It all started with Dadasaheb Phalke’s ‘Raja Harishchandra’ in the year of 1913. This first Indian film was hit and the formula was replicated in scores of films in later years. Noteble ones are Satyawan Savitri, Satyavadi Raja Harischandra, Lanka Dahan, Shri Krishna Janma and Kalia Mardan. All these mythological were based on the epic stories of god and goddess with lot of drama. Indian cinema learned to talk with Alam Ara produced by Ardeshir Irani in the year1931. Needless to say singing and dancing soon followed it. At the same time, Mumbai was rising as a hub of Indian film Industry.
Movies of thirties and forties were social type mainly contributed by V Shantaram, a legendary director. His films took up issues like like cast system, religious bigotry and women's rights. Ayodhya ka Raja, Amirt Manthan, Dharmatama, Kunku, Admi, Dr. Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani, Do Ankhen Barah Haath.
Next era of Indian cinema was associated with director such as Raj Kapoor, Bimal Roy, Guru Dutt and Mehboob. Cinema of this period dealt with subjects like caste, feudalism, rural India, urban migration. These include Guru Dutt's Pyaasa and Kaagaz Ke Phool, Raj Kapoor's Awara, Shri 420 and Jagte Raho, and Bimal Roy's Do Bigha Zameen, Devdas and Sujata, to mention a few.
Popular movies of the seventies and eighties movies were had lots of dhishum-dhishum scenes (read it as fighting). Hero was typically a common working-class angry-young man who stands against the corrupt system. These movies were just reflection of the sentiments of rising workers, students at that time.
This was the broad classification based on the subjects that cinema handled. Many remember these periods based on the actors’ at those times like Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bacchan. But I felt it is more important to know what changes cinema went through rather than who made the changes.
Read next post for: Suddenly after this, every Indian movie produced fall under only one genre. It was beginning of Masala Movies.
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