry is termed as ‘Kollywood.’ The Kollywood film
industry is based in Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu. The name is a
combination of Kodambakkam with the American film industry capital of
Hollywood. Kodambakkam is an area in Chennai with a large number of film
industry people work and live in. There are a good number of film studios
also present in Kodambakkam.
The Tamil Film industry enjoys the widest visibility of any regional South
Asian cinema. Many of Indian cinema’s popular figures had made their debut
in Tamil films. Bollywood actress and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai
made her debut in the Tamil film ‘Iruvar’ before entering the national film
industry. Music Composer A.R. Rehman also had his debut in Tamil
industry.
Given below are the brief profiles of some popular faces of Tamil cinema.
Ajith Kumar
Ajith was born on 1 May 1971 as the middle child in Secunderabad, a
northern district of Hyderabad, India, to a Tamil Iyer father from Palakkad
and a Sindhi mother, but was brought up in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, hence,
learning Tamil since his childhood. He
 dropped out of Asan Memorial Senior
Secondary School in 1986 before completing
his higher secondary. He took up work as a
two wheeler auto mechanic, and got himself a
driver’s licence to coincide with his interests,
that of car/bike racing. At 18, Ajith had to
take up a job to support his career in racing.
Joining as an apprentice, he rose to be a
merchandiser with a garment export
company, doing small-time press ads and TV
commercials occasionally. He had put a lot of
money into racing and would borrow tyres
from his friends who used to help when the
chains wore out as there was no money in
racing at that time. Following an accident, several business agencies pushed
him into modeling for advertisements in print media. He had to make a
choice between films and racing, and as the movies were happening and
generating him some money, he began concentrating on it.
Aged 20, Ajith was selected by Telugu film producers, Lakshmi
Productions, to star in their film; however, shooting was stalled soon after
filming began, following the death of the film’s director. Ajith then started
his film career at the age of 21 appearing in the low budget Telugu film,
Prema Pustagam in 1992, which remains his last direct Telugu film to date.
His first Tamil film Amaravathi, directed by then newcomer Selva, was a
moderate success and his voice was rendered by fellow actor, Vikram. After
the release, Ajith whilst training for an amateur motor race, suffered a fall,
injuring his back and underwent three major surgeries resulting in a bed rest
for one and a half years. Following the injury in 1993, Ajith played a
supporting role in the Arvind Swamy starrer, Paasamalargal, before
appearing in a supporting lead role in the family drama, Pavithra, which
featured him as an ailing patient shown maternal affection from Raadhika.
In 1995, after a supporting role in the Vijay starrer Rajavin Parvaiyile,
Ajith appeared in his first major success, Aasai. The film directed by Vasanth
and produced by Mani Ratnam. The film became a big success and
established Ajith as an upcoming actor in the Tamil film industry. Ajith’s
next Vaanmathi was also a hit and he later played the lead in Kalloori
Vaasal co-starring Prashanth and Pooja Bhatt. Ajith’s second blockbuster
came in the form of National Award winning Kadhal Kottai, in which Ajith
reunited with Agathiyan, the director of the earlier project Vaanmathi.
After the success of his films in 1996, the following year saw a series of
five failures, the most notable being Amitabh Bachchan’s Tamil production
Ullasam with Maheswari, in which he was paid a salary of Rs. 2 million for
the first time. Ajith returned with another successful project in Saran’s
Kadhal Mannan, with the “Masala film” setting the foundations for an
expanding fan base. Following films Aval Varuvala and Unnidathil Ennai
Koduthen also became successes, with the latter featuring Ajith in a praised
guest role. After a couple of average grossers in Uyirodu Uyiraga and
Ramesh Khanna’s Thodarum, Sundar C’s romantic drama
Unnaithediopposite Malavika became another comeback film and set the
tone for a series of big successes. S. J. Suryaah’s thriller, Vaali, which
portrayed him in dual roles opposite Simran, became his biggest hit till date
following its release. The two following supporting roles in the drama films
Anandha Poongatre and Nee Varuvai Ena also brought Ajith plaudit for
his portrayals. His final film before the new millennium was another
blockbuster, Amarkalam directed by Saran and featuring Shalini, whom he
married shortly after the film.
His next, Mugavari, won him commercial and critical praise. He also
appeared in A.R. Rahman’s 2000 musical Kandukondain Kandukondain
directed by Rajiv Menon. The blockbuster featured Ajith alongside
prominent actors Mammooty and Raghuvaran and actresses Aishwarya Rai,
Tabu and Srividya. In a similar role to his previous film, Ajith played a
struggling film director facing an oscillating relationship with Tabu, with the
pair being unanimously praised for their roles. His first failure in eight films,
came in the form of the army based Unnai Kodu Ennai Tharuven co-
starring Simran.
In 2001, Ajith appeared in Dheena, A. R. Murugadoss’s debut film co-
starring Laila Mehdin and Suresh Gopi. The film, indirectly marked the
beginning of a new image of Ajith, that of an action hero that would appeal to
the masses. Furthermore from the successful film, Ajith’s nickname in the
film, Thala, Tamil for Leader, became a new identity for the actor amongst
his fans. His next was the much-hyped thriller, Citizen, portraying Ajith in
ten different get-ups and it became an above average success at the box
office, despite being labelled a disappointment from critics. A role in the
family drama, Poovellam Un Vasam followed opposite Jyothika and was a
success commercially and critically earning a Special Best Actor Award from
the Tamil Nadu State. The year ended off with an appearance in Santosh
Sivan’s Hindi project, Asoka, in which Ajith appeared in a brief negative role
alongside Shah Rukh Khan. 2002 saw Ajith appear in three films, the first
two; Red and Raja being average grossers, the former further building up his
image as an action hero. The third film, Villain, in which Ajith appeared in
dual roles, one as a mentally ill handicap, became a blockbuster and in return
earning Ajith his second Filmfare Best Tamil Actor Award.
The following years, from 2003 till 2005, saw Ajith appear in a fewer
amount of films due to his career in motor racing becoming more prominent.
During 2006, Ajith returned from his hiatus by appearing in P. Vasu’s
Paramasivan for which he had lost twenty kilograms to portray the lead role.
The film enjoyed a moderate success. Furthermore, for Paramasivan and his
two other projects in 2006, Ajith sported long hair, which was being grown
for Bala’s project, Naan Kadavul, which Ajith eventually opted out of.
Similarly his next, AVM Productions’s, Thirupathi directed by Perarasu
performed above average business at the box-office. The K. S. Ravikumar
film co-starring Asin, portrayed Ajith in three roles, including that of a
classical dancer, with his portrayals being critically praised. Moreover, the
film fetched Ajith his third Filmfare Best Actor Award, on its way to
becoming a blockbuster. Ajith’s first release in 2007, Aalwar,became a
debacle at the box-office, with his previous film still continuing to run in
theatres even after Aalwar had stopped it’s brief theatrical run. Kireedam, a
remake of the 1989 National Award winning Malayalam film of the same
name was released to positive reviews, with the film also becoming a
moderate success. During the shoot of the film, Ajith developed a further
spinal injury, a recurrence of his problem earlier in his career.
Ajith then starred in a remake of a 1980s Rajinikanth starrer, Billa, which
became a blockbuster. The film fetched critical praise for Ajith, becoming a
trend setter for stylish art direction and cinematography in India. After Billa,
Ajith appeared in the film Ayngaran International production Aegan, directed
by the choreographer turned director Raju Sundaram. The film, a remake of
the 2004 Hindi comedy Main Hoon Na, only managed to do average
business at the box office. Following a year’s worth of production, Aasal
released in February 2010, taking a grand opening at the box office.
Ajith Kumar and his wife Mohini created the nonprofit organisation
Mohini-Mani Foundation, named after his parents, in order to promote self-
hygiene and civic consciousness and to help ease the problems of urban
sprawl.
Ajith claims himself to be a professional car racer and has driven in
circuits around India in places such as Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi. He has
also been abroad for various races including Germany and Malaysia. He
drove in 2003 Formula Asia BMW Championships.
C.N. Annadurai
C. N. Annadurai, also known as CNA, and
affectionately as Anna or elder brother, was not
yet another politician, another ideologue and
another dramatist testing the socially surcharged
decades of 1940-1960 in Tamil Nadu. He was
instrumental for making these decades socially
surcharged, politically awakened and culturally
rooted. He had the advantage of a rare persona
that was rooted in an understanding of the
Western social movements even as it sought to
fuse the message of the same in the cultural
contexts of Tamil Nadu. He was raring to go
intellectually to new heights that remained out of
bounds to his contemporaries and peers. CNA had his B.A. (Honours) and
M.A. in Economics from University of Madras during the 1930s, plunged
thereafter into the social movement of Periyar EV Ramasamy, broke his
relationship with Periyar in 1948 and started the political party, DMK, the
same year. He became a parliamentarian in 1962 and the first non-congress
Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu in 1967.
He was the first to see a connection between the masses and the means of
communication they were more likely lap up. CNA was a prolific writer of
political plays during the 1940s. He wrote 12 political plays, 86 political
essays, 5 novels and 23 short stories. His first political play was
Chandrodayam, written in 1943. He also acted in his plays. Towards late
1940s, CNA was gravitating towards the medium of film, on the strengths of
the popularity of his political plays and the growing need for reaching out to
the target groups of his political movement faster and in a more appealing
manner. Three of his political plays were made into films and marked the
birth of Tamil political cinema. They are Velaikari(1949), Nalla Thambi
(1949) and Oor Iravu (1951). The last film’s script was written by CNA
during the course of one night, hence the title Oor Iravu (One Night).
Endowed with a rare masterly touch in his writings and speeches, CNA
proved to be the cynosure of young and old, rural and urban and illiterate and
literate people of Tamil Nadu. His fans were swarming like bees whereever
CNA went to deliver political speeches. He was a gentleman politician too,
ever willing to respect fellow politicians and their political faiths. He was
more than willing to be polite and considerate to one and all in his party. He
was a charismatic mass leader, despite being short and careless about how he
dressed and looked in public. CNA is also remembered by his fans for his
honest and spotless political career.
While he acted in his political plays, he did not go beyond scripting
political films. His script for Nalla Thambi was meant to strengthen the
political and social message bearer in his friend and admirer, N.S. Krishnan,
the Tamil actor who taught a few lessons in political communication to CNA.
CNA’s Velaikari and Oor Iravu were meant to consolidate the space
earmarked by CNA for another friend, K.R. Ramasamy, as the first party
actor. CNA’s inroads into Tamil cinema were later consolidated by the
political films scripted by other younger leaders of the party such as M.
Karunanidhi, who launched the career of Sivaji Ganesan, with Parasakthi
(1952).
Annadurai was known as one of the best Tamil orators during his time. He
developed a style in Tamil public speaking using metaphors and pleasing
alliterations, both in spoken and written language.
He has published several novels, short stories and plays which incorporate
political themes. He himself acted in some of his plays during his time in the
Dravidar Kazhagam. He introduced movie media as a major organ for
propaganda of Dravidian politics.
Some of his well known works are his books Annavin Sattasabai
Sorpolivukal (Anna’s speeches at the state legislative, 1960), Ilatchiya
varalaru (1948), Valkkaip puyal (1948) and Rankon Rata. His work
Kambarasam criticises Ramayana of Kamban. His works of fiction such as
Kapothipura Kathal, Parvathy B.A., Kalinga Rani and Pavayin Payanam
carried elements of political propaganda.
As a Politician
Before M.G. Ramachandran and M. Karunanidhi, there was Conjeevaram
Natarajan Annadurai, the foremost political leader of the state of Madras
(now called Tamil Nadu).
A good debater in both Tamil and English, Annadurai became a follower
of the rationalist and Dravida Kazhagam leader E.V. Ramasamy Naicker
a.k.a. Periyar (elder).
Disillusioned with the Dravida Kazhagam’s reluctance to enter the political
arena, Annadurai parted ways with Periyar and founded the Dravida
Munnetra Kazhagam party in 1949.
In the 1957 state Legislative Assembly elections, Annadurai won from the
Kancheepuram constituency. The DMK fared even better in the 1962 state
Legislative Assembly elections winning 50 seats out of the 143 it contested.
But Annadurai, who contested in the 1962 state Legislative Assembly
elections from the Kancheepuram constituency, lost to a Congress candidate
S.V. Natesha Mudaliar. However, he was nominated to the Rajya Sabha
(Upper House) of the Indian Parliament. It was his secessionist speeches in
Parliament that brought Annadurai to the national limelight. On May 5, 1962,
Annadurai stunned his fellow parliamentarians and the country by advocating
the secession of the four south Indian states including Madras, the state he
hailed from.
Annadurai mooted that India should be turned into “A comity of nations
instead of a medley of disgruntled units.” Parliament was shocked. Annadurai
had two complaints—discrimination against the southern states and
imposition of the Hindi language. Subsequently, Annadurai toned down his
secessionist rhetoric and he and his DMK party focused on opposing the
Hindi language.
In the 1967 state Legislative Assembly elections, the DMK defeated the
Congress party handily and Annadurai became the first non-Congress Chief
Minister of Madras (now known as Tamil Nadu).
 Of the 174 seats the DMK contested, it won 137 and secured 40.69% of
the total votes. The Congress party got 41.1% of the total votes but won just
51 of the 232 seats it contested.
Annadurai died just after two years in office. His health was deteriorating
due to cancer and in spite of good medical care he died of his illness on 3
February 1969. His illness was attributed to his habit of chewing tobacco. His
funeral had the highest number of attendees until then, as registered with The
Guinness Book of Records. An estimate of 15 million people attended the
funeral. His mortal remains were buried in the northern end of the Marina
Beach and is now called as Anna Square.
Kamal Haasan
Kamal Haasan’s affinity towards and excellence
in the performing arts was evident even as a child,
when he won his first National Film Award. He has
since then stepped into the shoes of a Bharthnatyam
dancer, actor, screenplay writer, director, lyricist,
playback singer and known to play multiple roles in
a single film—all of which command an applause.
Kamal Haasan was born into an Iyengar family on
the 7th November 1954 in Paramakudi in Tamil
Nadu. His father Srinivasan practiced law and his
mother is Rajalakshmi. His brothers Charu and
Chandra also carry the surname Haasan owing to their father’s friendship
with a man named Haasan.
Haasan was married to classical dancer Vani Ganapathi in 1978. They
parted ways in 1988. He then married the actress Sarika with whom he had
two daughters Akshara and Shruthi, the latter is all set to make her mark as
an actress. The marriage with Sarika broke up in 2002. He is rumoured to be
living with Gouthami, a well-known actress.
Kamal Haasan, made his debut in 1960, when he was six years old, in the
Tamil film Kalathur Kannamma. He won the National Film Award for Best
Child Artist, the first of his four National Awards. He acted in at least five
other films as a child.
When he came back to films again in 1972, he played second fiddle to
leading stars like in Arangetram and Sollathan Ninaikkiren. In 1974, his
acting prowess was recognized with a Filmfare Best Actor Award for his role
in Kanyakumari, a Malayalam film. The awards became almost routine with
the Tamil films that followed like K. Balachander’s Apoorva Raagangal
which explored relationships with age-gaps, which was controversial in that
era; 16 Vayathinile in which he played the role of a man who is mentally
undeveloped and also Manmadha Leelai, and Oru Oodhappu Kan
Simittugiradhu. He was part of several films directed by K.Balachandran
and worked with co-stars like Sridevi and Rajinikanth.
The eighties saw him in Tamil films like Moondram Pirai and Apoorva
Sagodharargal. He won the National Film Award for Moondram Pirai in
which he played a teacher with Sridevi. His Telugu film in 1983, Saagara
Sangamam won him the Filmfare Best Telugu Actor Award for his portrayal
of a dancer. He also starred in the Hindi films Ek Duje Ke Liye and Sagar,
the latter won him the Filmfare Best Actor Award, in 1985. The 1989 film,
Pushpak, a silent film and a black comedy, won him the Filmfare Best
Kannada Actor Award. Nayagan, inspired by The Godfather, fetched him
his third National Film Award. It was India’s entry to the Academy Awards’
Best Foreign Language Film category in 1987 and went on to be listed in
Times Top 100 Movies.
The nineties saw a lot of laughs with films like Michael Madhana
Kamarajan, Sathi Leelavathi based on She-Devil and Avvai Shanmughi
based on Mrs. Doubtfire. In 1992, he produced and acted in Thevar Magan,
for which he got the Filmfare Best Tamil Actor Award for his role of Shakti,
the son of a village head. The film was nominated in 1992 for the Academy
Awards’ Best Foreign Language Film category. Indian, a Tamil film released
in 1996, saw Haasan walking away with his fourth National Film Award and
The Filmfare Best Tamil Actor Award. He made his directorial debut with
Chachi 420, a remake of Avvai Shanmughi in Hindi.
The year 2000 began with his second directorial venture Hey Ram, which
was made in Hindi and Tamil. Haasan scripted, produced and acted in it. He
won the Filmfare Best Tamil Actor Award, though the film was more of a
critical success rather than a commercial one. He acted in quite a few funnies
like Thenali, Panchathantiram and Pammal K. Sambandam. He played
Nalla Sivam in Anbe Sivam with Madhavan. He directed, scripted, acted and
produced Virumaandi in 2004, about death penalty. In 2006 he had a big hit
in Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu, in which played an honest cop. His most recent
film in 2008 was the extravagant Dasavathaaram, in which he played ten
different roles.
1978, at the age of twenty four, Haasan met and married danseuse Vani
Ganapathy, who was older than him. Vani put on the mantle of costume
designer for Haasan’s movies and was publicised for walking along with
Haasan into the Filmfare Awards South ceremony of 1980, immediately after
their wedding. However, the couple split after ten years together, after
Haasan began dating fellow actress Sarika, with Haasan confirming in a later
interview that he and Vani have never been in touch ever since their divorce.
Subsequently, Haasan and Sarika married in 1988, with the pair having
two children: Shruti Haasan (born 1986) and Akshara Haasan (born 1991).
The former is a singer as well as an upcoming actress, whilst the latter is
pursuing higher studies in Bangalore. Sarika retired from acting roles soon
after her marriage with Haasan, replacing his ex-wife, Vani Ganapathy as
Haasan’s costume designer, with acclaimed work in Hey Ram. However, the
pair filed for divorced in 2002, with Sarika estranging herself from her
children as well as Haasan by the end of the procedure in 2004.
Her daughter Shruti Haasan is also an upcoming actress.
Awards
Kamal Haasan, a Padma Shri holder, is the most decorated actor in terms
of awards in the history of Indian cinema. He holds the record for the most
National Film Awards for an actor with four, three awards for Best Actor and
one for Best Child Artist. Moreover, Haasan holds a record of nineteen
Filmfare Awards—ranging across five languages, and after his award in
2000, he wrote to the organisation to exempt him from further awards. Other
recognitions include a string of Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, Nandi
Awards and Vijay Awards, in which Haasan won four separate awards for his
performance in Dasavathaaram.
R. Madhavan
R. Madhavan (born June 1, 1970 as Madhavan Ranganathan) is a Filmfare
Award-winning Indian actor. Unlike other prominent actors in India,
Madhavan began to act after marriage, at the age of twenty-nine, and his
short career has seen performances in diverse roles. He has received several
Filmfare Awards in various categories.
Madhavan’s first major film appearance was
in 2000s romantic film, Alaipayuthey, in which
he played a husband going through the trauma
of marriage. In the 2002 blockbuster Kannathil
Muthamittal, he portrayed a father of an
orphaned child alongside Simran. He then
played the role of an action hero, for the first
time in the successful project, Run (2003) and,
the year after, won critical acclaim as a
henchman in Mani Ratnam’s film, Aayitha
Ezhuthu, his role in which earning him a Indian
National Film Award nomination. In 2007,
Madhavan set up his own production company,
Leukos Films, which will distribute several of
his forthcoming films.
Madhavan was born in Jamshedpur, India, to a senior management
executive with Tata Steel, Ranganathan and a manager with the Bank of
India, Saroja. Devika Ranganathan, Madhavan’s sister, is a software engineer
settled in London, United Kingdom. In 1988, Madhavan was chosen to
represent India as its cultural ambassador from his college to Canada after his
graduation. At 22, he was awarded the Maharashtra Best Cadet, allowing him
to make a trip with three others as NCC Cadets to England. Because of this
honour, he received training with the Royal Army, the Navy and the Air
Force, which he previously planned to join. However, he was rejected from
the opportunity, as he missed the age cut-off by six months. After he lost out
on the place, he began taking courses in public speaking which eventually
helped him venture into the film industry. He won the Indian Championship
for Public Speaking and was subsequently selected to represent India at the
Young Businessmen Conference in Tokyo, Japan in 1992.
In early 1997, Madhavan did a sandalwood talc advertisement for Santosh
Sivan, who later recommended him to Mani Ratnam for a screen test for a
role in Iruvar. Later in the same year, Mani Ratnam called Madhavan for the
screen test, but left him out of the project citing that he thought his eyes
looked too young for a senior role. As his film career, failed to take off,
Madhavan reverted to act in Hindi television serials. He appeared in minor
roles in serials titled Saaya, Sea Hawks, Banegi Apni Baat, Tol Mol Ke Bol
and Ghar Jamai.
In 1998, Madhavan appeared in his first film role as an Indian police
officer in Fred Olen Ray’s Inferno alongside Don Wilson. His first chance
in Indian movies came in the form of Shanti Shanti Shanti, a Kannada film,
in which he acted in the second lead role to Abbas, an established actor.
However, the film failed to make an impact, and went unnoticed.
Bollywood director, Vinod Pandey launched Madhavan as a Bollywood
hero, with a project titled Lakheli, however, the film was abandoned by the
producers soon after production began and the film was cancelled.
Madhavan’s popularity has seen him being replicated in mobile games like
Madhavan’s MIG and Madhavan.
In 1997, Madhavan got a chance to be part of a sandalwood talc ad shot by
Santosh Sivan. He was recommended by Sivan to Mani Rathnam who was
casting for Iruvar but wasn’t selected. He started working in television
serials like Saya, Tol Mol Ke Bol, Banegi Apni Baat, Ghar Jamai, and Sea
Hawk. He hosted the show Deal Ya No Deal on Sony Entertainment in
October 2005.
In 1998, he got a break with Inferno, in which he played an Indian Police
Officer. He landed a role in a Kannada movie in 1999 that had Abbas in the
lead. The 2000 release Alaipayuthey, a Tamil movie, was a winner all the
way. Lakheli which was supposed to be his debut in Bollywood was shelved.
Minnale, a romantic comedy, was a success in 2001. It was remade in
Hindi as Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein casting him with Dia Mirza and Saif Ali
Khan. The movie was an average success.
Mani Rathnam’s award winning Kannathil Muthamittal in 2002 became
India’s official entry at the Cannes Film Festival in 2004. It won Madhavan
the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor. In 2003, he was seen in
two movies, Anbe Sivam and Nala and Damayanthi, both of which starred
Kamal Haasan.
Nothing but Life (2004), an English language movie didn’t do well. Mani
Rathnam’s Aayitha Ezuthu had Madhavan playing a hitman Inba that was
considered to be brilliant. The movie was remade in Hindi as Yuva but with
Abhishek Bachchan playing his role. Madhavan won the Tamil Nadu State
Film Award for Best Actor.
Priyasakshi in 2005 did well and was dubbed in Zulu. He had a brief but
strong role in the blockbluster, Rang De Basanti, in 2006. Thambi and
Rendu, also released the same year, were hits.
The year 2007 began with the Bollywood hit Guru in which he played
Shyam Saxena, a reporter. The character was based on S. Gurumurthy. His
movies Arya and Evano Oruvan did pretty well. While Vaazhthugal in
2008 failed miserably, Mumbai Meri Jaan received good reviews.
He gave some promising performances in 2009 like—Guru En Aalu, a
remake of Yes Boss, as an army officer in Piyush Jha’s Sikander, Three
Idiots with Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor, and the horror flick, 13B.
2010 releases of Madhavan with Amitabh Bachchan in Teen Patti,
Rituparno Ghosh’s Sunglass with Konkana Sen and Raima Sen and Tanu
Weds Manu with Kangana Ranaut. He also has a Tamil release, Naan Aval
Adhu.
Ranganathan and Saroja, parents of Madhavan, disliked their son’s foray
into teledramas and adverts, however, were forgiving after his selection in
Mani Ratnam’s Alaipayuthey. Despite Madhavan’s ambition of wanting to
join the army, his parents insisted he went to management school and do a
degree on electronics. After completing the degree, he went on to teach
communication and public speaking at workshops around India. At the
Maharashtra workshop, he encountered his wife, Sarita Birje, an air hostess,
whom he married in 1999.
Madhavan was announced as the host of Sony Entertainment Television’s
“Deal Ya No Deal,” the Indian version of the American game show “Deal Or
No Deal,” in October 2005. However, Madhavan quit as the lead anchor of
the game show, Deal Ya No Deal in January 2006. Now, Madhavan is
hosting a new reality show called “Chhote Parde Ka Bada Game Show: Big
Money” from NDTV Imagine Television Channel.
M. Karunanidhi
M. Karunanidhi born June 3, 1924 is a politician and the current Chief
Minister of Tamil Nadu. He was born in Vellalar caste as Dakshinamurthy to
Thiru Muthuvelar and Thirumathi Anjugam Ammaiyar on June 3, 1924 at
Thirukkuvalai in the Tanjore District, now
 Tiruvarur Tamil Nadu.
He is the head of Dravida Munnetra
Kazhagam (DMK), a Dravidian political party
in the state of Tamil Nadu. He has been the
leader of the DMK since the death of its
founder C.N. Annadurai in 1969 and has
served as chief minister five times (1969–71,
1971–76, 1989–91, 1996–2001 and 2006–
present). He holds the record of winning his
seat in every election that he has contested in
his political career spanning over 60 years. In
the 2004 Lok Sabha Elections, he led the
DMK-led DPA (UPA and Left Parties) in
Tamil Nadu and Puducherry to win all 40 Lok
Sabha seats. In the following 2009 Lok Sabha Elections, he was able to
increase the number of seats for the DMK from 16 to 18 seats, and led the
UPA in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, to win 28 seats, even with a
significantly smaller coalition. He is also a playwright and screenwriter in
Tamil cinema.
Film Career
Karunanidhi began his career as a scriptwriter in the Tamil film industry.
Through his wit and oratorical skills he rapidly rise as a popular politician.
He was famous for writing historical and social (reformist) stories which
propagated the socialist and rationalist ideals of the Dravidian movement to
which he belonged. He started using Tamil cinema for propagating his
political ideas first through the movie Parasakthi. Parasakthiwas a turning
point in Tamil cinema as it espoused ideologies of the Dravidian movement
and also introduced two prominent actors of Tamil filmdom, Sivaji Ganesan
and S. S. Rajendran. The movie was initially banned but was finally released
in 1952. It was a huge box office hit, but yet it was marred with
controversies. The movie was opposed by orthodox Hindus since it contained
elements that criticised Brahmanism. Two of his other movies which
contained such messages were Panam and Thangarathnam. These movies
contained themes on widow remarriage, abolition of untouchability, self-
respect marriages, abolition of zamindari and abolition of religious hypocrisy.
As his movies and plays with strong social messages became popular they
suffered from increased censorship and two of his plays in 1950s were
banned.
Books Written
Romapuri Pandian, Thenpandi Singam, Vellikizhamai, Nenjukku Needhi,
Eniyavai Erbathu, Sanga Thamizh, Kuraloviam, Ponnar-Sankar, Thirukkural
Urai and many books in prose and poetry numbering more than 100.
Stage Plays Written
Manimagudam, Ore Ratham, Palaniappan, Thooku Medai, Kagithapoo,
Naane Arivali, Vellikizhamai, Udhayasooriyan, Silapathikarum, etc.
Screen Plays Written
Rajakumari, Abhimanyu, Mandiri Kumari, Marutha Naattu
Ilavarasi, Manamagan, Devaki, Parasakthi, Panam, Thirumbipaar,
Naam, Manohara, Ammaiappan, Malai Kallan, Rangoon Radha, Raja
Rani, Puthaiyal, Pudhumai Pithan, Ellorum Innattu Mannar,
Kuravanchi, Thayillapillai, Kanchi Thalaivan, Poompuhar, Poomalai,
Mani Makudam, Marakka Mudiyuma, Avan Pithana, Pookkari,
Needhikku Thandanai, Paalaivana Rojakkal, Pasa Paravaikal, Padadha
Theneekkal, Niyaya Tharasuand many more numbering more than Seventy.
Legacy
Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin born March 1, 1953 is a politician and
former actor, better known as M. K. Stalin. He is the third son of famous
politician of Tamil Nadu, Karunanidhi, and was born to his second wife, Mrs.
Dayalu Ammal and was named after Joseph Stalin, who had died in the same
year as his birth. Stalin completed his graduation in history from Nandanam
Arts College, Chennai in University of Madras. Stalin became the Minister
for Rural Development and Local Administration in the Government of
Tamil Nadu after the 2006 assembly elections. On 29 May 2009, Stalin was
nominated as Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
His elder brother M.K. Azhagiri is the Minister of Chemicals and
Fertilizers. His half-sister Kanimozhi is a Rajya Sabha member.
J. Jayalalitha
 Jayalalitha Jayaram or J. Jayalalith (as commonly referred), born 24
February 1948 is a former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. She is the
incumbent general secretary of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
(AIADMK), a Dravidian party in the state. She is popularly called Amma,
Puratchi Thalaivi (Revolutionary Leader) by her followers. She was a popular
film star in Tamil cinema and Telugu cinema before her entry into politics.
She was born in Melukote in Pandavapura
taluk of Mandya district, Karnataka as
Komalavalli in a Tamil Iyengar family, native
of Srirangam, Trichy. She was initially
educated at the Bishop Cotton Girls High
School in Bangalore but later she moved to
Madras State (now Tamil Nadu) along with her
mother Sandhya, who ventured as an actress
into Tamil cinema. She was then schooled at
Sacred Heart Matriculation School (popularly
known as Church Park Presentation Convent)
in Chennai (then Madras). She excelled in
academics and has claimed that she was
offered a scholarship for higher studies from
Government of India, but with the guidance
from her mother, young Jayalalitha moved into film industry. She started
acting and gave her well known hits when she was only 15.
Chinnada Gombe, her first film (in Kannada) was a major hit. Her first
Telugu film Manushulu Mamathalu made her a superstar. In 1972, she was
honoured by the Tamil Nadu government with the award Kalaimamani. She
has acted opposite Dharmendra in Hindi Movie Izzat. Her first movie in her
entire career was English movie Epistle released in 1961 produced by
Shankar Giri, son of former president of India Dr. V.V. Giri. Her last film
was Nadhiyai Thedi Vandha Kadal 1980. She has sung several songs in her
film career.
As Politician
Jayalalitha’s entry into politics was facilitated by her close companionship
with M.G. Ramachandran, the late film star, leader of the AIADMK party
and Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
 Jayalalitha became Member of Parliament to the
Rajya Sabha from 1984 and kept the seat until her
election to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly in
January 1989 from the Bodinayakkanur
constituency. She became the first Woman Leader
of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly of
Tamil Nadu.
Jayalalitha contested from both Bargur and
Kangeyam constituencies during the general
elections to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly
in 1991 and won in both places but subsequently
resigned the Kangeyam Assembly seat.
She was Chief Minister from 24-06-1991 to 12-
05-1996, from 14-05-2001 to 21-09-2001and from 02-03-2002. The
vicissitudes of political life was brought home sharply to Jayalalitha when
she suffered a crushing defeat in the April-May 1996 elections amid charges
of corruption and malfeasance. Her party won just four of the 234 seats.
However, Jayalalitha bounced back to power in the 2001 elections.
Jayalalitha was elected from Andipatti Assembly constituency in February
2002.
In the May 2007 Legislative assembly elections Jayalalitha’s AIADMK
suffered a defeat at the hands of the DMK-led Democratic Progressive
Alliance although she herself managed to get elected.
A doughty fighter, Jayalalitha has had to face significant challenges in her
life. Her principal opponent Karunanidhi is a shrewd politician with several
decades of experience. In the immediate aftermath of her mentor MGR’s
death, she was humiliated and even physically assaulted by people close to
MGR’s wife, Janaki.
M.G. Ramachandran
Maruthur Gopala Ramachandran (January 17, 1917 – December 24, 1987),
popularly known by his initials MGR was a Tamil film actor, producer and
politician. As a well known Tamil activist, he served as the Chief Minister of
Tamil Nadu from 1977 until his death in 1987.
MGR was born in Nawalapitiya near Kandy,
British Ceylon (present day Sri Lanka), to Nair
parents—Gopala Menon and Maruthur
Satyabhama—(Nairs are traditionally matrilineal,
hence, MGR shares his matrilineal family
surname ‘Maruthur’). His family was originally
from Vadavannur, Palakkad, Kerala, but his
father had migrated with his family to Sri Lanka.
Making his film debut in 1935, in the film Sati
Leelavati, directed by Ellis Dungan, an American
born film director, MGR dominated Tamil cinema
during the Fifties and Sixties with multiple
blockbusters. Generally starring in romance or
action films, MGR got his big breakthrough in the 1947 film Rajakumaari,
written by M. Karunanidhi. He rose to superstardom in 1954 after Malai
Kallan. Later, this film was used as a template for other films by playing
roles that portrayed him as the saviour of the poor and the oppressd. His
movies were the medium of communication for the Dravidian movement.
He had the maximum number of all-time blockbusters to his credit at that
time viz. Nadodi Mannan, Enga Veetu Pillai and Adimai Pen. He was shot
by fellow actor Mohan R. Radha, affecting his ability to speak clearly. He
won the National Film Award for Best Actor for the film Rickshakaran. His
film Nadodi Mannan, which was produced and directed by himself and
released in 1956, was re-released in 2006 and ran housefull.
As Politician
MGR was a member of the Congress Party till 1953 and he used to wear
kathar. In 1953 MGR joined the DMK with the help of M. Karunanidhi. He
became a vocal Tamil and Dravidian nationalist and prominent member of
the DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam). He added glamour to the
Dravidian movement which was sweeping Tamil Nadu. He became a
member of the state Legislative Council in 1962. He was first elected to the
Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly in 1967. After the death of his mentor,
Annadurai, MGR became the treasurer of DMK in 1969 after Karunanidhi
became the chief minister.
In January 1967, he was shot in the neck by fellow actor M.R. Radha. The
bullet was permanently lodged in his neck and
 his voice damaged. Within hours of the
shooting, some 50,000-odd fans had gathered
at the hospital where MGR had been taken.
People cried in the streets; shops closed. For
six weeks, he lay in the hospital as fans
awaited each report of his health. He was
visited by a steady stream of commoners and
luminaries of film industry, polity and
bureaucracy.
At the time of the shooting incident, MGR’s
popularity had been in gradual decline. The
shooting however, helped his popularity surge
to hitherto unprecedented heights. From his
hospital bed, he conducted his campaign for
Madras Legislatve Assembly. He won twice
the number of votes polled by his Congress rival and the largest vote polled
by any candidate for the Assembly.
He wanted the financial details of the party to be publicised which enraged
the leadership of DMK and in 1972, MGR was expelled from the party, and
floated a new party named Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (ADMK),
later renamed All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), the
only powerful opponent of the DMK. He became Chief Minister of Tamil
Nadu in 1977, remaining in office till his death in 1987. In 1979, members of
his party Satyavani Muthu and Aravinda Bala Pajanor, became the first non-
Congress politicians from Tamil Nadu to be ministers in the Union Cabinet.
The AIADMK won every state assembly election as long as MGR was alive.
Although Anna Durai as well as Karunanidhi had acted in stage plays in
small roles, in their younger days, before becoming chief minister, MGR was
the first popular film actor to be a Chief Minister in India.
Once he became Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, MGR placed great
emphasis on social development, especially education. One of his most
successful policies was the re-introduction of the “Mid-day Meal Scheme” in
the Government-run and aided schools in Tamil Nadu, which encouraged
underprivileged children to attend schools. He also introduced Women’s
Special buses. He set up a free school for the Cinema Technician’s children
in Kodambakkam called MGR Primary and Higher Secondary School which
provided Free Mid-Day meals in the 1950’s.
His was instrumental in setting up the Tamil University, The Tamil Nadu
Dr. MGR Medical University and the Mother Theresa Women’s University
in Tamil Nadu.
MGR was always the first to personally offer relief in disasters and
calamities like fire, flood, drought, and cyclones, he was the first donor
during the war with China in 1962, donating Rs. 75,000 to the war fund. He
was the founder and editor of THAI weekly magazine and ANNA daily
newspaper in Tamil. He was the owner of Sathya Studios and Emgeeyar
Pictures (willed to charity) which produced many of the films he acted in. He
gifted golden sword weighing half a Kilogram to Mookambika temple in
Kollur, Udupi district.
In October 1984, MGR was diagnosed with kidney failure and rushed to
the Downstate Medical Center, Broklyn, United States for treatment,
undergoing a kidney transplant. MGR passed away on December 24, 1987
after his prolonged illness.
His death sparked off a frenzy of looting and rioting all over the state of
Tamil Nadu. Shops, movie theaters, buses and other public and private
property became the target of violence let loose all over the state. The police
had to resort issuing shoot-at-sight orders, something seldom seen or heard of
in democratic India. The violence during the funeral alone left 29 people dead
and 47 police personnel badly wounded. This state of affairs continued for
almost a month all over the state of Tamil Nadu. Around one million people
followed his remains, around 30 followers committed suicide and lakhs of
people had their heads tonsured. After his death, his political party, the All
India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, split between his wife Janaki
Ramachandran and his political protégé, J. Jayalalitha; they later merged in
1988. In 1989 Dr. MGR Home and Higher Secondary School for the Speech
and Hearing Impaired was established in the erstwhile Residence MGR
Gardens, Ramavaram, in accordance with his will dated January 17, 1986.
Bharat Ratna was conferred to him by the Government of India
(posthumous).
Raja Sandow
Raja Sandow (1894-1943) (born as P.K. Nagalingam) was a Tamil film
actor, film director and producer. He began his career as an actor in silent
films and later became a prominent actor and director in Tamil and Hindi
films of the 1930s. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of early Indian
cinema.
Raja Sandow was born in Pudukottai, Tamil Nadu. He was trained as a
gymnast and started his film career as a stunt actor in S.N. Patankar’s
National Film Company at Bombay. He was given the name “Raja Sandow”
because of his physique (after strongman Eugen Sandow). He became famous
by starring in silent films like Veer Bhimsen (1923), The Telephone Girl
(1926). After acting in a few silent films he also worked as a director in
Ranjit Studios for a monthly salary. His first film as director was Sneh
Jyoti(1928).
Returning to Tamil Nadu, he directed and acted in a number of silent films
for R. Padmanabhan’s Associate Film Company. Many of his silent films had
reformist social themes like Peyum Pennum (1930), Nandhanar(1930),
Anadhai Penn (1931), Pride of Hindustan (1931) and Sathi Usha Sundari
(1931). After talking films were introduced with Alam Ara in 1931, he went
back to Bombay and starred in many Hindi and Tamil talkies. He was often
paired with the actresses Gohar and Sulochana (Ruby Myers). Between 1932-
35, he acted in many socially theme. Hindi films like Shyam Sundar (1932),
Devaki (1934) and Indira MA (1935). In 1935, he was commissioned to
direct his first Tamil film Menaka and returned to Madras. He continued
directing and acting in films till his death in 1943. Vasantha Sena (1936),
Chalak Chor(1936), Chandra kantha (1936), Vishnuleela (1938),
Thiruneelakandar (1939) and Choodamani (1941) were some of the films
he directed and starred in during that period. The last film he worked in was
Sivakavi (1943).
Sandow was the first Tamil film director to adopt the practice of using
names of actors in film titles. He was the first to introduce intimate kissing
scenes and dancers in revealing costumes to the then conservative Tamil film
industry. He was also the first director and producer to move Tamil cinema
from remaking mythological stories to making films on social themes. He
even advertised his films as “Don’t miss to see your own picture.” Sandow
was also the first director to use Tamil literary works for film by directing
Anadhai Penn in 1931 based on V. M. Kothainayagiammal’s novel of the
same name
 Sandow suffered a heart attack and died at Coimbatore on 25 November
1943.
Rajnikanth
Rajinikanth was born on December 12,
1949 in Karnataka. He was the fourth child
to his parents Ramabai and Ramoji Rao
Gaekwad. His original name was Shivaji
Rao Gaekwad. He lost his mother at the age
of five. He had his schooling at the Acharya
Patasala in Bangalore and then at the
Vivekananda Balak Sangh, a unit of the
Ramakrishna Mission. His mother tongue is
Marathi, though he has not done any movie
in it.
Before starting his career in the film industry, he had to take up all sorts of
odd jobs. He served as a bus conductor for Karnataka state transport
corporation in Bangalore. It was during this time that he nurtured his acting
interests by performing in various stage plays.
The evergreen unique actor and the Superstar of Tamil industry,
Rajinikanth was introduced by the renowned director, K. Balachandar in the
movie Aboorva Raagangal as a co-artist. It’s been 25 years, believe it or
not, since the superstar made his debut with an inconsequential role in a
Tamil film. From villain and antihero to blockbuster supernova, the gifted
actor has made the most of every outing. And he deserves every bit of the
success.
It was director S.P. Muthuraman who actually revamped Rajni’s image
entirely. Muthuraman first experimented with him in a positive role in
Bhuvana Oru Kelvikkuri, as a villain in the first half and a refined man in
the second, accepting a woman with a child ditched by her lover. The success
of Bhuvana Oru Kelvikkuri prompted SPM to make a mushy melodrama
with Rajni as a hero sacrificing everything for his siblings, a role ideally
tailormade for Sivaji Ganesan! That film was Arulirunthu Arupathu Varai,
in which Rajni’s mannerisms were totally missing and he even appeared as
an old man in the last few frames. Even while the film was in the making,
Rajni had misgivings about whether the audience would accept him in tear
jerkers of this kind. But the film got made and its box-office success made
Rajni popular among women audiences, too. These two films were a turning
point in Rajni’s career he changed from an actor who merely enthralled the
audiences, to one who also made them weep. The acceptance of Rajni sans
his mannerisms proved he’d at last become an actor from a star. Around this
time came Mullum Malarum, directed by J. Mahendran, which established
Rajni as a hero with a slight tinge of the negative.
Such mass adulation, the thunderous rain of applause when Rajni delivered
his lines, all put together, made him a phenomenon. It was at this point that
Rajni realised the onus had been thrust on him. The fate of producers hinged
on him alone. This sudden exposure to the glare of the media and the
popularity and money he never imagined would be his, created a lot of stress
in his mind. At that crucial time in his career when his market price had just
begun to zoom, he decided to opt out of films completely, sending shock
waves to his fans.
The second phase of his life started with K Balaji’s Billa, a superhit
disproving the canard spread by detractors that Rajnikanth was finished. He
was accepted as a full-fledged hero. Billa was followed by a row of hits like
Pokkiri Raja, Thanikkattu Raja, Naan Mahaan Alla and the all-important
Moondru Mugham, in which Rajni essayed a triple role. Even two decades
after its release, the last continues to be a box-office hit.
As an actor, Rajnikanth’s greatest asset, apart from his style is his sense of
humour and comic timing. In the early 80s, Rajnikanth made a foray into
Bollywood with Andha Kanoon, a superhit. But Rajnikanth could not
concentrate on Hindi films because he was already safely ensconced down
South. He still made a few films in Hindi, to mention specially Chaalbaaz
which had Sridevi in a dual role. Rajni also enjoys a special kind of
popularity in Telugu films and his Peddarayudu (remake of Tamil hit
Nattammai) seems to have broken all previous records. The Telugu version
of Padayappa has been a money-spinner, too. Rajnikanth became a
trendsetter.
After Rajnikanth established himself as the superstar of Tamil cinema,
almost his every film proved to be a mega-hit. Some of his blockbusters
include Thalapathi, Annamalai, Ejaman, Muthu, Basha, Arunachalam,
Padaiyappa, Chandramukhi, Sivaji - The Bossand Kuselan. Sivaji - The
Boss, the big-budget super hit movie of 2007, made Rajnikanth the highest
paid actor in India.
Married to Lata, an English literature graduate, hailing from an elite
Iyengar family in 1980, Rajni has two daughters who are carefully kept away
from the limelight. Lata herself a versatile singer, now runs a school called
The Ashram. The elder daughter—Aishwarya is married to Tamil actor
Dhanush. The younger one, Saundarya is a graphic designer and also works
as a film director and producer. She has worked with her father in a number
of Tamil films, including Sivaji - The Boss and Chandramukhi.
The couple indulges in a lot of charity, the latest being converting his
Raghavendra Kalyana Mandapam into a charitable trust to help the poor and
needy.
Sivaji Ganesan
Cinematic excellence, artistic prowess and the natural exhibit of expression
and stance on stage—Ganesan, more popularly Shivaji Ganesan, has left
behind a legacy for many to cherish and follow. The legendary actor was
exceptional, when it came to performance and has been the guiding star and
influence for many actors in the present generation.
Born on October 1, 1927 to a middle class family
in Villupuram, Chinnaiahpillai Ganesan was a just
another kid of India. Ganesan’s father
Chinnaiahpillai, worked in the South Indian Railway,
while his mother Rajamani Ammal was a
homemaker.
The day Ganesan was born, his family got good as
well as bad news. While everyone celebrated the
arrival of a new family member, they also mourned
his father’s arrest over anti-British activities.
Chinnaiahpillai also underwent a term of imprisonment later on. A dropout
from school, Sivaji Ganesan was a born artist. He explored the stage right
from the tender years of childhood, taking part in theatre and plays.
Eventually, he joined a drama troupe and spent his growing years on-stage.
Ganesan’s first performance on the “70mm screen” was in a Tamil film
Parasakthi, in 1952. His debut movie was written and directed by the
present Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M. Karunanidhi. In his career, which
expanded to more than four decades, the gifted actor showed his brilliance
through various roles. Not only did he excel in commercial cinema, but also
brought experimental cinema in a new limelight. A versatile actor, he played
v multiple roles, commercial roles as well as roles of Hindu deities. The name
“Emperor Shivaji” was one that he adopted from the role he had once
enacted.
Apart from acting in Tamil movies, Shivaji Ganesan also proved his
artistic ingenious in Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali and Kannada
movies. His film Veerapaandiya Kattabomman brought him international
fame. The film was highly acclaimed and appreciated in the Afro-Asian Film
Festival held at Egypt. With this, Ganesan became the first South Indian actor
to receive such an accolade. Shivaji Ganesan ruled over Kollywood (Tamil
Film Industry) for multiple decades. While he played the protagonist in his
early career, the end days saw him donning senior roles, like those of a father
or cop.
Ganesan was a strong believer in the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
(DMK). It was only in 1955, after his visit to the Tirumala Venkateswara
Temple, that he was expelled from the party, as visiting the temple was not
permitted by the rationalistic DMK. In 1961, he became a supporter of the
Indian National Congress and particularly the then-leader K. Kamaraj. The
death of Kamaraj brought a change in his position and he became a supporter
of Indira Gandhi.
Ganesan became a Member of Parliament (MP) in the Rajya Sabha in
1982. It was in 1987 that he formed his own political party—Thamizhaga
Munnetra Munnani (TMM). Ganesan merged his party with the Tamil Nadu
faction of the Janata Dal in 1989.
Ganesan experienced severe respiratory problem on July 21, 2001 and was
admitted to the Apollo Hospital in Chennai. Despite the efforts of the doctors,
he died the same day, leaving behind thousands of mourners.
Ganesan tied the nuptial knot with Kamala, on the first of May, in the year
1952. The couple had four children—two daughters-Shanthi Ganesan and
Rajvi Ganesan and two sons—Ramkumar Ganesan and Prabhu Ganesan.
While Prabhu Ganesan shared the screen space with his father and went on to
become a popular actor and producer. Ramkumar Ganesan is also one of the
successful film producers in the South Indian Film Industry.
 Shivaji Ganesan was awarded with Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan,
which rank amongst the highest honours awarded to an Indian national. In
1995 he was honoured with the ‘Chevalier’ title, by the National Order of the
Legion of Honour in France. He was conferred with Dadasaheb Phalke
Award in 1996. Amongst the likes of such highly credible honours, the actor
also has to his credit a statue, which was erected in Chennai. Unveiled in
2006, by Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, the statue was primarily built to
honour the legendary actor.
Sridevi
Sridevi also known as Sreedevi Ayyappan
was born on August 13, 1963, in Sivakai, Tamil
Nadu to Ayyappan a lawyer (from Tamil Nadu)
and Rajeshwari (from Andhra Pradesh). The
beauty queen who ruled the screen for more
than two decades, started her film career when
she couldn’t even take a steady step. ‘Baby
Sridevi’ started getting full fledged offers when
she was just three. Her first debut in Hindi films
was in the movie Julie where she played the
teenage sister of the heroine Laxmi.
Sridevi’s debut as a heroine in Hindi movie did not fetch her any glory.
After an earlier unsuccessful attempt in Solahwan Sawan, she successfully
stormed the bastion of Hindi films with the super hit Himmatwala(1983).
Himmatwala turned out to be a super duper hit and established Sridevi as
a super star within a fortnight. Her arrival brought the end of Hema and
Rekha era. The 5’7’ tall Sridevi soon dwarfed the competition with her
gyrating dances in scanty clothes. She soon earned herself the nickname
“Miss Thunder Thighs.” Films like Tohfa with Jeetendra, Mr. India with
Anil Kapoor and ‘Nagina’ with Rishi Kapoor brought her talent to the
forefront. Her other power-packed films like Chandni, Chalbaaz, Lamhe
and Khuda Gawahstormed the Bollywood industry. Meanwhile the new
deity of Indian movies also paved her path in other regional films like Tamil,
Telugu and Malayalam.
Lady luck deceived Sridevi at the twilight of her career, some films like
Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja, Army and Gumrah flopped on the box-
office. However, her one of the last movie Judaai (1997) with Anil Kapoor
and Urmila Matondkar left the audiences waiting for more.
During Sridevi’s film career, she faced many challenging hurdles where
she was left to fight and win all alone. One of the challenges was while
making the movie Judaai. She lit the pyre of her mother’s last rites, which is
against the Hindu Custom. Her father died while she was filming Lamhe to
leave the starred actress confused and alone in the realm of life.
She later married film producer Boney Kapoor on June 2, 1996. Her
tragedy had not yet called quits because she had to go through a bitter mud
slinging session with the marriage, which earned only the wrath of the
industry as she was married to a divorce. However, Sridevi went through it
all with silent dignity and moved in such a way that the same industry was
eager to accept her back into its fold. The couple has two daughters, Jhanvi
and Khushi. The two daughters are her world now.
Sridevi returned to the small screen, briefly, in the popular Sahara comedy
serial ‘Malini Iyer’ from 2004-2005. She later appeared on “Jeena Isi Ka
Naam Hai” for Karishma Kapoor (2004) and as a judge in the TV show
Kaboom (2005). She also starred in the Lux ad along with Shah Rukh Khan.
She performed an 80’s medley at the 52nd Filmfare Awards in 2007 to a
grand reception from fans and colleagues.
S.S. Vasan
S.S.Vasan was born on January 4th 1904 in
Thiruthuraipoondi in Thanjavur district in a poor
Brahmin family. His father died when he was
barely two years old and the young Vasan was
left to fend for himself. At a very early age, he
moved to Madras along with his mother to
complete his studies. He realised the difficulties
his mother had to undergo to educate him and he
decided to enter the turbulent ocean of life and
find a way to make a living. Innovative,
enterprising and daring he chose a new activity—selling space. He secured
advertisements for Madras-based publications and earned commission on the
ad revenue he could generate.
In 1928, with the revenue he had earned, he purchased a struggling Tamil
journal called Ananda Vikatan and reformed and remodeled it to suit the
public taste. With the revenue he earned, he bought a small printing press and
launched Ananda Vikatan, a popular weekly in Tamil Nadu even today. He
got involved with films when his novel Sati Leelavati was made into a film in
1936. He was flushed with funds and entered the world of movies as
distributor-financier promoting his successful company Gemini Pictures
Circuit. In 1938 he took over distribution of films of the Madras United
Artists Corporation. In 1941 there was a fire in the studio of the Motion
Picture Producers Combine. Like most studios in India it was uninsured
because no insurance company would take the risk. The partners, by now at
odds with each other, decided to sell the charred premises. He bought them,
did some rebuilding, and launched the Production Company Gemini Studios.
During the war the firm dabbled in a variety of films including a
mythological, a stunt film and a love story or two - Films like Mangamma
Sapatham in 1943, Kannamma En Kadhali in 1945, Miss Malini in 1947
and Apoorva Sahodarargal in 1949.
However he was really preparing his big post-independence break. He
entered the Hindi market with Chandralekha in 1948 a spectacle. Its drum
dance is remembered even today! 603 prints of Chandralekha were made
and the film was even released in the United States as Chandra with English
subtitles. In the 1950s Gemini Pictures came out with films both in Tamil and
Hindi. Popular Hindi films include Mr. Sampat in 1952, Insaniyat in 1955,
Raj Tilak in 1958 and Paigam in 1959. In 1958 he established Gemini
Colour Laboratories and believed in establishing the Film Trade on
professional lines. He scrapped scenes shot at enormous cost and did them all
over again if there was an error. Such was his penchant for perfection. A
quality that made him and his films legendary. He created film history
establishing trends, and breaking box-office records in many languages. He
and his Gemini Studio in Madras were household names and also part and
parcel of the cultural scene of South India. The familiar Gemini Twins
blowing the bugles was a stamp for quality, clean, wholesome, family
entertainment and money’s worth. His films—Avvaiyar, Vanjikottai
Valiban, Paigham, Gunghat, Gharana, Grihasthi, and others,—have left
behind indelible footprints on the sands of Indian Cinema. Chandralekha,
his first directorial venture after being producer for seven successful years is
considered to be his finest work. He was the first South Indian filmmaker to
break the fort walls of Hindi cinema and this is one of the most significant
achievements of his life. Indeed he was the man who put Madras on the
movie map of India. Gemini Pictures declined in the 1970s although it has
remained successful as a studio and equipment rental business.
He also understood that whatever might be the purpose and the value of the
medium, cinema was basically a vehicle of mass entertainment and not
education or elevation. A multifaceted personality, he was a writer, journalist,
adman, magazine publisher, film distributor, studio-owner, filmmaker and
producer — that was S. S. Vasan. He was the President of the Film
Federation of India for two terms and was even nominated to the Rajya
Sabha. He was the given the Padma Bhusan by the Government of India in
1969, the year of his death.
Surya
Saravanan ‘Surya’ Sivakumar born 23 July 1975 is a Tamil film actor. Son
of actor Sivakumar, he starred in Tamil films, such as Nandha (2001),
Kaakha Kaakha (2003), Pithamagan (2004), Perazhagan (2005),
Ghajini(2005), Vaaranam Aayiram(2008) and Aryan (2009). As of 2009,
he has won three Tamil Nadu State Film Awards and three Filmfare Awards.
Surya was born to actor Sivakumar and Lakshmi in Chennai, and brought up
in Coimbatore. He attended PSBB School and St. Bede’s School in Chennai
and graduated from Loyola College with a Bachelor of Commerce degree. He
worked in a textile company before venturing into films.
Surya debuted in the 1997 film Nerrukku Ner directed by Vasanth and
produced by Mani Ratnam. In 2001, he starred in Siddique’s comedy film
Friends.
His major break came in the form of
Nandha, which was directed by Bala. Playing
the role of an ex-convict who is very attached
to his mother, he received a Tamil Nadu State
Film Award for Best Actor. His next venture
was Vikraman’s Unnai Ninaithu, which was
followed by Mounam Pesiyadhe. In 2003, he
starred in the Gautham Menon-directed
Kaakha Kaakha, a film about the life of a
police officer. He then starred in another Bala film, Pithamagan, along with
Vikram, portraying a happy-go-lucky village crook with a comic touch, for
which he received a Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award. Since he was
shooting for these two films in 2003, he had to turn down a lead role in
Autograph, which eventually was played by its director Cheran himself. In
2004 he received a Filmfare Award for Best Actor for playing two roles in
Perazhagan: an aggressive boxer and a handicapped phone booth keeper.
Later that year, he starred in Mani Ratnam’s political drama Aayutha
Ezhuthu, which was based on George Reddy, a student leader in Hyderabad
during the late 60s and early 70s. In 2005, he appeared in Ghajini and then in
Aaru. He played a patient suffering from short-term memory loss in the
former. Surya then set up a production company called Studio Green which
distributed movies in the Chennai district. In 2006 he appeared opposite his
wife Jyothika in N. Krishna’s Sillunu Oru Kaadhal. In 2007, Sivakumar’s
only release was Vel.In 2008, he appeared in Vaaranam Aayiram directed
by Gautham Menon. He won several awards, including a Filmfare Award for
Best Actor, a Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor and a Vijay
Award for Best Actor. Sivakumar played dual roles, of a son and a father,
ranging from 17 to 75 years. His next film Aryan in 2009 was directed by K.
V. Anand. He played the role of a smuggler. His next release was
Aadhavandirected by K. S. Ravikumar. 2010, he had his 25th release with
Singam, directed by Hari, in which he played the role of a police officer. He
is expected to make his Hindi debut in Rakta Charitra, which is being
directed by Ram Gopal Verma and is scheduled for a 2010 release. He is also
slated for the film 7aam Arivu in which he will be seen as a circus artist.
In 2008, Surya began the Agaram Foundation, working to help children
who drop out of school early in Tamil Nadu. With the Ministry of Education
in Tamil Nadu, he created a short commercial video outlining child poverty,
labour and lack of education, titled Herova? Zerova?. The film was written
and produced by Surya and also starred Joseph Vijay, R. Madhavan and
Jyothika. Agaram has sponsored 159 underprevileged students in 2010 for
their higher education in various disciplines. With the firm belief that the
educated mind can not only eliminate social evils but also aid in the socio-
economic upbringing of society, Agaram Foundation works towards
providing appropriate learning opportunities to the rural populace who do not
otherwise have access to quality education. After several years of being
engaged, he married actress Jyothika Sadanah on 11 September 2006, with
whom he has appeared in seven films; Poovellam Kettuppar, Uyirile
Kalanthathu, Kaakha Kaakha, Perazhagan, Maayavi, June Rand Sillunu
Oru Kaadhal.
Filmfare Awards South
•Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor - Pithamagan (2003)
•Filmfare Award for Best Actor - Perazhagan (2004)
•Filmfare Award for Best Actor - Vaaranam Aayiram (2008)
Tamil Nadu State Film Awards
•Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor - Nandha (2002)
•Tamil Nadu State Film Special Award for Best Actor - Ghajini (2005)
•Tamil Nadu State Film Special Award for Best Actor - Vaaranam
Aayiram (2008)
 9. Regional Scenarios:
Punjabi

Introduction
Punjabi cinema is the Punjabi language film industry in the states of
Punjab in India. K.D. Mehra made the first Punjabi ‘talkie’ film, Sheila, also
known as Pind Di Kudi in 1936. Young Noor Jehan was introduced as an
actress and singer in this film. Sheila was made in Calcutta and released in
Lahore. It ran very successfully and was a hit across the province. Due to the
success of this film more producers started making Punjabi films. K.D.
Mehra made his second film, Heer Sial (1938), with the assistance of M.M.
Billoo Mehra. This film had Noor Jehan and new artists Balo and M. Ismail.
This film was commercially successful.
Due to the vast Punjabi community in Lahore and Punjab, the area soon
became a significant Punjabi-language film market. Studios opened up and
many artists, producers, directors, and technicians from Bombay and Calcutta
shifted to Lahore. Prominent names were Shanta Apte, Motilal, Chandra
Mohan, Hiralal, Noor Jehan, Mumtaz Shanti, Wali, Syed Attahullah Shah
Hashmi, Krishna Kumar, and Shanker Hussain. Baldev Raj Chopra, later
known as a director, got started in the movie industry in Lahore, where he ran
a film magazine called the Cine Herald. Ramanand Sagar, also later a
director, was associated with the Evening News. Syed Attahullah Shah
Hashmi worked for the film newspaper Adakar.
Partition Effect
In 1947, India was divided into two parts, India and Pakistan. The Punjab
region was split between the two nations. West Punjab became part of
Pakistan and East Punjab became part of India. This affected Punjabi cinema
because most Muslim artists and directors moved to Pakistan, and worked in
Lahore, while Sikhs and Hindus moved to Bombay.
Attempts were made to keep Indian Punjabi cinema alive in this period.
Filmmakers made films like Posti, Do Lachhian and Bhangra with some
success but were not able to revive Punjabi cinema. Songs from the films
would run for months and years on the radio resulting in a long term audience
for the films.
Post-partition, the trend of comedies continued. One of the hit comedies
was Mulkh Raj Bhakhri’s Bhangra (1958), starring Sundar and Nishi. It was
remade by director Mohan Bhakhri as Jatti in 1980 with Mehar Mittal and
Aparna Chowdhry, and it was a again commercial success. The music from
the film was by Hansraj Behl with lyrics by Verma Malik. Songs sung by
Shamshad and Rafi like “Batti balkay banere utte rakhdi han, rah bhul na jave
chann mera” and “Chitte dand hasnon nayion rehnde” were widespread hits.
Johnny Walker (1957) was a hit and was later remade under the same title,
featuring Mehar Mittal in the lead role and Amitabh Bachchan as a guest star.
The big-budget romantic Punjabi film by director Padam Prakash
Maheshwary, Satluj de Kande, was released in 1964. This film starred
Balraj Sahni, Nishi, Wasti, and Mirza Musharraf, with music by Hansraj
Behl. This was the only Punjabi film starring Balraj Sahni. It was a major hit
and earned a National Film Award. Satluj de Kande was broadcast three
times on the public TV channel Doordarshan in India.
In 1969 the religious film Nanak Naam Jahaaz Hai starring Prithviraj
Kapoor, I. S. Johar, Vimmi, Som Dutt, Nishi, Suresh, and David Abraham
was released. The film was the first really major successful Punjabi film in
post-independent India with a major cultural impact on Punjabi Sikhs at
home and abroad and is credited with the revival of the Punjabi film industry
in India. People stood in long lines to buy a ticket for the film.
After the success of Nanak Naam Jahaaz Hai, films were released in
huge numbers. Hindi actors of Punjabi descent became interested in Punjabi
films. Kanakan De Ohle (Dharmendra, Asha Parekh and Ravindra Kapoor)
and Nanak Dukhiya Sab Sansar (Dara Singh, Balraj Sahni, Ram Mohan
and Asha Sachdev) were released in 1970. 1971 saw no major releases. In
1972, Dara Singh starred with Prithviraj Kapoor in Mele Mittaran De. Man
Jeete Jag Jeet, a religious film starring Sunil Dutt, Radha Saluja and
Ranjeet, was a major release of 1973. In 1974, Do Sher (Dharmendra and
Rajendra Kumar), Bhagat Dhanna Jatt (Dara Singh and Feroze Khan),
Sachcha Mera Roop Hai (Manmohan Krishan) and Dukh Bhanjan Tera
Naam(Shaminder Singh and Radha Saluja) were released. The most
successful was Dukh Bhanjan Tera Naam, due to the wide appeal of its
religious historical setting and appearances by Bollywood superstars
including Sunil Dutt, Rajendra Kumar, Dharmendra, Johnny Walker, and
Dara Singh.
Teri Meri Ek Jindri (1975) starred Dharmendra and introduced his cousin
Veerendra. Many films were released in 1976: Daaj Giddha, Main Papi
Tum Bakhshanhaar, Paapi Tarey Anek, Santo Banto, Sardar-e-Azam,
Sawa Lakh Se Ek Ladaun, Taakra, and Yamla Jatt. Sawa Lakh Se Ek
Ladaun was the biggest hit and starred Dara Singh. The film ran into conflict
with the Sikh political parties as the film had Fauj-i-Khas soldiers wearing
fake beards. The year 1977 was not a major one for the Punjabi film industry.
Jai Mata Di, Saal Solvan Chadhya, Sat Sri Akal, and Shaheed Kartar
Singh Sarabha were released, amongst others. Saal Solvan Chadya was a
highlight because of the cameo appearance by Rekha. Sat Sri Akal was
another hit film. It starred Sunil Dutt, Shatrughan Sinha, and Premnath. In
1978 Udeekan, Dhyani Bhagat, Jai Mata Sheranwali, and Jindri YaarDi
were released. The drama Udeekanwas a hit. Walayati Babu, the first ever
remake in Punjabi cinema, was released in 1978. The film was remade from
the Punjabi film of the same name by Johnny Walker, and featured a special
appearance by Amitabh Bachchan. 1979 was a big year: Guru Manio
Granth, Jatt Punjabi, Kunwara Mama, Sukhi Pariwar, and Til Til Da
Lekha were released. The religious film Guru Manio Granth was an instant
hit. Jatt Punjabi had a big cast and a special appearance by Manoj Kumar.
Til Til Da Lekha won the Punjab State Government award for best story
writer and second best feature film of 1979. The first mystery film was
released, Vangaar (The Challenge); it failed to become a hit.
Chann Pardesi, the first Punjabi film to win the national award, was
released in 1980, and was the biggest hit of that year. It starred Raj Babbar,
Rama Vij, Amrish Puri, Om Puri, and Kulbhushan Kharbanda. Fauji Chacha
h ad veteran Bollywood actor Sanjeev Kumar in the lead. A remake of Mulkh
Raj Bhakhri’s 1958 film Bhangra came out in 1980 from director Mohan
Bhakhri. The film was titled Jatti, and starred Sundar, Nishi, Mehar Mittal,
and Aparna Chowdhry. As with the original, the remake was a tremendous
success.
1981 had only one hit: Balbiro Bhabhi. This film had Veerendra in the
lead role. Two major releases of 1985 were Uchcha Dar Babe Nanak Daa
and Sarpanch. The former was a religious film that established Gurdas Mann
as a star. Sarpanchstarred Veerendra. In 1983, many movies were released,
with Putt Jattan De the biggest commercially. Veerendra had another hit in
1984 with the film Yaari Jatt Di. This film was the first Punjabi film to have
more than half its footage shot in the United Kingdom. Mamla Garbar Hai
was a hit for actor Gurdas Mann. The film’s songs were especially loved.
Two hit films of 1985 were Mohammed Sadiq’s Guddo and Veerendra’s
Vairi. Long Da Lishkara was the big hit of 1986, starring Raj Babbar,
Gurdas Mann, Om Puri, and Nina Deol. In 1987 Veerendra starred in Patola
and Jor Jatt Da. Punjab was shaken with the assassination of Veerendra by
gunshot during the filming of Jatt Tey Zameen. The death opened the door
for supporting actors including Gugu Gill and Yograj Singh to take leading
roles.
1988 had no major film releases. In 1989 came the critically acclaimed
Marhi Da Diva. The film starred Raj Babbar, Pankaj Kapur, Kanwaljeet
Singh, Parikshit Sahni, and Deepti Naval.
In 1990 Qurbani Jatt Di, starring Gugu Gill, Yograj Singh, Gurdas Mann,
Dharmendra, Raj Babbar and Priti Sapru. The film was directed by Preeti
Sapru herself, and did well at the box office. A second important release was
Dushmani Di Agg the last film of Veerendra. It also starred Gurdas Mann
and Priti Sapru, and was successful at the box office. In 1991 the major film
Anakh Jattan Di starred Diljit Kaur and Gugu Gill. It was the first movie
where the people really accepted ex-villain Gugu Gill as a hero. The film was
followed by films like Jor Jatt Da, which managed to recover its cost. Badla
Jatti Da was the major success of the year. It starred Gugu Gill, Yograj
Singh in a villain role, and Aman Noorie. Udeekan Saun Diyan garnered
critical acclaim, but was not a commercial success. Sounh Menoo Punjab
Di, starring Satish Kaul, Rama Vij, Mehar Mittal, and Pal Randhawa was
also one of releases of 1991. The film was directed by Sukhdev Ahluwalia,
one of the most successful directors of Punjwood, and had music by Surinder
Kohli.
Vaisakhi starring Deep Dhillon and Sunita Dheer, was released in 1991 to
critical acclaim, but did not succeed commercially. Jatt Jeona Morh was a
major hit that year, and made Gugu Gill a superstar. Also released was
Yograj Singh’s Jagga Daku, which did moderately well. Dil Da Mamla,
starring Guggu Gill and Amar Noori, did poorly at the box office.
 1993 had films like Jatt Sucha Singh Soorma (with Yograj Singh and
Neena Sidhu), Mirza Sahiban (starring Gugu Gill), Lalkara Jatt Da, and
Saali Adhi Gharwali. These films managed to do adequately at the box
office, but were not major successes. Preeti Sapru’s Mehndi Shagnan Di,
star ring Malkit Singh, Hansraj Hans, Preeti Sapru, and Yograj Singh, lost
money. Kudi Canada Di starring Yograj Singh also did poorly.
Kachehri (1994) starred Gurdas Mann, Yograj Singh, and others. The film
was praised by critics, was a commercial success, and won a national award.
A second release was Tabahi, starring newcomer Vishal Singh; it was the
blockbuster hit of the year. Guggu Gill’s Vairi did quite well at the box
office, but Jigra Jatt Da, with Yograj Singh as the villain, did poorly at the
box office.
Kimi Verma starred in Naseebo and Qaharin 1995 to critical acclaim, but
not commercial success. Naseebo managed managed to recover its costs.
Pratigya, starring Gugu Gill, Gurdas Maan, Preeti Sapru, and Dara Singh did
well at the box office. Zaildaar (Yograj Singh), Nain Preeto De (Yograj
Singh), and Sir Dhad Di Baazi did well. Gurdas Mann’s Baghawat did not.
Jakhmi Jagirdar and Mera Punjab amongst others also did poorly that
year.
Punjabi cinema began to decline in 1996. Only the film Sukha(starring
Vishal Singh) did well at the box office. Deson Pardeson, Dhee Jatt Di
(Upasana Singh, Gurkirtan, and Shivinder Mahal), Vichoda (Yograj Singh),
Gawahi Jatt Di, and Jorawar all did poorly at the box office. Dara Singh’s
Vindooand Farha’s Rabb Diyan Rakhan also fared poorly.
Films of 1997 (Mela, Truck Driver, Sardari, Preetan De Pehredaar,and
Pachtaawa) all failed to make a profit. Even Gugu Gill’s films were not
successful. Train to Pakistan was filmed in a mixture of Hindi and Punjabi,
and was later dubbed into Punjabi for film festivals.
In 1998 Gugu Gill’s Purja Purja Kat Mare, Dara Singh, Ravinder Maan,
and Vishal’s Laali, and Kalbhooshan Kharbanda and Tanuja’s Dildaara did
not make money. Even big budget films like Guru Gobind Singh did poorly.
The critically acclaimed Main Maa Punjab Dee won a National award, but
it was not a big hit initially. Later this film was shown repeatedly on national
television. The year ended on a positive note as Jaspal Bhatti’s Mahaul
Theek Hai became an instant hit of Punjabi cinema. It was the first big hit
since Jatt Jeona Morh (1991) and Badla Jatti Da (1992).
Punjabi films were more successful in 1999. Mahaul Theek Hai, Gurdas
Maan, and Divya Dutta’s Shaheed e Mohabbat was a critical and
commercial success. Muqqadar, Tera Mera Pyar, Nadiyon Vichde Neer,
Door Nahin Nankana, and Ishq Nachave Gali Gali (Randeep Virender,
Manjeet Kullar, Deepak Saraf, Neeru Singh, Surinder Sharma) all did poorly
at the box office. Rajniti, which was also made in Hindi, failed to make
money. Raj Babbar’s Shaheed Udham Singh did well towards the end of the
year. There were only two major hits that year, Shaheed e Mohabbat and
Shaheed Udham Singh.
In 2000 there was just a single release: Dard Pardesan De, starring
Avinash Wadhawan, Upasana Singh, Paramveer, and Deepshikha, which
fared poorly in Punjab, but did very well overseas. Sikandra and Jagira
were released in 2001. Avinash Wadhawan and Ayesha Jhulka starred in
Khalsa Mero Roop Hai Khaas, which was released to the overseas market
but not in Punjab.
In 2002 Jee Ayan Nu was released, featuring singer turned actor
Harbhajan Mann and directed by Manmohan Singh. The movie was made on
a big budget for Punjwood—90 lakhs, as compared to the more typical 20-50
lakhs. Badla came out in 2003. Asa Nu Maan Watna Da was released in
2004, again with actor Harbhajan Mann and director Manmohan Singh.
Jija Ji, Des Hoyaa Pardes, Main Tu Assi Tussi, Yaaran Naal
Baharan,and Nalaik were released in 2005. Dil Apna Punjabi (again pairing
Harbhajan and Manmohan), Ek Jind Ek Jaan, and Warish Shah came out
in 2006. Kambdi Kalai a Punjabi diaspora movie based out of the United
States came out in 2006. Rustam-e-Hind and Mitti Wajan Mardi
(Harbhajan and Manmohan) were released in 2007.
A significant number of movies were produced in 2008: Yaariyan, Mera
Pind, Lakh Pardesi Hoye, and Sat Sri Akal. In 2009, Jag Jeodeye Deh
Mele became a hit, and Tera Mera Ki Ristha with Jimmy Shergill broke
Punjabi box-office records. Munde UK De with Jimmy Shergill and directed
by Manmohan Singh was released in 2009.
In 2010, Sukmani and Chevan Dariya were awaiting release.
With renewed interest from the public, Punjabi cinema has seen a revival
with more releases every year featuring bigger budgets, home grown stars,
and Bollywood actors of Punjabi descent taking part.
Satluj De Kande (1964) and Nanak Naam Jahaaz Hai (1969) directed
by Panna Lal Maheshwari won the National Award’s Certificate of Merit.
Best feature film awards were won by Chann Pardesi (1980), directed by
Chitrarth; Marhi Da Deeva (1989), directed by Surinder Singh; Kachehari
(1994), Main Maa Punjab Dee(1998), written and directed by Balwant
Dullat; Shaheed-E-Mohabbat (1999), directed by Manoj Punj; Shaheed
Udham Singh (2000), directed by Chitrarth; and Des Hoya Pardes (2005).
Popular Faces of Punjabi Cinema
Movies are an all time favourite to all man on earth. There is nothing better
than watching a good movie for one’s relaxation. Indian cinema has always
secured a very important position in the world movie scenario. Punjabi
Movies is definitely an indispensable part of Indian cinema.
Punjabi Movies have produced some very talented actors, who have been
tremendously successful in Punjabi films as well as in Bollywood.
Generally, the Punjabi films are set in the backdrop of a rural area or a
village. The scenes are essentially reminiscent of the Indian village life.
Given below are the brief profiles of some popular Punjabi film actors. But
also keep in mind that big stars of Bollywood also tried their luck in Punjabi
films. It is the reason the list of personalities is short.
Dara Singh
Dara Singh Randhawa was born on November
19, 1928. He is a wrestler and film actor from
Amritsar, Punjab, India. He was a well-known
wrestler before he started acting in Hindi and
Punjabi films in 1962.
From an Indian Wrestling Champion to the
World Championship, Dara Singh has competed
against some of the greatest names in wrestling
history including Lou Thesz. He has defeated some
of the former world champion wrestlers including
the great Stanislaus Zbyszko.
 Due to his physique he was encouraged to study Pehlwani, an Indian style
of wrestling, in the milked sand wrestling pits of India called Akhara.
Dara Singh was a favourite in wrestling tournaments in India. In addition
to this he wrestled on invitation of the kings of various Indian princely states
and wrestled frequently in haats and melas (fairs and carnivals). He also
successfully competed against some of the greatest names in wrestling
history and professional wrestlers in the United States.
Upon his return to India he gained unprecedented popularity by having
wrestling bouts across the country in the 1940s, ‘50s, and ‘60s, including a
very popular series of matches with Lou Thesz in the late ‘60s. He then
translated this to celluloid fame by making a large number of Bollywood
films which had him in the lead. One of his notable finds was the actress
Mumtaz. He then went on to 1980s and 90s television fame, when he played
the role of Hanuman in the television adaptation of the epic Ramayan. The
series is amongst the most widely viewed in history. He has acted in over 100
films.
His latest Hindi movie is Jab We Met and his latest Punjabi movie is Dil
Apna Punjabi. He also worked in some television serial shows, most notable
is “Had Kar Di” which was aired on Zee TV. As director Dara Singh have
many films to his credit like: Unkhilli Muttiar, Rustom, Bhakti Mein
Shakti, Dhyanu Bhagat, Sawa Lakh Se Ek Ladaun, Bhagat Dhanna Jatt,
Mera Desh Mera Dharam, Nanak Dukhiya Sub Sansaras a producer he
produced two films: Karanand Bhakti Mein Shakti. Finally, Nanak
Dukhiya Sab Sansar, Mele Mitran De, Dukh Bhanjan Tera Naam,
Bhagat Dhanna Jatt, Sawa Lakh Se Ek Ladaun, Lambardarni, Giddha,
Unkhili Muttiar, Babul Da Vehra, Bhulekha, Sheran De Putt Sher,
Maula Jatt, Dil Apna Punjabiand Main Maa Punjab Dee (1998, National
Award winner film directed by Balwant Dullat) are some notable Punjabi
movies in which Dara Singh showed his acting talent.
Gurdas Mann
Gurdas Maan is a singer, songwriter, choreographer, and actor. He was
born on 4 January 1957 in Giddarbaha, Muktsar, and Punjab. He gained
national attention in India in 1980 with the song “Dil Da Mamla Hai.” Since
then he has gone on to record over 27 albums and has written over 200 songs.
Maan was formally educated in Malout. After
completing his education there, his parents
enrolled him into a further education institute in
Patiala. As a keen sports enthusiast Maan was
fascinated by the National Institute of Sports in
the city; this prompted him to join the N.I.S and
gain a Masters Degree in Physical Education.
He took part in youth festivals organised by
various universities and won several awards for
his singing and acting, always supported by his
friends. He competed in many athletic events and
won medals including a bronze at the National
Championship as well as achieving a black belt in judo.
In one of his stage plays he performed a song which he had written himself
called Dil Da Mamla Hai. The play was seen by a producer for Doordarshan
Kendra Jalandhar, the producer who thought the song to have potential
approached Maan with a proposition for a TV performance of the song to
which Maan agreed. When the song was aired on 31 December 1980 it
gained national attention and Gurdas Maan became a national figure. The
success of the song attracted the attention of HMV who wanted to record and
release the song. It was with HMV that Maan eventually released his debut
album with a year later in 1981. When Maan began his career as a solo
performer in India, the music industry was dominated by duet artists and
Maan reportedly declined many offers to become part of a duet as he wished
to perform and become a successful solo artist. Since his debut Maan mostly
performed as a solo artist.
During his early career he also wrote and directed TV programmer such as
POP Time for the Doordarshan Network in Delhi. Gurdas Maan is often
credited with raising Punjabi folk music from a regional level mostly in the
Punjab to gain international recognition. His album Apna Punjab won Best
Album at the 1998 Asian Pop and Media Awards held in Birmingham. Maan
also won Best Song for the title track and Best International Artist the same
year. In addition to these awards, Maan more recently won three music
awards of Best Lyrics (Kudiye), Best Song (Heer), as well as Best Singer of
the Year at the ETC Channel Punjabi Music Awards on 6 March 2005.
Gurdas Maan is best known as an actor for his performances in two films:
Waris Shah-Ishq Da Waaris (2006), which was nominated as India’s
selection for the Academy Awards, and Shaheed-E-Mohabbat (1999), the
film which tells the real-life story of Boota Singh. Gurdas also appeared in
the hit film Shaheed Udham Singh (2000), in which he played the role of
Bhagat Singh, a Sikh man with no prejudices based on religion, caste or
creed. As a singer Gurdas Maan has worked with music directors such as
Laxmikant Pyarelal, Bappi Lahiri, Anu Malik, Nadeem Sharvan, Amar
Haidipur, Charanjeet Ahuja, and Jaswant Bhanyra. He also starred alongside
Juhi Chawla in the epic Des Hoyaa Pardes (2004), an emotional film
illustrating the tragedies faced by the people of Punjab in the 1980s. He
adopted the role of a son of a well-respected Jatt (bilingual separatist) Gurdev
Singh Somal. He falls in love with a high ranking police officer’s daughter.
Before the wedding, the father is murdered by separatists. This tale soon
twists in to the inevitable demise of Gurshaan (Gurdas Maan). This movie
was based on actual events. Aside from singing in Punjabi, he is fluent in
Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Haryanvi and Rajasthani. As an actor he has
performed in Punjabi, Hindi and Tamil movies, but he is best known for his
starring role in Waris Shah-Ishq Da Waaris, a depiction of the Punjabi poet
Waris Shah during the creation of his epic poem Heer Ranjha, again co-
starring Juhi Chawla and Divya Dutta. He also made a special appearance in
Veer-Zaara with Shahrukh Khan and Preity Zinta. He has also appeared in
Uchcha Dar Babe Nanak Da (1982), Mamla Garbar Hai (1984), Long Da
Lishkara (1986), Qurbani Jatt Di (1990), Pratigya (1990), Roohani
Taaqat (1991), Saali Adhi Ghar Waali (1992), Wanted: Gurdas Maan
Dead or Alive (1994), Kachehri (1994), and Zindagi Khoobsoorat Hai
(2002).
Mehar Mittal
Born in 1935 Mehar Mittal comes from Bhatinda, Punjab. He studied law
in Chandigarh and later worked as a tax advocate for 8 years. He is famous
for his comic roles. He has worked in more than 100 Punjabi films and has
appeared in almost all the superhit Punjabi films. Sawa Lakh Se Ek Ladaun
(1976), Putt Jattan De (1981), Babul Da Vehra (1983), Bhulekha (1986),
and Hum To Chale Pardes (1988) are a few of them. He played the role of a
doctor in Qahar (1998) and a havaldaar in Wanted: Gurdas Mann Dead or
Alive (1994). In Priti Sapru’s Qurbani Jatt Di (1990) he was seen alongside
Dharamendra and Gurdas Mann. Mehar is one of the most popular actors of
Punjabi cinema. He has produced two films,
Ambe Maa Jagdambe Maa (1980) and
Walayati Babu (1981).
The actor was honoured with the Dadasaheb
Phalke Academy Award at the Dadasaheb Phalke
Jayanti in Mumbai.
 10. Regional Scenarios:
Bhojpuri

Introduction
Bhojpuri films are films in the Bhojpuri language, mainly watched by
people from Bihar, eastern Uttar Pradesh in North India and Terai in southern
Nepal. Bhojpuri cinema is also watched in many parts of the world, where
Indian diaspora has settled, including Brazil, Fiji, Guyana, Mauritius, South
Africa, Surinam, and Trinidad and Tobago. During the late 19th and early
20th centuries, many colonisers faced labour shortages due to the abolition of
slavery; thus, they imported many Indians, many from Bhojpuri-speaking
regions. Today, some 200 million people in the West Indies, Oceania, and
South America speak Bhojpuri as a native or second language and they also
watch Bhojpuri films. Bhojpuri cinema history begins in 1962 with the well-
received film Ganga Maiyya Tohe Piyari Chadhaibo, which was directed
by Kundan Kumar. Throughout the following decades, films were produced
only in fits and starts. Films such as Bidesiya, (1963, directed by S. N.
Tripathi) and Ganga (1965, directed by Kundan Kumar) were profitable and
popular, but in general Bhojpuri films were not commonly produced in the
1960s and 1970s.
In the 1980s, enough Bhojpuri films were produced to tentatively make up
an industry. Films such as Mai (1989, directed by Rajkumar Sharma) and
Hamaar Bhauji (1983, directed by Kalpataru) continued to have at least
sporadic success at the box office. Nadiya Ke Paar is a 1982 Hindi-Bhojpuri
blockbuster directed by Govind Moonis and starring Sachin, Sadhana Singh,
Inder Thakur, Mitali, Savita Bajaj, Sheela David, Leela Mishra and Soni
Rathod. The film ran houseful for years in a movie theatre in Allahabad.
However, this trend faded out by the end of the decade, and by 1990, the
nascent industry seemed to be completely finished.
The industry took off again in 2001 with the Silver Jubilee hit Saiyyan
Hamar (directed by Mohan Prasad), which shot the hero of that film, Ravi
Kishan, to superstardom. This success was quickly followed by several other
remarkably successful films, including Panditji Batai Na Biyah Kab Hoi
(directed by Mohan Prasad) and Sasura Bada Paisa Wala (2005). In a
measure of the Bhojpuri film industry’s rise, both of these did much better
business in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar than mainstream Bollywood
hits at the time, and both films, made on extremely tight budgets, earned back
more than ten times their production costs. Sasura Bada Paisa Wala also
introduced Manoj Tiwari, formerly a well-loved folk singer, to the wider
audiences of Bhojpuri cinema. In 2008, he and Ravi Kishan are still the
leading actors of Bhojpuri films, and their fees increase with their fame. The
extremely rapid success of their films has led to dramatic increases in
Bhojpuri cinema’s visibility, and the industry now supports an awards show
and a trade magazine, Bhojpuri City, which chronicles the production and
release of what are now over one hundred films per year. Many of the major
stars of mainstream Bollywood cinema, including Amitabh Bachchan, have
also recently worked in Bhojpuri films. Mithun Chakraborty’s Bhojpuri debut
Bhole Shankar, released in 2008, is considered as the biggest Bhojpuri hit of
all time. Also in 2008, a 21-minute diploma film Bhojpuri film by Siddharth
Sinha, Udedh Bun (Unravel) was selected for world premiere at the Berlin
International Film Festival, later it won the National Film Award for Best
Short fiction Film.
Bhojpuri films are now trying to get visibility on the international circuit.
For the first time in the history of Bhojpuri Films, Jala Debh Duniya Tohra
Pyar Mein, produced by American Film Company PUN Films make its
presence felt in the India Pavilion at the world’s prestigious Cannes Film
Festival 2010. Bhojpuri superstar Ravi Kishan resurrected Bhojpuri film
industry ten years ago, today he is once again writing the pages of history
with a Bhojpuri Film to be showcased at Cannes in which he plays the lead
role.
Popular Faces of Bhojpuri Cinema
Bhojpuri is a Hindi dialect, very popular in Bihar and parts of Uttar
Pradesh. Comparatively low-budget Bhojpuri films, mostly shown in small
towns in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, parts of Punjab and Maharashtra,
can fetch up to Rupees two-three crore. A good film can even earn Rs ten to
Rs fifteen crore. Bhojpuri films are now suddenly become catch word in
Indian cinema. The films are doing huge business in terms of money return.
No other regional language films are comparable to Bhojpuri films’ total turn
over a year. In quality, however, Bhojpuri films are no match to language
movies of other region, but the way the films were making progress, quality
directors and actors and actresses may appear in the Bhojpuri filmdom to take
it to a new height. Given below are the brief profiles of some of the popular
faces of Bhojpuri cinema.
Manoj Tiwari
Manoj Tiwari was born on July 14, 1965 in the
small village of Atarwalia near at Mohania, Kaimur
district, Bihar. He later moved to Varanasi to pursue a
career in music.
Manoj Tiwari is considered as a Superstar in
Bhojpuri films and has been credited with reviving the
Bhojpuri film industry. He has appeared in over 30
Bhojpuri films. At the start of his career, he was
famous as a playback singer which gained him
widespread attention among film viewers. He later
gained countrywide fame as an actor through his
Bhojpuri films mainly aimed at the family audience. He has given
blockbusters like Bhole Shankar, Ganga and Gangotri.
Manoj Tiwari began his career as a playback singer in 1996, singing more
than 2,000 songs over 7 years. In 2003, he decided to become an actor and
took a role in the film Sasura Bada Paise Wala. Made on a budget of Rs. 3
million, the film went on to gross over Rs. 200 million and established Tiwari
as one of Bhojpuri cinema’s most successful actors. Manoj Tiwari followed
with the financially successful films Daroga Babu I Love You and
Bandhan Toote Na. In 2008, Tiwari entered Hindi cinema with a supporting
role in Deshdrohi. He also tried his luck in politics by contesting election
from Gorakhpur constituency on Samajwadi Party ticket but loosed it.
The same year the Dutch government issued a 44 Euro cent stamp with
Manoj Tiwari’s image. He is popular in the Netherlands because of the large
population of Bhojpuri residents that live there.
Manoj Tiwari co-hosts the television reality show Chak De Bachche along
with model Roshni Chopra. He will make his directorial debut in 2010 with
the Hindi language film Hello Darling which stars Ishaa Koppikar and
Celina Jaitley.
Manoj Tiwari continues to record music and release new albums. He
performs around the world in concert, singing in a style that mixes traditional
Bhojpuri folk songs with a more contemporary sound. Manoj Tiwari has been
promoting Bhojpuri all over the world wherever there is a sizeable Bhojpuri
population, like in Mauritius and Surinam which is a former Dutch colony.
He has already opened Bhojpuri academies in various cities all over the
world including Surinam.
He has already released a large number of Audio cassettes and CD’s and is
regularly doing functions for live performances.
Ravi Kishan
Ravi Kishan Shukla was born on 17 July
1971. He has acted in Bollywood films (small
roles), but his real popularity can be seen in
Bhojpuri cinema, where he plays lead roles,
and has won awards for his performance as
well.
In 2006, he shot to popularity when he
participated in Big Boss, the Indian version of
Big Brother. There, not only did he make his
name known outside the Bhojpuri community in a big way, but also, almost
became a household name.
He has also starred in a number of commercially successful Bhojpuri films,
frequently starring opposite Nagma.
Ravi Kishan has been awarded as the best Bhojpuri Actor time and again.
In June 2008 he was awarded the Most Popular Actor at ETV Bhojpuri
Cinema Samman 2008 function. He was declared Best Actor in regional film
category by Journalist Association of India. This versatile actor has proved
his talent of versatile acting in Bhojpuri as well as several Hindi films.
Popular reality shows like Big Boss and more recently Ek Se badhkar Ek
have brought him to the front line of top Indian Television actors. He had to
undergo a struggle in his early days when he arrived in Mumbai and
presented himself to various directors and producers all in vain. Bhojpuri
Cinema is now a 100 crore industry giving livelihood to nearly forty
thousand people directly or indirectly.
Ravi Kishan started his own company Mahadev Production in 2008, to
produce Bhojpuri Films. In 2008, he started co-hosting, celebrity dance-based
reality show Yeh Hai Bathroom Singer, Ek Se Badhkar Ek—Jalwe Sitaron
Ke on Zee. Ravi Kishan also hosted Hypnosis Show Raaz Pichhle Janam Ka
on NDTV Imagine. For the first time in the history of Bhojpuri Films, Ravi
Kishan starrer film Jala Debh Duniya Tohra Pyar Mein, produced by
American Film company PUN Films made its presence felt in the India
Pavilion at the world’s prestigious Cannes Film Festival 2010. Bhojpuri
superstar Ravi Kishan resurrected Bhojpuri film industry ten years ago, today
he is once again writing the pages of history with a Bhojpuri Film to be
showcased at Cannes in which he plays the lead role.
Ravi Kishan acted in many Hindi films such as Udhar Ki Zindagi with
Kajol and Jeetendra, Army with Sridevi and Shah Rukh Khan, Kudrat with
Urmila Matondkar and Akshay Khanna, Tere Naam with Salman Khan and
Bhumika Chawla and Phir Hera Pheri with Sunil Shetty and Akshay
Kumar.
Sujit Kumar
Sujit Kumar’s screen image remains of
the guy playing the mouth organ while
driving a jeep as Rajesh Khanna serenaded
Sharmila Tagore in the 1969 superhit,
Aradhana. He was seen in many films
starring Rajesh Khanna (Hathi Mere
Saathi, Amar Prem, Mehbooba and
Roti),Amitabh Bachchan (The Great
Gambler, Adalat)and Dharmendra (Jugnu,
Dharamveer, Charas, Dream Girl). He
did comic as well as villain roles. Sujit
Kumar belongs to a village near Varanasi. He has acted in at least 150 Hindi
films and over 20 Bhojpuri films. Among all his roles, more well-known role
was that of a spy in Ramanand Sagar’s Aankhein. He was also seen in Dev
Anand’s Des Pardes.He was one of the biggest stars that Bhojpuri cinema
ever produced. He appeared in such films as Bidesiya, Loha Singh, Dangal,
Pan Khaye Saiyya Hamar, Champa Chameli, Patoh Bitiya, Sajanwa
Bairi Bhouji, Nag Panchami, Saiyya Se Bhaile Milanawa, Aaeel Basant
Bahar, Bhaile Hamaar, Bidhana Nach Nachawe, Mai Ke Laal,
Sampurna Teerth Yatra, Sajai Da Maang Hamar, Saiyya Magan
Pahalwani Me, Ganga Kahe Pukar Ke, Ganga Jaisan Bhauji Hamar,and
Ganga Hamar Mai.
Sujit Kumar died on February 5, 2010.
 11. Regional Scenarios:
Assamese

Introduction
The early Assamese films centered around legendary genius, Rupkonar
Jyotiprasad Agarwala. It was his vision, dreams and ability that ushered in
the first Assamese movie on March 10, 1935. Joymoti is the first Assamese
film released under the banner of Chitralekha Movietone with the assistance
of versatile Jyotiprasad who was a poet, playwright, music composure and
freedom fighter.
Incidentally, Assamese film history does not have any silent movie. It
began straight way with a Talkie.
Made with a budget of Rs. 60,000, Joymoti, however, proved to be a box-
office flop much to the disappointment of Jyotiprasad who was the ambitious
project’s producer, director, scriptwriter, dialogue maker, costume designer,
editor, music director and lyricist. Despite failure, the unique contribution of
Jyotiprasad to the film is unparalleled in any language and Hindi movies till
date.
Undaunted, Jyotiprasad had his next venture titled Indumalatireleased
three years later in 1938. It was Jyotiprasad’s last film before his death that
created such a void that for a couple of years there was no film produced in
Assamese. Eminent musician Bhupen Hazarika played a stellar role in the
film.
During the Second World War, Rohini Kumar Baruah came up with a film
in 1941. Soon followed the release of a host of films including Rupahi
(1946), Badan Barphukan (1947), Sjiraj(1947), Biplabi, (Parghat) and
Runumi. All these films contributed a lot in the improvement of Assamese
cinema this or that way.
The first Assamese film to win National Award was Piyali Phukan in
1955. The film was jointly directed by debutant Nip Barua along with Smrit
Paras. Nip Barua’s next movie titled Mak Aru Moramand Ranga Police
also won National Silver medal among other prizes.
Dada Saheb Phalke Award winner musician Bhupen Hazarika had also
several directorial contributions. He produced and directed a film titled Era
Batut Sur. In 1961, Hazarika produced another memorable movie
Shakuntala. The movie won President’s Silver Medal. Puberan was
released in 1959 and that was screened in Berlin Film Festival. Prabhat
Mukherjee directed the film.
In between 1935 and 1970, as many as 62 films were released. Going by
the numbers of Hindi, South Indian and Bengali movies, the quantity was not
impressive, but we should remember that inadequate technicians and film
studios came in the way of producing more Assamese movies.
The first colour film in Assamese was made in 1972. The film was titled
Bhaity, directed by Kamal Choudhary.
A set of new directors appeared in Assamese filmdom in 12 years since
1970. They were Samarendra Narain Deb who was famous for his film
Aranya, Manoranjan Sur, known for his movie Uttaran, Deuti Barua
who earned accolades for his project Bristi, Pulok Gogoi who earned name
for his movie Khoj, Padam Barua who became popular for his product
Ganga Chilanir Pakhi, Babendranath Saikia who reached fame for
Sandhya Rag and Atul Bordoloi who is known for his movie Kollol.
Potential and popular directors of the present day Assamese film include
Jhanu Barua. Jhanu is known for his films Aparoopa, Papori, Haladhia
Choraye Baodhan Khai, Banani, Fringoti, Kkhagoroloi Bohu Dur. Jhanu
Barua has won many awards and prizes for his films. He is a household name
in Assam.
Sanjeev Hazarika is another prominent director. He has a number of films
to his credit. Those include Haladhar and Meemansa. Bhabendranath Saikia
is another promising director having to his name major films titled Anirban,
Agnisnan, Sarothi, Kolahol, Abartan, Itihas and Kaal Sandhya.
While Santwana Bordoloi is known for her film Adajya, another potential
director Bidyut Chakrabarty is famous for his movie Rag Birag. Since 1950
to 1970, Assamese films were largely influenced by Bengali movies. Many
Bengali directors produced Assamese movies. Things however, began to
change since 1980. The influence of Bollywood films left a major mark in
Assamese films with big-budget movies coming up on stage.
Presently, the insurgency menace has done a black for the Assamese
movies to flourish. The insurgents, posing as custodians of Assamese culture,
have imposed many Dos and Don’ts. Those guidelines are conservative in
nature and non-aesthetic in taste. The film personalities are in need of support
from other Indian film men and women and also from the government. A
new film movement is the call of the day to push through the Assamese
movies to the path of progress.
Popular Faces of Assamese Cinema
Way back in 1935, Rupkowar illuminated a new path in the realms of art
and culture in Assam. Since then, the legend lives on and the legacy
continues. Assamese cinema that experienced its childhood with ‘Joymati’
has today stepped into the adult life having gone through its teenage and seen
many ups and downs. From black and white to colour, Assamese cinema has
come through all stages. It has dealt with a varying range of themes and
subject matter.
Where classics like Joymati and Sameli Memsahab have ruled, cheap
copies of Hindi cinema also served its audience and admirers a distasteful
palate. That was not unique to Assamese cinema alone. Any creative art has
its upheavals. But Assamese cinema do have a thing to boast in all these
years of journey. It is this field that has produced some great names. When
directors like Bhabendra Nath Saikia, Jahnu Barua have earned accolades in
the scope of world cinema, greats like Bhupen Hazarika have livened up our
cinemas with greatest melodies.
Bhupen Hazarika
Bhupen Hazarika was born in Sadiya, Assam on
8 September 1926. A child prodigy, he wrote and
sang his first song at the age of 10 and worked for
the second Assamese talkie, Indramalati, in 1939,
when he was 12 years old.
He completed his Intermediate Arts from Cotton
College in 1942, and went on to Banaras Hindu
University to complete his B.A. in 1944 and his
M.A. in Political Science in 1946. He earned a
Ph.D. from Columbia University, New York, USA
in 1954, submitting a dissertation titled “Proposals
for Preparing India’s Basic Education to Use
Audio-Visual Techniques in Adult Education.” He was the president of the
“Axom Xahitya Xabha” in 1993.
As a singer, he is known for his crisp baritone voice and flawless diction;
as a lyricist, he is known for poetic compositions and parables that touch on a
wide range of themes—ranging from the erotic to social and political
commentary; and as a composer for his use of folk music with a touch of the
contemporary. He also participated, first as a child artist, and later as a
director, in the nascent Assamese film industry. When studying at Columbia
University, he became acquainted with American performer Paul Robeson,
from whom he also learned songs which he later adapted in his music career.
He is immensely popular, touching on reverence, in the states of Assam,
West Bengal as well as in neighbouring Bangladesh. In addition to his native
Assamese, Hazarika has sung in many other Indian languages, including
Bengali and Hindi.
Bhupen Hazarika composed the music of few Bollywood movies. They are
-
• Aarop (1973)
• Ek Pal
• Rudaali
• Gaja Gamini
• Daman: A Victim of Marital Violence
• Kyon?
Awards
In 2001, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government. of India.
In 1992, he was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for lifetime
achievements in cinema. He has been conferred with Sangeet-Natak
Academy Ratna award. For his contribution of building bridges of unity and
culture not only in north eastern region, but also over greater India, he has
been conferred with Assam Ratna award.
He also won the National Award as best music composer in India in 1977
in recognition for his work in the Assamese film, Chameli Memsaab.
 Apart from these, he has received innumerable awards and accolades in the
field of music, art, and other media.
In the month of February, 2009, the All Assam Students Union felicitated
Dr. Hazarika in a grand way by erecting a life size statue in the heart of
Guwahati. It was unveiled by Dr. Hazarika himself.
Jahnu Barua
Jahnu Barua is no stranger to success. This
Assamese director has won many awards and is
now gaining recognition in mainstream Hindi
cinema. Jahnu Barua was born on 17 October
1952 in Guwahati, Assam,
Jahnu Barua’s National Film Award winning
movies include Aparoopa(1983), Bonani (1990),
Xagaroloi Bohu Door (1995) and Ride on the
Rainbow (2003).
Xagaroloi Bohu Door (1995) made waves
internationally at the Chicago International Film
Festival and Brussels International Independent Film Festival.
Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara (2005) was a Hindi movie which starred
Anupam Kher and Urmila Matondkar. Barua who also wrote the script
showed Kher as a professor who is suffering from dementia and believes he
killed Gandhiji. The movie appealed to a limited audience and received good
reviews from movie critics. The movie commanded awards at the Fakuoka
International Film Festival and Mumbai International Film Festival.
Some other well known Assamese actors are Tara, Jamuna Baruah, Jatin
Bora, Moloya Goswami, Bindiya Goswami, Geetawali Rajkumari, Chetana
Das, Trisha Saikia, Jotin Borah, Ravi Sarma, Gayotry Mahanta, Hiranya Das,
Hiranya Deka, Nipon Goswami, Biju Phukan, Jharna Saikia, Tapan Das,
Mridula Boruah, Aimee Boruah, Prastuti Parashar, Bornali Pujari, Barasha
Rani Bishaya, Jerifa Wahid, Nayan Nirban, Ankur Bishaya, Pranjal Saikia,
Rajiv Goswami, Purabi Sarma, Malaya Goswami, Bidya Rao, Nishita
Goswami, Bishnu Kharghoria, Atul Pachoni, Divya Desai and others.
 12. Regional Scenarios:
Bengali

Introduction
The history of cinema in Bengal dates back to the 1890s, when the first
bioscopes were shown in theatres in Calcutta. Within a decade, the first seed
of the industry was sown by Hiralal Sen, considered a stalwart of Victorian
era cinema when he set up the Royal Bioscope Company, producing scenes
from the stage productions of a number of popular shows at the Star Theatre,
Minerva Theatre, Classic Theatre. Following a long gap after Sen’s
works, Dhirendra Nath Ganguly established Indo British Film Co, the first
Bengali owned production company in 1918. However, the first Bengali
Feature film, Billwamangal, was produced in 1919, under the banner of
Madan Theatre. Bilat Ferat was the IBFC’s first production in 1921. The
New Theatre production of Dena Paona was the first Bengali talkie.
A long history has been traversed since then, with stalwarts such as
Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen and Ritwik Ghatak and others having earned
international acclaim and securing their place in the movie history. Today,
there are two Bengali film industries, one in Dhaka, Bangladesh and one in
Kolkata.
Hiralal Sen is credited as one of Bengal’s, and India’s first directors.
However, these were all silent films. Hiralal Sen is also credited as one of the
pioneers of advertisement films in India. The first Bengali-language movie
was the silent feature Billwamangal, produced by the Madan Theatre
Company of Calcutta and released on November 8, 1919, only six years after
the first full-length Indian feature film, Raja Harish Chandra, was released.
The early beginnings of the “Talking film” industry go back to the early
1930 s, when it came to British India, and to Calcutta. The movies were
originally made in Urdu or Persian as to accommodate a specific elite market.
One of the earliest known studios was the East India Film Company. The first
Bengali film to be made as a talkie was an adaptation of Tagore’s short story,
Dena Paona, released in 1931. It was at this time that the early heroes of the
Bengali film industry like Pramathesh Barua and Debaki Bose were at the
peak of their popularity. Barua also directed a number of movies, exploring
new dimension in Indian cinema. Debaki Bose directed Chandidas in 1932;
this film is noted for its breakthrough in recording sound. Sound recordist
Mukul Bose found out solution to the problem of spacing out dialogue and
frequency modulation.
The contribution of Bengali film industry to Indian film is quite significant.
Based in Tollygunge, an area of South Kolkata, West Bengal and is more
elite and artistically-inclined than the usual musical cinema fare in India. In
the past, it enjoyed a large, even disproportionate, representation in Indian
cinema, and produced film directors like Satyajit Ray, who was an Academy
Honourary Award winner, and the recipient of India and France’s greatest
civilian honours, the Bharat Ratna and Legion of Honour respectively, and
Mrinal Sen, who is the recipient of the French distinction of Commander of
the Order of Arts and Letters and the Russian Order of Friendship.
Other prominent film makers in the Bengali film industry are Bimal Roy,
the late Ritwik Ghatak, and Aparna Sen. The Bengali film industry has
produced classics like Pather Panchali, Devi, Jalsaghar, Devdas, Neel
Akasher Neechey, Meghe Dhaka Tara etc.
The most well known Bengali filmstar to date has been Uttam Kumar; he
and co-star Suchitra Sen were known as The Eternal Pair.
The pioneers in Bengali film music include Raichand Boral, Pankaj
Mullick and K.C. Dey, all associated with New Theatres Calcutta. Other
famous playback singers in Bengali film music were Hemanta Mukherjee,
Manna Dey, Sandhya Mukhopadhyay and Kishore Kumar.
In the 1980s, however, the Bengal film industry went through a period of
turmoil, with a shift from its traditional artistic and emotional inclinations to
an approach more imitating the increasingly more popular Hindi films, along
with a decline in the audience and critical appreciation, with notable
exceptions of the works of directors like Gautam Ghose. However, even at
this time, a number of actors and actresses enjoyed popularity, including
Tapas Pal, Proshenjit, Chironjeet, Rituparna Sengupta and others. However,
toward the end of the 90s, with the a number of directors coming increasingly
into prominence, including Rituparno Ghosh, Gautam Ghose, Aparna Sen,
Sandip Ray among others, a number of popular and critically acclaimed
movies have come out of the Bengali film industry in recent years. These
include, Unishe April, Titli, Mr. and Mrs. Iyer etc. and signal a resurgence of
the Bengali film industry.
In the new millennium the market for Bengali films has expanded to a 340-
million-strong Bengali audience in Bangladesh, West Bengal, Tripura and
Assam. The industry could truly flourish if films from this state have a proper
distribution network. While around 50 films are produced in West Bengal
every year, only 30 make it to the theatres.
Bengali cinema has never seen such a flood of releases within one year as
it did in 2008. The year marks a record for new talents, new directors, young
producers, a new genre of ensemble films, a few offbeat films, a few films for
children, an animation film and films in languages other than Bengali but
having a distinct Bengali atmosphere. This, alongside ten releases of
Prosenjit, the numero uno, among the 61 releases we saw last year and some
experimental films new directors stepped in with.
The predominantly young audience reveals a marked preference for fast-
paced romance-cum-action films featuring strapping young actors instead of
the ageing Mithun or the dropped-jaw Prosenjit. Shibaji, Ghar Jamai, Mr.
Fantoosh,and Takkar, were the successful Prosenjit starrers. Among films
not starring Prosenjit, the successful films were Chirodini Tumi Je Amaar,
Bhalobasa Bhalobasa, Love Story, Mon Maane Naa, Chirosaathiand
Tintorettor Jishu, again a Feluda adventure from Sandip Ray. Prosenjit’s
Mahakaal did average business. Mithun’s sole commercial release
Satyameva Jayatewas a super flop while his off-mainstream release,
Buddhadeb Dasgupta’s Kaalpurush, was taken off the theatres within a
fortnight even though tovella, did not go down well with an audience so fond
of Swapan Saha, Sujit Guha and Haranath Chakraborty potboilers. Shubrajit
Mitra’s much-hyped Mon Amour Shesher Kobita Revisited, inspired by a
Tagorit script, even the best of actors, singers, music and technical excellence
can do nothing to save a film. Arin Paul’s Doshta Dosh told an unusually
funny story that failed because it lacked focus. Rati Agnihotri’s first Bangla
film Aainatey was also a flop as were two new directors’ debuts, Arjun
Chakraborty’s Tollylights and Sougata Roy Burman’s 90 Hours, a slickly
made psychological thriller. Both films directed by the talented
cinematographer Riingo, Neel Rajar Desheand Love, were massive flops
because despite technical excellence, the films did not have a cohesive script
and did not have much to say either.
Chirodini Tumi Je Amaar introduced the new director, Raj Chakraborty,
who honed his skills with television. It also brought in two wonderfully fresh
faces with talent to boot in Rahul and Priyanka who play the star-crossed
lovers in the film. Running neck-to-neck in the race to the biggest hit is
Sandip Ray’s Tintorettor Jishu released in December. Coming a close second
are the Koel Mullick-Dev starrer Mon Maane Naaand the Koel Mullick-
Hiron starrer Chirosaathi. Another big hit was Bhalobasha Bhalobasha
produced by Ashok Dhanuka and directed by Ravi Kinnagi starring Hiron
opposite Shrabanti, making a comeback after marriage. Sandip Ray’s Feluda
adventure Kailase Kelenkari, Zor starring Jeet and Varsha, Ravi Kinnagi’s
Premer Kahini with Dev and Koel Mullick and Haranath Chakraborty’s
Bajimaat exploring the ugly underbelly of musical reality shows on
television, with two new faces Soham and Subhasree were also thumping hits
at the box office. Anjan Dutt’s Chalo Let’s Go, a road movie with a lilting
musical score, is a big hit claims its producer Joy Ganguly. Rangan
Chakrabarty’s Bor Ashbe Ekhuni did well but was not a thumping hit. The
year’s last release, Raaj Kumar starring Prosenjit, did not do well.West
Bengal cinema known for their parallel cinema.
The biggest star draws were Koel Mullick, Dev, Priyanka Sarkar, Rahul,
Hiron, Shoham and Srabonti. Music wise, Jeet Ganguly is surely going places
while as far as direction goes, Raj Chakraborty has his hands full of
assignments he can pick and choose from. Rangan is likely to begin his
second film this year and as one finishes this summing up, news trickles in
that Bengali cinema will open its innings in 2009 with the release of
Aniruddha Roychoudhury’s Antaheen starring Aparna Sen and Sharmila
Tagore in the same film for the first time with music by Shantanu Moitra.
Popular Faces of Bengali Cinema
The contribution of Bengali film industry to Indian film is quite significant.
Based in Tollygunge, an area of South Kolkata, West Bengal and is more
elite and artistically-inclined than the usual musical cinema fare in India. In
the past, it enjoyed a large, even disproportionate, representation in Indian
cinema, and produced film directors like Satyajit Ray, who was an Academy
Honorary Award winner, and the recipient of India and France’s greatest
civilian honours, the Bharat Ratna and Legion of Honor respectively, and
Mrinal Sen, who is the recipient of the French distinction of Commander of
the Order of Arts and Letters and the Russian Order of Friendship. The early
nickname for the Tollygunge film industry, “Tollywood,” was also the very
first Hollywood-inspired name, dating back to a 1932 article in the American
Cinematographer by Wilford E. Deming (due to Tollygunge rhyming with
Hollywood) and went on to inspire the name ‘Bollywood’ and other similar
names.
Given hereunder are brief profiles of some notable Bangla film
personalities.
Aparna Sen
Aparna Sen born October 25, 1945 is a Bengali
Indian actress and film director and mother of actress
Konkona Sen Sharma.
Aparna Sen was born in Kolkata to a Bengali
Brahmo family, originally from East Bengal. Her
father is the veteran critic and film-maker
Chidananda Dasgupta. Her mother Supriya Dasgupta
is the cousin of renowned Bengali poet Jibanananda
Das. She spent her childhood in Hazaribagh and
Kolkata and had her schooling in Loreto House,
Kolkata.
Aparna made her film debut at the age of 16, when she played the role of
Mrinmoyee in the 1961 film Teen Kanya directed by Satyajit Ray (who was
a long time friend of her father’s). She then studied at Kolkata’s Presidency
College. Later in life she would work with Satyajit Ray in several of his
films, including the short Pikoo (1981) where she played the role of an
adulterous wife and mother.
In 1965, she resumed her film career in Mrinal Sen’s Akash Kusum. From
then till the end of the 1970s, she worked steadily in the Bengali film
industry. She acted in a number of Hindi films as well during this time. In
1969, she appeared in The Guru, an English-language feature by Merchant
Ivory Productions. She would make two more films with Merchant-Ivory,
Bombay Talkie (1970), and Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie’s
Pictures (1978).
In 1981, Aparna made her debut as a film director with 36 Chowringhee
Lane. She also wrote its screenplay. The film, about an aged English teacher
still living in Calcutta three decades after independence, won reviews from
critics. For her debut feature, Aparna won the Best Director award at the
Indian National Film Awards. 36 Chowringhee Lane also won the Grand
Prix (the Golden Eagle) at the Manila International Film Festival.
Aparna followed up this early success with several other films, notably
Paroma (1984), Sati (1989) and Yugant (1995). These examined the
feminine condition in modern-day India from different perspectives. She also
starred in Unishe April (1994), the film by Bengali cinema’s Rituparno
Ghosh.
Aparna’s next directorial effort Paromitar Ek Din (2000) was a critical hit
and recalled the success of her first film. The film explored the relationship
between a divorced woman (Rituparna Sengupta) and her mother-in-law,
played by Aparna herself. It won a number of awards on the international
festival circuit.
Next, she directed Mr. and Mrs. Iyer (2002) which was a love story set
against the harsh backdrop of Hindu-Muslim sectarian violence in India. The
film won Aparna a third National Film Award for her direction, and an acting
award for Aparna’s daughter Konkona Sen Sharma. It won more awards at
the Locarno, Hawaii and Manila film festivals.
15, Park Avenue (2005), is her latest released venture, starring her
daughter Konkona and the actors Shabana Azmi, Dhritiman Chaterji,
Waheeda Rehman, Rahul Bose and Soumitra Chatterjee among others. The
film deals with a girl (Konkona) who is a schizophrenic and her relations
with her elder stepsister played by Azmi.
Her next film was Japanese Wife stars Raima Sen, Rahul Bose and a
Japanese actress. This film focused on two women.
Aparna Sen has been married three times. Her first marriage, to Sanjay
Sen, was when she was quite young. Her second husband was the science
writer and journalist, Mukul Sharma. They later divorced amicably. Aparna is
presently married to Kalyan Ray, an author and professor of English who
teaches at a university in the United States. She has two daughters, Kamalini
and Konkona, and two grandchildren.
From 1986 to 2005, Aparna Sen was editor of the fortnightly Sananda, a
Bengali women’s magazine (published by the Ananda Bazaar Patrika group)
that enjoys equal popularity in West Bengal and Bangladesh. From
November 2005 to December 2006, she was associated with the Bengali
24x7 infotainment channel Kolkata TV as Creative Director.
In 1986, she was conferred the Padma Shri in recognition of her
contribution to Indian cinema. Since then, she has received several lifetime
achievement awards, and served on juries at film festivals around the world.
Bimal Roy
Bimal Roy was one of the greatest ever
directors of Indian cinema. In his films we see a
romantic idealist to whom any form of
exploitation—social, religious or economic was
unacceptable.
Born in 1909, Bimal Roy came from a well to
do Bengali family and entered films as a
cameraman with New Theatres Pvt. Ltd. where
he photographed films like Devdas (1935) and
Mukti (1937). His first film as Director was
Udayer Pathey (1944) in Bengali, which was
remade as Humrahi (1945) in Hindi. The film
was a big critical success. Right from his first
film, Bimalda was able to introduce a realism and subtlety suited to the
cinema.
Bimalda migrated to Bombay after the collapse of New Theatres. His first
film there was Maa (1952) for Bombay Talkies, a typical melodrama starring
Leela Chitnis, Bharat Bhushan and Shyama that was redeemed only by Roy’s
innate reserve and good taste. He then formed his own production unit and
made his breakthrough film, Do Bigha Zamin (1953).
The film, heavily inspired from the neo-realistic films of Italy and Vittorio
de Sica’s Bicycle Thief (1949) in particular, was a moving tale, which
Bimalda projects with sympathy and simplicity. The film followed the
travails of a poor farmer who migrates to the city and works as a rickshaw
puller to make ends meet and earn money to get his land back from the
moneylender. After a series of misfortunes, he returns to his village to find
his farm taken over by a city developer. The film, boasting of a superb central
performance by Balraj Sahni, was a moderate commercial success and a huge
critical success and won Bimalda awards at Cannes and at the Karlovy Vary
Film Festivals. Even back home when Raj Kapoor saw the film, his reaction
was, “How I wished I had made this film.”
Followed three adaptations of Sharat Chandra Chatterjee, Parineeta
(1953), Biraj Bahu (1954) and Devdas (1955). In between Bimalda also
directed the emotional Baap Beti (1954) and the sensitive Naukri (1954),
often unjustly excluded from Bimalda’s list of memorable films.
The films, in spite of having their moments, were not too successful
commercially and so Bimalda turned to two films that were more in tune with
mainstream Hindi potboilers— Madhumati (1958), a reincarnation drama
and Yahudi (1958). Both the films were smash hits. The former, written by
Ritwik Ghatak was brilliantly photographed with much of it outdoors unlike
most Ghost stories. Salil Choudhary came up with perhaps his best ever
musical score and the haunting melody Aaja re Pardesi was ranked by Lata
Mangeshkar among her ten best songs ever!
Bimal Roy’s two much acclaimed films with Nutan, Sujata(1959) and
Bandini (1963) saw him returning to realistic imperatives. Sujata, dealing
with caste prejudice is more human than most films made on this subject
while Bandini is considered to be by many his finest work, even ahead of Do
Bigha Zamin. The film tells the story of a woman prisoner charged with
murder. The story, told in flashback from the woman’s point of view is
unraveled in a manner such that by and large she is always there or from
where she can overhear the goings on in the past rather than the general
practice of telling the whole story. In the film Bimalda beautifully used
imagery and sound to convey the various moods of Nutan. As she is seated in
the corner of her gray, grim cell facing the prison’s high wall, she can hear
the hoofs of the horse pulling the carriage taking away her lover, or that
masterful scene in which Nutan murders her lover’s wife with the hammering
of a welder in the background thus heightening the drama!
In between he did two films Parakh (1960) and Prem Patra (1962) both
starring Sadhana. Parakh sees Bimal Roy venture into satire territory and is a
witty, perceptive film and looks at how greed and money affect the behaviour
of people. The film finds Bimal Roy truly enjoying himself as he blows the
lid off so called respectable people and shows to what levels people can stoop
to for money. Released in 1960, Parakh went on to win for Bimal Roy yet
another Filmfare Award for Best Director making it a hat-trick following
Madhumati and Sujatathe previous two years. Parakh proves that a small
well made film can be equally good if not better than the big budget film with
big stars because it is the content that ultimately counts. It is a shame that a
small gem like this is often never considered or brought into discussions on
Bimal Roy’s cinema because Parakh is a fine film in its own right and is in
fact a film extremely relevant for today’s mercenary times.
Bimalda’s last production before he died was Benazir (1964) directed by
S. Khalil. He was working on a project to star Dharmendra and Sharmila
Tagore when he passed away in 1966 after a long illness.
Debashree Roy
Debashree Roy is one of the most versatile actors to have emerged in the
Bengali cinema in the early 1980s. Though this period marks the beginning
of the loss of the distinct identity of the commercial Bengali films, Debashree
has managed to rise above the general mediocrity and establish her position
as a thespian comfortable in crass potboilers and in the sophisticated films
made by the more competent filmmakers.
Debashree’s connection with the show
business began at a very early age she and her
sister formed a popular duo performing filmi
dances in shows organised in small towns and
villages of West Bengal. This early brush with
showbiz would also help her in getting roles as
a child artiste in some Tollyganj productions.
In Pagol Thakur (1968) and Balak Gadadhar
(1969), two films based on the life of Sri
Ramakrishna Paramhansa, Debashree she was
called Kumari Chumki at that time did a
wonderful job of portraying the saint in his childhood. In Balak Gadadhar,
she also essayed the roles of various goddesses and in a recent interview she
recalled, Ramesh Pal, the famous idol maker, designed eight small clay hands
for me to play the role of Goddess Durga! During her days as a child artiste
she also acted in Tarun Majumdar’s mystery movie Kuheli (1971) with
aplomb.
It would be Tarun Majumdar, who would give the young Debashree the
opportunity to make her first appearance as an adult actor in the super-hit
Dadar Kirti (1980). For Debashree the film opened up the possibilities of
more challenging roles both in the mainstream and offbeat films of the day.
The film also helped to establish Tapas and Debashree as the principal
romantic pair in Bengali commercial films of the 1980s. The pair had several
popular films together albeit the audience was chiefly limited to rural and
small towns. These include Parabat Priya (1983), Nishant (1985), Tarun
Majumdar’s Bhalobasha Bhalobasha (1985) and Surer Sathi (1988). Some
of her other notable commercially successful efforts during this period were
Aurobindo Mukherjee’s Nishi Bhor (1983), Dinen Gupta’s Sagar Balaka
(1984), Ajoy Kar’s Bishobrikhsha (1984), based on a famous novel by
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Asit Sen’s Prarthana (1985) a multi-
starrer that had Amol Palekar, Moushumi Chatterjee and Victor Bannerjee in
the leading roles and the musical Gayak (1987) which had Kishore Kumar’s
son Amit Kumar playing the hero.
The late 1980s saw the rise of Prosenjit Chatterjee as the heart-throb of the
Bengali silver screen. Prosenjit and Debashree’s first film together Prem
Bandhan (1986)—a typical romantic melodrama directed by Rathish De
Sarkar, was a huge hit and helped in establishing the pair as the darling of the
masses. Ora Charjon (1988) and Chhokher Aloy (1989) a love triangle
which also had Tapas Pal were immensely popular and Debashree
consolidated her position as one of the top leading ladies of Bengali cinema.
In the same year Aparanher Alo, directed by the Agradoot group was
another major film of the Debashree and Prosenjit duo as was Ahankaar
(1991). She also played the female lead in Purushottam (1992) a routine
revenge and retribution melodrama which was the first film to be produced
by Prosenjit and directed by the superstar himself. In fact, their screen
romance got translated into real life and the pair had brief but tumultuous
marriage.
Apart from being a top rated heroine in mainstream films, Debashree has
performed with great assurance in the films made some of the more critically
admired and artistically superior filmmakers working in the Bengali film
industry.
However, she became more involved with the offbeat and artistic films in
the 1990s when her position as one of the top female stars of Tollywood was
well established. In Rituparno Ghosh’s first major film Unishe April (1994)
Debashree gave one of the finest performances of her career as the
emotionally vulnerable daughter who shares a difficult relationship with her
mother (Aparna Sen) a celebrated dancer who achieves success at the cost of
her marital life. She received the National Award for the best actress in 1995
for her efforts in Unishe April. She was also excellent in Rituparno’s Asookh
(1999). She also did a very able job as a career woman in Subrata Sen’s
controversial debut film Ek Je Acche Kanya (2000), which was also the first
film of Aparna Sen’s daughter Konkona. In Gautam Ghosh’s innovative
effort Dekha (2001), Debashree won much critical acclaim of her portrayal
of the supportive daughter of a poet who gradually loses his vision (Soumitra
Chatterjee).
In the 1990s, Debashree continued doing meaningful roles in some of the
better mainstream movies being made in the studios of Tollygunje. Dinen
Gupta’s Nati Binodini (1994) saw Debashree give a fantastic performance.
Some of her other commercially successful ventures include Prabhat Roy’s
Sandhya Tara (1994) and Lathi (1996), Mrinmoy Chakraborty’s Cinemay
Jemon Hoy (1994) and Bhoy (1996) a thriller directed and produced by the
actor Chiranjeet who was quite popular during the period.
At the beginning of her career, Debashree made a few attempts to break
into the Bollywood bandwagon but her efforts Jiyo To Aise Jiyo (1981),
Phulwari (1984) and Kabhi Ajnabhi The (1985), which had the dashing
cricketer Sandeep Patil as the male lead were box-office duds and dashed all
her hopes of making it big in Hindi films. Her major effort in non-Bengali
films has been the Assamese director Bhaben Saikia’s Trisandhya (2000).
She also was spot on as Ma Sarada Devi (Sri Ramakrishna’s spouse) in GV
Iyer’s biopic Swami Vivekananda (2001), which starred Mithun
Chakraborty. She has appeared as Mithun Chakraborty’s wife in the super-hit
MLA Phatakesto (2005) where she did a sizzling song and dance scene with
the original Disco Dancer. She was also the female lead in Mithun’s latest
potboiler Tiger (2007).
In a long career spanning over two decades and over 130 films, Debashree
Roy has been able to establish herself as one of the most powerful women of
the Bengali cinema one who is respected for her talents and professionalism.
Roy was very successful in Bengali films landing important lead roles in
commercial as well as parallel cinema. In the televised version of the Indian
epic Mahabharata, directed by B.R. Chopra, she portrayed the role of
Satyavati, second wife of King Shantanu of Hastinapur, stepmother of
Bheeshma played by Mukesh Khanna, and mother of Chitrangada and
Vichitravirya.
 She was also known by the name Chintamani in Tamil Nadu, when she
acted in a few Tamil movies.
She also established Debashree Roy Foundation to help in promoting the
cause of birds and animals suffering from lack of care and needless suffering.
Bollywood actress Rani Mukherjee also lent a helping hand to her actress
aunt Debashree Roy in her mission.
Hemant Kumar
Probably he was the most famous and the
most loved singer of Bengal. Bengalis all over
the world lovingly call him Hemantda. In the
rest of India he is known as Hemant Kumar.
Hemant Kumar (Hemant Mukherjee) was a
singer, composer, and producer in the Hindi
and Bengali film industry. He is most known
for his Bollywood songs from the 1950’s and
1960’s. In his career, he recorded
approximately 2000 songs.
Hemant Kumar was born Hemant Kumar Mukherjee on June 16, 1920 in
Benares. He had three brothers and one sister. Although he was born in
Benares, his family originally hailed from Baharu in West Bengal. When he
was young, his family shifted to Calcutta. There he grew up and attended
Mitra Institution school of Bhawanipore. After he graduated from
Intermediate, he attended Jadavpur University and began studying
engineering.
Hemant Kumar’s interest in music began early. He sang his first song in
All India Radio in 1933. He was only 13 at that time.
However, it was never clear that Hemant Kumar would become a singer.
His original training was in engineering, but he dropped out of the University
to pursue other paths. Initially he tried his hand at writing; he even managed
to have a short story published in a major Bengali magazine. But after a while
it became clear that his calling was music.
Hemant Kumar had a reasonable degree of formal training in music. He
had several teachers. The major portion of his training seems to have been
under Sailesh Duttagupta. He also studied under Phani Banerjee, and
received his training in Rabindra Sangeet under Anadi Dastidar. Later he was
a disciple of the great Faiyaz Khan. Unfortunately this last training did not
last very long, it ended with the death of Faiyaz Khan in 1950.
It was in 1937 that he recorded his first disk. The names of the songs were
“Janite Jadi Go Tumi” and “Balo Go Balo More.” The lyrics to these songs
were written by Naresh Bhattacharya and the tune and arrangement was by
Sailesh Dattagupta. This was recorded under the Columbia label. Thereafter,
he had a sustained output of non-film songs from the Gramophone Company
of India up until 1984.
His career as a film playback singer began with the Bengali film Nemai
Sanyas. This was released in 1941. After that he did playback for a number
of other Bengali films.
The Bengali film industry was good training ground, but for him to attain a
wider audience, he had to work in the Hindi film industry. He was first able
to sing his first Hindi film song in Irada which was released in 1944. This
was under Pandit Amarnath’s music direction.
But Hemant wanted to show that he could do more than just sing. He
wished to show his abilities as a music director. He was first able to do this in
the Bengali film Abhiyatri in 1947. These were all very fine achievements,
but he was just not able to attain commercial success.
This period of life was marked by a fairly normal personal life. In 1945, he
married Bela Mukherjee, who was also a Bengali singer. Together they had
two children, one boy named Jayant and one girl named Ranu. Jayant married
the 1970’s film actress Moushumi Chatterjee.
The mid 1940’s was a tumultuous period in Indian history and Hemant felt
obliged to use his art for social and political improvement of the people. The
waning days of the British Raj made the problems of imperialism very
evident, and numerous social injustice cried out for some resolution. When
these problems did not go away after Independence, many people felt they
could no longer remain quiet. In this environment, it is no surprise that
Hemant Kumar joined Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA).
The purpose of the IPTA was to create works of art that would raise the
political awareness of the common man. Plays, music, and other dramatic
works were created with the aim of focusing on the social and political
iniquities of the day (i.e., no dancing around trees;) The IPTA was
administered by the Communist Party of India, but not all of the participants
were members of the party.
Hemant Kumar’s time in the IPTA may not have done much to advance his
career economically, but it was not without its benefits. First it gave Hemant
Kumar the satisfaction of standing up for his beliefs. It also produced some
interesting work; especially notable was his collaboration with Salil
Chowdhary. In 1948 he sang an epic 6-minute song (We must not forget that
in those days this occupied both sides of a 78 recording). This song was
entitled Ganyer Badhu. It is said that when this song was released, Salil was
not present because he was hiding from police. The success of this song
paved the way for a number of other collaborations with Salil Chowdhury in
the future.
Other music directors also began to take note of his abilities. In the late
1940’s Hemant started to compose music for a director named Hemen Gupta.
This association would produce life changing results.
This association with Hemen Gupta led Hemant Kumar to Bombay in
1951. Some time earlier Hemen Gupta moved to Bombay to work in the
growing and lucrative Hindi film industry which was developing there.
Hemen liked Hemant Kumar’s music so he called him to Bombay to be the
music director for his first Hindi Film. This was Anand Math (1952) and it
was released under the Filmstan banner. This movie may not be considered a
great hit, but it performed well enough for the Hemant Kumar/Hemen Gupta
collaboration to produce several more films together.
Hemant Kumar’s fortunes were about to change. He had been working
very hard in the film industry for many years, yet popular acclaim was slow
in coming. It was S.D. Burman who gave him his break for the film Jaal
(1952). The song from this film Yeh Raat, Yeh Chaandni Phir Kahan,
became a big hit, and cemented his position as a major playback singer.
Hemant began to work as a music director. He composed the music for
several films, but it was Nagin (1954) that catapulted him into the realm of
national recognition as a music director. Even today the ‘hook’ from the
song, “Man Doley Mera Tan Doley” has become an icon that is permanently
associated with snake charmers in the Indian mind. After the success of
Nagin he went on tocome be the music director of numerous films including
Jagriti (1954), Bees Saal Baad (1962), and Khamoshi (1969).
 In the 1950’s, Hemant Kumaar had a varied artistic life. In Bengal he was
known as a major exponent of Rabindra Sangeet. In Bombay he now had two
occupations. He was known by many as a successful playback singer, and to
others he was a music director. However, that was not enough for him; he
also ventured in as a film producer. He established a film company by the
name of Hemata-Bela whose first production was the Bengali Neel Akshar
Neechay (1959). This film company was later renamed as Geetanjali
Productions; under this banner, films such as Bees Saal Baad, and
Khamoshi, were released.
Recognition came his way in the 50’s and 60’s. In 1955 he won the
“Filmfare Award for the Best Music Director.” This was for his film Nagin
(1954). He won the “Presidents Gold Medal” for his film Neel Aksher
Neechay(1959). He also received many other awards.
His last concert was in September of 1989. He went to Bangladesh to
receive the Michael Madhusudhan Award. There he gave a performance in
Dhaka. Upon his return he had a severe heart attack and died on September
26, 1989.
Hiralal Sen
Hiralal Sen is considered to be the pioneer of Indian Films. He was also the
first movie director of Indian origin. He was a Bengali photographer born in
1866 in Manikgunj, near Dhaka (now the capital of Bangladesh). Although
he was from a Zamindar family, he grew up in Calcutta. In 1898 Star Theater
in Calcutta hosted a bioscopic show of “The Flower of Persia”—a short
film by Stevenson. Hiralal borrowed the camera from Stevenson and made
his first film— A Dancing scene.
Hiralal Sen was extremely enthusiastic about motion pictures. He learned a
lot about film projections, understood the mechanics, made some machinery
indigenously. His brother Matilal Sen assisted him in his journey with
cinema. They bought ‘Urban Bioscope’ from Charles Urban’s Warwick
Trading Company in London. Next year, in 1898, he formed ‘The Royal
Bioscope Company’ with his brother.
In his creative years up to 1913, Hiralal Sen made over 40 silent films. In
first two years after the formation of ‘The Royal Bioscope Company’ he was
mainly screening films in and out of Calcutta. He was inspired to make films
by Amarendra Dutta (of Classic Theater in Calcutta), Father Lafont and many
others. Most of his films were shot from the plays at Classic Theater in
Calcutta. Between 1901 and 1905 he produced films from famous plays like
Bhramar, Alibaba, Hariraj, Dol Lila, Sitaram, Saralaand more.
He also made many short films in following years. His longest film was
produced in 1903 named Alibaba and Forty Thieves. He also produced
many advertising films and news films. He was also probably the first Indian
to produce Ad-films. He reportedly produced ad-films about Jabakusum Hair
Oil and Edwards Tonic. The Royal Bioscope made its last film in the year of
1913. Hiralal Sen went through economic hardship in his late years.
Jamshedji Framji Madan of the Elphinstone Bioscope Company had a
overpowering success in film business during that time. There was virtually
no competition against Madan. Hiralal Sen was also suffering from cancer.
To add to his misery, a few days before his death in 1917, a fire broke out
destroying every film he ever made. It was a great loss that the early history
and products of Indian cinema were lost and can never be recovered. Short
list of movies made by Hiralal Sen as director/co-director:
Hindu Bathing Festival at Allahabad (1913), Arrival at Howrah
(1912), Grand Delhi Coronation Durbar and Royal Visit to Calcutta
Including Their Majesties’ Arrival at Amphitheatre(1912), Princep’s
Ghat(1912), Procession(1912), Visit to Bombay and Exhibition(1912),
Tilak Bathing at the Ganges(1906), The Bengal Partition Film(1905),
Alibaba and the Forty Thieves(1903), Coronation Ceremony and
Durbar(1903), Dances from Alibaba(1903), Dances from Alibara, Moner
Mantan, Sonar Swapan(1903), Indian Life and Scenes(1903), scenes from
Maner Matan(1903), scenes from Sonar Swapan(1903), scenes from
Alibaba(1901), scenes from Bhramar(1901), scenes from
Buddhadev(1901), scenes from Dol Leela(1901), scenes from
Hariraj(1901), Scenes from Sarala(1901), scenes from Seetaram(1901),
scenes from the plays Vramar, Alibaba, Hariraj, Dole Laila, Budda,
Sitaram(1901), Moving Pictures of Natural Scenes and Religious
Rituals(1899), dancing scenes from The Flower of Persia(1898) (co-
director)
Hrishikesh Mukherjee
Hrishikesh Mukherjee born September 30, 1922 was a film director known
for a number of films, including Anand, Abhimaan, Guddi, Gol Maal,
Aashirwad, Bawarchi, Satyakam,and Namak Haraam. He was popularly
known as Hrishida.
Hrishikesh Mukherjee studied science in college, and graduated in
chemistry. He taught mathematics and science for some time, but chose to
begin working, initially as a cameraman, and then film editor, in B.N.
Sircar’s New Theatres in Calcutta in the late 1940s. He worked with Bimal
Roy in Mumbai as film editor and assistant director from 1951, participating
in the landmark Roy films Do Bigha Zameenand Devdas.
His debut directorial venture, Musafir, was not a success, but he persisted
and received acclaim for his second film Anari in 1959. The film, crew and
cast won five Filmfare Awards, with Mukherjee only losing the Best Director
Award to his mentor, Bimal Roy.
In the following years he made numberous movies, some of his notable
movies include: Anuradha 1960, Asli-Naqli 1962, Anupama 1966,
Aashirwad 1968, Satyakam 1969, Guddi1971, Bawarchi 1972, Mili1975 ,
Chupke Chupke 1975 and Bemisal1982. Mukherjee was also responsible
for casting Amitabh Bachchan in a prominent role in Anand(film) 1970,
along with Rajesh Khanna.
He was honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award by the Government of
India, in 1999. Mukherjee was chairman of the Central Board of Film
Certification and of the National Film Development Corporation. He was also
awarded the Padma Vibhushan for his contribution to Indian cinema in 2001.
The International Film Festival of India honoured him with a retrospective of
his films in November 2005. He holds the distinction of working with almost
all the top Indian stars since independence of India in 1947.
His films were realistic and unlike the other Bollywood films do not have
crime, violence. The simple plots contain deeper meaning, but are generally
straightforward in form, theme and treatment. He directed around 50 films
most of which were valued by audiences and critics alike because of their
middle-of-the-road accessibility, heart-warming irony and literary
sensibilities. His characters inhabited a middle-class, urban, educated milieu.
One more characteristic of his films was that it had a character engrossed in
music. Such as Anuradha, Ashirwad, Chupke chupke, Abhimaan,
Khubsoorat, GolMaal, Alaap, Bawarchi, Aashiq, Mili, Saanjh Aur
Saweraand Phir Kab Milogi to name a few.
His last film was Jhoot Bole Kauwa Kaate. Since his original hero Amol
Palekar has grown old he had to choose Anil Kapoor. He has also directed
TV serials like Talaash.
Hrishikesh Mukherjee passed away on August 27, 2006. He is survived by
three daughters and a son.
Kanan Devi
Kanan Devi born in 1916 was among the early
singing stars of Indian cinema, and is credited popularly
as the first star of Bengali Cinema. Her singing style,
usually in rapid tempo, was used instrumentally in some
of the biggest hits of New Theatres, Calcutta.
Kanan Devi was born as Kanan Dassi in Howrah,
West Bengal. She belonged to a poor family and after
the death of her adoptive father, she and her mother
were left to earn and live on their own and had to do all
sorts of work to drag on their lives.
Her name was soon changed to Kanan Bala. When she was only ten, a well
wisher introduced her to Jyoti Studios where she was cast in a small role in
Joydev (1926). She later worked with Radha Films, in films mainly by
Jyotish Banerjee. After being noticed in Khooni Kaun and Maa (1934), she
entered New Theatres, Calcutta. She came in contact of maestro Raichand
Boral who coached her and familiarised her in the Hindi accent. She received
her initial musical training under Ustad Alla Rakha. She was employed as a
singer at the Megaphone Gramaphone Company, receiving further training
under Bhishmadev Chatterjee. She later learnt Rabindra Sangeet under Anadi
Dastidar. Her name was soon again changed to Kanan Devi for the purpose
of films.
New Theatres’s P.C. Barua wanted her to play the lead in his Devdas
(1935), but, due to some reasons she could not act in the film. She later
played the lead in Barua’s Mukti (1937), which was perhaps her finest
performance, making her the studio’s top star. The films of New Theatres
established her as a superhit singer. It was her association with K.C. Dey that
people enjoyed the most.
 Kanan Devi remained the top star of New Theatres until she resigned her
contract in 1941 and began to freelance in Bengali and Hindi films. M.P.
Productions’s Jawaab, was perhaps her biggest hit. Her song Yeh Duniya
Hai Toofan Mail was well received. She repeated the same feast in Hospital
(1943), Banphool (1945), and Rajlakshmi (1946).
She moved to Bombay in 1948. She was seen for the last time in Hindi
cinema in Chandrashekhar (1948) with Ashok Kumar. Kanan Devi turned
producer with Shrimati Pictures in 1949 and later produced the film Ananya
(1949). Her own productions were mainly based on the stories of Sharat
Chandra Chattopadhyay.
Kanan Devi married her first husband, Ashok Maitra, but their marriage
was short-lived and ended in a divorce. However, she did express gratitude
towards him for giving her social recognition for the first time in her life.
Later, she married Haridas Bhattacharya and had her first and only child, a
son, Siddharta Bhattacharya, and settled down, raising her family in Calcutta.
She also worked as the president of Mahila Shilpi Mahal, an organisation
that helps aged and needy female artistes of the yesteryears and for the
upliftment of Bengali cinema. Kanan Devi, the first lady of the Bengali
screen was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for her contribution to
Indian cinema, in 1976. She died on 17 July 1992 at 76 years of age.
Manna Dey
Prabodh Chandra Dey better known by his
nickname Manna Dey is a playback singer in
Bengali and Hindi films. Along with
Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Mukesh, he
was a part of Indian film playback music from
the 1950s to the 1970s. He has recorded more
than 3500 songs over the course of his career.
He was also awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke
Award, the highest honour in Indian cinema for
the year 2007 on 21 October 2009.
Manna Dey was born to Purna Chandra and
Mahamaya Dey on 1 May, 1919. Besides his
parents, his youngest paternal uncle K. C. Dey highly inspired and influenced
him. Manna Dey received his early education in a small pre-primary school
named Indu Babur Pathshala. Thereafter, he attended Scottish Church
Collegiate School and Scottish Church College, followed by Vidyasagar
College where he received his graduate education. From his childhood Dey
has pursued wrestling and boxing.
During Dey’s years at Scottish Church College, he sang to entertain his
classmates. He began taking singing lessons from his uncle, Krishna Chandra
Dey and Ustad Dabir Khan. During this period, Manna Dey stood first for
three consecutive years in three different categories of inter-collegiate singing
competitions.
In 1942, Dey accompanied Krishna Chandra Dey on a visit to Bombay.
There he started working as an assistant, first under Krishna Chandra Dey,
and then under Sachin Dev Burman. Later he assisted other music composers
and then started to work independently. While working independently as a
music director for various Hindi movies, Manna Dey continued to take
musical lessons in Hindustani classical music from Ustad Aman Ali Khan
and Ustad Abdul Rahman Khan.
Dey started his career in playback singing with the movie, Tamanna, in
1943. The musical score was by Krishna Chandra Dey and Manna sang a
duet with Suraiya. The song was an instant hit. He sang a solo composed by
Sachin Dev Burman, Upar Gagan Vishal, in the 1950 movie, Mashal. Its
lyrics were written by Kavi Pradeep. In 1952, Dey sang for a Bengali and a
Marathi movie with the same name and storyline, Amar Bhupali. This
established him as a leading playback singer.
Mannna Dey recorded a popular duet, “Ketaki Gulab Juhi,” with classicist
Bhimsen Joshi. With Kishore Kumar, he sang duets of different genres such
as, “Yeh Dosti Hum Nehi Torenge” (Sholay) and “Ek Chatur Naar”
(Padosan). Dey sang with singer/composer, Hemant Kumar (Hemanta
Mukherjee), in Bengali movies, and also for some other Bengali composers.
He sang a duet, “Ke Prothom Kachhe Esechi,” with Lata Mangeshkar in the
movie Sankhyabela. He also performed Rabindra Sangeet and has recorded
over 3500 songs.
His Bengali-language autobiography, Jiboner Jalsaghorey, has been
published in the year 2005 which has been translated in English as Memories
Come Alive, in Hindi as Yaden Jee Uthi.
Jibaner Jalsaghore, a documentary on Manna Dey’s life, was released in
2008. Manna Dey Sangeet Academy is developing a complete archive on
Manna Dey. In association with Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata, the
Manna Dey Music Archive has been developed in the Sangeet Bhawan.
Awards
The following is the list of Manna Dey’s prime awards:
•1969 National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer for the
Hindi Film Mere Huzur
•1971 National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer for the
Bengali film Nishi Padma
•1971 Padma Shri Award by Government of India
•1985 Lata Mangeshkar Award awarded by Government of Madhya
Pradesh
•1988 Michale Sahittyo Puraskar awarded by Renaissance Sanskritik
Parishad, Dhaka
•2003 Alauddin Khan Award by Government of West Bengal
•2004 D. Litt Honoris Causa by Rabindra Bharati University
•2005 Life Time Achievement award by Government of Maharashtra
•2005 D. Litt Honoris Causa by Burdwan University
•2005 Padma Bhushan Award by Government of India
•2008 D. Litt Honoris Causa by Jadavpur University
•2009 Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2007
Mrinal Sen
Mrinal Sen is a famous Bengali filmmaker. He was born on May 14, 1923,
in the town of Faridpur, now in Bangladesh. After finishing his high school
there, he left home to come to Calcutta as a student and studied physics at the
well-known Scottish Church College and at the University of Calcutta. As a
student, he got involved with the cultural wing of the Communist party.
Although he never became a member of the party, his association with the
socialist Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA)
 brought him close to a number of like-minded
culturally associated people.
His interest in films started after he stumbled upon a
book on film aesthetics. However, his interest
remained mostly intellectual, and he was forced to
take up the job of a medical representative, which took
him away from Calcutta. This did not last very long,
and he came back to the city and eventually took a job
of an audio technician in a Calcutta film studio, which
eventually launched his film carrier.
Mrinal Sen made his first feature film, Raatbhor, in 1955. His next film,
Neel Akasher Neechey, earned him local recognition, while his third film,
Baishey Shravan was his first film that gave him international exposure.
After making five more films, he made a film with a shoe-string budget
provided by the Government of India. This film, Bhuvan Shome, finally
launched him as a major filmmaker, both nationally and internationally.
Bhuvan Shome also initiated the “New Cinema” film movement in India.
The films that he made next were overtly political, and earned him the
reputation as a Marxist artist. This was also the time of large-scale political
unrest throughout India. Particularly in and around Calcutta, this period
underwent what is now known as the Naxalite movement. This phase was
immediately followed by a series of films where he shifted his focus, and
instead of looking for enemies outside, he looked for the enemy within his
own middle class society. This was arguably his most creative phase.
During this period, he won number of international awards. Mrinal Sen
never stopped experimenting with his medium. In his later films he tried to
move away from the narrative structure and worked with very thin story
lines. After a long gap of eight years, at the age of eighty, he made his latest
film, Aamaar Bhuvan, in 2002.
During his career, Mrinal Sen’s films have received awards from almost all
major film festivals, including (Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Moscow, Karlovy
Vary, Montreal, Chicago, and Cairo). Retrospectives of his films have been
shown in almost all major cities of the world. He has also received a number
of honorary doctorate degrees (D.Litt. Honoris Causa) from various
universities, both in India and abroad. Mrinal Sen was also elected as the
president of the International Federation of the Film Societies. He received
the Taj Enlighten Tareef Award which is given for a lifetime contribution to
the world of cinema in 2008. He also received the Lifetime Achievement
Award at the 10th edition of the Osian’s Cinefest Film Festival 2008.
National Awards
Best Director
1969 Bhuvan Shome
1980 Ek Din Pratidin
1984 Akaler Sandhane
Best Screenplay
1974 Padatik
1983 Akaler Sandhane-1984 Kharij
Filmfare Awards
Critics Award for Best Film-1976 Mrigayaa
Best Screenplay-1984 Khandhar
International Awards
Moscow International Film Festival-Silver Prize 1975 Chorus
1979 Parashuram
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival - Special Jury Prize
1977 Oka Oori Katha
Berlin International Film Festival Interfilm Award-1979
Parashuram
Grand Jury Prize-1981 Akaler Sandhane
Cannes Film Festival-Jury Prize-1983 Kharij
Valladolid International Film Festival-Golden Spike-1983 Kharij
Chicago International Film Festival-Gold Hugo-1984 Khandhar
Montreal World Film Festival-Special Prize of the Jury-1984
Khandhar
 Venice Film Festival - Honorable Mention-1989 Ek Din
Achanak
Cairo International Film Festival - Silver Pyramid for Best
Director-2002 Aamaar Bhuvan
P.C. Barua
Pramathesh Chandra Barua was the man who played
perhaps the most important role in the rising fortunes of
New Theatres in the 1930s.
Born on 3 October, 1903 in Gauripur, Assam, the
son of the king of Gauripur, Barua graduated in 1924
from the Presidency College, Calcutta. He then went to
Europe, taking interest in all arts including film and
saw much of the work of filmmakers like Ernst
Lubitsch and Rene Clair. He returned to India and
served for a time in the legislative Council of Assam.
But he preferred the heady life of Calcutta and settled
down there and soon got involved with the film world.
He made a small investment in Dhiren Ganguly’s British Dominion Films
and also acted for him. He then returned to Europe, observed production at
the Elstree Studios in London, went to Paris and purchased lighting
equipment before returning to Calcutta where he built a studio and formed
Barua Pictures Ltd. Apradhi (1931), produced by the studio, was a critical
success and was the first Calcutta Production to use artificial lights. The film
starred Barua and was directed by Debaki Bose. He also played the villain in
Ganguly’s Bhagyalaxmi (1932)
When British Dominion Films collapsed, Barua hired Ganguly. But he was
no more ready for sound than Ganguly was. Further, his father, angered by
his association with the film world, refused to help him. Finally Barua, like
Ganguly and Debaki Bose joined New Theatres.
Barua’s breakthrough film at New Theatres was Devdas (1935). The film
was an all-India sensation. It was first made in Bengali starring Barua himself
as Devdas and then in Hindi with K.L. Saigal in the title role. Both the
versions released in 1935. Barua used Sharat Chandra Chatterjee’s novel as
just raw material, creating his own structure and transforming what was
purely verbal into an essentially visual form. Avoiding stereotypes and
melodrama, Barua raised the film to a level of noble tragedy. The film’s
characters are not heroes and villains but ordinary people conditioned by a
rigid and crumbling social system. Even the lead character, Devdas, has no
heroic dimensions to his character. What one sees are his weaknesses, his
narcissism, his humanity as he is torn by driving passion and inner-conflict.
The film was a complete departure from the then prevalent theatricality in
acting, treatment and dialogue. Barua initiated a style of acting that was
natural and unaffected. His method was to underplay, to convey emotion
through the slightest tremor of the voice and use significant pauses in
between the dialogue to maximum effect. Devdas established Barua as a front
rank filmmaker and New Theatres as a major studio.
The film took Saigal to dizzying heights. His brooding looks, the vagrant
lock of hair, the resonant voice filled with love and despair drove the nation
into a frenzy. Devdas was remade by New Theatres in Tamil in 1936, Bimal
Roy (who photographed Barua’s films) in 1955, and twice in Telugu in 1953
and 1974 but Barua’s films remain the definitive versions!
Barua followed up Devdas with a series of high quality films— Manzil
(1936), Mukti (1937), Adhikar (1938), Rajat Jayanti (1939) and
Zindagi(1940).
The film Mukti has one of the first elaborate cinematic uses of Tagore’s
lyrics with the original tunes—”Sabar range rang,” “Mesa te hobe” and “Tar
biday belar malakhani.”
Adhikar continues with Barua’s fascination for showing the urban-rural
(modern-traditional) split through the personalities of the two women. The
film was voted by the Film Journalists Association as the best film of 1938
while Rajat Jayanti is an interesting film that reveals Barua’s flair for
comedy and his inept and nervous hero is perhaps his most accomplished
screen performance. Zindagi, which reunited him with Saigal, showed an
unmarried couple living together albeit platonically. The film is remembered
till today for Saigal’s haunting rendering of So Jaa Rajkumari So Jaa...
Barua wrote most of his own screenplays. He was deeply concerned about
the tragic dilemmas of his native land, its extremes of wealth and poverty,
spirituality and cruelty. He planned his work minutely and never showed an
actor how he wanted a scene played. To him an actor was an interpreter, not a
mimic. Whenever a film of his was ready for release, Barua would avoid the
premiere, predicting the film’s utter failure and be off to Assam or Europe
before returning with notes for a new film. The films of course were mostly
big hits!
Barua was pursued by Bombay financiers to make films for them but he
could not think of making films there. To quote him, “It is not my field. It is a
bazaar.”
Barua left New Theatres in 1939 and worked on a free-lance basis
thereafter. Among his later films, Shesh Uttar/Jawab (1942) is perhaps the
only film that stands out. Once again Barua shows the urban rural split
through the personalities of the two women—one poor, earthy and world-
wise and the other a rich, strident feminist. The Hindi version is also
remembered for Kanan Devi’s rendering of her all-time hit song—Toofan
Mail.
In the 1940s Barua planned an ambitious version of The Way of All Flesh
but was unable to carry it out. He used to drink a great deal and his health had
declined rapidly. He underwent an operation in Switzerland but soon
collapsed.
When he died on 29 November, 1951, his obituary referred to him as
‘Pramathesh Chandra Barua, the creator of Devdas, thus, pulling him back to
his early triumphs and fine work for New Theatres.
Pankaj Mullick
Pankaj Kumar Mullick is one of the most
notable singers from Bengal. He is very
much known for his contribution towards
Rabindra Sangeet. He has done music
direction in many Bengali movies and
received the Best Music Director award for
his work in Bengali Film Dui Purush.
He was born on 10 May, 1905 in a
Vaishnavite family. His father was
Manimohan Mullick. He studied at the
Scottish Church College in Calcutta in the
1920s. Right from his childhood, Pankaj was attracted to music, but his father
was not interested. On a visit to their house, the acclaimed singer Durgadas
Bandyopadhyay heard him sing and thereafter gave him training in
(Hindustani) classical music. Later, Pankaj learnt Rabindra Sangeet from
Dinendranath Tagore and went on to be known as the First Man of Rabindra
Sangeet. His rendition of several songs of Tagore gained immense popularity
among the masses. He was also one of the lucky few who had the honour to
set to tune a few of Tagore’s poems (notably Diner Seshe Ghumer Deshe)
and sing them with grand success.
In 1926, his cut his first record which was titled “Nemechhe Aaj Pratham
Badal.” He was associated with the Indian Broadcasting Company right from
its inception in 1927. Under his direction, Sangeet Sikshar Asar became a
pulsating lively programme. He was the music composer of the most popular
programme ever to be broadcast by Akashvani: Mahisasuramardini. In 1975,
he retired from Sangeet Sikshar Asar. In the field of music, his genius has
manifests itself in myriad forms: singer, teacher, director and actor. As a
music director, his first film was Dena Paona. He composed the music for a
great many films like Bhagyachakra, Daktar, Kashinath, Bardidi,
Raikamal, Kapalkundala, Mahaprasthaner Pathe, etc. The last film that
he composed music for was Jahnabi Jamuna Bigalita Karuna.
He was also closely associated with the New Theatres Calcutta. He gained
popularity as a singer actor in Pramathesh Barua’s Mukti. He has acted in
several other films. His use of Rabindra Sangeet in films is proof of his
sensitivity and his knowledge of the genre. On the request of Chief Minister
of West Bengal Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, he set up the “Loka Ranjan Sakha”
of the Government of West Bengal. He received a number of awards in his
long career. In 1932, he was awarded the title Surasagar by the Saraswat
Mahamandal. He received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1973.
He passed away on 19 February, 1978.
Awards
•1945-Best Music Director for Dui Purush
•1956-Sangeet Ratnakar
•1970-Padmashree
 •1973-Dadasaheb Phalke
•1975-Rabindra Tagoracharya
Rituparno Ghosh
Rituparno Ghosh was born and raised in
Kolkata, West Bengal. He attended South Point
High School, and studied economics at Jadavpur
University. Rituparno is against public
profiteering by the government. Recently in a
TV Show, Mir, the main host commented that
Rituparno’s shaved head was one of the shiniest
he has seen on the set. However, Rituparno was
not impressed and he is believed to have
frowned on the incident. He feels himself to be a
woman inside the body of a man which would
make him, in Western medical terminology, a
transsexual person. He began directing in
advertising. In 1992, he made a low-key film debut with a children’s feature
titled Hirer Anguthi (The Diamond Ring). His second movie Unishe April
(19 April), won the 1995 National Film Award Since then, Ghosh has
directed Dahan, Utsab, Chokher Bali, Asukh, Bariwali, Antarmahaland
Raincoat (in Hindi). He won the best director award for the bengali film
Abohoman starring Jishu Sengupta, Ananya Chatterjee, Dipankar Dey and
Mamata Shankar in India in 2010.
Awards
•1995- National Film Award for Best Feature Film - Unishe April
•1998-National Film Award for Best Screenplay - Dahan
•1999- FIPRESCI Prize (Special Mention) - Asukh (Malaise)
•2000- NETPAC Award - Bariwali (Lady of the House)
•2001- National Film Award for Best Direction - Utsab Berlin
International Film Festival
•2002 - FIPRESCI Prize (Jury Prize) - Titli (The First Monsoon Day)
 •2003 - National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali - Shubho
Mahurat National Film Awards
•2004 - National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali -
Chokher Bali
•2005 - National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi - Raincoat
•2008 - National Film Award for Best Feature Film in English - The
Last Lear
•2009 - National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali - Shob
Charitro Kalponik
•2010 - National Film Award for Best Direction - Abohoman
•2010 - National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali -
Abohoman
Ritwik Ghatak
It is one of life’s greatest ironies that Ritwik Ghatak who is today
something of a cult figure in Bengal was so little understood and appreciated
during his lifetime. Today his films have won much critical acclaim but the
fact remains that in their time they ran to mainly empty houses in Bengal.
Ghatak’s films project a unique sensibility. They are often brilliant, but
almost always flawed.
Ghatak was born in Dhaka now in Bangladesh. The partition of Bengal, the
division of a culture was something that haunted Ghatak forever. Ghatak
joined the left-wing Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA) where he
worked for a few years as a playwright, actor and director. When IPTA split
into factions, Ghatak turned to filmmaking.
By and large Ghatak’s films revolve around two central themes: the
experience of being uprooted from the idyllic rural milieu of East Bengal and
the cultural trauma of the partition of 1947.
Ghatak’s first film was Nagrik (1952) about a young man’s search for a
job and the erosion of his optimism and idealism as his family sinks into
abject poverty and his love affair too turns sour. Ghatak then accepted a job
with Filmistan Studio in Bombay but his ‘different’ ideas did not go down
well there. He did however, write the scripts of
 Musafir (1957) and Madhumati (1958) for
Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Bimal Roy respectively,
the latter becoming an all time evergreen hit.
Ghatak returned to Calcutta and made
Ajantrik(1958) about a taxi driver in a small town in
Bihar and his vehicle an old Chevrolet jalopy. An
assortment of passengers gives the film a wider frame
of reference and provided situations of drama,
humour and irony.
But perhaps his best work was Meghe Dhaka Tara (1960), the first film
in a trilogy examining the socio-economic implications of partition.
Ghatak followed it up with Komal Gandhar (1961) concerning two rival
touring theatre companies in Bengal and Subarnarekha (1965). The last is a
strangely disturbing film using melodrama and coincidence as a form rather
than mechanical reality.
Ghatak also had a brief stint as Vice-Principal of the Film and Television
Institute of India, (Pune), a time he recalled as a happy experience. However
his next film Titash Ekti Nadir Naam (1973), done for a young Bangladeshi
producer was not completed.
The film on the life and eventual disintegration of a fishing community on
the Titash, was completed after many problems at the shooting stage
including his collapse due to tuberculosis and was a commercial failure.
Ghatak made one more film before his death Jukti Takko Aar Gappo
(1974) the most autobiographical and allegorical of his films. He himself
played the main role of Nilkanta an alcoholic intellectual and the film is
remembered for his stunning use of the wide-angle lens to most potent effect.
Unfortunately for Ghatak his films were largely unsuccessful, many
remained unreleased for years and he abandoned almost as many projects as
he completed. Ultimately the intensity of his passion, which gave his films
their power and emotion, took their toll on him, as did tuberculosis and
alcoholism. However, he has left behind a limited but rich body of work that
no serious scholar of Indian Cinema can ignore.
Ritwik Ghatak exerted a profound influence on the modern Indian cinema
but was critically recognised abroad only after his untimely death in 1975. A
native of East Bengal, Ghatak was shattered by the partition of that “orphan
state” (later to become Bangladesh), and his stories and images are permeated
with the personal urgency he felt for the people whose lives and culture were
irreparably ruptured.
Yet his films also have a vital, regenerative power, fed by the artist’s
insatiable intelligence and his skillful integration of popular forms of culture
—melodrama, songs, and dance—into politically radical themes. His major
influence was Eisenstein, and he said, “I have wanted to use the cinema as a
weapon.” But if he shocks, he does so with photography that is thought made
visible, editing that turns melodrama into a form of music, and music that
tells its own bold and surprising story.
Through his films and his short tenure at the Film Institute in Pune, Ghatak
influenced a generation of filmmakers including Kumar Sahani, Mani Kaul,
Ketan Mehta, and Adoor Gopalakrishnan—names that today are synonymous
with the Indian art film. Ghatak was a complex man who was much loved by
his students but was viewed by the film establishment as an eccentric
iconoclast; he died a chronic alcoholic at the age of 49.
Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray was a giant of Indian
cinema. He was an excellent filmmaker and
his films made a mark all over the world.
He is one of the few Indian filmmakers
whose work has been acknowledged abroad.
For his invaluable contribution to the world
of cinema Satyajit Ray was honoured with
“Oscar Award for Lifetime Achievement.”
Satyajit Ray was born on May 2, 1921, in
an intellectual and affluent family in
Calcutta. His father’s name was Sukumar
Ray and his mother’s name was Suprabha Ray. His grandfather,
Upendrakishore Ray was a distinguished writer, painter, violin player and
composer. He was also a pioneer in half-tone block making and founded one
of the finest presses in the country—U. Ray and Sons. In 1880s, the Ray
family had embraced “Brahmo Samaj,” sect within Hindu society. The
progressive outlook of the Brahmo Samaj strongly influenced Satyajit Ray’s
work.
In 1923, when Satyajit was only two years of age his father Sukumar Ray
died of Kala-azar. In 1926, about three years after his father’s death, the
ancestral printing business changed hands and Satyajit and his mother had to
move out of their spacious house. Satyajit Ray moved to his maternal uncle’s
house along with his mother.
At the age of eight, Satyajit joined Ballygunj Government School. He was
an average student. While he was at school he developed interest in films. He
regularly read Hollywood trivia in magazines and also developed interest in
Western classical music. In 1936, Satyajit Ray passed his matriculation and
joined Presidency College for further studies. He graduated in economics in
1939. He decided to give up further studies.
Satyajit Ray had a natural flair for drawing and he wanted to become a
commercial artist. At the suggestion of his mother he joined Rabindranath
Tagore’s Vishva-Bharati University at Shantiniketan in 1940. Trips to nearby
villages for sketching exercises, were his first encounters with rural India.
During this period, he discovered the oriental art-Indian sculpture and
miniature painting, Japanese woodcuts and Chinese landscapes et al.
At Shantiniketan Satyajit Ray also found means to pursue his interest in
music and films. A German Jew, professor of English, had a collection of
western classical records. Ray would often listen to music at his cottage in
the evenings. He also found books on cinema in the university library. In
1942, Satyajit Ray left Shantiniketan.
In April 1943, Satyajit Ray joined a British-run advertising agency, D.J.
Keymer, as a junior visualiser. Within a few years, he rose to be its art
director. In 1948, he married Bijoya Das, a former actress/singer who also
happened to be his cousin. In 1950, Satyajit Ray went on a business trip to
London, along with his wife. With him, he was carrying a notebook in which
he had made some notes on making a film of Pather Panchali. He wanted
the film to be shot on actual locations, no make-up with new faces. Shooting
on locations with unknown actors was thought be a totally unfeasible idea in
those times and he received negative reaction from most of his friends in this
regard.
In this six-months long stay abroad, Satyajit Ray saw about a hundred
films including Vittorio De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves. The film made a
profound impression on Satyajit Ray. Bicycle Thieves reconfirmed his
conviction that it was possible to make realistic cinema with an almost
entirely amateur cast and shooting at actual locations. After his return in late
1950, with absolutely no experience in movie-making, Satyajit Ray collected
a group of young men to work as technicians. While looking for financial
backers, he approached widow of Bibhuti Bhusan Banerjee, the writer of
Pather Panchali for film rights. She gave her oral assurance and retained her
faith in Satyajit Ray despite a better financial offer. Satyajit Ray spent two
years in vain looking for a producer.
Unable to find a producer, Satyajit Ray decided that unless he could prove
his bona fides by producing a few sequences of the film, he was not likely to
find financial backing. He borrowed money and shot a few scenes. The cast
was a mix of professional actors and a few with no prior experience in acting.
Only Subir Banerjee who played Apu, Karuna Banerjee who played Apu’s
mother, and the villagers who played other smaller roles, had no prior
experience of acting. The rest had either acted in films or theatre. Boral, a
small village on the outskirts of Calcutta was the major location, where the
film was shot.
Meanwhile, the State Government of West Bengal agreed to fund the film.
The money from the Government came in installments and before each
installment, the accounts had to be submitted and cleared by the government.
This was a time consuming process. Finally, on August 26, 1955, Pather
Panchali was released in Calcutta. It was a box-office success. The film was
sent to the Cannes Films festival, 1956 and won Grand Prix at the Cannes
Festival.
Pather Panchali firmly established Satyajit Ray as a world-class director
and gave him total control over his subsequent films. Two sequels based on
the novel Aparajito (The Unvanquished, 1956), Apur Sansar and The
World of Apu (1959) completed the famous “The Apu Trilogy.”
Satyajit Ray’s other famous films include Parash Pathar (1958),
Jalsaghar ( The Music Room, 1958), Devi (1960), Teen Kanya (1961),
Kanchenjungha, (1962), Charulata (1964), Pratidwandi(1970), Shantranj
Ke Khilari (1977), Ghare-Baire (1984), Ganashatru (1989), Shakha
Prashakha (1990) and Agantuk(1991).
Literary Work
 Ray created two very popular characters in Bengali children’s literature—
Feluda, a sleuth, and Professor Shonku, a scientist. He was a prominent
writer of science fiction in Bengali or any Indian language for that matter. He
also wrote short stories which were published as volumes of 12 stories,
always with names playing on the word twelve (for example Aker pitthe dui,
or literally “Two on top of one”). Ray’s interest in puzzles and puns is
reflected in his stories, Feluda often has to solve a puzzle to get to the bottom
of a case. The Feluda stories are narrated by Topshe, his cousin, something of
a Watson to Feluda’s Holmes. The science fictions of Shonku are presented
as a diary discovered after the scientist himself had mysteriously disappeared.
Ray’s short stories give full reign to his interest in the macabre, in suspense
and other aspects that he avoided in film, making for an interesting
psychological study. Most of his writings have now been translated into
English, and are finding a new group of readers.
Most of his screenplays have also been published in Bengali in the literary
journal Eksan. Ray wrote his autobiography encompassing his childhood
years, Jakhan Choto Chilam (1982) and essays on film: Our Films, Their
Films (1976), along with Bishoy Chalachchitra (1976), Ekei Bole Shooting
(1979). During the mid-1990s, Ray’s film essays and an anthology of short
stories were also published in the West. Our Films, Their Films is an
anthology of film criticism by Ray. The book contains articles and personal
journal excerpts. The book is presented in two sections—Ray first discusses
Indian film, before turning his attention towards Hollywood and specific
international filmmakers (Charlie Chaplin, Akira Kurosawa) and movements
like Italian neorealism. His book Bishoy Chalachitra was translated in 2006
as Speaking of Films, and contains a compact description of his philosophy
of different aspects of the cinema. Ray also wrote a collection of nonsense
verse named Today Bandha Ghorar Dim, which includes a translation of
Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky.” He also authored a collection of humorous
stories of Mullah Nasruddin in Bengali.
Satyajit Ray designed four typefaces for roman script named Ray Roman,
Ray Bizarre, Daphnis, and Holiday Script, apart from numerous Bengali ones
for the Sandesh magazine. Ray Roman and Ray Bizarre won an international
competition in 1971. In certain circles of Kolkata, Ray continued to be
known as an eminent graphic designer, well into his film career. Ray
illustrated all his books and designed covers for them, as well as creating all
publicity material for his films. He also designed covers of several books by
other authors.
In 1992, he accepted a Lifetime Achievement Oscar from his sickbed in
Calcutta through a special live satellite-television event and was honoured
with Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award in India. Satyajit Ray died on
April 23, 1992.
Awards and Recognition
Numerous awards were bestowed on Ray throughout his lifetime,
including 32 National Film Awards by the Government of India, in addition
to awards at international film festivals. At the Berlin Film Festival, he was
one of only three filmmakers to win the Silver Bear for Best Director more
than once and holds the record for the most number of Golden Bear
nominations, with seven. At the Venice Film Festival, where he had
previously won a Golden Lion for Aparajito(1956), he was awarded the
Golden Lion Honourary Award in 1982. That same year, he received an
honourary “Hommage à Satyajit Ray” award at the 1982 Cannes Film
Festival.
Ray is the second film personality after Chaplin to have been awarded
honorary doctorates by Oxford University. He was awarded the Dadasaheb
Phalke Award in 1985 and the Legion of Honour by the President of France
in 1987. The Government of India awarded him the highest civilian honour,
Bharat Ratna shortly before his death.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded Ray an
honourary Oscar in 1992 for Lifetime Achievement. It was one of his
favourite actresses, Audrey Hepburn, who represented the Academy of
Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on that day in Calcutta. Ray, unable to
attend the ceremony due to his illness, gave his acceptance speech to the
Academy via live video feed in his home. In 1992 he was posthumously
awarded the Akira Kurosawa Award for Lifetime Achievement in Directing
at the San Francisco International Film Festival; it was accepted on his behalf
by actress Sharmila Tagore.
In 1992, the Sight and Sound Critics’ Top Ten Poll ranked Ray at rank 7 in
its list of “Top 10 Directors” of all time, making him the highest-ranking
Asian filmmaker in the poll.
 In 2002, the Sight and Sound critics’ and directors’ poll ranked Ray at rank
22 in its list of all-time greatest directors, thus making him the fourth highest-
ranking Asian filmmaker in the poll. In 1996, Entertainment Weekly
magazine ranked Ray at rank 25 in its “50 Greatest Directors” list. In 2007,
Total Film magazine included Ray in its “100 Greatest Film Directors Ever”
list.
Saumitra Chatterjee
Soumitra Chatterjee born 19 January 1935 is an iconic Bengali actor,
known among other things for his frequent collaborations with the great
Bengali film director Satyajit Ray and his constant comparison with the
Bengali screen idol Uttam Kumar.
Soumitra studied at the Scottish Church College of the University of
Calcutta, graduating with honours in Bengali literature. He has lived for a
number of years in Calcutta in Satyajit Ray’s old apartment. He also passed
the M.A. examination in Bengali from the University of Calcutta. He worked
in All India Radio before pursuing a career in films.
Soumitra’s film debut came in 1959 in Satyajit Ray’s Apur Sansar. As
noted on the official website for Ray, “At that time, Soumitra Chatterjee was
a radio announcer and had only played a small role in a Bengali stage
production.” Soumitra would eventually collaborate with Ray on fourteen
films. His centrality to Ray’s work is akin to other key collaborations in the
history of cinema—Mifune and Kurosawa, Mastroianni and Fellini, De Niro
and Scorsese, Dicaprio and Scorsese, Max von Sydow and Ingmar Bergman,
Jerzy Stuhr and Kieslowski. He also worked with Sharmila Tagore in a
number of Ray films.
Saumitra was cast in diverse roles by Ray and
some of the stories and screenplays that Ray
wrote were said to be written with him in mind.
Soumitra featured as Feluda/Pradosh Chandra
Mitter, the famous private investigator from
Calcutta in Ray’s Feluda series of books, in two
films in the 1970s Sonar Kella and Joy Baba
Felunath. Ghare Baire, an adaptation of
Rabindranath Tagore’s novel of the same name
and one of Ray’s major ventures of the 1980s,
 featured Chatterjee in a leading role in the
character of a radical revolutionary in a love triangle with his friend’s wife.
These roles showcased Saumitra’s versatility in playing diverse characters,
especially in an urban setting. In Shakha Proshakha, Chatterjee turns out a
moving performance in the role of a mentally handicapped son of an aging
patriarch on his deathbed and the only source of his father’s solace, as his
siblings squabble between them.
Besides working with Ray, Soumitra excelled in collaborations with other
well-known Bengali directors such as Mrinal Sen and Tapan Sinha. He
earned critical acclaim for his role of an impostor in Mrinal Sen’s Akash
Kusum, whereas he was equally confident in playing the swashbuckling
horse-rding villain in Sinha’s Jhinder Bandi giving the legendary Uttam
Kumar a tough challenge. Again in Teen Bhubaner Pare, he shared the
screen with the beautiful Tanuja, and his flamboyant and peppy way of
teasing and wooing Tanuja in the very first song-sequence (‘Ke Tumi
Nadini’) overnight earned him the ‘star’ tag along with Uttam Kumar. He
acted with great aplomb with the iconic Suchitra Sen in Saat Pake Bandha.
He did couple of movies with Uttam Kumar such as Stri, Devdas,
Protishodh. His comic timing was brilliant and highly appreciated in
Mantramughdha, Basanto Bilap, Chhutir Fande and in Baksho Badal.
The last one was a fine example of witty comedy written by Satyajit Ray. In
the later years of his film career, he kept wowing his audience with
memorable performances in films such as Koni, Atanko, etc. Soumitra is
known for his experimentation with different roles. He played the role of
Shekhar in the 1969 Ajoy Kar version of Parineeta.Soumitra has also been
active in Bengali theatre as an actor, playwright and director. He is a well-
known poetry reciter, and has acted on TV and in indigenous folk drama
(jatra).
Awards
A living legend on his own terms, Soumitra has received the “Officier des
Arts et Metiers,” the highest award for arts given by the French government,
and a Lifetime Achievement award from Italy. He turned down the honourary
Padma Shri award from the Indian government in the seventies; more
recently, in 2004, he accepted the prestigious Padma Bhushan Award from
the President of India. He has been the subject of a full-length documentary
named Gaach by French director Catherine Berge.
 In a gesture of protest against the National Film Awards committee’s bias
in awarding popular and mainstream cinema, he turned down the 2001
special jury award for best actor. However, on 9 June 2008, he was selected
for the 2007 National Film Award for Best Actor.
S.D. Burman
Sachin Dev Burman was one of the great Bollywood music directors in the
early days of India’s film industry. He was a much sought after composer
from the 1940’s up until his death in 1975.
S.D. Burman was born on October 1, 1906 in Comilla (now Bangladesh).
His mother’s name was Nirmala Devi and his father’s name was
Nabadwipchandra Dev Burman. His father was the second son of
Ishanachandra Dev Burman, the Raja of Tripura. So, S.D. Burman had
descended from a royal family. S.D. Burman was one of nine children and
the youngest of five boys.
S.D. Burman’s musical training was
extensive. Initially he learned under his
father, who was an accomplished dhrupad
singer and sitar player. From 1925 to 1930 he
took formal training under K.C. Dey. Later
he studied under Bishmadev Chattopadhaya,
the sarangi maestro Kahifa Badal Khan, the
great violin/sarod maestro Allaudin Khan
and even Kazi Nazrul Islam.
His professional career began in 1932, and
progressed from there. In 1932, he began
singing for the Calcutta radio station. It was
there that he became famous for his performances of Bengali, Tripuri folk
music, and light classical music. It was also in this year that he released his
first recording. Over the next few years he released 131 Bengali songs.
As a music composer, he started with Bengali plays, Sati Tirtha and Janani,
and eventually gave his first score in film, Rajgee in 1937, his second film
Rajkumarer Nirbashan (1940) became a hit, there was no turning back
after that. He gave successful music in Bengali films like, Jevaan Sangini,
Protishodh (1941), Abhoyer Biye (1942), and Chaddobeshi (1944), he
continued giving music in Bengali cinema, even after he moved to Bombay
in 1944, and started the second inning of his musical career, giving music for
over 17 Bengali films in the all.
It was during this period this his personal life was developing as well. He
constructed a residence in Calcutta. Probably the most significant event of his
personal life was when he started teaching a young music student by the
name of Meera Dasgupta. In the course of events they became romantically
involved. However, there was the problem; although she was well educated
and from a very respectable family, she did not represent nobility. This
created quite a stir in the family, and when S.D. Burman refused to leave her,
he was forced to sever his ties with his family and forfeit his inheritance.
They married and from their union R.D. Burman was born in 1939.
S.D. Burman’s career as a music composer began in the mid 1930’s.
Initially he composed music for Bengali theatre. His first compositions made
their way into the films with Rajgee (1937), and his first hit movie as a film
director came in Nirbashan (1940). After that, he was the music director for
a string of successful Bengali films.
In 1944, he moved to Bombay; this started a new chapter in his life. He
was brought by Sasadhar Mukherjee to Bombay to by work on two Ashok
Kumar films, Shikari (1946) and Aath Din (1946). From this, he began to
give the music for more Hindi films. Through much of this period he went go
back and fourth between Bombay and Calcutta as he worked for both the
Hindi as well as the Bengali cinema.
1949-1950 was a pivotal period for S.D. Burman. He became disillusioned
with the whole Hindi film business and left Mashaal (1950) midway through
the project. He resolved that he would leave the whole Bombay Hindi film
scene, and return to Calcutta where he felt that there was more artistic
integrity. Had he done so, he probably would have spent the remainder of his
days regarded as merely a regional music director, largely unknown to most
of India. However, he was persuaded not to leave and stay in Bombay.
Thereafter, he was the music director for a string of very successful and
artistically highly regarded films such as Kagaz Ke Phool (1959), and
Devdas (1955).
Bollywood is known for its professional differences and clashes of egos;
S.D. Burman was no exception. The most noted clash came in 1957 with his
falling out with Lata Mangeshkar. Although the details of which are not quite
clear, the generally held view is that Lata used to be quite a ‘diva’ and throw
her weight around. This irritated most music directors, but commercial
pressures forced most people to put up with her antics. Apparently S.D.
Burman just could not put up with it; so he refused to book her and instead
used her sister, Asha Bhosle. Years later, Asha would become his daughter-
in-law.
S.D. Burman’s had health problems in the 1960’s, and this effected his
work. These problems were partly alleviated by the assistance of his son,
R.D. Burman, who had already established his bona fides as a music director
in his own right. During this period he came out with some of his most
memorable work. His contributions to Guide (1965) seem particularly
noteworthy.
S.D. Burman continued to work through the end of the 1960s and well into
the 1970s. Abhiman (1973), Chupke Chupke (1975), and Mili (1975), are a
few works from this period which stand out. However, midway through his
work on Mili, he went into a coma. He died on October 31, 1975.
On 1 October 2007, marking his 101st birth anniversary, India postal
department released a commemorative postage stamp, in Agartala, where an
exhibition on his life and work was also inaugurated; the state government of
Tripura, also confers the yearly, “Sachin Dev Burman Memorial Award” in
music.
Awards
•1934: Gold Medal, Bengal All India Music Conference, Kolkata 1958:
Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
•1958: Asia Film Society Award
National Film Awards
•1969: Padma Shri
•1970: National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer:
Aradhana: Safal Hogi Teri Aradhana
•1974: National Film Award for Best Music Direction: Zindagi
Zindagi
Filmfare Awards
•1954: Filmfare Best Music Director Award: Taxi Driver
•1973: Filmfare Best Music Director Award: Abhimaan
BFJA Awards
•1965: Best Music (Hindi Section): Teen Deviyan
•1966: Best Music (Hindi Section): Guide
•1966: Best Male Playback Singer (Hindi Section): Guide
•1969: Best Music (Hindi Section): Aradhana
•1973: Best Music (Hindi Section): Abhimaan
Suchitra Sen
Suchitra Sen was easily the most popular actress that Bengali Cinema has
ever seen. Her ethereal beauty coupled with her phenomenon screen presence
and immense box office popularity, particularly her on-screen pairing with
the late Uttam Kumar, gave her a legendary cult status in Bengal. She in fact
created a new image in Bengali Cinema of the articulate if tragic heroine
carving out an independence space outside that of family and tradition.
She was born in 1931. Her film debut was in the
unreleased Shesh Kothai made in 1952. The
following year saw her act opposite Uttam Kumar
for the first time in Sharey Chuattar. The film, an
effervescent comedy, was also the breakthrough
film of director Nirmal Dey and was a huge hit at
the box-office. However, it is today remembered
more for launching the pair of Kumar and Sen.
They went on to become icons of Bengali
romantic melodramas for more than twenty years
becoming almost a genre into themselves. Their
films were famous for the soft-focus close ups of
the stars particularly Sen and lavishly mounted
scenes of romance against windswept expanses and richly decorated interiors
with fluttering curtains and such mnemonic objects as bunches of tube roses
etc. Some popular films of the pair include Shap Mochan(1955),
Sagarika(1956), Harano Sur (1957), Indrani (1958), Chaowa-Paowa
(1959), Saptapadi(1961), Bipasha (1962) and Grihadaha(1967). Of these,
special mention must be made in particular of Harano Surand Saptapadi,
both directed by Ajoy Kar. Harano Sur, inspired by Random Harvest
(1942) showcases Uttam - Suchitra at their peak of their delirious
romanticism. In Saptapadi, a romance set against the backdrop of World
War II, even today, every actress in comtemporary Bengali cinema considers
the role of the Anglo-Indian Rina Brown essayed by Suchitra Sen as her
dream role.
One of Suchitra’s best known performances was in Deep Jweley Jai
(1959). The film is full of beautiful often partly lit close ups of Sen which set
the tone of the film and is aided by a mesmerising performance by her. Asit
Sen remade the film in Hindi as Khamoshiwith Waheeda Rehman in the
Suchitra Sen role.
Suchitra’s other landmark film with Asit Sen was Uttar Falguni (1963).
Suchitra carries the film single-handedly all on her own in the dual role of a
courtesan Pannabai and her daughter Suparna, a lawyer.
But perhaps Suchitra’s biggest histrionic triumph was Saat Pake Bandha
(1963). Suchitra Sen’s sensitively etched and finely nuanced performance
won her the Best Actress Award at the Moscow International Film Festival in
1963 and the film itself was the basis for Kora Kaagaz (1974) starring Jaya
Bhadhuri in the Suchitra Sen role.
While her supremacy in Bengal was unquestioned, Suchitra’s forays into
Hindi Cinema were far too infrequent and comparatively less successful. It is
hard to fathom the reason for this. While her screen presence in her Hindi
films was as stunning as ever, perhaps because of language problems, some
of her performances look a trifle stilted and reined in. Her first Hindi film
was Bimal Roy’s Devdas (1955) where she played Parvati to Dilip Kumar’s
Devdas. It was her finely honed performance that gave the film its necessary
tone of lofty virtue, noble sacrifice and loyal devotion. Musafir (1957),
Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s episodic film of marriage, birth and death and
Champakali (1957) failed to set the box-office alight and even her most
uninhibited Hindi film performance in Bambai Ka Babu (1960) opposite
Dev Anand was plagued by troubles between her and the director, Raj
Khosla. Mamta(1966), based on Uttar Falguni by the same director Asit Sen,
saw her successfully repeat the dual role. She made a huge impact with
Gulzar’s Aandhi (1975) playing a powerful woman politician whose
marriage had broken up since her husband, Sanjeev Kumar, opposed her
having a career after marriage. Aandhi however, ran into controversy due to
her role which was said to be based on Indira Gandhi and was even banned
for a while.
She retired from the screen in 1978. Her daughter Munmun Sen and grand
daughters Riya and Raima are all actresses as well.
Utpal Dutt
Utpal Dutt was born on 29 March 1929 in Shillong in
Hindu family, and he studied initially at St. Edmunds
School there, and later completed his Matriculation in
1945 from St. Xavier’s Collegiate School, Kolkata. In
1949, he graduated with English Literature Honours from
the St. Xavier’s College, Calcutta, University of Calcutta.
He was a Bengali actor, director and writer-playwright.
He was primarily an actor in Bengali Theatre, where he
became a pioneering figure in Modern Indian theatre,
when he founded the “Little Theater Group” in 1947,
which enacted many English, Shakespearean and Brecht
plays, in a period now known as the “Epic theater” period, before emerging
itself completely in highly political and radical theatre. His plays became apt
vehicle of the expression for his Marxist ideologies, visible in socio-political
plays like, Kallol (1965), Manusher Adhikar, Louha Manob (1964), Tiner
Toloar and Maha-Bidroha. He also acted over 100 Bengali and Hindi films
in his career spanning 40 years, and remains most known for his roles in
films like, Mrinal Sen’s Bhuvan Shome (1969), Satyajit Ray’s Agantuk
(1991) and Gautam Ghose’s Padma Nadir Majhi(1993) and in breezy Hindi
comedies like Gol Maal (1980) and Rang Birangi (1983).
Though he was active primarily in Bengali theatre, he started his career in
English theatre. As a teenager in the 1940s, he developed his passion and
craft in English theatre, which resulted in the establishment of “The
Shakespeareans,” in 1947. Its first performance was a powerful production of
Shakespeare’s Richard III, with Dutt playing the king, this so impressed
Geoffrey Kendal and Laura Kendal (parents of the actress Jennifer Kendal),
who led the itinerant “Shakespeareana Theatre Company,” that they
immediately hired him and he did two year-long tours with them across India
and Pakistan, enacting Shakespeare’s plays, first 1947–49 and later 1953–54;
and was acclaimed for his passionate portrayal of Othello. After the
Geofferys left India for the first time in 1949, Utpal Dutt renamed his group
as “Little Theatre Group” (LTG), and over the next three years, continued to
perform and produce in plays by Ibsen, Shaw, Tagore, Gorky and Konstantin
Simonov. The group later decided to exclusively stage Bengali plays, to
eventually evolve into a production company as it produced several Bengali
movies. He also remained an active member of Gananatya Sangha, which
performed through rural areas of West Bengal.
He was also a founding member of Indian People’s Theatre Association
(IPTA), an organization known for its leftist leaning, but left it after a couple
of years, when he started his theatre group. He wrote and directed what he
called “Epic Theatre,” a term he borrowed from Bertolt Brecht, to bring about
discussion and change in Bengal. His Brecht Society formed in 1948, was
presided by Satyajit Ray. He became one of the most influential personalities
in the Group Theater movement. While he accepting Brecht’s belief of
audience being ‘co-authors’ of the theatre, he rejected orthodoxies of “Epic
theatre” as being impractical in India. He also remained a teacher of English
at the South Point School in Kolkata.
Soon he would turn to his native Bengali producing translations of several
Shakespearean tragedies and the works of Russian classicists into Bengali.
Starting 1954, he wrote and directed controversial Bengali political plays,
and also Maxim Gorky’s Lower Depths in Bengali in 1957. In 1959, the LTG
secured the lease of Minerva Theatre, Kolkata, where most notably Angar
(Fire) (1959), based on the exploitation of coal-miners was showcased. For
the next decade the group staged several plays here, with him as an
impresario, and still remembered as one last pioneering actor-managers of
Indian theatre. He also formed groups like Arjo Opera and Bibek Yatra
Samaj.
Meanwhile, his transition to films happened when while they were
performing role of Othello, which famous filmmaker Madhu Bose happened
to watch and gave him the lead in his film, Michael Madhusudan (1950),
based on the life of the Indo-Anglian poet Michael Madhusudan Dutt. Later,
he himself, wrote a play on the fragmented colonial psyche and Michael
Madhusudan Dutt, and the ambivalence of swaying between ‘colonial’
admiration and ‘anti-colonial’ revolt. He went on to act in many Bengali
films, including many films by Satyajit Ray.
Dutt was also an extremely famous comic actor in Hindi cinemas, though
he acted only in a handful of Hindi cinemas. He acted in the comedy movies,
most notable ones being Guddi, Golmaal, Naram Garam, Rang
Birangiand Shaukeen.He received Filmfare Best Comedian Award for
Golmaal, Naram Garam and Rang Birangi. In Bengali cinema, he
appeared in Bhuvan Shome for which he was awarded the National Film
Award for Best Actor, Ek Adhuri Kahani and Chorus, all by Mrinal Sen;
Agantuk, Jana Aranya, Joy Baba Felunathand Hirak Rajar Deshe, by
Satyajit Ray; Paar and Padma Nadir Majhi, by Gautam Ghose; Bombay
Talkie, The Guru, and Shakespearewallah, by James Ivory; Jukti Takko
Aar Gappo, by Ritwik Ghatak; Guddi, by Hrishikesh Mukherjee; Swami
and Gol Maal, directed by Basu Chatterjee and Amanush by Shakti
Samanta.
He balanced successful parallel careers as an extremely serious theatre
playwright and director in Bengal alongside doing hilariously comic roles in
Hindi cinema. He is the greatest dramatist in progressive Bengali theatre of
20th century.
Dutt was also a lifelong Marxist and an active supporter of the Communist
Party, CPIM or Communist Party of India Marxist, and his leftist
“Revolutionary Theater” was a phenomenon in the contemporary Bengali
theater. He staged many street dramas in favour of the Communist Party. He
was jailed by the Congress government in West Bengal in 1965 and detained
for several months, as the then state government feared the subversive
message of his play Kallol (Sound of the Waves), based on the Royal Indian
Navy Mutiny of 1946, which ran packed shows at Calcutta’s Minerva
Theatre, might provoke anti-government protests in West Bengal, the play
turned out to be his longest-running play at the Minerva. Manusher
Adhikare in 1968, staged as documentary drama was new genre in Bengali
theatre before, though it turned out to be his last production of the group at
the Minerva, as they soon left the theatre. Thereafter, the group was given the
name, “People’s Little Theatre” as it took on yet another new direction, his
work came closer to people, and this phase played an important role in
popularising Indian street theatre, as he started performing at street-corners or
poster plays, in open spaces without any aid or embellishment before
enormous crowds. The year also marked his transition into Jatra or Yatra
Pala, a Bengali folk drama form, performed largely across rural West Bengal.
He started writing Jatra scripts, produced and acted in them, even formed his
own Jatra troupe. His jatra political dramas, were often produced on open-air
stages and symbolised his commitment to communist ideology and today
form his lasting legacy.
Through the 1970s three of his plays, Barricade, Dusswapner Nagari
(City of Nightmares), Ebaar Rajar Pala (Enter the King),drew crowds
despite being officially banned.
He wrote Louha Manab, 1964 while still in jail, based on a real trial against
a pro-Stalin, ex-Politburo member by Kruschevites in Moscow of 1963. His
stay in jail unleashed a new period of rebellious, and politically charged
plays, including Tiner Toloar, partially based on Pygmalion, Dushapner
Nagari, Manusher Odhikare (Rights Of Man), based on the Scottsboro Boys
case, protests against the racial discrimination and injustice of the
Scottsborough trial of 1931, Surya-Shikar (1978), Maha-Bidroha (1989),
and Laal Durgo (1990) about the demise of Communism, set in a fictitious
East European country, and Janatar Aphim, (1990) lamented on Indian
political parties exploiting religion for gain. In all, he wrote twenty-two full-
length plays, fifteen poster plays, nineteen Jatra scripts, acted in thousands of
shows, and directed more than sixty productions, apart from writing serious
studies of Shakespeare, Girish Ghosh, Stanislavsky, Brecht, and
revolutionary theatre, and translating Shakespeare and Brecht.
He also directed a number of films like, Megh (1961) a psychological
thriller, Ghoom Bhangar Gaan (1965), Jhar (Storm) (1979) based on the
Young Bengal movement, Baisakhi Megh (1981), Maa (1983) and Inquilab
Ke Baad (1984).
Utpal Dutt died in Calcutta on 19 August 1993.
Awards
•1970- National Film Award for Best Actor: Bhuvan Shome
•1980- Filmfare Best Comedian Award: Gol Maal
•1982-Filmfare Best Comedian Award: Naram Garam
 •1984-Filmfare Best Comedian Award: Rang Birangi
•1990-Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship
•1993-Bengal Film Journalists’ Association Award: Best Actor Award:
Agantuk
Uttam Kumar
Uttam Kumar’s hypnotic screen presence,
mellow voice, unique charisma and dazzling
smile made him not just a heartthrob, but also a
legend of Bengali Cinema. For the Bengali
fraternity, he was undoubtedly the ‘mahanayak’
the great hero, the undisputed king of the Bangla
silver screen for nearly three decades.
He was born Arun Kumar Chatterjee in 1926 at
Ahiritola, North Kolkata but was called ‘Uttam’
by his maternal grandmother. His huge joint
family had its own theatre group Suhrid Samaj
which staged many amateur shows within the
community. No wonder then, Uttam Kumar was bitten by the acting bug right
from childhood itself. Besides acting, he was also into sports and physical
fitness. He took up wrestling, swimming, lathi-khela (sparring with wooden
sticks), horse riding and tennis. In fact he was the swimming champion at the
Bhowanipur Swimming Association three years in a row.
By the time Uttam Kumar cleared his Matriculation, it was clear to him
that he wanted to be an actor. He thus started taking singing lessons from the
then well-known voice trainer Nidan Banerjee. Initially Uttam Kumar
followed the Kolkata theatre scene avidly but soon became dissatisfied with
the existing trend of theatrical acting and always aimed for a more natural
performance in his films. After graduation, the financial condition of the
family forced him to take up employment as a clerk at the Port
Commissioner’s office. To supplement his salary, he also gave singing
lessons at a music school.
In 1947, he got an offer for a brief role in a Hindi film Mayador. The film
never saw the light of day. His first release in fact was the Bengali film
Drishdidaan (1948), directed by the great Nitin Bose. Uttam was credited as
Arun Kumar and played the youth of well known actor Asit Baran. The film
was a flop. 1949 saw his first film as lead man— Kamana crediting him as
Uttam Chatterjee, but this too bombed, as did all his films, till Basu Parivar
(1952). The Industry had labeled him as a flop master by now! During this
time he had got married to Gauri Ganguli in 1948 and his son Gautam was
born in 1950. With these additional responsibilities, he seriously considered
quitting the film industry and concentrating full time on his job. But
fortunately for him, Basu Parivar co-starring Sabitri Chatterjee was a big hit.
Incidentally, Supriya Devi worked with him for the first time in this film,
playing his sister.
Reuniting with his Basu Parivar director, Nirmal Dey, Uttam Kumar
delivered another big hit, Sharey Chuattar, in 1953. This film saw him
paired for the first time with Suchitra Sen. With Agnipariksha, the following
year again hitting the bullseye, the Uttam-Suchitra pair ushered in the so
called Golden era of Bengali Cinema. They went on to become icons of
Bengali romantic melodramas for more than twenty years becoming almost a
genre into themselves. Their films were famous for the soft-focus close ups
of the stars particularly Sen and lavishly mounted scenes of romance against
windswept expanses and richly decorated interiors with fluttering curtains
and such mnemonic objects as bunches of tuberoses etc. The story lines often
revolved around a pattern wherein the lovers would meet and fall in love.
And then either the family or difference in status of the two would cause
hurdles in the romance. Often Suchitra’s family was shown to be better off
than Uttam’s. Thus he not only had to win her but also surpass material
differences to prove that love conquers all. Some popular films of the pair
include Shap Mochan (1955), Sagarika (1956), Harano Sur (1957),
Indrani (1958), Chaowa-Paowa (1959 ), Saptapadi (1961), Bipasha (1962)
and Grihadaha (1967).
Shonar Harin (1959) saw Supriya Devi (who would win great accolades
for her performance in Ritwik Ghatak’s Meghe Dhaka Tara the following
year) play the lead opposite Uttam Kumar. As they began to act in more films
together, the two got involved off screen as well. In 1963, Uttam left his wife
and stayed with Supriya for the next 17 years till his death. Many of Uttam’s
films with Supriya too were huge successes at the box office but there was a
marked difference in audience perception to these films as compared to his
films with Suchitra. With Suchitra what superceded everything was their
screen romance whereas with Supriya since the audience was aware of a
personal relationship as well, they always went to see these films with that
firmly in their mindsets. When the great Satyajit Ray made Nayak (1966), he
created the lead role of actor Arindam Mukherjee keeping Uttam Kumar in
mind. Many people feel the film is autobiographical to Uttam Kumar’s own
life—the sense of anxiety and restlessness of the superstar mirrored Uttam’s
insecurities about his phenomenal success and abiding fear that his
superstardom might not last. Uttam made the role of Arindam his own and
Ray later confessed that if Uttam had refused the film, he would have
abandoned the film. He worked with Ray again the following year in
Chidiakhana (1967). When the Indian Government instituted the Nation
Awards for Best Actor and Actress in 1967, Uttam Kumar was the first ever
recipient of the Best Actor Award for his performances in Chidiakhana and
Anthony Firangee(1967). Nargis won the Best Actress Award for Raat Aur
Din (1967).
There was more to Uttam than just the actor. He also explored new
avenues of filmmaking by trying his hand at production, singing, composing
music, screenplay writing and yes, directing. The success of his Bengali films
as Producer— Harano Sur, Saptapadi, Bhrantibilash (1963), Uttar
Falguni (1963), Jotugriha (1964), Grihadah all did well and won Uttam
great acclaim. This prompted Uttam Kumar to try and launch himself in
Hindi films. He produced Chhoti si Mulaqaat in 1967, starring himself and
Vyjayanthimala. The film was adaptated from Agniparikhsha and had music
by Shankar-Jaikishen. The film, however, was a dismal failure at the box-
office leaving him with a pile of debt and probably led to his first heart
attack. Though he recovered and returned to full time acting, thus clearing his
debts, he was never to produce a film again. Uttam Kumar did return
sporadically to Hindi films however with a memorable performance in
Amanush (1975), perhaps his most well-known Hindi film, and also Anand
Ashram (1977), Kitaab (1979) and Dooriyaan (1979). He also came out
with his autobiography in 1979.
On July 24, 1980 Uttam Kumar breathed his last.
Victor Banerjee
Victor Banerjee was born on 15 October 1946 in Calcutta. He was born to
the renowned family of the first president of the Indian National Congress
(1885), Wyomesh Chandra Bonnerjee. After finishing his schooling from St.
Edmund’s, Shillong he graduated from St. Xavier’s College in Calcutta,
majoring in English Literature.
Victor has worked in Hindi, English, and Bengali
movies along with renowned directors like Roman
Polanski, Jerry London, Satyajit Ray, David Lean,
Shyam Benegal, James Ivory, and Mrinal Sen. He
started his film career in 1970 with films like Dui
Prithibi (1970) and Shatranj Ke Khiladi(1977).
He played the character of Dr. Aziz Ahmed in
the film A Passage to India (1984) based on David
Lean’s book. It was a turning point in his career as
this role brought him a lot of success and numerous
awards like BAFTA Award, Evening Sta ndard
British Film Award, and National Board Review Award. The actor was also
noticed for his performance in Satyajit Ray’s Ghare Baire, James Ivory’s
Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie’s Pictures, and Mrinal Sen’s
Mahaprithivi. He played character roles in many of the English movies and
has actively worked in Bengali cinema too. For Stephen Pimlott’s York
Mystery Plays he was cast as Jesus. He was also seen in the Saif Ali Khan
starrer Tara Rum Pum (2007) and also in Amitabh Bachchan’s Sarkar Raj
(2008). Victor has also appeared in a number of Indian television serials.
 13. Regional Scenarios:
Marathi

Introduction
Marathi cinema refers to films produced in the Marathi language in the
state of Maharashtra. It is the oldest film industry in India. The first film in
India was a silent film called Raja Harishchandra (1913), which was made
in Marathi by a Maharashtrian, Dadasaheb Phalke and a Marathi crew who
were performing Marathi and Sanskrit Sangeet natikas (musicals) and plays
in Marathi at that period. The first Marathi talkie film, Ayodhyecha Raja
(produced by Prabhat Films) was released in 1932, just one year after “Alam
Ara” the first Hindi talkie film. Marathi cinema has grown in recent years.
The industry is based in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
Marathi Cinema is the oldest form of Indian Cinema. Dadasaheb Phalke is
known as the first pioneer and founder of cinema in Pre-Independence India.
He brought the revolution of moving images to India with his first
indigenously made film Raja Harishchandra in 1913, which is considered
by IFFI and NIFD part of Marathi cinema as it was made by a Marathi crew.
Kolhapur in Western Maharashtra was another centre of active film
production in the twenties. In 1919 Baburao Mistry, popularly known as
Baburao Painter formed the Maharashtra Film Co. with the blessings of the
Maharaja of Kolhapur and released the first significant historical
—Sairandhari (1920) with Balasheb Pawar, Kamala Devi and Zunzarrao
Pawar in stellar roles. Because of his special interest in sets, costumes, design
and painting, he chose episodes from Maratha history for interpreting in the
new medium and specialised in the historical genre. Baburao Painter made
many silent movies till 1930 however after a few more silent films, the
Maharashtra Film Company pulled down its shutters with the advent of
sound. Baburao was not particularly keen on the talkies for he believed that
they would destroy the visual culture so painfully evolved over the years.
As cinema grew in Union of India, major production houses rose and one
of them was again a company owned wholly by Maharashtrians, the Prabhat
Film Company. Prabhat’s Sant Tukaram was the first Indian film to win the
Best Film Award at the Venice film festival in 1937. In 1954 at the very first
edition of the National Awards, Shyamchi Aai another Marathi film, won the
first President’s Gold Medal for Cinema. The film was directed by Acharya
P.K. Atre, and it was an adaptation of the eponymous novel by Sane Guruji.
Marathi Cinema was in its full bloom by this time with the advent of greats
like V. Shantaram, Master Vinayak, Bhalji Pendharkar, Acharya Atre,
followed by Raja Paranjpe, Dinkar D Patil, G.D. Madgulkar, Sudhir Phadke.
The 60s saw the emergence of directors like Anant Mane who made Marathi
films based on the folk art form Tamasha. Then came directors like Datta
Dharmadhikari and Raj Dutt who made traditional family dramas. The early
70s saw the advent of Dada Kondke who captured the audiences with his
sense of humour. He later went on to create satirical, pun-ridden films often
including social and political commentary, many of which became cult
classics. By this time Marathi Cinema was caught in either the Tamasha
genre or tragedies revolving around traditional family dramas on one side and
the comedies of Dada Kondke.
The 80s saw two comedy heroes catapult to stardom, Ashok Saraf and
Laxmikant Berde. Around the mid 80s two young actors, donned the
director’s mantle: Mahesh Kothare and Sachin Pilgaonkar. Pilgaonkar
directed Navri Mile Navryala and around the same time Mahesh Kothare
directed Dhumdhadaka. Pilgaonkar’s film was a box-office hit while
Mahesh Kothare’s film not only became a mega hit at the box-office but it
also became a trend-setter and brought young audiences to Marathi Cinema.
Mahesh Kothare then went on to make comedy films which became major
hits. He made the first Marathi film shot on the anamorphic format
(Cinemascope) - Dhadakebaaz. He brought a number of innovations in the
technical quality of Marathi films and was also the first to bring Dolby
Digital sound to Marathi Cinema with the film Chimni Pakhara . He made
the first Marathi film with Digital Special Effects, Pachadlela in 2004.
While the theatre of Maharashtra earned recognition at the national level,
the cinema failed to make a mark. A major reason was the proximity to the
production centre of Hindi cinema (Bollywood) which encroached on the
identity of Marathi cinema. Other reasons include the shortage of cinema
halls for distribution due to poor marketing, a vibrant theatre scene and the
emergence of private television. It also lacked the powerful lobby at the
national level unlike Bengali and South Indian cinema; the regional industrial
advantage being soaked up by Bollywood.
In past few years, the Marathi cinema industry has produced many films
that are not only critically acclaimed but commercially successful as well.
With outstanding contribution and efforts from different producers and
directors of Mumbai Film Industry, Marathi cinema relatively outshined
other Indian Film Industries such as Bollywood in the first quarter of 2010 in
terms of box office collections and critical appreciation.
Marathi Cinema received critical acclaim in the year 2004 with the film
Shwaas bagging the Golden Lotus National Award. It was also India’s
official entry to the 77th Academy Awards and it also won the President’s
medal for best film, beating Bollywood’s prolific output with quality.
Shwaas, after Shyamchi Aai (1950) is only Marathi film to win the
President’s Medal.
The Maharashtra state government has begun to issue grants to Marathi
film (between 1.5-3.0 million Rupees). After the success of ‘Shwaas ,’ Indian
media players like Shringar Films and Zee Telefilms are exhibiting a re-
emerging interest in Marathi cinema. The growing popularity of Marathi
television (notably Zee Marathi and ETV Marathi) has also helped to
popularise older Marathi cinema and promote the genre. Zee Talkies, a 24
hour channel dedicated to Marathi movies has been introduced. Movies like
Aga Bai Areccha, Khabardar, Dombivali Fast, Anaahat, Sarivar Sari,
Yanda Kartavya Aahe, Uttarayan, Tingya, Valu -The Wild Bull,
Saawali, De Dhakka, Maati Maay, Kadachit, Me Shivajiraje Bhosale
Boltoy, Samaantar, Rita, Restaurant, Nirop, Vihir, Vartul, Gabhiricha
Paus, Harishchandrachi Factory, Natarang, Jogwa have received
commercial and critical success. This decade has seen the emergence of stars
like, Makrand Anaspure, Sunil Barve, Shreyas Talpade, Sandeep Kulkarni,
Sadashiv Amrapurkar, Sonali Kulkarni, Amruta Subhash, Ashwini Bhave,
Sanjay Narvekar, Atul Kulkarni, Sachin Khedekar, Bharat Jadhav. Film-
makers like Kedar Shinde, Gautam Joglekar, Gajendra Ahire, Bipin
Nadkarni, Mahesh Manjrekar, Prashant Pethe, Sanjay Surkar, Chandrakant
Kulkarni, Nishikant Kamath, Paresh Mokashi, Umesh Kulkarni, Mangesh
Hadawale are new entrants with veterans like Mahesh Kothare, Chitra
Palekar (Maati Maay), Sumitra Bhave (Devrai, Vaastupurush, Doghi, Nital,
Badha ) Smita Talwalkar, Amol Palekar (Anaahat, Samaantar,
Bangarwadi ), Renuka Shahane (Rita ). In 2009, Marathi film
Harishchandrachi Factory, depicting the struggle of Dadasaheb Phalke in
making Raja Harishchandra in 1913, India’s first feature film, directed by
theatre-veteran Paresh Mokashi was selected as India’s official entry to
Academy Award in the Best Foreign Language Film Category, making it the
second Marathi film, after Shwaas, to receive this honour. In the year 2009,
released the blockbuster musical movie Natarang which got both
commercial and critical applause and has served as a path-breaking movie for
Marathi cinema in many ways. The direction, concept , acting performances
and music of this film are well superb and well received by both critics and
general audience.
The notable movies since 1950s were Mee Tudes Tuzhya Angani,
(1956), Sridiche Saibaba (1957), Gruhdevta (1958), Dhakti Jau (1959),
Kanyadan (1961), Prapanch, Manini, Vaijanta (1962), Jawai Mazha
Bhale (1963), Ha Mazha Marg Ekla (1964), Ekti (1969), Shantate Court
Cholu Aahe (1972), Pinjari (1973), Shruti Ehitre (1984), Sarja (1987) and
Doghi (1996). All these films won National Awards. Several Bollywood
actors and actresses have come from Marathi film world. Notable among
them were Amol Palekar, Smita Patil and Dr Shri Ram Lagoo. Eminent film
personality V. Shantaram also made a Marathi movie Pinjari in 1973, which
earned National Award for best film and best director.
Popular Faces of Marathi Cinema
Despite a humble beginning, Marathi films soon reached fame and several
directors appeared on the scene to produce good movies. To name a few were
Acharaya Atre whose Shyamchi Aai and Mahatma Phule won National
Awards for best film and best director categories in 1954 and 1955
respectively.
Dr Jabbar Patel was another eminent director who won National Awards
for his films Samna in 1978, Jait re Jait in 1978, Sinhasan in 1979,
Umbartha in 1982, Ek Hota Vidushak in 1992 and Mukta in 1994.
Given below are brief profiles of some of the popular faces of Marathi
cinema.
Baburao Painter
Dadasaheb Phalke’s Raja Harishchandra (1913) had triggered off great
enthusiasm among many aspiring filmmakers. Among them was a young
man, Baburao Painter.
He was born Baburao Krishnarao Mestri in 1890 in Kolhapur. He taught
himself to paint (hence, the name) and sculpt in academic art school style. He
and his artist cousin Anandrao Painter between 1910 and 1916 were the
leading painters of stage backdrops in Western India doing several famous
curtains for Sangeet Natak troupes and also for Gujarati Parsee theatres. They
became avid filmgoers following Raja Harishchandra.
They turned to cinema first as exhibitors while trying to assemble their
own camera. Anadrao however, died in 1916 and Painter and his main
disciple V.G. Damle eventually put together a working camera in 1918.
With financial support from local nobility, he set up the Maharashtra Film
Company in Kolhapur in 1919. Painter gathered around him old colleagues
among them Damle and S. Fatehlal joined a little later by V. Shantaram—the
group that later left to set up The Prabhat Film Company. He also introduced
two female artisits Gulab Bai and Anusuya Bai renamed as Kamala Devi and
Sushila Devi respectively. Since acting was looked down upon, the two ladies
were excommunicated by their community and had to find refuge in the
studio premises. As well as acting in films, they would often cook and serve
food to the entire unit!!!
Baburao’s first film Sairandhri (1920) attracted the attention of the then
censor board for its graphic depiction of the slaying of Keechak by Bhima.
Finally it had to be deleted but the film won both critical and commercial
acclaim spurring Painter on to more ambitious projects.
Baburao was a man of many talents—he wrote his own screenplays,
changed the concept of set designing from painted curtains to solid multi-
dimensional lived in spaces, he introduced artificial lighting and understood
the importance of publicity. As early as 1921-22 he was the first to issue
programme booklets, complete with details of the film and photographs. He
also painted himself tasteful, eye-catching posters of his films.
Sinhagad (1923) proved so popular that it attracted the Revenue
Department’s attention to bring about introduction of Entertainment Tax.
Baburao also made the first realistic Indian film Savakari Pash (1925)
dealing with money lending, a problem that blighted the lives of countless
illiterate, poor farmers. However, the audience long fed on mythological
fantasy and historical love was just not prepared for so strong a dose of
realism and the film did not do well. Baburao returned to costume dramas.
Netaji Palkar (1927) directed by V. Shantaram and Karna (1928)
directed by Damle and Fatehlal were huge hits. However, after a few more
silent films, the Maharashtra Film Company pulled down its shutters with the
advent of sound. Baburao was not particularly keen on the talkies for he
believed that they would destroy the visual culture so painfully evolved over
the years. He returned to painting and sculpture, his original vocation barring
sporadic ventures like remaking Savkari Pash in sound in 1936, Pratibha
(1937), one of his few preserved films which is a good illustration of
Painter’s control over big sets, lighting and crowd scenes and Lokshahir
Ramjoshi (1947) on Shantaram’s invitation.
Baburao Painter died on 16 January 1954.
Dada Kondke
Krishna Kondke popularly known as Dada
Kondke, was a Marathi actor and film producer. He
was one of the most renowned personalities in
Marathi film industry, famous for his double entendre
dialogs in movies.
Dada Kondke was born on 8 August 1932 in a mill-
worker’s family in Naigaon in central Mumbaion
Gokulashtami day and hence, was named Krishna.
Even though it is popularly believed that Dada
Kondke was entered in the Guinness Book of World
Records for the highest number of films (nine) that
achieved silver jubilee (running for 25 consecutive
weeks), no such entry exists. Krishna Kondke was called ‘Dada,’ an honorific
Marathi term meaning “elder brother,” which lead to his popular name Dada
Kondke.
Dada Kondke was a born in a mill-worker’s family in Naigaum, near
Lalbaug, Mumbai. These workers were mostly migrants to the city of
Mumbai looking for employment in the prospering cotton mills. This section
of the society was well connected to their rural roots. Dada’s movies targeted
this section of the society. Tamasha and stage drama’s have always played an
important role in Marathi entertainment industry. Dada had started his
entertainment career with a band and then as a stage actor. While working for
drama Dada toured all over Maharashtra which helped him understand what
entertainment meant to the local population. This learning can be seen in his
movies which targeted masses over classes. Dada was a native of Ingavali in
Bhor which is in Pune district of Maharashtra.
Dada’s early life was spent in chawls of Naigaum, a Marathi heartland of
Mumbai. As a youngster Dada was a rough kid who later on took up job in a
local grocery retail chain, Apna Bazaar. It was then that Dada lost most of his
immediate family to unfortunate events. The recovery process changed Dada
completely who decided to stay focused on the lighter side of life and make
people around laugh. Dada became a member of a local band which earned
him the nickname “Bandwale Dada.”
It was during this time that Dada got involved in cultural activities of Seva
Dal. He started working in dramas and came in contact with various drama
related personalities one of who was Vasant Sabnis, a well known Marathi
writer. Dada decided to play big and started his own drama company, and
approached Sabnis to compose a drama script for him. Sabnis was impressed
with Dada’s personality and his performance in Khankhanpurcha Raja
(Bankrupt King), and wrote a drama entitled, Vichha Majhi Puri Kara
(Fulfill My Desires), which was a turning point in Dada’s life. The drama
went on to play over 1500 shows and made Dada a star. The drama got Dada
into spotlight and also gave him an entry into Marathi movies through a role
in Bhalji Pendharkar’s movie Tambdi Maati. This was followed by a lead
role in Songadya a blockbuster which turned Dada’s world around. Dada
kept on delivering one hit after the other. He retained his team from
Songadya and delivered his next hit Ekta jeev Sadashiv.
Dada Kondke’s storylines were always based on the simpleton. He used
same team of actors, technicians and playback singers to repeat the formula
for success that he believed he had got from his debut film. Dada movies,
produced under the “Kamakshi Pictures” banner, had the same set of people,
which included Usha Chavan as the lead actress, Raam Laxman as his music
director, initially Jayawant Kulkarni and then Mahendra Kapoor as the male,
and Usha Mangeshkar as the female playback singer, and Bal Mohite as the
chief assistant.
He also made few movies in Hindi also like, Aage Ki Soch, Khol De Meri
Juban, Andheri Rat Mein Diya Tere Haath Mein and Tere Mere Beech
Mein. Interestingly all these titles were double meaning.
Dadasaheb Phalke
It was the Christmas of 1910. A screening of
The Life of Christ was held at the American -
Indian Cinema in Bombay. Among the crowd was
a gentleman who had seen films before but this
particular viewing made him decide he had found
his vocation in life. He too would make films. For
nearly two months he saw every film in town and
studied all available literature on film technique.
His conviction that an indigenous film industry
could be established by tackling Indian themes
was strong. He declared, “Like the life of Christ
we shall make pictures on Rama and Krishna.”
The gentleman was Dhundiraj Govind Phalke
who went on to become the founder of the Indian
Film Industry. Phalke was born in 1870 in Trymbakeshwar in Nasik. The son
of a Sanskrit scholar, he studied at the JJ College of Arts in Bombay and at
Kala Bhavan, Baroda. He then studied architecture and became proficient as
a landscape painter of academic nature studies.
Phalke worked in a photographic studio and at Ratlam learned three-colour
block making and ceramics. He then worked as a portrait photographer, stage
make-up man, assistant to a German illusionist and as a magician! He was
offered backing to start an Art Printing Press and his backers to acquaint him
with the latest printing process especially in colour work arranged for him to
go to Germany provided that he remain with the company for at least a
stipulated time after the journey, which he did. But by the time Phalke
returned he knew that a printing career would not satisfy him. And then The
Life of Christ happened.
Raising a loan from an old friend and pledging his life insurance, Phalke
sailed for England on February 1, 1912 to purchase the necessary equipment
and acquaint himself with the technical aspects of filmmaking. After two
weeks in London, Phalke returned to India with a Williamson camera, a
perforating machine, developing and printing equipment and some raw stock.
He launched Raja Harishchandra (1913) about an honest king who for the
sake of his principles sacrifices his kingdom and family before the gods
impressed with his honesty restore him to his former glory.
However, Phalke had to overcome several obstacles to realise his dream.
He raised finance from Yeshwant Nadkarni, a photographic equipment dealer
with a short trick film Birth of a Pea Plant shooting one frame a day to show
the plant growing. Nadkarni was astounded by the film and agreed to be
Phalke’s backer. Also as in Shakespearean England female roles on the
Indian Stage were still performed by men. Phalke however, wanted to have a
woman play the queen’s role. He even visited prostitutes from the red light
areas but they backed out. Finally, Phalke found an effeminate looking cook
Salunke in a cafe who played the queen.
Raja Harishchandra was 3700 feet long and distributed by Phalke
himself. The film opened for regular commercial showing on May 3, 1913 at
the Corporation Cinema. The film fetched him rich returns. As exciting as
foreign films had seemed, audiences were far more thrilled to see a familiar
story performed by Indians.
Phalke moved operations to Nasik and within three months produced his
second feature Mohini Bhasmasur (1914) which was 3245 feet long and
gave Phalke ample scope for trick photography. Satyavan Savitri (1914)
followed this. By now Phalke’s films were much in demand and at least 20
prints of each film were required for wider exhibitions.
Phalke visited England again in 1914 to organise trade shows. He received
many offers to stay back in Europe but he preferred to return to India with
new equipment.
After a period of hibernation, Phalke made some of his greatest and most
successful films - Lanka Dahan (1917), Shri Krishna Janam (1918) and
Kaliya Mardan (1919). The impact was overwhelming. When Lord Rama
appeared on the screen in Lanka Dahen and when Lord Krishna appeared in
Shri Krishna Janam, men and women in the audience prostrated themselves
before the screen! Phalke also became an exhibitor and travelled far and wide
by bullock cart with projector, screen and films. The revenue was in coins
and the weight of the coins on the homeward trip was enormous! Phalke’s
establishment in Nasik grew into a model studio with a large retinue of
technicians and artists on its payroll, most of whom lived on the premises.
The company thus became an extension of the joint family system. The plot
of land contained woods, hills, fields and caves to provide a diversity of
scenic backgrounds. Interior sets open to the sunlight were built in the garden
behind his house. All interior scenes were shot by sunlight with some use of
reflectors.
Phalke’s films show a fine pictorial sense and remarkable technical
resourcefulness. Like George Melies, Phalke was a special effects genius. He
explored a vast range of techniques including animation, tinting and toning.
He used scenic models for a number of sequences, including the burning of
Lanka for which he also burned down two full size sets!
Initially the mythological film was to dominate Indian production for some
years but rival genres in the 1920s began to compete for audience attention,
like the ‘stunt film’ for example. Phalke gradually began to feel like a
stranger in the film world. Film tastes were changing and as the atmosphere
was becoming increasingly commercial, in 1928, Phalke declared his
retirement. In 1931, he tried again with Setu Bandhan . It was ill-timed and
Phalke tried to salvage it by post-synchronising dialogue. The film failed. He
also made a full fledged talkie, Gangavataram (1937) but it did not work.
He died in Nasik in 1944. However, he will always remain the founder of the
world’s largest film industry.
Sachin Pilgaonkar
Born 17 August 1957 in Mumbai, in a Marathi
family Sachin Pilgaonkar better known by his first
name Sachin started his film career as a child artist
in the film Ek Aur Suhagan. As a child actor he
appeared in prominent films such as Jewel Thief
and Brahmachari and Mela. He switched to
playing lead roles for a brief time with Rajshri
Productions’ Geet Gaata Chal. In this he paired
with Sarika and the films unexpected success
made them a lead pair for other films. Some of his
roles as the lead were Balika Badhu, College
Girl, and Rajshri Productions Ankhiyon Ke Jharokhon Se and Nadiya Ke
Paar.
Sachin turned to Indian Television in the 90s, when he directed a superhit
comedy show, “Tu Tu Main Main,” which starred his wife Supriya
Pilgaonkar and Reema Lagoo. He also directed a show “Rin 1 2 3” on Star-
Plus, which used to show parodies on Bollywood movies. He also directed
the sitcom, Hudd Kar Di starring Dara Singh, which too initially did well, but
later was pulled off. In the meantime, he also anchored music shows like
“Chalti Ka Naam Antakshari” and various other events and Marathi film
award ceremonies. In 2006, he, along with his wife, Supriya, won the “Nach
Baliye” show, pocketing Rs. 40 lakh, beating nine other celebrity pairs. In
late 2007, he started a new programme on Zee Marathi, known as “Eka Pexa
Ek,” which is based on dance contests.
Sachin has also been directing Marathi films since the 80s. He started
directing with Mai Baap which received critical acclaim, but started tasting
commercial success only with 1984’s Navri Mile Navryala, which also
starred his future wife, Supriya. Further movies like Gammat Jammat and
Maza Pati Karodpati cemented his place in the Marathi film industry.
However, he tasted major success in 1988’s Ashi Hi Banwa Banwi, which
starred himself and the two reigning superstars of Marathi cinema, Ashok
Saraf and Laxmikant Berde. The movie was a runaway hit, establishing
Sachin as a hit-maker. He then changed track to experimental cinema with
the next two films, but returned to comedy with Amchyasarkhe Aamhich
which proved to be yet another hit.
As an actor and director Sachin worked in number of Marathi films:
As an Actor
He has acted in the following movies:
Aamhi Saatpute, Hee Porgi Kunachi, Navra Mazha Navsacha, Aisi
Bhi Kya Jaldi Hai, Aayatya Gharat Gharoba), Amchyasarkhe Aamich,
Eka Peksha Ek, Atmavishwas, Bhutacha Bhau, Ashi Hi Banwa Banwi,
Mazha Pati Karodpati, Gammat Jammat, Navri Mile Navryala, Ashta
Vinayak.
As a Director
He has directed the following movies:
Aamhi Saatpute, Navra Mazha Navsacha, Kunku, Aayatya Gharat
Gharoba, Eka Peksha Ek, Amchyasarkhe Aamich, Atmavishwas,
Bhutacha Bhau, Ashi Hi Banwa Banwi, Mazha Pati Karodpati, Gammat
Jammat, Navri Mile Navryala, avvasher, and Mai Baap. He is married to
actress Supriya Pilgaonkar, whom he first directed for his debut Marathi film,
Navri Mile Navryala (1984) and subsequently became successful pair in
Marathi cinema.
Shriram Lagoo
Dr. Shreeram Lagoo is an Indian film and theatre
actor. Dr. Shreeram Lagoo has acted in over 100
Hindi and Marathi films, over 40 Marathi, Hindi and
Gujarathi plays, and has directed over 20 Marathi
plays. He is considered one of the greatest actors of
Marathi stage during the second half of twentieth
century. He has also been very vocal and active in
furthering progressive and rational social causes. He
was born on November 16, 1927 at Satara district,
in Maharashtra state of India to Dr. Balakrishna
Chintaman and Mrs. Satyabhama Lagoo, the eldest
of four children. He attended Bhave High School, Fergusson College, and
B.J. Medical College in Pune (Poona), India. He started acting in plays while
attending Medical School. Once bitten by the theater bug, he continued his
dramatic activity through the anvant garde group “Progressive Dramatic
Association” which he started with like-minded senior friends like Bhalaba
Kelkar. Meanwhile, he trained as an ENT surgeon in Mumbai in the early
fifties and practiced in Pune for 6 years before going to Canada and England
for additional training. He practiced medicine in Pune, India and Tabora,
Tanzania in the sixties but his theater activity through Progressive Dramatic
Association in Pune and ‘Rangaayan’ in Mumbai continued when he was in
India. Finally, in 1969 he became a full time actor on Marathi stage, debuting
in the play Ithe Oshalala Mrityu written by Vasant Kanetkar.
He made his debut in V. Shantarams Pinjra which was a hit followed by
roles in Lawaris, Gharonda, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Shalimar,
Professor Pyarelal where his acting was worth mentioning.
He was the first protagonist of the famous Marathi play Natasamrat
written by Kusumagraj (Vishnu Vaman Shirwadkar) and is best remembered
for that role.
Awards:
 1978, Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for his work in Gharonda
(1997) and Kalidas Samman (2006). He was also awarded the Master
Dinanath Mangeshkar Smruti Pratisthan for his contribution to cinema and
theatre (2007). He was given Punyabhushan Puraskar (2010) and also, the
Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship
He has a legend status in Marathi cinema, where he has done many
memorable movies. His wife, Deepa Lagoo is also a noted theatre, television
and film actress.
V. Shantaram
For Rajaram Vankudre Shantaram or V. Shantaram as we know him,
learning film craft was indeed a very difficult task, considering that this
Kolhapur boy had no formal education at all. He was born on November 18,
1901, in Maharashtra’s princely state of Kolhapur to a Jain family of very
modest means, hence the lack of education.
Early in life, he was forced to take on small jobs to
support his family, one of which was being a curtain-
puller in a theatre called the Gandharva Natak
Mandali. This was his first exposure to the film world
and it had him so enthralled that he continued to do
small jobs related to acting and film making, while
picking up its fine points when he interacted with the
top professionals of the time.
He was an actor, director and producer all rolled
into one. Right from his first film, Netaji Palkar as a
director, he churned out many memorable films which
have become a landmark in the film world. But this deep-rooted
understanding and penchant for cinema did not come with just one film or
filmmaking experience. Shantaram made innumerable mistakes, faced
rejection and came across dead ends before he could achieve the status he has
today. No one has able to match his achievements. As a young man,
Shantaram started working in the railways, before he discovered his interest
in films and quit this job to fulfil his dreams. His first job was in a cinema
hall where he thought his dreams would take concrete shape. But this was not
to be so. He found that he would have to wait some more. Finally, Dame luck
smiled on the man and his enthusiasm. Shantaram got the opportunity to
work with the renowned director, Babubhai Painter. He became a part of
Babubhai’s production company, Maharashtra Films, and it was here that he
learnt all the mechanics of filmmaking. But he first shone as an actor with the
film, Surekha Haran, in 1921. Despite his success, he was restless and
wanted to do more. After a nine-year-long association with Maharashtra
Films, he finally quit the company in 1929 to form his own production house,
Prabhat Films. With him were his four friends and partners—Vishupant
Damle, Sitaram Kulkarni, Fattelal and Keshavrao Dhaiber. Prabhat grew by
leaps and bounds. Shantaram made Ayodhya Ka Raja and Amritmanthan
which brought superstars like Durga Khote and Shanta Apte into the
limelight. Amritmanthan went on to become one of the biggest hits in
Shantaram’s career. In the year 1942, when India was in the throes of the
Quit India movement, Shantaram established his own studio, Rajkamal
Kalamandir, which has become one of the most famous studios in Mumbai.
Shakuntala was the first film made under this banner and launched the
beautiful actress, Jayashree. Later, he married his heroine. Slowly, he
graduated to acting and performed a role in Savkari Pash (1925) directed by
Babu Ram Painter. In the process he became one of the ardent disciples of
Painter, A stroke of fate brought Shantram in contact with V.G. Damle, K.R.
Dhaiber, Syed Fatelal, and S.B. Kulkarni—all professionals in different
aspects of filmmaking. In 1929, they set up the Prabhat Film Company.
Prabhat came out with a brilliant movie Gopal Krishna (1931). Those were
the times when mythological themes generated greater interest than social
ones. Shantram and his colleagues broiught about the fusion of contemporary
themes with mythological dramas. Ayodhya Ka Raja (1932) was the first
talking picture produced by Prabhat. As the silent movies gave way to
‘talkies’, the glory of Painter was on the wane and the star of his protégés
came on the ascendant. After making a few hits, Shantaram became obsessed
with the idea of making a colour motion picture. He went to Germany, where
he met some of the best cinematographers of that age. V. Shantaram fully
incorporated the “tricks of the trade” learnt in Europe in his craft. His movies
succeeded at the box offcie. This was also the time he shifted to Poona and
set up his studio on a sprawling piece of land. V. Shantaram produced and
directed Amrit Manthan set in the ancient society when Buddhism had
challenged the decadent ritualistic practices. In Padosi (1941) V. Shantram
seemed to make a desperate appeal to his people to forsake sectarianism and
bigotry. He dismantled the Parbhat Film Company in 1942. He set up his own
production unit under the banner of Raj Kamal Mandir in Bombay. His best
like Dr. Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani (1942) and Do Aakhein Baara Haath
(1957) saw the light of the day in this very organisation. Do Aakhein Baara
Haath (1957) won many National and International Awards, including the
Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival and the Samuel Goldwyn Award for
Best Foreign Film. Besides, the film won the President’s Gold Medal as the
Best Feature of 1957 in India. Dahej (1950) was a poignant commentary on
the evil of dowry. We see strong under currents of social reform in most of
the films produced and directed by V. Shantaram. The first colour film of V.
Shantaram Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje (1955) was a box office hit. As the
time progressed he launched his daughter Rajshree in Geet Gaya Patthron
Nein (1960). Pinjra (1972), a bilingual in Hindi and Marathi stands out as a
trademark V. Shantaram film in many of his later works. However, the last
film Jhanjaar (1986) performed miserably. Shantaram is known more as a
director than as an actor. As an actor, he did films like Sinhagad, Udaykal,
Parbat Pe Apna Dera and Stree which brought him fame and recognition
the world over. He was a doyen whose techniques and imagination knew no
bounds. He married thrice; His first marriage was with Vimla, his second
marriage was to the actress Jayashree, with whom he had three children:
youngest one is Tejasri the other one is the actress Rajshree whom he
launched in the film Geet Gaya Pattharon Nein, and a son, Kiran Kumar,
sometime sheriff of Mumbai and Marathi film director. His third wife was
actress, Sandhya who was his co-star in Do Aankhein Barah Haath as well
the heroine of his films like Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje and Navrang. His
other four children are Prabhat Kumar, Sarojini, Charushila and Madhura
Pandit, who is married to classical singer, Pandit Jasraj and have a daughter
actress, Durga Jasraj. He also introduced film actor Jeetendra in Hindi cinema
with the film Geet Gaaya Pattharon Ne. He was fondly called Annasaheb.
V. Shantaram had an illustrious career as a filmmaker for almost six decades,
starting as an actor in the silent era films and later transitioning into a film
director of Hindi and Marathi cinema. He was one of the early filmmakers to
realise the efficacy of the film medium as an instrument of social change and
used it successfully to advocate humanism on one hand and expose bigotry
and injustice on the other. He is the founder of Rajkamal Studios.
Awards
•1957: Filmfare Best Director Award: Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje
 •1958: National Film Award for Best Film: Do Aankhein Barah
Haath
•1958: Berlin International Film Festival, OCIC Award: Do Aankhein
Barah Haath
•1958: Berlin International Film Festival, Silver Bear (Special Prize):
Do Aankhein Barah Haath
•1959: Golden Globe Awards, Samuel Goldwyn Award: Do Aankhein
Barah Haath
•1985: Dadasaheb Phalke Award
•1992: Padma Vibhushan
His autobiography, titled Shantaram, was published in Hindi and Marathi.
V. Shantaram died on October 30, 1990 in Mumbai. The “V. Shantaram
Award” was constituted by Central Government and Maharashtra State
Government, Further the V. Shantaram Motion Picture Scientific Research
and Cultural Foundation was established in 1993, shortly after his death, and
offers various awards to film makers. the awards are presented on 18th
November each year on Shantaram’s birth anniversary.
 14. Regional Scenarios:
Oriya

Introduction
Oriya films have no silent movie like Bengali and Assamese cinema. It
started straight way with a talkie. The first Oriya talkie Sita Bibaha was
made by Mohan Sunder Deb Goswami in 1936. Drawn from the great Indian
epic Ramayana, the story tells about the marriage of Sita with Ram. The
actual plot was made from a drama written by Kamala Mishra. Prepared with
a purse of only Rs 30,000, the film has 14 song sequences. Despite it being
the first Oriya film with several drawbacks in every section of its making, the
two-hour-long movie generated great enthusiasm among the people. Released
by Laksmi Talkies, this 12-reel film had in its cast line. Makhanlal Banerjee
(Ram) who received only Rs 120 for his performance, Aditya Ballav
Mohanty (Lakhsman) who got only Rs 35 as conveyance allowance and
Prabati Devi (Sita) who was paid the highest amount of Rs 150. This was a
landmark film of Oriya Film Industry. The pace of Oriya film production in
the initial years was very slow. After Sita Bibaha, only two films were
produced till 1951. A joint consortium of landlords and businessmen who
collected fund after 1948 produced those two movies. The 1951 production
Roles to Eight was the first Oriya film having an English name. It was
released after 15 years of the first Oriya film Sita Bibaha. It was the fourth
Oriya film produced by Ratikant Padhi. The eleventh Oriya film Sri
Lokenath was the first Oriya film, which got National Award in 1960
directed by Prafulla Sengupta. The same year, Prasanta Nanda wan National
Award as best actor for the film Nua Bou with his debut film. The name of
Prasanta Nanda would always come while dealing with Oriya Film Industry.
He had been present in Oriya films since 1939 but he became super active
only after 1976. Nanda served Oriya Film Industry as an actor, director,
screenplay writer, and lyricist and even as a playback singer. Such a versatile
genius is quite rare in Indian cinema history. Nanda alone carried Oriya films
into the national honour list by winning National Awards for three times in
1960, 1966 and 1969 for his acting in Nua Bou, Matir Manisha and Adina
Megha . Mohammed Mohsin started the revolution in the Oriya film industry
by not only securing the essence of the Oriya culture but also bringing in the
newness in the was the film industry was watching Oriya movies. His movies
heralded in the golden era of the Oriya film industry by bringing in freshness
to Oriya movies. His directorial debut was Phoola Chandana for which he
won the best director award from the state. He had to his credit 16 box office
successful movies in his directorial stint. He started as an actor in character
roles and gave household names like Raka to Orissa. Mohsin started his
career with B.R. Chopra as an assistant director before making his presence
felt in the Oriya film industry. Uttam Mohanty, whose debut film Abhiman
won accolades, is now the ruling hero of the Oriya Film Industry. His wife
Aparajita Mohanty is also a roaring heroine. Actress Nandita Das, who acted
in several Hindi movies like Fire, has Oriya origin. She acted in Susanta
Misra directed Biswaprakash which won National Award in 2000. But many
critic have so far termed Bijoy Mohanty and Mihir Das to be two of the best
ever Oriya actors so far. Siddhanta Mahapatra, a new generation star, has an
increasing number of fans following rightly to be included amongst all time
greats. Archita has been also hitting the silver screen with a golden touch.
Oriya Film Industry, especially in 1960s and in 1970s, was indebted to
Bengali films. Several Bengali directors help their Oriya counterparts to help
make films. Mrinal Sen even directed an Oriya film Matira Manisha which
won National Award for best actor, Prashanta Nanda.
Popular Faces of Oriya Cinema
Well-known film personalities of Oriya film industry include the
following:
Writers
Gopal Chhotray, Devdas Chhotray Bijoy Mishra Abhijit ghatwari,
Rajniranjan Das, Saranarabinda, Rajani Ranjan, Pradipta Nanda, Nirmala
Nayak
Actors
Mohammed Mohsin, Gopal Ghosh, Sarat Pujari, Akshaya Mohanty,
Shriram Panda, Harish Mohapatra, Prasant Nanda, Suresh Mishra, Ajit Das,
Ajit Kar, Anubhav Mohanty, Sunil Kumar, Arindam Roy, Sagar Mishra,
Samaresh Routray, , Bijoy Kumar Bhoyian, Chandan Kar, Sabyasachi Misra,
Siddhanta Mahapatra etc.
Actresses
Jyoti Pani, Archita Sahu, , Chapala Nayak, ,Urbasi Tripathy, Dr. Sukhalata
Das, Minati Das, Jharana Das, Sujata Ananda, Soudamini Mishra, Mala
Bose, Malabika Mohanty, Sangita Satpathy, Sasmita Pradhan, Manju
Pradhan, Priyambada Ray, Antara Biswas, Priyanka Mohapatra, Anisha Das
etc.
Producers
Sitaram Agrawall, Jatin Kumar Agarwal, Sukesh Behura, Lutu Mohanty,
kumar Guna, Bijay Kandui, Giridhari Malik, Pramod Nayak, Basanta Sahu,
Niranjan Rana.
Directors
Mohammed Mohsin, Raju Mishra, Prasant Nanda, Pranab Das, Surya
Mishra, Hara Patnaik, Ravi Kinagi, Vijoy Bhaskar, Bijay Mishra, Jitendra
Mohapatra, Basant Sahu, Avatar Singha, Manmohan Mahapatra, Nirad N.
Mohapatra, Bijaya Jena, Himansu S. Khatua, Jatin kumar, Gudia Mohapatra,
N. Padhi, Gadadhar Putty.
Music Directors
Balakrushna Dash, Rakhal Mohanty, Akshaya Mohanty, Prafulla Kar,
Shantanu Mohapatra, Basudeba Rath, Saroj Pattanaik, Saroj Nanda,
Manmatha Mishra, Swarup Nayak, Abhijit Majumdar, Malaya Mishra, Purna
Khuntia.
 15. Awards and Honours

Introduction
In this chapter, we shall discuss the awards and honours given to the
professionals and achievers in various fields of Indian cinema.
Filmfare Awards
The Filmfare Awards ceremony is one of the most prominent film events
given for Hindi films in India. The Indian screen magazine Filmfare started
the first Filmfare Awards in 1954, and awards were given to the best films of
1953. The ceremony was referred to as the Clare Awards after the magazine’s
editor. Modelled after the poll-based merit format of the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences, individuals may submit their votes in separate
categories. A dual voting system was developed in 1956. Like the Oscars, the
Filmfare awards are frequently accused of bias towards commercial success
rather than artistic merit.
As the Filmfare, the National Film Awards were introduced in 1954. Since
1973, the Indian government has sponsored the National Film Awards,
awarded by the government run Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF). The
DFF screens not only Bollywood films, but films from all the other regional
movie industries and independent/art films. These awards are handed out at
an annual ceremony presided over by the President of India. Under this
system, in contrast to the National Film Awards, which are decided by a
panel appointed by Indian Government, the Filmfare Awards are voted for by
both the public and a committee of experts.
Additional ceremonies held within India are:
•Stardust Awards
•Star Screen Awards
Ceremonies held overseas are:
•Bollywood Movie Awards - Long Island, New York, United States
•Global Indian Film Awards - (different country each year)
 •IIFA Awards - (different country each year)
•Zee Cine Awards- (different country each year)
Most of these award ceremonies are lavishly staged spectacles, featuring
singing, dancing, and numerous celebrities.
Dadasaheb Phalke Award
The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is the most
prestigious award in the realm of Indian cinema.
Named after Dadasaheb Phalke, the pioneer of
Indian film industry, the award is bestowed to
honour distinguished contribution to the growth
and promotion of the film medium. The
government introduced the Dadasaheb Phalke
Award in the annual National Awards in 1969, the
birth centenary year of Phalke, to commemorate
his invaluable contribution to Indian cinema. The
first recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award was
actress Devika Rani Roerich. Since then the award
has been conferred on some of the biggest names
of the Indian film industry.
The award comprises a Swarna Kamal (Golden Lotus) medallion, a cash
prize of Rs. 1 million and a shawl.
Following is a list of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award winners:
•1969 - Devika Rani Roerich, actress
•1970 - B.N. Sircar, producer
•1971 - Prithviraj Kapoor, actor (posthumous)
•1972 - Pankaj Mullick, singer, music director
•1973 – Sulochana (Ruby Myres), actress
•1974 - B.N. Reddy, director
•1975 - Dhiren Ganguly, producer-director
•1976 - Kanan Devi, actress
•1977 - Nitin Bose, producer-director
•1978 - R.C. Boral, music director
•1979 - Sohrab Modi, actor, producer
•1980 - P. Jairaj, actor
•1981 - Naushad Ali, music director
•1982 - L.V. Prasad, producer-director
•1983 - Durga Khote, actress
•1984 - Satyajit Ray, director
•1985 - V. Shantaram, director, producer, actor
•1986 - B. Nagi Reddy, producer
•1987 - Raj Kapoor, actor, director
•1988 - Ashok Kumar, actor
•1989 - Lata Mangeshkar, singer
•1990 - A. Nageswara Rao, actor
•1991 - Bhalji Pendharkar, producer-director
•1992 - Bhupen Hazarika, composer
•1993 - Majrooh Sultanpuri, lyricist
•1994 - Dilip Kumar, actor
•1995 - Dr. Rajkumar, actor
•1996 - Sivaji Ganesan, actor
•1997 - Pradeep, lyricist
•1998 - B.R. Chopra, director, producer
•1999 - Hrishikesh Mukherjee, director
•2000 - Asha Bhosle, singer
•2001 - Yash Chopra, director, producer
 •2002 - Dev Anand, actor, director, producer
•2003 - Mrinal Sen, director
•2004 - Adoor Gopalakrishnan, director
•2005 - Shyam Benegal, director
•2006 - Tapan Sinha, actress
•2007 - Manna Dey, singer
•2008 - V.K. Murthy, cinematographer
•2009 - D. Ramanaidu, producer
National Film Awards
The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in
India. Established in 1954, it is administrated by the Indian government’s
Directorate of Film Festivals since 1973.
Every year, a national panel appointed by the government selects the
winning entry, and the award ceremony is held in New Delhi, where the
President of India gives away the awards. This is followed by the
inauguration of the National Film Festival, where the award-winning films
are screened for the public. Declared for films produced in the previous year
across the country, they hold the distinction of awarding merit to the best of
Indian cinema overall, as well as presenting awards for the best films in each
region and language of the country.
The Awards were first presented in 1954. The Government of India
conceived the ceremony to honour films made across India, on a national
scale, to encourage the furthering of Indian art and culture.
The National Film Awards are presented in two main categories: Feature
Films and Non-feature Films. The feature film jury for 2009 consists of 13
members, including Rahul Dholakia and is headed by Buddhadeb Dasgupta.
The non- feature film jury consists of five members and is headed by Bikram
Singh. The juries are appointed by the Directorate of Film Festivals in India.
Neither the Government nor the Directorate have influence over which films
are selected for consideration and which films ultimately win awards. There
are strict criteria as to whether a film is eligible for consideration by the jury
panels. Over 100 films made across the country are entered in each category
(feature and non-feature) for the awards and deemed eligible each year.
A list of rules is presented every year in a document of regulations known
as the National Film Award Regulations. The criteria for eligibility contain
many clauses. Among them, there is a direct requirement for the makers of a
film, and particularly the director, to be Indian nationals. Films entering the
competition should be produced in India, and in case of co-production
involving a foreign entity, there are as many as six conditions which should
be fulfilled in order for the film to qualify. According to the criteria, in order
to be eligible for consideration of the jury, a film should be certified by the
Central Board of Film Certification between January 1 and December 31.
Whether a film is considered a feature film or a non-feature film shall be
decided by the Feature Film jury. The eligibility list includes a section of
rules determining which films shall not by eligible for entry in the
competition.
The Awards are presented to feature films produced in the previous year,
given in the following categories:
Swarna Kamal
•Best Film
•Best Direction
•Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment
•Best Children’s Film
Rajat Kamal
•Best Actor
•Best Actress
•Best Supporting Actor
•Best Supporting Actress
•Best Child Artist
•Best Cinematography
 •Best Screenplay
•Best Art Direction
•Best Make-up Artist
•Best Costume Design
•Best Music Direction
•Best Lyrics
•Best Male Playback Singer
•Best Female Playback Singer
•Best Choreography
•Best Audiography
•Best Editing
•Best Special Effects
•Second Best Feature Film
•Special Jury Award/Special Mention (Feature Film)
Best Feature Film in each of the languages specified in schedule VIII of
the constitution:
•Best Feature Film in Assamese
•Best Feature Film in Bengali
•Best Feature Film in Hindi
•Best Feature Film in Kannada
•Best Feature Film in Konkani
•Best Feature Film in Malayalam
•Best Feature Film in Manipuri
•Best Feature Film in Marathi
•Best Feature Film in Oriya
 •Best Feature Film in Punjabi
•Best Feature Film in Tamil
•Best Feature Film in Telugu
Best Feature Film in each of the languages other than those specified in
schedule VIII of the constitution:
•Best Feature Film in English
•Best Feature Film in Bhojpuri
•Best Feature Film in Kokborok
•Best Feature Film in Monpa
•Best Feature Film in Tulu
•Other Feature Film Awards:
•Best Film on Family Welfare
•Best Film on Other Social Issues
•Best Film on Environment Conservation/Preservation
Nargis Dutt Award
This award is given to the Best Feature film on National Integration.
Indira Gandhi Award for Best First Film
This award is given to the film judged Best First Film of a Director at the
National Film Awards.
Dadasaheb Phalke Lifetime Achievement Award
This award is for lifetime achievement and contribution to Indian cinema.
It is named after Dadasaheb Phalke, one of India’s pioneering film makers.
Non-feature Film Awards
The Awards presented to Non-feature Films are given in different
categories including the following:
•Best Non-feature Film
 •Best First Non-feature Film
•Best Anthropological/Ethnographic Film
•Best Biographical Film
•Best Arts/Cultural Film
•Best Scientific Film
•Best Promotional Film
•Best Agriculture Film
•Best Film on Social Issues
•Best Educational/Motivational/Instructional Film
•Best Environment/Conservation/Preservation Film
•Best Exploration/Adventure Film
•Best Investigative Film
•Best Animated Film
•Best Short Fiction Film
•Best Non-feature Film on Family Welfare
•Best Non-feature Film Direction
•Best Non-feature Film Cinematography
•Best Non-feature Film Audiography
•Best Non-feature Film Editing
•Best Non-feature Film Music Direction
•Special Jury Award/Special Mention (Non-feature Film)
Best Book on Cinema
This award is given to the Best Book on cinema:
Best Film Critic
 This award is given to the Best Film Critic on cinema.
Star Screen Awards
Star Screen Awards is also one of the prestigious awards
of Bollywood like Filmfare and Zee Cine Awards. The award
is given for films in India. It was introduced in 1994 by
Ananya Goenka of The Indian Express Group. But unlike
other awards the total nomination and selection of this award
is done by a panel of eminent professionals in the film
industry itself just like Oscars. The awards are given on the
basis of professional excellence and not on popularity.
Hence, it is also considered as a prestigious and toughest
award.
Star Screen Awards are presented every year in January to
honour Hindi/Marathi films, TV and Non-film Music. Screen
also has held three editions of “Screen Awards for excellence in South Indian
Cinema” for the regional cinemas of South India. Those regional South
Indian cinemas include Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam.

Merit Awards
•Best Film
•Best Director
•Best Actor
•Best Actress
•Best Supporting Actor
•Best Supporting Actress
•Best Villain
•Best Comedian
•Best Music Director
•Best Lyricist
 •Best Male Playback
•Best Female Playback
•Most Promising Newcomer - Male
•Most Promising Newcomer - Female
Technical Awards
•Best Art Direction
•Best Action
•Best Cinematography
•Best Editing
•Best Choreography
•Best Background Music
•Best Story
•Best Screenplay
•Best Dialogue
•Best Sound Recording
Special Awards
•Lifetime Achievement
•Jodi No. 1 (2002)
•Best Actress (Popular Choice) (2009)
•Best Actor (Popular Choice) (2009)
•Best Actor (Critics) (2007-08)
•Best Actress (Critics) (2007-08)
•Best Child Artist (2006, 2008)
•Special Jury Award (2008)
 •Entertainer of the Year (2010)
•Best Animation Film (2009)
•Best Film in English (2009)
•Star Screen Award Best Jodi of Decade
•Showman of the Millennium—Raj Kapoor (2002)
Filmfare Awards
The film world is a wild and wacky one, with its
temperamental, whimsical stars, hit and misses
productions, gimmicks, special effects and shenanigans
galore. Most of all, it has an enthusiasm that is not just
endearing, but infectious as well, a spirit that spreads
through all those who associate with it, from within or
without. The Filmfare Awards were constituted in 1953
to honour Bollywood’s best talents and provide
tangible encouragement and incentive to the principal
talents of the motion picture industry. Every winner is
awarded a trophy and as years went by, the Filmfare
Awards stand as the Oscars of Indian Cinema. The
Filmfare awards are eagerly awaited every year, with readers of the magazine
polling their opinions to decide who wins and who doesn’t.
The guest of honour at the first ever awards (March 21, 1954 at the Metro
theatre, Mumbai) was to be Gregory Peck. He couldn’t make it—his flight
from Colombo, where he was on location for Purple Plain, was delayed. But
he did attend the banquet that followed at the Willingdon Sports Club.
The first Filmfare Awards function was held amidst much anticipation.
Over 20,000 votes from readers all over the country had poured in to select
the best film, actor, actress, music director and singer.
At first, the awards were called Clares after Clare Mendonca, the Times of
India film critic who died the year of the first awards, 1954. However, the
name didn’t stick.
At the first awards function, only 5 awards were presented with Do Bigha
Zameen winning the award for the best film while Bimal Roy carried off the
statuette for Best Director for the same film. Dilip Kumar won the first of
many awards for his performance in Daag, while Meena Kumari won hers
for Baiju Bawra. Best Music Director went to Naushad for Baiju Bawara .
It’s been a long time since then. Films have evolved, stars have moved on
and technical have metamorphosed. Gratifyingly, the imperishable magic of
Hindi cinema remains.
The Filmfare awards have truly become an institution. It salutes an
industry that has its own style and definition of success. It is the story of the
stars of Indian cinema. The ones we have grown with and the ones who have
grown with us. The ones who have shaped our psyches. The ones from whom
we’ve learnt to love, laugh, and cry.
From it’s inception, the awards have always been a keenly contested event
with a simple moral: Good triumphs over mediocrity.
Popular Awards
•Best Movie
•Best Director
•Best Actor
•Best Actress
•Best Supporting Actor
•Best Supporting Actress
•Best Villain
•Best Comedian
•Lux New Face (in magazine) No Longer Given
•Best Debut (Male and Female)
•Best Music Director
•Best Lyricist
•Best Male Playback
•Best Female Playback
Critics Awards
•Critics Award Best Movie
•Critics Award Best Performance (Actor and Actress)
Special Awards
•Lifetime Achievement
•Power Award
•Special Performance Award
•Sony Scene of the Year
•R.D. Burman Award for New Music Talent
•Best Film of 50 Years (once in 50th year
anniversary)
Technical Awards
•Best Art Direction
•Best Action
•Best Cinematographer
•Best Editing
•Best Choreography
•Best Story
•Best Screenplay
•Best Background Score
•Best Dialogue
•Best Sound Recording
Filmfare Awards South
Filmfare Awards South is the South Indian segment of the annual Filmfare
Awards, and are given for films in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada
language films from India. They are given annually to honour the best talents
and provide encouragement and incentive to the South Indian film industry.
Awards are given in the following categories:
Filmfare Awards in Tamil Cinema
•Best Film
•Best Director
•Best Actor
•Best Actress
•Best Supporting Actor
•Best Supporting Actress
•Best Music Director
•Best Lyricist
•Best Male Playback
•Best Female Playback
Filmfare Awards in Telugu Cinema
•Best Film
•Best Director
•Best Actor
•Best Actress
•Best Supporting Actor
•Best Supporting Actress
•Best Music Director
•Best Lyricist
•Best Male Playback
•Best Female Playback
Filmfare Awards in Malayalam Cinema
•Best Film
•Best Director
•Best Actor
•Best Actress
•Best Supporting Actor
•Best Supporting Actress
•Best Music Director
•Best Lyricist
•Best Male Playback
•Best Female Playback
Filmfare Awards in Kannada Cinema
•Best Film
•Best Director
•Best Actor
•Best Actress
•Best Supporting Actor
•Best Supporting Actress
•Best Music Director
•Best Lyricist
•Best Male Playback
•Best Female Playback
South Filmfare Technical Awards
•Filmfare Award for Best Cinematography
 •Filmfare Award for Best Choreography
Special Awards
•Filmfare Special Jury Award
•Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award
•Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut
•Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut
Other Categories
(These categories vary from year to year, and are not annual)
•Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Villain
•Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Comedian
•Filmfare Award for Best Telugu Villain
•Filmfare Award for Best Telugu Comedian
•Filmfare Award for Best Editor
•Filmfare Award for Best Art Director
•Filmfare Award for Action Director
IIFA Awards
The International Indian Film Academy (IIFA)
Awards, are presented annually by the International
Indian Film Academy to honour both artistic and
technical excellence of professionals in Bollywood, the
Hindi language film industry. Instituted in 2000, the
ceremony is held in different countries around the
world every year. This award ceremony has been
organised by Wizcraft International Entertainment Pvt.
Ltd—one of India’s premier event management and
entertainment agency—since its inception.
The awards began in 2000 and the first ceremony
was held in London at The Millennium Dome. From
then on the awards were held at locations around the world signifying the
international success of Bollywood. The next award ceremony was
announced to be held in Toronto, Canada in 2011. The award ceremonies are
held in various places around the world.
These awards honour films from the previous calendar year. Amitabh
Bachchan has been the Brand Ambassador of the IIFA until 2010 where he
resigned from the post due to much controversy about holding that year’s
ceremony in Sri Lanka, and appointed Salman Khan. In 2009, five special
awards were introduced: Star of the decade (male and female), Movie of the
decade, Music of the decade, and Director of the decade.
Popular Awards
•Best Movie
•Best Director
•Best Actor
•Best Actress
•Best Supporting Actor
•Best Supporting Actress
•Best Performance in a Negative Role
•Best Performance in a Comic Role
•Best Music Director
•Best Lyricist
•Best Playback Singer Male
•Best Playback Singer Female
Special Awards
•Style Icon of the Year
•Style Diva of the Year
•Glamorous Star Award
 •Star Debut Award
•Face of the Year
•Special Award for Global Impact
•Outstanding Contribution to Indian Cinema
•Outstanding Achievement in Indian Cinema
Outstanding Achievement by an Indian in International
Cinema
•Artists of the Decade
Technical Awards
•Best Art Direction
•Best Action
•Best Background Score
•Best Cinematography
•Best Choreography
•Best Costume Design
•Best Dialogue
•Best Editing
•Best Makeup
•Best Screenplay
•Best Sound Recording
•Best Sound Rerecording
•Best Special Effects
•Best Story
Zee Cine Awards
 Zee Cine Awards are instituted by the Zee Network, a Mumbai-based TV
station. The awards are intended to target South Asians globally.
The awards were inaugurated in 1998 and are a
mixture of categories decided on by public votes,
as well as categories solely judged by an industry
jury.
The awards are given in the current year but the
winner is awarded for the performance or work for
the previous year.
Viewers’ Choice
•Best Actor—Male
•Best Actor—Female
•Best Film
•Best Director
•Track of the Year
Jury’s Choice
•Best Actor in a Supporting Role- Male
•Best Actor in a Supporting Role- Female
•Best Actor in a Negative Role
•Best Actor in a Comic Role
•Best Playback Singer—Male
•Best Playback Singer- Female
•Best Lyricist
•Best Music Director
•Most Promising Director
•Best Male Debut
•Best Female Debut
 •Best Choreographer
•Best Background Music
•Best Story
•Best Screenplay
•Best Dialogue
•Best Editing
•Best Cinematography
•Best Art Direction
•Best Action
•Best Costumes
•Best Publicity Design
•Best Film Processing
•Best Audiography
•Best Rerecording
•Best Song Recording
Special Awards
•Zee Cine Award for Lifetime Achievement
•Zee Cine Special Award for Hall of Fame 2002 Awards
•Zee Cine Special Award for Debut Director 2002 Awards
•Zee Cine Special Award for Outstanding Contribution to International
Cinema 2002 Awards
•Zee Cine Special Award for Outstanding Performance- Female 2002
Awards
•Zee Cine Special Award for Outstanding Performance- Male 2002
Awards
•Lux Face of the Year no longer given (1998-2001)
•Zee Cine Netizen Award Best Film 2001 Awards
•Zee Premiere Choice- Male 2001 Awards
•Zee Premiere Choice- Female 2001 Awards
•Queen of Hearts 2002-2003 Awards
•Dynamic Duo 2003 Awards
•True Indian Beauty 2003 Awards
•Superstar of the Year- Male 2004 Awards
•Superstar of the Year- Female 2004 Awards
 16. Training and Certification

Introduction
The Film industry is in fact the broadest and most creative field. There are
many movie schools available in the world to appreciate the dreams of people
interested in movie making industry. Movie school trained people have much
scope in movie making industry. After successful completion of the course in
art schools, you can find employment with film Production Companies, Film
Studios, Government film making Department and Advertising Agencies.
You can even start your own career as film director, film producer, film
editor, soundman, cameraman, assistant, etc. There are also a number of
online film schools and programmes to guide people looking to start a career
in movie making field. Such online movie schools are best for aspiring
filmmakers and art school students looking for a competitive career in film
making field.
Getting trained in movie schools is very much important for effective
movie making. The arts schools teaches you all aspects of film producing,
from development, physical production and post-production to financing,
legal issues, film distribution and film festivals. The movie schools teach you
Digital Design, Animation, Visual Effects, Film and TV acting, Game
Design, Film Production, film direction, Sound Design, Visual Art and
Design, Makeup Design, etc. If you are artistic and have the ability to express
ideas, you can make wonderful career in film making field after gaining
technical skills with the help of some film schools.
Given below is useful information about few prestigious Film and TV
Institutes in India.
Film and Television Institute of India (FTII)
The Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) is located in the spacious
grounds of the erstwhile Prabhat Studios, which comprised a number
buildings standing in 21 acres of land. The entire property including a
sizeable amount of motion picture equipment and properties was acquired by
the Government of India for a sum of Rs. 11.20 lakhs in April 1960.
The FTII was established by the Government of India in the Ministry of
Information and Broadcasting in 1960 on the recommendation of the Film
Enquiry Committee for imparting training in the art and techniques of film
making. The syllabus and the courses of studies were drawn up, in the
original instance, upon the advice of Remy Tessonneau, Director of the Paris
Institute des Hautes Etudes Cinematographiques (IDHEC) who paid a visit to
Poona in March, 1961 and prepared a draft outline for teaching in five
courses, viz. Screenplay, Writing-cum-Direction, Motion Picture
Photography, Sound Recording and Editing.
The Institute used to run the acting course too but was stopped in 1978
since the National School of Drama was running a parallel in New Delhi.
Many of the present luminaries like Subhash Ghai, Shatrughan Sinha, Jaya
Bachchan are products of this acting school.
Regular courses started from 1961. Television Training Wing which
started functioning in 1971 in New Delhi moved to Pune in October 1974.
The FTII became a society in October under the Registration of Societies Act
of 1860, fully aided by the Government of India, Ministry of Information and
Broadcasting.
The Film Wing of the Institute is intended to provide technical training in
the production films and to undertake research in different fields connected
with films.
The main functions of the Institute are to: (a) Impart training in all aspects
of film production and other allied subjects (b) Grant diplomas and
certificates to successful trainees who have completed the prescribed course
and (c) Coordinate the activities for training of film technicians in India.
The FTII is the one of the five prestigious film schools left around the
world who teach a proper film course funded by the Government. The other
four are in Australia, Cuba (which is on the verge of closing), Germany, and
Moscow.
The Institute is more famous for serious practitioners of cinema. An
institute is always judged by the quality of its products. Personalities who
occupy position of eminence and success in the film industry speak in
laudatory terms of the students who have worked with them after taking their
diplomas from the Institute. In particular, the excellence of the technical
training, given in the course of Motion Picture Photography, Sound
Recording and Sound Engineering and Editing, has been largely extolled.
Almost all diploma holders in these subjects have secured employment in
Government Departments or in such areas of private enterprise where the
skills are needed.
Every year as much as 80 percent of the awards at the National Film
Festivals are swept by the past or present products of the Institute. Some of
the outstanding names who have passed out from the Institute are: Mani
Kaul, Kumar Shahani, and Froze Chinoi who have won distinction as
directors of feature films. K.K. Mahajan, S.K. Nag and S.M. Dubey as
motion picture cameramen. B.S. Biswas and Narendra Singh in sound
recording. Rehana Sultan, Navin Nischal, Anil Dhawan and Rakesh Pandey,
have distinguished themselves in motion picture acting. In the field of
documentaries and short films, Chandrasekhar Nair, Yashpal Chaudhary,
Gautaman and Adur Gopalakrishnan have distinguished themselves. The
trade shows held by the Institute have kept the industry informed about the
kind of work which the students are capable of achieving and the measure of
their talents and skill.
It is not a rare occurrence for a producer to visit the Institute and make a
choice of promising actors and technicians. Such visits have often proved
rewarding to the Industry and to the Institute. K.K. Mahajan has twice won
the President’s Gold Medal for the best black and white cinematography.
Mani Kaul has twice won the Critic’s prize for his films Uski Roti and Asad
Ka Ek Din. Rehana Sultan was awarded the distinction of being chosen as
the best actress at the National Film Festival. There are others who have
received conspicuous recognition. Mention must be made of P. Kumar
Vasudeo whose film—At Five Past Five won the Gandhi Award at the
International Film Festival of India, 1969; T.C. John who won the National
Award for the best film on National Integration; Prem Sagar who was
awarded a special Bronze Medal at an International Film Festival in Santiago,
Chile.
Foreigners come to the Institute, keeping in the mind the seriousness of the
Campus and to conduct workshops in their specialised field. Some of the
visiting faculty who have attended the Campus include the legendary French
cameraman Raoul Coutard who was the moving force behind the French New
Wave, the movement in 1954, in the world of cinema, which had a major
influence on the global cinema—one of the latest being the Quentin Tarintino
directed Pulp Fiction . Helena Sanders-Brahms, a practitioner of the German
Feminist Movement too, came down to the campus. She was the director of
the famous German film Germany, Pale Mother , a film about history of
Germany through the eyes of the Director.
Certificate Courses
•Animation and Computer Graphics (1½ year)
•Feature Film Screenplay Writing (1 year)
Certificate courses in Television (1 year)
•Direction
•Electronic Cinematography
•Video Editing
•Audiography and TV Engineering
Two-year PG Diploma
•Acting
•Art Direction
Three-year Postgraduate Diploma
•Direction
•Cinematography
•Audiography
•Editing
Eligibility for Certificate Course
For the one-and-half-year certificate course, a candidate is required to have
completed his/her 10+2 level. A Bachelor’s Degree is required for the one-
year certificate course. For admission in all the Television Certificate
Courses, a candidate should be a graduate.
Postgraduate Diploma
For the admission in Post Graduate Diploma courses a candidate is
required to have completed his/her graduation.
Postgraduate Diploma
Admissions in all streams of courses are done through entrance test.
Facilities
•Modern Studios
•Recording Facilities
•Camera Equipment
•Editing Facilities
•Hostel
Contact Address
Film and Television Institute of India,
Law College Road
Pune - 411 004 Maharashtra
E-mail: helpdesk@ftiindia.com
Website: www.ftiindia.com
The alumni of the FTII have penetrated all corners of the Indian Film and
Television industry and have excelled in all its fields. For example Subhash
Ghai, Mani Kaul, Nasiruddin Shah, Jaya Bhaduri, Raza Murad, Shatrughan
Sinha, Mithun Chakraborty, Tom Alter, Kanwarjit, Paintal, Adoor
Gopalakrishnan, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Raj Kumar Hirani, Vidhu Vinod
Chopra, Resul Pookutty are alumni of this Institute.
Actor Prepares
The moving spirit and founder of Actor Prepares has been Anupam Kher
who has been involved with the Hindi film industry for over twenty three
years. Moving from very humble beginnings to acquire a gold medal at the
National School of Drama, Anupam Kher started his career through the
expression that mattered most to him—theatre. He has always made time for
the stage, having acted in more than a hundred plays. Trained teachers teach
the craft through practicals, theories, games, exercises and extensively filmed
practicals. Bollywood celebrities are the school visiting faculty, who share
with students their invaluable on-the-job experiences and tips for getting
success. Each student receives individual guidance and counselling from
Anupam Kher throughout the programme. With the growing popularity of
our programmes and many of our alumni, who are making headway in their
careers, we have opened new branches in Chandigarh and Ahmedabad, and
have many more in the offing in the national and international arena. Actor
Prepares is also introducing a new, unique, life-transforming course called
The Change Within, beginning with the Ahmedabad branch. Abhishek
Bachchan, Hritik Roshan, Kunal Kapoor and Deepika Padukone are the
product of Actor Prepares.
Contact Address
2nd Floor, Film Industry Welfare Trust House
Next to Ajivasan Hall,
Juhu Road, Santacruz (West)
Mumbai – 400049.
Website: www.actorprepares.net
E-mail: info@actorprepares.net
Whistling Woods International
Promoted by Filmmaker Subhash Ghai, Mukta Arts Limited and Filmcity
Mumbai, Whistling Woods International is Asia’s largest film, television,
animation and media arts institute, providing world-class education in all
technical and creative aspects of filmmaking and television. The 20-acre
campus is based in Mumbai’s Film and Television Production centre
Filmcity, and offers courses that vary in duration from 10 months to 30
months, both full-time and part-time in nature. All major specialisations of
the Media and entertainment industry are catered to, including acting,
animation, cinematography, direction, editing, producing, screenwriting and
sound as well as television and broadcasting studies. Whistling Woods
International also offers, in association with Manipal University, India’s first
MBA in Media and Entertainment. The full-time faculty of Whistling Woods
International is a body of academics and industry professionals like Subhash
Ghai, Rajen Kothari, Anjum Rajabali, Rakesh Ranjan, with regular guest
lectures by leading Indian and International filmmakers, actors and
technicians. Well-known Industry professionals and filmmakers have visited
the Institute and interacted with the students.
The curriculum at Whistling Woods International is a unique hybrid of
theoretical and practical aspects combining art with business principles for all
specialisations. As part of the 2-year filmmaking courses, each student
undergoes 1-year of “Basics of Filmmaking” education in which each student
learns the basics of all aspects of filmmaking. Students also study several co-
curricular faculties like Film Appreciation, International Art, Literature and
Culture, Production Design and Music.
The courses at Whistling Woods International are designed to ensure that
the students’ learnings are collaborative and industry oriented.
These unique elements in teaching methodology has seen Whistling
Woods International’s student body growing from strength to strength over
the past three years. Almost 15% of the student body now comprises of
International students from countries like USA, Canada, UK, Germany, Italy,
France, Mauritius and many more who choose Whistling Woods
International over the multiple film-studies options available in their
countries.
The Institute is highly committed to ensuring that it’s students move into
the industry in creative and rewarding areas of employment both in India and
globally. Student placements have been initiated with several leading media
organisations like Aamir Khan Productions, BIG Animation, Balaji
Telefilms, Dharma Productions, Excel Entertainment, Fox Star Studios India,
Mukta Arts Limited, Paprikaas, Red Chillies Entertainment, Reliance BIG
Entertainment, Walkwater Films and several more.
Whistling Woods International has initiated affiliations with several
International film schools. These include pioneering activities in India like
credits transfer and International student co-productions. Some of the schools
that are affiliated with the Institute are Deakin College Australia, Griffith
College Australia, Bradford College UK, Syracuse University USA and NYU
Tisch Singapore.
Barry John Acting Studio
Barry John is one of the few trained teachers of Drama in the country, and
with almost forty years of experience at the highest levels, he has evolved his
own unique system of training that is highly sought after.
The Barry John system incorporates the most up to date and
comprehensive techniques and methodologies that have proved to be
inspiring and empowering. Devoid of academic theory and jargon, the system
is a progressive series of exercises and projects that are practical and
experiential. It is carefully designed to equip students with a mature level of
physical, mental and emotional skills to meet the demands of professional
engagements with film, television and theatre.
The courses are rigorous and intensive, demanding a high degree of
commitment, energy and perseverance. When these qualities are in evidence,
the objective of encouraging actors to be self-aware, self-reliant and self-
confident is achievable.
The overriding mission of the Barry John Acting Studio is to further
enhance its reputation of being the foremost training centre in India, and to
assist in raising the levels of professionalism in the media to compare with
the highest in the world.
The Barry John Acting Studio offers a wide range of courses and
workshops that answer to the educational needs of both beginning and
experienced professional actors as well as writers, directors, designers and
teachers.
Barry John is an internationally renowned actor, director, designer, writer
and teacher. Born and educated in the U.K., he has lived and worked in India
since 1968.
He was the Founder-Director of Theatre Action Group (1973-99), Delhi’s
most acclaimed company, and instrumental in the success of many of its
members: Siddharth Basu, Mira Nair, Lillette Dubey, Divya Seth, Pamela
Rooks, Shah Rukh Khan and Manoj Bajpai, most notably.
Barry is a national award from the Sangeet Natak Akademi, and awards
from the Sahitya Kala Parishad and the Delhi Natya Sangh.
Contact Address
Mumbai
301, Nanak Chambers, Opposite Fun Republic,
 New Link Road, Andheri (West), Mumbai-400053
Delhi
68-A, Pocket-B, Mayur Vihar, Phase-II, Delhi-110091
Zee Institute of Media Arts (ZIMA)
ZIMA is a creative community for the media industry and aims to provide
a free and flexible environment, where ideas can flow transparently and
without barriers. ZIMA was established under the aegis of Zee Interactive
Learning Systems. Zee Interactive Learning Systems Limited (ZILS) an ISO
9001 company, is the Education arm of Zee Network and is a leading
company providing Technology-based Education and Training.
Zee Network is a part of the “Essel Group” of Companies. “Essel Group”
of Companies founded in 1927 has at present Group turnover of Rs 3000
crores and is perhaps the only group in the entire world with its diverse
interests in the field of Media and Entertainment, Broadcasting, Distribution,
Education and Training, Packaging and Communication Industries. Zee
Interactive Learning Systems Limited (ZILS) was formed in 1999 to create a
learning network and deliver Education content and training solutions for a
range of Careers and Vocations.
Courses Offered
ZIMA offers courses in Direction, Acting, Production, Editing,
Cinematography, Writing, sound , Film animation and Visual effects.
All the courses are available in three formats: One year diploma, six
months certificate and six months advanced certificate.
Contact Address
Zee Interactive Learning Systems Ltd.
Magnum Bungalow Society,
Plot No.17, Unit-C,
Lokhandwala Complex, Andheri (W),
Mumbai-400 053
Satyajit Ray Films and Television Institute (SRFTI)
 Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), Kolkata, is an
autonomous academic institution functioning under the Ministry of
Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. The institute was set up
in 1995, to provide the latest education and technological experience in the
art and technique of film making. Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute
invites famous film personalities to hold workshops, seminars etc. on various
aspects of PG Diploma courses conducted by it. The institute provides all the
basic facilities within its campus, for the smooth conduct of the courses.
PG Diploma in Cinema (Three-year Course)
•Direction and Screenplay
•Motion Picture Photography
•Editing
•Audiography
Eligibility
For admission in PG Diploma courses, a candidate must be a Graduate. For
the course of Audiography, the candidate must have completed his/her
graduation in any discipline with Physics as one of the subjects at 10+2 level.
Facilities
•Modern film/Video making equipment
•Theatres
•Libraries
•Film and TV Studio
•Regional office of the National Film Archives of India is located in
SRFTI campus
•Student exchange programmes
•Hostels
•Guest House
Contact Address
 Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute
E.M. By-Pass Road,
P.O.: Panchasayar,
Kolkata - 700 094
West Bengal
E-mail: srfti@cal.vsnl.net.in
Website: http://srfti.gov.in
Centre For Research in Art of Film and Television (CRAFT)
Centre for Research in Art of Film and Television (CRAFT) is a non-
government, nonprofit organisation located in Delhi. It is registered as a
public charitable trust. The aim of the trust is to impart high standard
education in the field of film, television and other media arts through various
courses. CRAFT offers short and long-term courses with specialisation in
many disciplines.
Apart from government film schools like Film and Television Institute of
India (FTII), no film school offers specialisation courses in media arts.
Furthermore, the normal intake at any mass communication school is not
more than 45–60, where practical training is not feasible. Many mass schools
run these courses on a theoretical syllabus formulated by regular faculty who
are not working professionals. Thus, CRAFT has realised the need for
specialisation courses where expert working professionals guide students.
The aim of inviting industry practitioner is to equip student with clear and
concise knowledge of filmmaking.
CRAFT offers high standard education in the field of film, television and
other media arts. It is an educational endeavor than a business venture. The
film school has an association with industry professionals to conduct
workshops and seminars. Every course is designed and tailored with the
intention of providing quality education. The courses incorporate all aspects
of filmmaking.
Courses Offered
1.Radio Jockey -3 months
 2.News Anchoring -3 months
3.Acting and Modelling -6 months
4.Nonlinear Editing – 1 Year
5.Videography and Photography – 1 Year
6.Sound Recording and Engineering – 1 Year
7.Creative Writing – 1 Year
8.Electronic Journalism – 1 Year
9.Public Relation/Advertising/Event Management – 1 Year
10.Direction – 1 Year
11.Cinematography – 1 Year
Eligibility
For Sl. No. 1 to 5: A pass in 10+2.
For Sl. No. 5 to 11: Graduation in any discipline.
Contact Address
Siri Fort College, Plot No. 8, Sector 25,
Rohini Institutional Area,
Near Rithala Metro Station, New Delhi-110085
Asian Academy of Film And TV
Believing that training and skill building are quite essential in the field of
visual media, Asian Academy of Film and TV, has been imparting education
and training in the art and craft of film making in television presentation
since 1993.
The academy was planned as an alternative to formal film schools and has
since come a long way making a unique place for itself amongst the best
global centres of education of its kind. Growing to be certified as the first
ISO 9001:2000 film school in this part of the world in less than a decade
since its inception, the Academy was also approved as an international level
training centre by the 125 year old City and Guilds of the United Kingdom in
the year 2002.
Contact Address
Asian Academy of Film and TV Marwah Studios Complex
FC-14/15, Film City, Sector-16A, NOIDA U.P.
Roshan Taneja Acting Studio
Roshan Taneja Actors Studio is one of the premier acting schools in the
country, located in Juhu of Mumbai. The curriculum covers sense memory
and subjective study, training in effective habits of the speaking voice and
dance and fight methods. Besides, well-known film personalities are invited
to lecture students on various subjects.
Professor Roshan Taneja, veteran Indian Guru of Acting, has been teaching
acting for over 45 years today. Professor Roshan Taneja, founder and former
head of the acting department at the Film and Television Institute of India
(FTII), Pune. He is accredited with training many of India’s leading Film,
Theatre and TV actors for four decades, besides nurturing the talents of a host
of other actors. Having trained at the prestigious Neighborhood Playhouse
School of the Theatre, New York, under legendary American Guru of Acting,
late Sanford Meisner and Sidney Pollack; Professor Taneja is not only one of
the first teachers of Acting in India, but also the pioneer of Method Acting in
India. Roshan Taneja is a database of knowledge and experience on acting.
He has an answer to almost any problem that an actor can have. A very
modest and unassuming man, he has a long list of achievements.
Besides many veterans the new generation’s Ranbir Kapoor, Sharman
Joshi, Sonam Kapoor are the product of his school.
Contact Address
102, Horizon Apartments
9th Road Extension
Juhu, Mumbai 400049
Central Board For Film Certification (CBFA)
The Central Board of Film Certification was constituted under the 1952
Act and the Cinematograph Rules 1983. The CBFC certifies all films
publically exhibited in India. Having its Headquarters at Mumbai, it has nine
regional centres at Bangalore, Chennai, Cuttack, Delhi, Guwahati,
Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Thiruvananathapuram. A Film
Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) has also been constituted under
section 5D of the 1952 Act for hearing appeals against any order of the
CBFC. While the work of certification of films is a central subject, the states
have to enforce these censorship provisions and bring any violations to the
notice of the CBFC. The organisational structure of the CBFC is based on the
provisions of the 1952 Act and the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules
1983.
All films meant for public exhibition, irrespective of their length, whether
in cinema halls or video or CD or DVD version are subjected to censorship.
Film censorship becomes necessary because a film motivates thought and
action and assures a high degree of attention and retention as compared to the
printed word. A film depicts various ideas and the same has a strong impact
on the minds of the viewers and can affect emotions. Therefore, it has as
much potential for evil as it has for good and has an equal potential to instill
or cultivate violent or good behaviour. Thus, censorship is not only desirable
but also necessary.
The Chairman and members are appointed for a term of three years or till
such time as the Government may direct. The Central Board consists of a
Chairperson and about 25 members appointed by the Central Government of
India. They are eminent persons from different walks of life such as social
sciences, law, education, art, film, and so on, thus, representing a cross
section of society. They are appointed normally for a period of three years.
The CBFC is assisted by the Advisory Panel in various regional offices
which are headed by Regional Officers. The members of these panels are also
representative of cross-section of society and interests. These members hold
office till such time as the Government may direct but not exceeding two
years.
However, the members can be reappointed. The CBFC has divided itself
into Examining and Revising Committees to provide a two-tier system for
certification of films in the event of the applicant or the Chairman himself not
being satisfied with the decision of the Examining Committee. The
certification rules also apply to foreign films imported into India, dubbed
films, and video films. In the case of dubbed films, the Board does not have
any fresh censorship for the visuals in general cases. The Certification does
not apply to films made specifically for Doordarshan, since Doordarshan has
its own system of examining such films.
The Cinematograph Act, 1952, governs the censorship of films. The
Cinematograph (Certification) Rules promulgated in 1983 and the guidelines
issued on December 6, 1991. The guidelines are issued under Section 5B of
the Act. According to this section, “A film shall not be certified for public
exhibition, if, in the opinion of the authority competent to grant the
certificate, the film or any part of it is against the interests of the sovereignty
and integrity of India, the security of the States, friendly relations with
foreign States, public order, decency or morality or involves defamation or
contempt of court or is likely to incite the commission of any offence.”
Certification
All the films produced undergo a certification by the member of the CBFC.
Examining and Revising Committee are available in CBFC so that a two tier
certification process is in place if the Chairman is not satisfied with the
certification. Foreign films imported into India also undergo a certification.
Dubbed films do not undergo fresh certification. Films for Doordarshan are
not certified as they have their own examining system.
Central Board of Film certification (CBFC) with its headquarters at
Mumbai is responsible for certifying the films produced in India as well as
outside the country suitable for public exhibition. The Board gives four
categories of certificates ‘U’ for unrestricted public exhibition, ‘A’ for public
exhibition restricted to adults only, ‘UA’ for unrestricted public exhibition
with parental guidance for children below the age of 12 and ‘S’ for exhibition
to restricted audience such as doctors etc. These certificates are issued
through the Regional Offices of the Board located at Bangalore, Calcutta,
Chennai, Cuttack, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Mumbai, New Delhi and
Thiruvananthapuram. Appeal against the decision of the Board lies with the
Film Certification Appellate Tribunal.
Guidelines for Certification
•Anti social activities such as violence are not glorified or justified.
•The modus operandi of criminals, other visuals or words likely to
incite the commission of any offence are not depicted.
•Scenes: showing involvement of children in violence as victims or
perpetrators or as forced witnesses to violence, or showing children
as being subjected to any form of child abuse.
•Showing abuse or ridicule of physically and mentally handicapped
persons.
•Showing cruelty to, or abuse of animals, are not presented needlessly.
•Pointless or avoidable scenes of violence, cruelty and horror, scenes of
violence primarily intended to provide entertainment and such
scenes as may have the effect of de-sensitising or de-humanising
people are not shown.
•Scenes which have the effect of justifying or glorifying drinking are
not shown.
•Scenes tending to encourage, justify or glamorise drug addiction are
not shown.
•Scenes tending to encourage, justify or glamorise consumption of
tobacco or smoking are not shown;
•Human sensibilities are not offended by vulgarity, obscenity or
depravity.
•Such dual meaning words as obviously cater to baser instincts are not
allowed.
•Scenes degrading or denigrating women in any manner are not
presented.
•Scenes involving sexual violence against women like attempt to rape,
rape or any form of molestation or scenes of a similar nature are
avoided, and if any such incidence is germane to the theme, they
shall be reduced to the minimum and no details are shown.
•Scenes showing sexual perversions shall be avoided and if such
matters are germane to the theme they shall be reduced to the
minimum and no details are shown.
•Visuals or words contemptuous of racial, religious or other groups are
not presented.
•Visuals or words which promote communal, obscurantist, anti-
scientific and anti-national attitude are not presented.
•The sovereignty and integrity of India is not called in question.
•The security of the State is not jeopardized or endangered.
•Friendly relations with foreign States are not strained;
•Public order is not endangered.
•Visuals or words involving defamation of an individual or a body of
individuals, or contempt of court are not presented.
 17. Some Interesting Facts

Introduction
This industry is full of struggle, trails and tribulations, agonies and
ecstasies. In this chapter, we shall give some amazing facts about this
industry.
•The longest kissing scene till date has been picturised for the film Karma
(released in 1926), a silent film. It was between Himanshu Rai and Devika
Rani for about 4 minutes on the screen, almost 4 times lengthier than the
kissing scene of Dayavaan (released in 1989) between Vinod Khanna and
Madhuri Dixit.
•The first movie was released in India around 103 years ago, i.e. on 7th
July 1897 at Watson Hotel, Mumbai. This film was produced by Leiumour
Brothers. It had only 6 scenes! All it had was an arrival of a train, a sea bath,
demolition of a building, workers leaving the mill and ladies and soldiers on
wheels. It was a silent movie for 10 minutes.
•The first Indian to produce a film was H.S. Bhatwdekar. All he had with
him was a projector, but he didn’t have a camera, so he got one from London
and shot only 2 scenes of 3 minutes each, which were titled Do Pahalwanon
ki Kushti and Bandar Ko Nachata Hua Madaari. It was released in
December 1889, more than a century ago!
•On the first day of the last century, i.e. on 1st January 1900, another silent
movie was released at Novelty Cinema, Mumbai. It had Faatima, an Indian
Dancer, a Britisher, Mr. Taivello, had imported some raw material of film
reels from U.K. and by adding and editing them he managed to convert these
pieces into a short film.
•The first ever mythological film produced in India was Pundalik, based
on the actual life of a saint from Maharashtra. Mr. N.G. Chitre, of Bombay
and a cinematographer Mr. Stevenson had jointly produced this film, which
was released on 18th May 1912, at Coronation Theatre, Sandhurst Road.
•The trend of silent era continued from 1897 to 1930 and during this period
of 34 years, around 1200 films were released, of which very few films print
are available now. It’s a shame that even Government. Departments like
National Archives or Film and Television Institute don’t posses these silent
films.
•The second talkie film released in India was Shirin Farhaad, on 30th
May 1931. It was produced by Madan Theatres, Calcutta and directed by its
owner Mr. J.J. Madan. It had 18 songs. Indra Sabha which was released in
1932 had as much as 69 songs in it. Can you believe it! It was produced by
Madan Theatre, Calcutta and directed by J.J. Madan. The film starred Master
Nissar, Jahan Aara, Kazzam, Miss Silvasia and others.
•At the beginning of the 4th decade, the film viewers were bestowed with a
surprising gift, the silent era had ended, films now had sound, so we could
hear actors and actresses talking. The first film, which had both these
qualities, was Alam Ara, produced by Imperial Movie tone, Bombay. The
film was released on 14th March 1931 at Majestic Cinema, Girgaon,
Bombay. The film starred Prithviraj Kapoor (father of late Raj Kapoor),
Zubeida, Master Vithal, Zillo and Wazir Mohammed Khan. The film had 7
songs and the music director was Firozeshah M. Mistri.
•The dialogues for the first Hindustani film was written by Joseph David.
The first ever colour film made in India was Kissan Kanhaiya produced by
Imperial Film Co. This film was released in 1937. Moti B. Gidwani directed
it, and its music was composed by Ram Gopal Pandey. The film had 10
songs, which were released by Gramophone Records.
•The first ever female role depicted by a male artiste was played by
Salunke for the film Raja Harishchandra released in 1913. D.D. Dhabke
played the title role.
Milestones
Though film production commenced in India in 1913, it is necessary to
record the progress of the film business from 1896, the historical year when
the movies of Lumiere Brothers were exhibited at Watson Hotel in Mumbai.
This was the forerunner of the film industry in India; as it held many future
technicians spellbound, and went on to encourage the making of the motion
picture in India.
1896: First Cinema Show
The first Cinema show in India was arranged by the agents of two French
brothers, Louis and August Lumiere, pioneers of the Cinematography in
France, at the Watson Hotel in Bombay on July 7, 1896 and the show was
Marvel of the Century.
First Cinema Advertisement
The first cinema advertisement in India appeared in the Times of India,
Bombay on July 7, 1896, which carried details of the living photographic
pictures in life-size reproductions by M/s Lumiere Brothers.
1896: First Indian to Handle a Cine Camera
Harishchandra Sakharam Bhatvadekar alias Save Dada was the first Indian
to import a Cine-camera from London at a price of 21 guineas and made a
topical in 1897. He filmed a wrestling bout between Pundalik and Krishna
Nhavi, which was specially arranged at the Hanging Gardens in Bombay.
1898-First Bioscope
Professor Stevenson brings “First Bioscope” to Calcutta at the Star
Theatre. Panorama of Calcutta —an early Indian coverage by foreign
cameramen.
1899
Harishchandra Sakharam Bhatvadekar (Save Dada), a photo goods dealer,
turns exhibitor and film maker.
1901: First Indian Film
Return of Wrangler Paranjape —first Indian Actually Film shot by
Bhatvadekar. Haralal Sen stars working in Bengal by filming extracts from
stage-plays.
1902
J.F. Madan (1856–1926) launches his bioscope show in a tent at Calcutta
Maidan.
1904: First Cinema Show on a Regular Basis
Manek D Sethna, who owned a cinema project, started a touring cinema
with the screening of the first film Life of Christ on a regular basis in
Bombay in 1904. Abdulally Essofally, enterprising showman, makes the
masses movie-conscious, takes up exhibition as a regular business
proposition.
1907: First Cinema
The First Cinema hall in India as built by J.F. Madan in Calcutta in 1907
and it was named Elphinstone Picture Palace.
1911: First Mini Feature Film
After filming the Imperial Darbar of 1911, three business partners S.N.
Patankar Anantram Parshuram Karandikar and V.P. Divekar who had earlier
purchased the cine camera from Save Dada, produced the first mini-feature
film (about 1,000 feet) Savitri in 1912. Narmada Mande, a young lady from
Ahmedabad, K.G. Gokhale and Divekar himself featured in the leading roles
of the film, which could not see the screen due to several technical reasons
and flaws.
First Theatrical film
Shreepad Sangit Mandali, a professional theatre group of Bombay, was
performing a theatre play Pundalik during 1911 in Bombay. Narayan Govind
Chitre alias Nana Bhai Chita of India Press, Bombay sought help from R.P.
Tipnis, manager of Coronation Cinematograph, and decided to picturise the
stageplay Pundalik. They took R.G. Torney alias Dada Saheb Torney, along
with them to direct the proposed film. M/s Bourne and Shepherd, a British
concern, took keen interest in the venture and joined hands with the
promoters by providing them a cameraman, Johnson to shoot the film at
Mangaldas Wadi in Bombay. The film also named Pundalik was exhibited
on May 18, 1912, at Coronation Cinematography, Bombay.
1912: First Foreign-returned Indian Cine-technician
Dadasaheb Phalke was the first foreign returned Indian cine- technician
who learned film craft from Cecil Hepworth, a prominent producer at Walton
in England, for about a week in February 1912, March 1912.
First City of Film Production
Bombay was the first city in India where film production started in 1912.
1913: First Indian feature Film
Raja Harishchandra was the first Indian feature film produced by an
Indian, without any foreign collaboration, Dadasaheb Phalke in 1912. The
film was however, released on May 3, 1913 at Coronation Cinematograph,
Bombay.
First Producer
Dadasaheb Phalke, who released his first film Raja Harishchandra on
May 3, 1913, was the first film producer of India.
First ‘Heroine’ of Indian Film
The first heroine for Indian film was not a female but a young boy
Salunke, who acted as Taramati in India’s first feature film Raja
Harishchandra .
First Female Heroine
Kamala, a Maharashtrian lady, was the first female heroine in an Indian
film with her lead role in Dadasaheb Phalke’s second film Bhasmasur
Mohini produced in 1913. Kamala’s mother Durgabai also featured in the
film.
First Hero
Dattatreya Damodar Dabke was the first hero of an Indian film. He acted
as Harishchandra in Raja Harishchandra in 1913.
First Artiste Playing as Both Hero and Heroine
Salunke, acted as both Ram and Seeta, in Phalke’s fifth film Lanka Dahan
produced in 1917.
First Technician
Dadasaheb Phalke was not only the film producer but also the first
director, writer, cameraman, makeup man, editor, art director and cine-
laboratorian, with his first film Raja Harishchandra .
1914: First Indian Feature Film Shown Abroad
Raja Harishcnadra was the first Indian Film which was shown on
percentage basis in London in 1914.
1917: First Feature Film from Bengal
J.F. Madan produced Bengal first, feature film Nal Damyanti in 1917.
This film had two Italians, namely, Signor and Signora Manelli in the leading
roles. A new actress Patience Cooper was also introduced in the film. The
film was photographed by cameraman Jyotish Sarkar.
1918: First Act to Regulate Cinema
The first Act which regulated and controlled the Indian film industry was
enacted in 1918 and it was known as Indian Cinematograph Act 1918.
First Indian Serial
S. N. Patankar’s Exile of Shri Rama was the first Indian Serial.
First Hollywood-trained Indian
Suchet Singh was the first Hollywood-trained Indian who had taken
training in cinema technique in America and had worked as an associated
under Charlie Chaplin in 1918. He returned by the end of 1918 and formed
the Oriental Film Manufacturing Company Ltd. which produced its maiden
film Shakuntala in 1920.
1919: First Silent Feature Film from South India
R. Nataraja Mudaliar of Madras made Keechaka Vadham the first silent
feature film from South India.
First Female Child Star
Manadakini, daughter of Dadasaheb Phalke, was the first female child star,
who featured as the child Krishna in Phalke’s Kaliya Mardan produced by
Hindustan cinema Film Company in 1919.
First Indian-made Cine Camera
Anandrao Painter of Kolhapur was the first Indian to make a cine camera
with the help of an old cine projector and he shot a comic film in around
1918. After his death, his brother Baburao Painter produced his first film
Sairandhiri under the banner of Maharashtra Film Company in 1919 with
the help of this Indian camera.
First Film Distributor
Dadasaheb Phalke was distributing his films himself. But this business was
first handled in a proper manner by R. G. Torney in 1919 under the name and
style of M/s Western Movies.
First Title Bestowed upon Any Film Personality
Baburao Painter was the first film personality who was bestowed with the
title of Cinema Kesari by Lokmanya Tilak in 1919 after seeing his silent film
‘Sairandhri’ produced by Maharashtra Film Company.
1920: First Cinema Poster
Baburao Painter was the first man to advertise his film Vatsala Haran
through cinema posters as a publicity campaign in 1920.
First Film Censor Board
For the first time Boards of Film Censors were set up in Bombay, Calcutta,
Madras and Rangoon in 1920 and later on at Lahore in 1927.
1921: First Feature Film from South
The first feature film produced in South India was Bhishma Pratigya
produced by R. Venkiah and R. Prakash of Stars of the East Film Company,
Madras in 1921.
First Social Satire
Dhiren Ganguly made England Returned , the first social satire on an
Indian obsessed with Western ideas, Vali Thirumanam made in Madras by
Whittakar, is critically acclaimed and is also a box-office success.
First Artificial Lights
Baburao Painter was the first man in India to use artificial lights while
making his film Sinhagad in 1921.
1926: First Lady Director
The first lady director in India was Begum Fatima Sultana (wife of the
Nawab of Sachien State), mother of Princess, Zubeida, star of Alam Ara .
Begum Fatima not only acted but produced and directed several silent films
including Bulbule Paristan Goddess of Luck , Chandravati and Milan
Dinar .
First Cinema Trade Organisation
The Bombay Cinema and Theatres Trade Association, formed around
1926, was the first cinema trade organisation in India. After sometime the
Indian Motion Picture Association was also formed in Bombay. The Madras
Cinema and Theatre League was formed in Madras in 1929. However, actual
trade activities started only after the formation of the Motion Picture Society
of India in Bombay in June 1932.
1927: First Independent Film Processing Laboratory
The first Independent Film Processing laboratory was setup by Narayanrao
alias Dhanjibhai K. Desai in Bombay in October 1927. It was known as
Atmanand Labortory.
First Indian Cinematograph Enquiry Committee
The Goverement. of India appointed the first Indian Cinematograph
Enquiry Committee on 6 October 1927. The Indian Cinematograph
Committee, set up under the Chairmanship of Dewan Bahudar T.
Rangachariar; J.C. Daniel makes first Malayalam film Vigada Kumaran .
First Double Role
Master Vithal was the first actor who portrayed a double role in a feature
film Prisoner of Love produced by Sharda Film Company in 1927. The
company owned by Nanubhai Desai and Bhogilal K.M. Dave, was founded
in 1925.
1929: First Talkies Short Production in India
J.F. Madan and J.J. Madan of Madan Theatres Ltd., Calcutta had received
their sound equipment from America and they started producing as well as
exhibiting sound films in India. They released a two reeler sound film in their
talkies cinema, Elphinstone Picture Palace, Calcutta, in 1929.
First Talkie Feature Film Shown in India
The first Talkie Feature film shown in India was Universal’s Melody of
Love in English, which celebrated its premiere at Elphinstone Picture Palace
in Calcutta in 1929.
1931: First Talkie Shorts Released in Bombay
Some talkie shorts produced by Madan Theatres Ltd. , Calcutta and
Krishan Film Company, Bombay; were released for the first time in the
Lamingrone and Empress Cinemas in Bombay on February 4, 1931.
First Indian Talkie Feature Film
The first full length talkie feature film produced in India was Alam Ara in
Hindustani, produced by Ardeshir M. Irani of Imperial Film Company,
Bombay. It was released at the Majestic Cinema, Bombay, on March 14,
1931.
First Talkie from Bengal
The first talkie film from Bengal was Jamai Sasthi in Bengali produced by
Madan Theatres Ltd. in 1931.
First Tamil Talkie
Sagar Movietone’s Kalidass was the first Tamil feature film starring T.P.
Rajalakshmi and directed by H.M. Reddi. The film with Tamil dialogue and
Telugu songs was released in Madras on October 31, 1931.
First Talkie Film Distributor
Talkie film distribution came into existence with the advent of talkie film
in 1931. Sagar Movietone, founded by Chimanlal Desai, stated the business
of distribution by taking the distribution of India’s first Talkies Alam Ara in
1931.
First Song
“De de khuda ke naam par” was the first song recorded for Alam Ara in
1931. It was sung by W.M. Khan under the music direction of Phiroz Shah.
First Music Director
Phiroz Shah Mistry was the first music director of the talkie film Alam
Ara .
First Advertising Film Company
Niranjan Pal of Publicity/Dramatic Film Co. (1931) was the first Indian to
introduce the advertising film production and business in India in 1931.
1932: First Talkie Film from Punjab
Heer Ranjha in Hindi was the first talkie feature film from Punjab. It was
produced by Hakim Ram Prasad on Play Art Photophone Company in 1932.
This talkie film was censored by the Punjab Board.
First Marathi Film
Prabhat Film Company’s Ayodhyecha Raja Directed by V. Shantaram in
1932 was the first Marathi film which starred Durga Khote.
First Double Version Talkie
Ayodhyecha Raja in Marathi and Ayodhya Ka Raja in Hindi were the
first double version talkie films produced by Prabhat Film Company in 1932.
First Talkie Which Celebrated Silver Jubilee
Shyamsunder in Marathi, produced by Dadasaheb Torne of Saraswati
Cinetone and directed by Bhal G. Pendarkar was the first Indian talkie which
celebrated silver jubilee by running for 27 weeks at the West End Cinema in
Bombay in 1932.
First Talkie Film on Fidelytone Sound System
Eastern Film’s Shikari in Hindi was the first talkie film with sound
recorded on the Fidelytone Sound System brought into India by a foreign
film unit in 1932.
First Film with Maximum Songs
Madan Theatres Indra Sabha in 1932 is the only film produced so far with
a record number of 71 songs. Madan’s other three films Chatrabakavali ,
Guru Zarina and Bilwamangal Produced in 1932 had 41, 37 songs
respectively, Meenakshi Cinetone’s Pavalakkodi , produced in 1934, had 50
songs while Angle Film’s Tamil hit Sri Krishna Leela in 1934 had 62 songs.
First Film with Background Music
New Theatre’s Chandidas in Bengali was the first talkie film in which
background music was scored by music director R.C. Boral in 1932. Prabhat
Film Company’s Amrit Manthan released at almost the same time also had
imaginative background music scored by music director Keshavrao Bhole.
1933: First Air Conditioned Cinema
First air-conditioned cinema Regal started in Bombay.
First Colour Film
Prabhat Film Company’s Sairandhri was the first talkie film produced in
multi-colour in 1933. However, as the colour quality was not satisfactory
Imperial Film Company’s Kisan Kanya produced in 1937 is considered as
the first colour film. Minerva Movietone’s Jhansi Ki Rani was the first
technically perfect Technicolour film directly shot on 35 mm in 1953.
First Film Shot in Ellora Caves
Gandharva Cinetone was, the first film company to utilize the famous
Ellora Caves in their talkie film Sati Mahananda in 1933, written and
directed by Baburao Patel.
First Talkie Released in England
Karma in which Devika Rani co-starred with Himanshu Rai was an
Anglo-Indian co-production and had a premiere of its English version in
London in May 1933. The Hindi version of the film was premiered at
Bombay on January 27, 1934.
1934: First Talkie Shown at Venice Film Festival
The Bengali talkie film Seeta , directed by Debaki Bose, was the first
Indian talkie film shown at the Venice Film Festival.
First Talkie Produced in South
Srinivas Kalyanam in Tamil was the first talkie produced in the South by
Srinivas Cinetone and directed by A. Narayanan in Madras in 1934. It
featured R.B. Lakshmi Devi in the main role.
First Telugu Film from South
The first Telugu talkie produced by South Indian Technicians entirely in
the South, in Madras, was Seetha Kalyanam produced by P.V. Das at the
Vel Pictures Studio. Starring Rama Tilakam in the main role in 1934.
First Cartoon Film
For the first time a cartoon short was made by M/s Ketkar and Raosaheb
Oak in 1933. Prabhat Film Company also announced a cartoon film Jambu
Kaka but on hearing this news R.C. Boral of New Theatres started his own
cartoon film On A Moonlight Night and completed it within one month and
released it even before the completion of Jambu Kaka . However, Jambu
Kaka was released at the Majestic Cinema, Bombay, on November 15, 1934
along with Amrit Manthan .
First Hindi Talkie to Celebrate Silver Jubilee
Prabhat Film company’s Amrit Manthan was the first talkie in Hindi
which celebrated Silver Jubilee at Krishna Talkies, Bombay, by running for
29 weeks at a stretch in 1934.
1935: First Playback
Playback was introduced in the talkie Bhagya Chakra (Dhoop Chhaon)
produced by New Theatres in 1935 and Bombay talkie Milan. R.C. Boral had
composed the music for the film.
First All India Motion Picture Convention
The first All India Motion Picture convention was held in Bombay on
February 20, 1935 under the auspices of the Motion Picture Society of India
headed by Mr. B.V. Jadhav.
The Parsi Panchayat took strong objection to Parsi Music Director
Saraswati Devi and Chandraprabha (known as Homi Sisters) who acted in
Jawani Ki Hawa . Morchas were taken out to prevent the release of the film
which finally opened at Imperial Cinema under Police Protection. Parsi
members of Bombay Talkies, Board of Directors including Sir Phirozshah
Mehta, Sir Cavasji Jehangir and F.E. Dinshaw refused to resign. Thereafter,
the agitation died down. Bombay Talkies arranged a special show for Pt.
Jawaharlal Nehru to see their film Achhut Kanya .
1937: First Kannada-Tamil Double Version Film
The first talkie film produced simultaneously in two versions, in Kannada
and Tamil, was Purandardas by Devi Films in 1937.
First Film without Any Song
Wadia Movietone’s Naujawan was the first talkie without any song
produced in 1937.
First Colour Film Laboratory
Ardeshir M Irani of Imperial Film Company established a colour film
laboratory for the first time in India in 1937. Imperia’s Kisan Kanya was the
first cine colour film from this laboratory.
IMPPA Formed
Formation of Indian Motion Picture Producers Association in Bombay.
Chitamani (Tamil), directed by Y.V. Rao and starring M.K. Thilagaraja
Bhagavathar and K. Aswathama (13 March), creates a record for continuous
run for more than one year in one cinema house alone.
Debaki Bose gives lyrical and philosophical treatment to the life of a
Vaishnative poet in New Theatres Vidyapati.
1938: Malayalam Talkie
The first talkie film in Malayalee was Balan produced by Modern Theatres
Ltd. Salem in 1938. It was directed by Notani.
Formation of South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce in Madras and
Indian Motion Picture Distributor’s Association in Bombay.
First Camera Crane
 Wadia Movietone used the camera crane for the first time in India while
producing their films in 1938. The crane was built in their own workshop
under the expert care of B.M. Tara.
1939
Silver Jubilee celebrations of the Indian Cinema in Bombay (in May).
First Hindi Talkie from South
Prem Sagar produced and directed by K. Subramanyam in 1939 was the
first Hindi Talkie produced in the south.
1942: First Film Society
Bombay Film Society was the first film society in India formed in Bombay
in 1942.
First Government Control over Length and Distribution of
Raw Film
The Government. of India restricted the footage of the feature films to
11,000 feet and that of trailers to 400 feet, from May 16, 1942. Further,
distribution of raw film was also controlled for the first time from 17 July
1943 to 15 December 1945.
1943
Government Control on the distribution of raw film; The Information
Films of India and Indian News Parade set up by Government to produce
documentaries and newsreels; Exhibition of Government approved films
made compulsory under D.I.R. 44 A.
1944: First Talkie Produced in English Language
Wadia Movietone’s The Court Dancer was the first Indian Talkie which
had English dialogue. It was released in USA in 1944.
Dadasaheb Phalke, father of Indian Cinema, passes away on 16 February
1944.
1947
 Bombay Talkies Kismat , made in 1943, creates an all time record for the
longest continuous run of more than three and a half years at a single cinema
Roxy in Calcutta.
1948: First Ballet Film
Screen and Stage Production Madras Kalpana directed by Uday Shankar
in 1948 was the first ballet film in India. It had dialogue by Amrit Lal Nagar
and Lyrics by Sumitra Nandan Pant.
1949: First 16-mm Colour Feature Film
Bhavnani Productions Rangeen Zamana produced and directed by M.
Bhavnani in 1948 (released as Ajit in 1949) was the first colour feature film
produced on Kodachrome and blown up to 35mm.
First Time ‘A’ and ‘U’ Classification
The Indian Cinematograph Act 1918 was amended in December 1949 by
which time censorship was made a Central subject for the first time and two
types of categories ‘A’ and ‘U’ were prescribed for certification of films.
1950-First Film with ‘A’ certificate
Akash Chitra’s Hanste Aansu was the first Hindi feature film in 1950
which was issued an ‘A’ Certificate (Film suitable for exhibition to Adults
only) in India.
1951
Formation of Central Board of Film Censors with B.N. Sircar on the
Board.
Launching of Film Federation of India under the presidentship of
Chandulal J Shah.
Formation of SIMPSA in Madras and CCCA in Bhusaval.
Aan produced by Mehboob in colour 16 mm and blown up to 35
mm.
Weekly Magazine Screen started by Indian Express.
1952-First International Film Festival
The Films Division of the Government of India sponsored and organised
the First International Film Festival of India in Bombay on January 24, 1952,
which continued for a fortnight.
1953-First President’s Gold Medal
P.K. Atre’s Shyamchi Ayee in Marathi was the first film to get the
President’s Gold Medal, considered as the best film of 1953.
India’s first Technicolour film Jhansi Ki Rani was produced by Sohrab
Modi for Minerva Movietone with foreign technicians.
The film magazine Filmfare introduced Awards, the Award for the best
film going to Do Bigha Zamin.
1954-Film Producers Guild is formed
First National Awards
The annual State Awards for film were introduced for the first time by
Government in 1954.
1955-First Film Seminar
The first film seminar was convened by Sangeet Natak Akademi and
inaugurated by Prime Minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru.
1956 First Film Exempted from Entertainment Tax
Rajkamal Kalamandir’s Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje was the first film to
be exempted from entertainment tax in 1956. Dr. V. Shantaram was a founder
member of the Film Producers Guild
1957
K.A. Abbas made the first Indo-Russian Co-production Pardesi in Hindi
and Russian.
1960-First Excise Duty on Release Prints
Excise Duty was levied by the Government on release prints for the first
time in India on April 1, 1960.
1961-First Cinemascope Film
Guru Dutt’s Kagaz Ke Phool in 1959 was the first Cinemascope film shot
in black and white. Later in 1961 Anupam Chitra produced Pyar Ki Pyas in
Cinemascope and colour.
First Talkie film without Dialogue
Taru Mukerji Production, Calcutta’s Ingeet in 1961 was the first film of
the talkie era which had no dialogue at all.
1964-First Film with Only One Actor
Sunil Dutt’s Yaadein in 1964 was the first film in India which had only
one actor in the film.
1967-First 70 mm Technicolour Film
Pachhis Around The World was the first Indian Film in 70 mm and
Technicolour with Stereophonic Sound in 1967.
Other Important Milestones
Bhim Singh’s Subh-O-Shaam (Sanjeev Kumar, Waheeda Rehman) was
the first Indian, feature film shot entirely in Iran with combined Indian and
Iranian cast in 1970.
For the first time in the talkie era, a silent film Pushpak was successfully
produced in 1987.
4-track stereophonic sound introduced in Maine Pyar Kiya in 1989. Its
producers Rajshri is a member of the Film and Television Producers Guild of
India.
1st Dolby sound film- 1942 - A Love Story in 1994.
Hey! Ram was first ever film produced in India with Sync Sound
Technology-2000.