Cinema and the Indian society - A changing Narrative
Amongst all the European colonies across the Asian subcontinent, the seeds of the film industry were sown quite early In India. Dadasaheb Phalke introduced cinema to the nation in 1913, much in sync with the Westerners. The first Indian feature film was the silent film ‘Raja Harischandra’, which was a massive success. Along with this began the trend of silent films. These films depicted tales from Hindu mythology, A visual portrayal of ancient Indian relics attracted the audience, made them gasp in awe of the moving pictures on the screen and reminded them of their glorious past. ' Alam Ara' poster With the addition of sound to films, was born the Indian talkies. It witnessed an amalgamation of Western technology and the traditional art form of India’s folk theatre. As a result, the songs and dances started to be a fundamental part of Indian films, which made them unique, unlike cinema anywhere across the globe. Released in 1931, Ardeshir Irani’s ‘ Alam Ara ’ was the first Ind...