Growth of Indian art and commercial cinema
Parallel to commercial cinema, there is another branch of Indian cinema that aspires to seriousness or art. This is known as ���new Indian cinema��� or sometimes ���the Indian new wave��� but most people in India simply term such films as ���art films���
EMERGENCE AND growth of commercial and art cinema from 1980’s to 2008 is marked by some unique features. We could distinguish both as different genre and both varieties were well defined. For instance, in commercial films like ‘Sholay’, the hero is no longer a solitary seeker of justice, trying to fight the society’s evils in the face of a supposedly corrupt political and police system. And then, art cinema seemed more realistic and logical as evidently shown all over the country at renowned film festivals like the International Film Festival of India (IFFI). Great filmmakers like Satyajit Ray refused to follow the rules of mainstream commercial cinema and created some masterpieces.
Art and commercial cinema are both influenced by the West as they enter the millennium. I would distinguish their meaning individually for better understanding of Indian cinema. The Indian film industry is the largest in the world. The industry is mainly supported by the vast cinema-going Indian public. Indian films are popular in various parts of the world, especially in countries with significant Indian communities. Bollywood movies comprise a majority of commercial cinema as it is cinema for the masses.
The Hindi film industry, based in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), is the largest segment of Indian cinema. Hindi film industry is often called ‘Bollywood’ (a blending of Hollywood and Bombay). The word ‘Bollywood’ is sometimes applied to Indian cinema as a whole. Regional movies are distinctively different from Bollywood movies, as the stories and themes of these movies portray the culture of the region, from which they originate, while most Bollywood nowadays is greatly influenced by Western culture. Bollywood movies are watched by majority of the Indian movie-goers.
Parallel to commercial cinema, there is another branch of Indian cinema that aspires to seriousness or art. This is known to film critics as ‘new Indian cinema’ or sometimes ‘the Indian new wave’ but most people in India simply term such films as ‘art films’. These films deal with a wide range of subjects but most explore complex human circumstances and relationships within an Indian setting. From the 1960s through the 1980s, art films were subsidised by Indian governments. Aspiring directors could get federal or state government grants to produce non-commercial films on Indian themes. Many of these directors were graduates of the government-supported Film and Television Institute of India. Since the 1980s, Indian art cinema has to a great extent lost its government patronage. The art directors of this period owed more to foreign influences, such as Italian neorealism. The best known new cinema directors were Bengalis like Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen and Ritwik Ghatak.
Mainstream films also deal with moral dilemmas or identity crises but these issues are usually resolved by the end of the film. In art films, the dilemmas are probed and investigated in a pensive fashion but usually without a clear resolution at the end.
.Another interesting trend to look at is the confluence of the two streams with respect to the developed cinematographical techniques that are being explored these days. However, I do not quite agree with the distinction between the two lines of cinemas on the basis of resolution of the dilemmas or identity crises. The distinction could be more marked if the way in which the character is defined is taken into account. While a "mainstream" movie may be event based, the art movie would delve into the characters more. It is here that good cinematography could play a major role.
.Hey. This makes for interesting reading. If you want to take the approach of comparing Indian mainstream cinema to Hollywood, you could talk about how commercial interests in the West tend to overshadow the creative side of film-making. With the entry of corporates into Bollywood, this is something that Indian filmmakers will have to adapt to.
Also, you could keep in mind the unique role of music in Indian cinema. With 'Art Films' utilizing music as purely background score but commercial movies using music as one of its most important selling points.
.indian cinema has started experimenting but there is a long way to go. we are still taking of homosexuality while the world is talking of bisexuality. nagesh is talking of handicaps the time has come to talk of multiple handicaps like stephen halking. we are talking of extra marital affirs but we need to talk about dysfunctional marriages and impact on children
All the best sonica
thank you sir...i think dats a gud point on which i can elaborate..specially where ur talking about marriages. also i think projection and execution of any film is very important coz sum films are gud but most of them are stereotypical and formulaic, i simply also define this indian new wave acceptance of offbeat or experimental films so the indian so called NEW WAVE is going on. Thanks for the suggestions, more views and opinions or thoughts are welcome
.hey..i like the article, it gives an overview of the Indian Cinema scenario. Its nice, short and crisp, though i would give a small suggestion. I think the last few lines can be on the summary of the article rather than being the finishing lines of art cinema. On the whole well written!
hey hi thnx for valuable time sweetie....i was hoping for different views so just spare time and give your opinion on the growth of art cinema as well commercial genre....ur perspective...& u can have a completely diff take...thnxa anyways
.hey this is good work.. as for the suggestions.. mention a bit about the contemporary cinema.. and the genre that is there today.. like the latest trends.. and also how there is an acceptance of the so called art cinema among the multiplex generation.
thnx for replying....since d early 90's there has been a trend towards narrative complexity within popular cinema and a lot of popular hindi as well as english movies have proved it...but wat i eventually want to highlight is the growth in both he genres with the changing times and as for the acceptance of the art cinema among ppl ...multiplex generation....i'm already workin on it...noted...thnx again...keep sharing ur thoughts
.Very well written article... the field of entertainment needs people like you to conduct such deep studies.
.I didn't know that u cud write soo well, n ur study is so profound... god bless u and give u all d success in d world!!!
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