Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Indian Film Industry
The Indian film industry is the largest in the world in terms of ticket sales and number of films produced annually (877 feature films and 1177 short films were released in the year 2003 alone). Movie tickets in India are among the cheapest in the world. India accounts for 73% of movie admissions in the Asia-Pacific region, and earnings are currently estimated at US$8.9 billion.[citation needed] The industry is mainly supported by the vast cinema-going Indian public. The Central Board of Film Certification of India cites on its website that every three months an audience as large as India's billion-strong population visits cinema halls. Indian films are popular in various parts of the world, especially in countries with significant Indian communities.
The introduction of cinema in India
1896 - 1910
Cinema was introduced to India on July 7, 1896. It began with the Lumiere Brothers' Cinematography, unveiling six silent short films at the Watson's Hotel in Bombay, namely Entry of Cinematographe, The Sea Bath, Arrival of a Train, A Demolition, Ladies & Soldiers on Wheels and Leaving the Factory[1]. The Times of India carried details of the "Living Photographic Pictures in Life-Size Reproductions by Lumiere Brothers". In the same year, the Madras Photographic Store advertised "animated photographs". Daily screenings of films commenced in Bombay in 1897 by Clifton and Co.'s Meadows Street Photography Studio.
In 1898, Hiralal Sen started to film scenes of theatrical productions at the Classic Theatre in Calcutta, inspired by Professor Stevenson (who had brought to India the first bioscope to India)'s film presentation alongside the stage production of The Flower Of Persia; his debut was a contribution to this presentation. He continued making similar films to complement theatrical productions, which were shown as added attractions during intermission, in private screenings for high society households or taken to distant venues where the stage performers could not reach.
Harischandra Sakharam Bhatavdekar alias Save Dada, who had attended the show, imported a cine-camera from London at a price of 21 guineas and filmed the first Indian documentary, a wrestling match at Hanging Gardens, Bombay in 1897. In 1901, he recorded the return from Cambridge of "Wrangler" Ragunath P. Paranjpe, who had secured a distinction in mathematics from Cambridge University, and M.M. Bhownuggree, considered the first Indian news film. [2][3]. He also filmed Lord Curzon (Viceroy of India)'s Delhi Durbar that marked the enthronement of Edward VII in 1903.
The commercial potential of cinema was also tested during the time. F.B. Thanewala's Grand Kinetoscope Newsreels is one successful case. J.F. Madan was another highly successful film producer, who released hit films like Bilwamangal; also, he launched Madan Theatres Ltd., India's largest film production-distribution-exhibition company and the biggest importer of American films after World War I. His films were marked by a high degree of technical sophistication, facilitated by his employment of experienced foreign directors like Eugenio De Liguoro and Camille Legrand. This expertise was complemented by grand sets and popular mythological storylines which ensured good returns.
Cinema houses were set up in major Indian cities in this period, like one in Madras (in 1900 by Major Warrick), the Novelty Cinema in Bombay (where newsreels from the Boer War were shown) and the Elphinstone Picture Palace in Calcutta (set up by J.F. Madan in 1907). Apart from these, a number of film shows were arranged in tents; examples are: shows arranged by two Italians, Colorello and Cornaglia, in tents at the Azad Maidan in Bombay, J.F. Madan's tent cinema at the Calcutta Maidan. Another popular mode of broadcasting films was the touring cinema. In 1904, Manek Sethna started the Touring Cinema Co. in Bombay and a year later, Swamikannu Vincent, a railway draughtsman, set up a touring cinema in South India. Pathe, the famous film production company set up an Indian office in 1907.
1910-1920
The first feature film made in India was a narrative named Pundalik, by N.G. Chitre and R.G. Torney. The first full-length Indian feature film was Raja Harishchandra (3700 feet as compared to 1500 for Pundalik), made in 1913 and released commercially in May that year, by Dadasaheb Phalke. Phalke had attended a screening of The Life of Christ at P.B. Mehta's American-Indian Cinema and was inspired to make films himself. He was convinced of the possibility of establishing an indigenous film industry by focusing on Indian themes. In this regard, he said Like the life of Christ, we shall make pictures on Rama and Krishna. The film was about an honest king who for the sake of his principles sacrifices his kingdom and family before the gods, who are impressed with his honesty and restore him to his former glory. The film was a success, and Phalke went on to make more mythological films till the advent of talkies, and commercialization of Indian films lessened his popularity.In 1916, Universal Pictures set up Hollywood's first Indian agency (see Hollywood meets India, below). The first South Indian feature was Rangaswamy Nataraja Mudaliar's Keechaka Vadham, released in 1918. The following year, he made the film Draupadi Vastrapaharanam, featuring Anglo-Indian actress Marian Hill who played the role of Draupadi.1930s & 40s
- Alam Ara (The Light of the World; 1931), directed by Ardeshir Irani, was the first Indian sound film.
- Chandidas(1932), directed by Debaki Bose under New Theatres banner, contained background Music for the first time in Indian Cinema. Music Director was Raichand Boral, also known as R.C. Boral.
- Debaki Bose's Seeta(1934), made under the banner of East India Film Company, was the first Indian talkie shown in any International film festival. It was shown in Venice Film Festival, where it won an Honorary Diploma. He was the 1st Indian director to receive any international award.
- Nitin Bose's 1935 film Bhagya Chakra, produced by New Theatres, was the first Indian film to use playback singing. The singers were K C Dey, Parul Ghosh and Suprabha Sarkar.[8] The movie was remade in Hindi with the title Dhoop Chhaon, which was the first Hindi film to use playback singing.
- Neecha Nagar (Lowly City) (1946), directed by Chetan Anand, bagged the Palme d'Or (Best Film) award, (then known as 'Grand Prix'), at the Cannes Film Festival in 1946, and became the first Indian film to get major recognition in international film festivals.
Film Training In India
- Film And Television Institute Of India, Pune
- Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute, Kolkata
- AJK, Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi
Awards
Since 1973, the Indian government has sponsored the National Film Awards (which first began in 1954), awarded by the government run Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF). The DFF screens films from all the Indian movie industries and independent/art films. These awards are handed out at an annual ceremony presided over by the President of India.
The Filmfare Awards ceremony is one of the oldest and most prominent film events given for Hindi films in India [12] and is sometimes referred to as the "Bollywood Oscars." [13] The Filmfare awards were first introduced in 1954, the same year as the National Film Awards and gave awards to the best films of 1953. The ceremony was referred to as the Clare Awards after the magazine's editor. A dual voting system was developed in 1956. [14] 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." [15]
Additional ceremonies held within India are:
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 lots of stars and starlets.
Globalization of Indian cinema
Contact between Indian and Western cinemas was established in the early days of film in India. Dadasaheb Phalke was moved to make Raja Harishchandra after watching the film Life of Christ at P.B. Mehta's American-Indian Cinema. Similarly, some other early film directors were inspired by Western movies.
In India at least 80 percent of films shown in the late 1920s were American, even though twenty-one studios manufactured local films, eight or nine of them in regular production. American serials such as Perils of Pauline and Exploits of Elaine, and the spectacular sets of films like Quo Vadis and Cabira were popular and inspiring during the World War I era. Universal Pictures set up an Indian agency in 1916, which went on to dominate the Indian distribution system[15]. J. F. Madan's Elphinstone Bioscope Company at first focused on distribution of foreign films and organization of their regular screenings Additionally, J.P. Madan, the prolific producer, employed Western directors for many of his films.
A number of Indian films have been accused of plagiarising from Hollywood Movies. Due to the long time taken by courts to decide a case, few cases relating to copyright violations are brought up. One of the reasons Bollywood hesitates in purchasing rights is the assumption that these would run into millions of dollars, though according to some like screenwriter-director Anurag Kashyap, this is incorrect; He argues that while the films may cost millions of dollars in the west, the rights would be less expensive for Hindi remakes because the price would be based on the audience's buying power, the economy and the number of bidders.[11]In 2003, best-selling fiction writer Barbara Taylor Bradford brought a copyright infringement suit against Sahara Television for allegedly making a television series (Karishma: A miracle of destiny) out of her book, A Woman of Substance, without acquiring the legal rights to do so.
Today, Indian cinema is becoming increasingly westernised. This trend is most strongly apparent in Bollywood. Newer Bollywood movies sometimes include Western actors (such as Rachel Shelley in Lagaan), try to meet Western production standards, conduct filming overseas, adopt some English in their scripts or incorporate some elements of Western-style plots. Bollywood also produces box-office hit like the films Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge and Kal Ho Naa Ho, both of which deal with the overseas Indian's experience.
However, the meeting between west and India is a two-way process: Western audiences mostly of Indian origin are becoming more interested in India[citation needed], as evidenced by the mild success of Lagaan, Bride and Prejudice and Sivaji: The Boss. As Western audiences for Indian cinema grow, Western producers are funding maverick Indian filmmakers like Gurinder Chadha (Bride and Prejudice) and Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding). Both Chadha and Nair are of Indian origin but do not live in India, and who made their names in Western independent films; they have now been funded to create films that "interpret" the Indian cinematic tradition for Westerners. A similar filmmaker is Deepa Mehta of Canada, whose films include the trilogy Fire, Earth and Water.
Indian cinema is also influencing the English and American musical; Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge! (2001) incorporates a Bollywood-style dance sequence; The Guru and The 40-Year-Old Virgin feature Indian-style song-and-dance sequences; A. R. Rahman, a film composer, was recruited for Andrew Lloyd Webber's Bombay Dreams; and a musical version of Hum Aapke Hain Koun has played in London's West End.
Art cinema in India
In addition to commercial cinema, there is also 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 call such films "art films". These films deal with a wide range of subjects but many are in general explorations of 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. Their films were showcased at government film festivals and on the government-run TV station, Doordarshan. These films also had limited runs in art house theatres in India and overseas. Since the 1980s, Indian art cinema has to a great extent lost its government patronage. Today, it must be made as independent films on a shoestring budget by aspiring auteurs, much as in today's Western film industry.
The art directors of this period owed more to foreign influences, such as Italian neorealism or the French New Wave, than they did to the genre conventions of commercial Indian cinema. The best known New Cinema directors were Bengali: Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Ritwik Ghatak, and Bimal Roy. Some well-known films of this movement include the Apu Trilogy by Ray , the Calcutta Trilogy of Sen, Meghe Dhaka Tara by Ghatak (all in Bengali) and Do Bigha Zameen by Roy (Hindi). Of these film-makers, Satyajit Ray was arguably the most well-known: his films obtained considerable international recognition during the mid-twentieth century. He was awarded an Oscar for life time achievement in 1992. His prestige, however, did not translate into large-scale commercial success[citation needed]. His films played primarily to art-house audiences (students and intelligentsia) in the larger Indian cities, or to film buffs on the international art-house circuit in India and abroad. Like him, Mrinal Sen who has primarily been a political film director and has received international acclaim, is not well known for commercial success, with the lone exception being Bhuvan Shome, which ushered the New Indian Cinema.
Noteworthy Indian Art Cinema women filmmakers from the diaspora include Shashwati Talukdar, Nandini Sikand, Sonali Gulati, Prema Karanth, Nisha Ganatra, Eisha Marjara, Pratibha Parmar, Liggy Pullappally, and Shanti Thakur.
Art cinema was also well-supported in the South Indian state of Kerala. Some outstanding Malayalam movie makers are Adoor Gopalakrishnan, G. Aravindan, T. V. Chandran, Shaji N. Karun, and M. T. Vasudevan Nair. Some of their films include National Film Award-winning Elippathayam, Piravi (which won the Camera d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival), Vaanaprastham and Nizhalkkuthu (a FIPRESCI-Prize winner).
Starting in the 1970s, Kannada film makers from Karnataka state produced a string of serious, low-budget films. Girish Kasaravalli is one of the few directors from that period who continues to make non-commercial films. He is the only Indian director other than Satyajit Ray and Buddhadev Dasgupta to win the Golden Lotus Awards four times.
From the 1970s onwards Hindi cinema produced a wave of art films. The foremost among the directors who produced such films is Shyam Benegal. Others in this genre include Govind Nihalani (Ardh Satya), Mani Kaul (Uski Roti), Kumar Shahani (Maya Darpan), H. K. Verma (Kadamabari),M.S. Sathyu (Garam Hava).
Many cinematographers, technicians and actors began in art cinema and moved to commercial cinema. The actor Naseeruddin Shah is one notable example; he has never achieved matinee idol status, but has turned out a solid body of work as a supporting actor and a star in independent films such as Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding. H.K.Verma, a cinematographer turned to direction with his maiden venture Kadambari starring Shabana Azmi.
Marathi art cinema has been continuously churning out gems even when Marathi mainstream cinema had no suffered a setback. Dr.Jabbar Patel, Bhave-Sukthankar, Amol Palekar are some of the notable names while acclaimed movie titles are Umbartha, Dhyaasparva, Uttarayan, Vaastupurush etc.
Regional film industries
India is a large country where many languages are spoken. According to the 1991 Census of India there are about 10,400 'raw mother tongues' in India. If closely related and mutually comprehensible dialects are grouped, the number can be reduced to 1576 ‘rationalised’ mother tongues, or with even more consolidation, 114 main languages. These 114 languages are the ones surveyed in the Indian census.[6] Indian film producers have made films in thirty of the largest languages. However, only the very largest language groups support major regional industries. These are: Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Marathi, Kannada, Odiya, Malayalam. Official statistics categorise Indian films according to the languages in which they are distributed.
There is a great deal of mobility between the regional industries. Many workers in other regional industries, once their talent and popularity is established, move on to work in other film industries, nationally as well as internationally. For example, A. R. Rahman, one of the best known film music composers in Indian cinema, started his career in Tamil cinema in Chennai but has since worked in Bollywood, London, and New York. Similarly, films that succeed in one language are often remade or dubbed in others. Films like Padosan and Roja, for example, were re-made or dubbed from their original Bengali and Tamil versions respectively, into Hindi.
The Bengali (Bangla) film industry
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 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, Minerva Theatre, 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.[13] 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 Tollygunge area of Kolkata (Calcutta), India and the lesser known one in Dhaka, Bangladesh (called Dhallywood).
The most famous film director of Bengali film industry is Satyajit Ray, who won an Oscar for lifetime achievement in cinema. This industry has always remained the hot favourites among the National Film Awards jury almost every year since its inception. Some of the better known personalities from this industry include Uttam Kumar, Soumitra Chatterjee, Proshenjit among actors, Suchitra Sen, Supriya Devi, Madhabi Mukherjee among actresses, Bimal Roy, Mrinal Sen, Ritwik Ghatak, Goutam Ghose, Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Aparna Sen and Rituparno Ghosh among directors, and Hemanta Mukherjee, Manna Dey and Sandhya Mukhopadhyay among playback singers.
The Hindi film industry (Bollywood)
The Hindi film industry, based in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), is the largest branch 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, especially outside South Asia and the South Asian diaspora, but this usage is incorrect. Bollywood has been recently greatly criticized for what critics see as a violation of Indian cultural values and its discussion of controversial topics. It is considered the most liberal out of the Indian language film industries.
Regional movies are distinctively different from Bollywood (Hindi) movies, as the stories and themes of these movies portray the culture of the region from which they originate, while most Bollywood movies nowadays are greatly influenced by Western culture.
Although Bollywood does not distribute a lot of films, it can be considered to be largest in terms of viewers. It is believed that Bollywood movies are watched by majority of the Indian movie goers. It also has international recognition, especially in Western countries such as the UK, USA, Canada, and Australia where there is a large South Asian community.
The Kashmiri film industry
The Kashmiri film industry, which had been lying dormant since the release of Habba Khatoon in 1967, was revived after a 39-year hiatus with the release of Akh Daleel Loolech in 2006. However critics dispute this claim because this film was a small budget digital film which did not play in any film theatres except in a few private and film festival screening. Besides Akh Daleel Lolach uses a film style which is common on Kashmiri television and by those standards Kashmiri video makers were making films since early 1980s. Cinema halls had been shut down for a long time in Kashmir, by militants protesting against the New Delhi based Government. There are few cinema halls and a handful of directors have been returning to shoot in the region. Though the region was favoured by many producers as a scenic locale in pre-militancy era Bollywood movies as a romantic backdrop , the regional industry was not very strong, due to lack of finances and infrastructure.
Bhojpuri (Purvanchal) film industry
Bhojpuri dialects, varieties, and creoles are also spoken in various parts of the world, including Brazil, Fiji, Guyana, Mauritius, South Africa, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, many colonizers had faced labor shortages and were unable to obtain slaves from Africa due to the abolition of slavery; thus, they imported many Indians as indentured servants to labor on plantations. Today, many Indians in the West Indies, Oceania, and South America still speak Bhojpuri as a native or second language. With the rise of some famous bhojpuri singers turned actors suddenly the bhojpuri cinema has taken a u turn with big budget films in the pipeline even megastar "AMITABH BACCHAN " has also tried his hand in bhojpuri cinema . The canvas and approach of bhojpuri cinema is increasing day by day .
The Kannada film industry
The Kannada film industry, based in Karnataka, is sometimes called 'Sandalwood', as Karnataka is known for its abundant sandalwood forests; however, this term does not seem to be in widespread use. The Gubbi Veeranna Company, or Veeranna's Sri Chennabasaveshwara Krupa Poshita Nataka Sangha[7] and other groups established themselves first as theatre troupes, and later went on to dominate kannada cinema into the 1960s. "They provided all its key directors like H.L.N . Simha, B. R. Panthulu and G. V. Iyer, its stars led by Rajkumar and Leelavathi and most of its early commercial hits: Bedara Kannappa (1953), for instance. The first big success in Kannada cinema adapted a Gubbi Company stage play written by G. V. Iyer to introduce the mythological adventure movie into that language."[14]. Kannada films has become very popular after the recent hits like Jogi (2005) & Mungaru Male (2007).
The Marathi Film Industry
Marathi Film Industry, one of the oldest film industries in India, originated in Nasik, and developed in Kolhapur and Pune. In recent years, it has moved mostly to Mumbai (Bombay), Maharashtra.
Dadasaheb Phalke, recognized as the father of Indian cinema, was a pioneer of movies in Marathi. He produced the first Indian silent movie, and later some Marathi talkies. In his honor, a much coveted "Dadasaheb Phalke Award" is given annually for exceptional contribution to Indian cinema.
1940s and '50s formed the classical era of Marathi cinema, mainly because of some hallmark productions by the now extinct "Prabhat Film Company" in Kolhapur. As an offshoot of Prabhat, V. Shantaram founded "Rajkamal Studios" in Pune, and produced some excellent Marathi movies in the late 1950s and early '60s.
Because of the rise of Hindi movies in Bollywood, Marathi film industry underwent a decline in the 1980s and '90s. But recently it has been reviving with some quality movies like "Shwaas" (which earned an official Indian entry for an Oscar award in 2004), "Pak Pak Pakaak" (which won Swarovski Trophy in AFFF, Singapore, in 2005),"Sane Guruji", "Uttarayan", "Aga Bai, Arecchaa", "Shubhamangal Saavdhaan", "Dombivali Fast", "Devrai", "Anaahat", "Kadachit", "Valu", "Tingya" and "Saatchya Aaat Gharaat".
Bhalji Pendharkar, Baburao Painter, V.Shantaram, Dada Kondke, Raja Paranjpe, Mahesh Kothare, Smita Talwalkar, Sumitra Bhave, Sunil Sukthankar, Sandeep Kashyap, Gajendra Ahire, Jabbar Patel, Amol Palekar, Chandrakant Kulkarni, Bipin Nadkarni, Sandeep Swant, Mangesh Hadawale and Kedar Shinde are some of the notable directors and producers in Marathi cinema in the past few decades.
Modern Marathi actors include Dilip Prabhavalkar, Bharat Jadhav, Sonali Kulkarni, Sadashiv Amrapurkar, Ashwini Bhave, Amruta Subhash, Atul Kulkarni and Sanjay Narvekar.
While some old Marathi movie songs remain popular, new composers like Ajay-Atul have been producing some very popular songs. Some of the old songs have also been remixed.
Monday, August 4, 2008
The Telugu film industry (Tollywood)
The Telugu film industry is based in Andhra Pradesh's capital city, Hyderabad. The state also has what is claimed to be the largest film studio in the world, Ramoji Film City. The first studio for Telugu talkies was Vel Pictures, constructed in 1934 by P.V. Das, located at Madras. The first film made here was Sita Kalyanam. The first film made by a Telugu person, R.S. Prakash, was Bhishma Pratigna (The Pledge of Bhishma, 1922). Another important Telugu personality of this era was Y.V. Rao (1903-1973), an actor and director, whose silent film (directing) credits include Pandava Nirvana (1930), Pandava Agnathavaas (1930) and Hari Maya (1932). The first big movies in Telugu were made by the Surabhi Theatres troupes.[14]. They produced the first Telugu talkie, Bhakta Prahlada, directed by Hanumappa Munioappa Reddy in 1931. In the first few years of Telugu talkies, films were all mythological stories, taken from the stage. In 1936, Krittiventi Nageswara Rao made the first Telugu film not based on mythology, Premavijayam. The film influenced other Telugu film-makers into making such films. Some popular themes of these films (often called 'social' films) were the feudal zamindari system (Raitu Bidda, 1939), untouchability (Maala pilla, 1938), and widow remarriage[10]. Since then, there have been both social (contemporary) and mythological or folk stories in Telugu cinema.
Successful Telugu films are also remade and dubbed in other languages like Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada and are released in respective states.
The Tamil film industry (Kollywood)
The Tamil film industry (Kollywood) is based in the Kodambakkam area of Chennai. Tamil films have enjoyed consistent popularity among Tamil speakers in India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia and Mauritius. Tamil films also receive fame in countries which contain Tamil immigrant communities such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and other European countries.
Several technicians have crossed industries to encapture National fame such as Bharathiraja, Selvaraghavan, A. R. Rahman, Shankar, Ravi K. Chandran and Jeeva. However unlike the technical counterparts, artistes from South India tend to fail to break into Bollywood, with only a handful breaking through, them being: Kamal Haasan,Rajnikanth, Sridevi, Ajith and Asin Thottumkal. Ironically, several Bollywood actresses made their débuts in Kollywood, with Aishwarya Rai appearing in Iruvar, Priyanka Chopra in Thamizhan, Lara Dutta in Arasatchi and Sushmita Sen in Ratchagan. Furthermore, several actresses have done Tamil films while struggling to breakthrough in Bollywood, such as Kajol and her sister, Tanisha as well as Amisha Patel.
In the Tamil film industry, directors such as Mahendran, Shankar, Bala, Bharathiraja, Balu Mahendra, and Mani Ratnam have achieved box-office success whilst producing films that have balanced art and popular elements. The Tamil film industry accounts for approximately 1% of the gross domestic product of the state of Tamil Nadu. Costs of production have grown exponentially from just under Rs.4 million in 1980 to over Rs.110 million by 2005 for a typical star-studded big-budget film. Similarly, costs of processing per print have risen from just under Rs.2,500 in 1980 to nearly Rs.70,000 by 2005. There has been a growing presence of English in dialogue and songs as well. It is not uncommon to see movies that feature dialogue studded with English words and phrases, or even whole sentences. Some movies are also simultaneously released in two or three regional languages (either using subtitles or several soundtracks). Contemporary Tamil movies often feature Madras Bashai, a colloquial version of Tamil spoken in Madras. A select few, Iruvar and older films based on epics, for instance, employ literary Tamil extensively in dialogues when the situation calls for it. Many Tamil films are also dubbed into Telugu and Hindi and released in their respective states.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
AMMA
The major actors and actresses of the Malayalam Cinema has recently formed an organization to safegaurd their interests and to fight against piracy. The Association of Malayalam Movie Artists better know as AMMA ( literal meaning : Mother ) aims to act against piracy, safegaurd the interests of member actors and actresses and act as a common forum to raise concerns and address issues. The organization is generally regarded as successful. The activities of "AMMA" include endowments, insurance schemes, and committees on wages and benefits on revision, fund for research, pensions, education loans for their children etc for the members. The organization has recently entered into Film production to raise funds for its activities.
Other Organisations
- Malayalam Cine Technicians Association(MACTA)
- Kerala Film Chamber of Commerce
- Malayalam Film Chamber of Commerce
- Kerala Film Producers' Association
- Kerala Film Distributors Association
- Kerala Cine Exhibitors Federation
- Kerala Film Exhibitors Association
Present
Popular Malayalam cinema through mid-late 2000s
Malayalam movies have seen a real comeback in 2005. New directors such as Lal Jose , Roshan Andrews ,Blessy and Anwar Rasheed brought back original scripts to malayalm movie . Notable Movies of this era are Udayananu Tharam , Note Book , Classmates , Thanmatra , Kazhcha,Palunku, Keerthi Chakra , Raja Manikyam ,Vinoda Yatra , Rasa thanthram ,Arabi Kadha and Kadha Paryumbol. This era has seen new promising actors like Prithviraj , Narain , Jayasurya ,Meera Jasmin and Kavya Madhavan along with stalwarts Mammooty and Mohan Lal.
Popular Culture Today
Today, it is quite common to see immigrated Indians of Malayalee origin have access to TV networks like AsiaNet, which they frequently watch at home as a pastime. It has almost become a stereotypical sight for second generation Malayalees to see their parents glued to television watching Kerala cinema. This occurrence is sometimes a source of humor and even revilement for conservative religious forces in the Malayalee culture. Additionally, because of the general atrophy of traditional morals and recent trespassing of longstanding cultural mores, many immigrant families now are starting to shy away from cultural cinema.
Popular Malayalam cinema through early-mid 2000s
The Malayalam film industry in recent times has been affected by the spread of satellite digital television and film piracy. Slapstick comedy is the predominant theme in the films of this era. Meesamadhavan (2002) by Lal Jose and Kunjikkoonan directed by Sasi Shankar (2002) are examples. However notable exceptions to these were Chinthavishtayaya Shyamala by Srinivasan (1998), Vanaprastham (1999) directed by Shaji N Karun, Maduranombarakaatu(2000), Meghamalhar(2001), Perumazhakaalam(2004) and Karuthapakshikal(2006) directed by Kamal.Sequels have been made of a number of successful films. These include Ravanaprabhu (Devasuram) and Nerariyan CBI (Oru CBI Diarykurippu). Generally movies at this period were of low quality. Aiding to this crisis a parallel culture of Adult content movies named "Shakeela films" emerged to be the best grosser for more than a year.Malayam cinema has seen a rare dearth of talent . At the same time , Tamil movies had seen a surge of new talent in script writers , directors and actors alike . This resulted in increased popularity of Tamil and Hindi movies in Kerala . Several Film theatres were closed rural Kerala and were converted to Mariiage Halls.
Popular Malayalam cinema through early-mid 1990s
Films made during this period continued to stand out for their brilliance in storytelling and appeal. These include 'Bharatham' (1991) by Sibi Malayil, Ulladakkam(1991) directed by Kamal, Kaalapaani (1996) by Priyadarshan, and the award winning 'Manichitrathazhu' (1993) by Fazil. 'Sphadikam' (1995) directed by Bhadran was well received by the viewers as was 'Desadanam' (1997) by Jayaraaj. Some works stood out as strong in evocative power reminiscent of the earlier period, like Swaham (1994) directed by Shaji N.Karun, the first Malayalam film entry into the Cannes International Film Festival.
'Golden Age' of Malayalam cinema
Most critics and audiences consider this period from as the golden age of Malayalam cinema. The Malayalam cinema of this period was characterised by detailed screenplays dealing with everyday life with a lucid narration of plot intermingling with humour and melancholy. This was aided by brilliant cinematography and lighting as in motion pictures like Perumthachan (1990), directed by Ajayan with Santosh Sivan as the cinematographer. These films are also remembered for their warm background music by composers like Johnson, as in the motion picture Namukku parkkan munthiri thoppukal (1986) by Padmarajan.
Many of the movies released during this time narrowed the gap between art cinemas and commercial cinemas in the Malayalam film industry, as in Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha (1989). These were paralleled with movies like Kireedam (1989) directed by Sibi Malayil and written by Lohitadas, Mathilukal directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan (1989), 'Amaram'(1991) directed by Bharathan, Kaakothikaavile Appoopan Thadikal(1988) directed by Kamal and 'Sargam'(1992) directed by Hariharan.
The period had an abundance of movies rich in creative humour from directors like Priyadarshan, Sathyan Anthikkad and Kamal. The era also saw well crafted comedy by the Duo Siddique-Lal, (Ramji Rao speaking (1989) and In Harihar Nagar (1990). Other notable contributions of this period include His Highness Abdullah (1990) directed by Sibi Malayil, Piravi (1989) by Shaji N. Karun, Abhayam (1991) directed by Sivan, and the motion picture Daisy (1988) an expressive depiction of separation and longing set in a Boarding school, directed by Prathap K Pothan.
Malayalam Art Cinema of the early 1980s
Adoor Gopalakrishnan made Elipathayam in 1981. This movie was widely acclaimed and won the British Film Institute award. His other movies include Mukhamukham (1984), Anantharam (1987) Mathilukal (1989), Vidheyan (1994), Kathapurushan (1995), and Nizhalkkuthu (2003). Padmarajan made his early works in this period including the movie Koodevide? (1983)
P. A. Backer and Bharathan are other names worth mentioning.
Malayalam Parallel films of the 1970s
The 70s saw the emergence of a new wave of cinema in Malayalam. The growth of film society movement in Kerala introduced the works of the French and Italian New Wave directors to the discerning Malayali film enthusiasts. Adoor Gopalakrishnan's first film Swayamvaram (1972) brought Malayalam cinema to the International film arena. In 1973 M. T. Vasudevan Nair who was by then recognized as an important author in Malayalam, directed his first film Nirmalyam, which won the President's Gold Medal for the best film. G. Aravindan followed Adoor's lead with his Uttarayanam in 1974.K. P. Kumaran's 'Adhithi' (1974) was another film which was acclaimed by the critics. John Abraham, K. R. Mohanan, K. G. George, and G. S. Panikkar were products of the Pune Film Institute who made significant contributions.
During the late 70s, a good propotion of the youth started seeing Malayalam Cinema as a medium of expression and thought of it as a tool to revitalize the society. A noted Director, Aravindan was famous in Kerala as a cartoonist before he started making films. His important movies include Kanchana Seeta (1977), Thampu (1978), Kummatty (1979), Chidambaram (1985), Oridathu (1986), and Vasthuhara (1990).
During the late 70s, a good propotion of the youth started seeing Malayalam Cinema as a medium of expression and thought of it as a tool to revitalize the society. A noted Director, Aravindan was famous in Kerala as a cartoonist before he started making films. His important movies include Kanchana Seeta (1977), Thampu (1978), Kummatty (1979), Chidambaram (1985), Oridathu (1986), and Vasthuhara (1990).
Saturday, August 2, 2008
A list of films in year order produced in the Malayalam cinema and language in the 2000s:
2000
- Arayannagalude Veedu
- Auto Brothers
- C.I. Mahadevan Anchadi Nalinch
- Chandranudikkunna Dikhil
- Chenchayam
- Dada Sahib
- Daivathinte Makan
- Darling Darling
- Davadasy
- Deepasthambham Mahascharyam
- Devadhoodhan
- Dreamz
- English Medium
- Gandhiyan
- Goa
- Joker
- Kannezhuthi Pottum Thottu
- Life Is Beautiful
- Madhuranombarakkattu
- Mazhanool Kanave
- millennium stars
- Mr. Butler
- Nadanpennum Naattupramaaniyum
- Nakshathragal Parayathirunnathu
- Narasimham
- O Priye
- Olympiyan Anthony Adam
- Pranaya Nilavu
- Priyam
- Punaradhivasam
- Rakkilippattu
- Sahayatrikakku Snehapoorvam
- Santham
- Vazunuoor
[edit] 2001
[edit] 2002
oo
[edit] 2003
[edit] 2004
- 4 The People
- Agninakshathram
- Akale
- Amrutham
- Anandabhairavi
- Aparichithan
- Black
- C.I. Mahadevan Anchadi Nalinchu
- Chathikkatha Chandu
- Chekavan
- Ee Snehatheerathu
- Govindankutty Thirakkilanu
- Greetings
- Jalolsavam
- Kadhavaseshan
- Kakkakarumban
- Kanninum Kannadikkum
- Kazcha
- Kerala House Uddan Vilpanakku
- Koottu
- Kottaram Vaidyan
- Kusruthi
- Madurapathinezhu
- Mambazhakalam
- Manjupoloru Penkutty
- Maratha Nadu
- Marmam
- Marmmajalam
- Masnagudi Mannadiyar Speaking
- Mayamma
- Mayilattam
- Meesa Madhavan
- Natturajavu
- Nerku Ner
- Niseedhini
- Njan Salperu Ramankutty
- Panchajannyam
- Parinamam
- Perumazhakkalam
- Pranayamayi
- Pravasam
- Priyam Priyamkaram
- Quotation
- Rain Rain Come Again
- Rasikan
- Runway
- Sancharam
- Sasneham Sumithra
- Sathyam
- Sethuramaiyar C.B.I.
- Snehitha
- Soumyam
- Swapnanubhavam
- Symphony
- Thalamelam
- Thekkekara Superfast
- Thudakkam
- Udayam]
- Vajram
- Vamanapuram Bus Route
- Vellinaksthram
- Vesham
- Vettam
- Vismayathumbathu
- Vyamoham
- Wanted
- Yanam
- Youth Festival
[edit] 2005
- Achuvinte Amma (2005)
- Albhuthadweep (2005)
- Alice In Wonderland (2005)
- Ananthabhadram (2005)
- Annorikkal (2005)
- Aye Taxi (2005)
- Banglavil Outha (2005)
- Ben Johnson (2005)
- Boyfriend (2005)
- Brahmam (2005)
- Bus Conductor (2005)
- By The People (2005)
- Chandrosavam (2005)
- Chanthupottu (2005)
- Chirattakalipaataangal (2005)
- Cholliyattam (2005)
- Deivanamathil (2005)
- Dhobiwala (2005)
- Five Fingers (2005)
- Immini Nalloral (2005)
- Iruvattam Manavaatti (2005)
- Kalyana Kurimanam (2005)
- Kochirajavu (2005)
- Lokanathan IAS (2005)
- Maanikyan (2005)
- Made in USA (2005)
- Makalkku (2005)
- Manjupeiyum Munne (2005)
- Mayookham (2005)
- Mazhayilaroo (2005)
- Monalisa (2005)
- Naran (2005)
- Nottam (2005)
- Ok Chacko Kochin Mumbai (2005)
- Otta Naanayam (2005)
- Pandippada (2005)
- Paranju Theeratha Visheshangal (2005)
- Pass Pass (2005)
- Pauran (2005)
- Police (2005)
- Ponmudipuzhayorathu (2005)
- Raappakal (2005)
- Rajamanickam (2005)
- Sarkkar Dada (2005)
- Seelabathi (2005)
- Thanmatra (2005)
- Thasakara Veeran (2005)
- Thommanum Makkalum (2005)
- Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (2005)
- Udayananu Tharam (2005)
- Udayon (2005)
[edit] 2006
[edit] 2007
| Movie | Month | Direction | Screenplay | Main Actors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avan Chandiyude makan | January | Thulasidas | Prithviraj | |
| Anjil Oral Arjunan | January | Anil | Jayaram | |
| Kaiyoppu | January | Renjith | Renjith | Mammootty, Kushboo |
| Inspector Garud | January | Johny Antony | Dileep, Kavya Madhavan | |
| Changathi poocha | Feb | S P Mahesh | Jayasurya | |
| Mayavi | Feb | Shafi | Mammootty, Suraj, Gopika, Manoj K Jayan | |
| Detective | Feb | Jithu Joseph | Suresh Gopi(Double Role), Sindhu Menon | |
| Rakilippattu | Feb | Priyadarsan | Tabu, Jyothika, Jomol | |
| Ananda Bhairavi | Feb | Jayaraj | Saikumar, Master Devadas | |
| Sketch | Feb | Prasad Yadav | Saiju Kurup | |
| Hei Taxi -Telugu Dubbing | Feb | Rajendraprasad Singh | ||
| Speed Track | March | Jayasoorya | Dileep | |
| Payum Puli | March | Mohan Kupleri | Kalabhavan Mani | |
| November Rain | March | Vinu Joseph | ||
| Abraham Lincoln | March | Pramod Pappan | Kalabhavan Mani, Rahman | |
| Ekantham | March | Madhu Kaithapram | ||
| Happy, Be Happy -Telugu Dubbing | March | A. Karunakaran | A. Karunakaran | Allu Arjun |
| Chotta Mumbai | April | Anvar Rashid | Benny P Nayarambalam | Mohanlal, Bhavana |
| Vinodaythra | April | Sathyan Anthikkad | Sathyan Anthikkad | Dileep, Meera Jasmine, Parvathi TK, Mukesh |
| Big B | April | Amal Neerad | Amal Neerad | Mammootty, Nafisa Ali, Manoj K Jayan, Mamta |
| Panthaya kozhi | April | M A Venu | Narein | |
| Athishayan | April | Vinayan | Master Devadas, Jackie Shroff, Jayasurya, Kavya Madhavan | |
| Paranju theeratha visheshangal | April | Harikumar | ||
| Komban | April | Mummy Century | ||
| Goal | May | Kamal | Rajat Menon | |
| Soorya kireedam | May | George Kithu | Indrajith | |
| Kakki | May | Bipin Prabhakaran | Prithviraj | |
| Time | May | Shaji Kailas | Suresh Gopi, Vimala Raman | |
| Challenge -Telugu Dubbing | May | Raj Mauli | ||
| Rakshakan | June | Thulasidas | Kalabhavan Mani | |
| Nanma | June | Sarathchandran Wayanad | Kalabhavan Mani | |
| Pranayakalam | June | Uday Ananthan | ||
| Aakasham | June | Sundar Das | ||
| Best Friend | June | Sunil P Kumar | ||
| Bharathan | June | Anil das | Madhu Muttom | Biju Menon |
| Nagaram | June | M A Nishad | Kalabhavan Mani | |
| Something Special -Telugu Dubbing | July | Sreenivas | ||
| July 4 | July | Joshi | Dileep, Roma | |
| Hello | July | Rafi Mecartin | Rafi Mecartin | Mohan lal, Parvati Melton, Samvrutha Sunil, Ganesan, Madhu |
| Boss, I love you -Telugu Dubbing | July | Aditya | ||
| Arabikatha | July | Lal Jose | Dr. Iqbal Kuttipuram | Sreenivasan, Chang Shumin, Samvrutha Sunil, Indrajith |
| Devadas - Telugu Dubbing | July | Chaudri Chakri | ||
| Veerali pattu | July | Kukku Surendran | ||
| Nadiya kollapetta rathri | July | K Madhu | S N Swami | Suresh Gopi, Kavya Madhavan (Double Role), Suja Karthika, Prithviraj (Spl. Appearance) |
| Sooryan | July | V M Vinu | ||
| Thaniye | July | Babu Thiruvalla | ||
| Mission 90 Days | July | Major Ravi | Major Ravi | Mammootty |
| Heart Beats | August | Vinu Anand | Indrajith, Simran | |
| Bunny - Dubbing | August | Vinayak | ||
| Yogi - Dubbing | August | V V Vinayak | ||
| A.K.G | August | Shaji N Karun | ||
| Thakarachenda | August | Avira Rabeka | ||
| Alibhai | August | Shaji Kailas | T.A Shahid | Mohanlal, Gopika, Navya Nair, Shamna Kassim, Siddique |
| Nivedyam | August | Lohithadas | Lohithadas | Vinu Mohan, Bhama |
| Ore Kadal | August | Shyamaprasad | Shyamaprasad | Mammootty, Meera Jasmine, Narain, RamyaKrishna |
| Kichamani MBA | August | Samad Mankada | Suresh Gopi, Navya Nair, Jayasurya | |
| Indrajith | September | Haridas | ||
| Bhasmasuran - Dubbing | September | Ravishankar | ||
| Munna - Dubbing | September | Vamshi | ||
| Paradesi | October | P. T. Kunju Mohammad | P. T. Kunju Mohammad | Mohanlal, Lakshmi Gopalaswami, Padmapriya |
| Choclate | October | Shafi | Rafi Mecartin | Prithviraj, Roma, Jayasurya, Samvritha, Remya Nambeesan |
| Nasrani | October | Joshi | Renjith | Mammootty, Vimala Raman, Mukta, Biju Menon, Kalbhavan Mani |
| Black Cat | October | Vinayan | Suresh Gopi, Manikuttan, Meena, Karthika | |
| Hero, The real hero - Dubbing | October | Puri Jagannath | ||
| Ottakkaiyyan | October | G. R. Indiugopan | HariSree Ashokan | |
| Subhadram | October | Sreelal Devaraj | ||
| Malleeswari, The Princess - Dubbing | October | Vijayabhaskar | ||
| Naalu Pennungal | Nov | Adoor Gopalakrishnan | Nandita Das, Padmapriya, Manju Pillai, Geethu Mohandas,Kavya Madhavan, Mukesh, Manoj K Jayan | |
| Hareendran; Oru nishkalangan | Nov | Vinayan | Indrajith, Manikuttan, Bhama | |
| Ayur Rekha | Nov | G M Manu | Sreenivasan, Mukesh, Lakshmi Sharma, Urvashi | |
| Rock N Roll | Nov | Renjith | Mohan lal, Lakshmi Rai | |
| The Target - Dubbing | Nov | Thrivikram | ||
| Kelkatha Shabdam - Dubbing | Nov | Vasanth | ||
| Happpy Days - Telugu dubbing | Nov | Shekar Kamula | ||
| Romeo | December | Rajasenan | Dileep, Vimala Raman, Samvrutha Sunil, SruthiLakshmi | |
| Katha Parayumbol | December | Mohanan | Sreenivasan | Sreenivasan, Meena, Mammootty |
| Kangaroo | December | Raj babu | Prithviraj, Kavya Madhavan, Jayasurya, Kaveri | |
| Flash | December | [[Sibi Malayil | Mohan lal, Parvathi TK, Shamna Kassim |