The film industry has grown tremendously in all aspects, including revenues, reach and themes
The Indian film industry has gone from strength to strength in the last 60 years. Bollywood can easily be considered the most effective cultural vehicle from India.The first ‘talkie’ in Hindi, Alam Ara — a costume drama about a king and his two wives, with Master Vithal in the lead role — released on March 14, 1931. Even after six decades, love triangles are an integral part of our cinema. Then came Mehboob Khan’s Aurat in 1940, a rural drama showing the virtues of the Mother Goddess,played by Sardar Akhtar, who goes through untold hardship to bring up her children. This theme became an integral part of innumerable films including Mehboob’s timeless classic, Mother India (1957). Other predominant formula was the lost-and-found drama, beginning with Gyan Mukherjee’s Kismet (1943), where Ashok Kumar plays a chain smoker and pickpocket.
Realistic cinema
In 1946, neo-realism made its way to the screen with V Shantaram’s Dr Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani. Shantaram vacillated between realistic films and song-and-dance fantasies throughout his career. Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who fashions high-pitched dramas, adheres to Shantaram’s genre.In 1949 came Kamal Amrohi’s Mahal, bearing the flagship of the musical mystique of Hindi cinema. Showman Raj Kapoor’s Awara (1951) took Hindi cinema to an international level. Films like Mehboob Khan’s Aan, Vijay Bhatt’s Baiju Bawra (1952), Nandlal Jaswantlal’s Anarkali and Nagin (1953 and 1954) took the musical format of Hindi cinema to its peak. Bimal Roy and Raj Kapoor introduced reality cinema with Do Bigha Zameen (1953) and Boot Polish (1954) respectively. In 1955, when Satyajit Ray changed the course of Indian cinema with Pather Panchali in Bengali, Raj Kapoor redefined neo-realism with Shri 420. Mehboob Khan’s Mother India, B R Chopra’s Naya Daur, Guru Dutt’s Pyasa and V Shantaram’s Do Aankhen Barah Haath came in 1957.
Feel-good flicks
Then there were feel-good entertainers like Paying Guest and Tumsa Nahin Dekha. Mainstream entertainment reached its peak in 1959 with Dhool Ka Phool, Dil Deke Dekho, Guru Dutt’s Kagaz Ke Phool and Bimal Roy’s Sujata.In 1960, Hindi cinema had one of the biggest successes of all time — K Asif’s Mughal-e-Azam. Other notable trendsetters were Nitin Bose’s Ganga Jumna, Guru Dutt’s Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, Bimal Dutt’s Bandini, Raj Kapoor’s Sangam, Vijay Anand’s Guide, Yash Chopra’s Waqt and Manoj Kumar’s Upkar. These films made way for the Amitabh Bachchan’s reign in the ’70s and ’80s, preceded by Rajesh Khanna’s brief but brilliant reign from 1969 to1974. The two most influential films of the ’70s were Ramesh Sippy’s Sholay and Yash Chopra’s Deewaar — both starring Bachchan. His hits range from Zanjeer in the 1970s to Manmohan Desai’s Mard and Coolie in 1980s. Amitabh Bachchan continues to rule the industry today. Other major hits of the time include the long-delayed Kamal Amrohi-Meena Kumari epic Pakeezah (1972) and Nasir Husain’s Yaaadon Ki Baraat.
New wave
The ‘70s marked the beginning of new-wave cinema with Shyam Benegal, Gulzar, Basu Chatterjee and M S Sathyu coming up with films like Ankur, Nishant, Parichay, Koshish, Rajnigandha, Choti Si Baat, Chit Chor and Garam Hawa. In the 1980s, Mahesh Bhatt and Govind Nihalani brought realistic cinema about the fast-changing social order revolving around women, Dalits, etc. The 1990s was flooded with actors with the lover-boy image. This decade belonged to Sooraj Barjatya’s Hum Aapke Hain Kaun, which ranked among top grossers like Mother India, Sholay, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge and Mughal-e-Azam.Notable films of the 1990s were Shekhar Kapur’s Bandit Queen, Mani Ratnam’s Bombay, Aditya Chopra’s Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Karan Johar’s Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Bhansali’s Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.
Coming of age
The new millennium ushered in new concepts in Bollywood. Show stealers from mainstream cinema include Ashutosh Gowariker’s Lagaan, Madhur Bhandarkar’s Chandni Bar, Rakeysh Mehra’s Rang De Basanti and Black. A trend gaining popularity in Hindi cinema is remaking old classics, like Devdas, Himesh Reshammiya doing a remake of Karz, Farhan Akhtar’s Don, J P Dutta’s Umrao Jaan, and of course Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag. This clearly shows how B-Town folks are anxiously looking back for references.There are some encouraging trends too. Today, filmmakers are willing to experiment. Shah Rukh in Chak De! India and Abhishek Bachchan in Guru are points of reference.
Bipasha Basu -Britain's largest selling Asian newspaper hailed actress Bipasha Basu as the Sexiest Asian Women in the World. The newspapers defined the Bollywood diva as "a living embodiment of sexual attractiveness... whose acting ability, beauty and charm are capable of arousing great interest from the world's media". Last year, it was Priyanka Chopra who was No. 1 on the list of the Sexiest Asian Women in the World.
