Parallel cinema, or New Indian Cinema, is a film movement in Indian cinema that originated in the state of West Bengal in the 1950s as an alternative to the mainstream commercial Indian cinema.
Parallel cinema, or New Indian Cinema, is a film movement in Indian cinema that originated in the state of West Bengal in the 1950s as an alternative to the mainstream commercial Indian cinema.
It is known for its serious content, realism and naturalism, symbolic elements with a keen eye on the sociopolitical climate of the times, and the general rejection of inserted song-and-dance routines that are typical of mainstream Indian films.
History
Origins
Realism in Indian cinema dates back to the 1920s and 1930s. One of the earliest examples was Baburao Painter's 1925 silent film classic Savkari Pash (Indian Shylock), about a poor peasant (portrayed by V. Shantaram) who "loses his land to a greedy moneylender and is forced to migrate to the city to become a mill worker.1 Acclaimed as a realistic breakthrough, its shot of a howling dog near a hut, has become a milestone in the march of Indian cinema." The 1937 Shantaram film Duniya Na Mane (The Unaccepted) also critiqued the treatment of women in Indian society.2
This page is based on “Parallel cinema” from English Wikipedia, (r1373243346) CC BY-SA 4.0 used under the license. The original authors are listed in its page history.
The Parallel Cinema movement began to take shape from the late 1940s, by pioneers such as Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Bimal Roy, Mrinal Sen, Tapan Sinha, Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Chetan Anand, Guru Dutt and V. Shantaram. This period is considered part of the 'Golden Age' of Indian cinema.345 This cinema borrowed heavily from the Indian literature of the times, hence became an important study of the contemporary Indian society, and is now used by scholars and historians alike to map the changing demographics and socio-economic as well as political temperament of the Indian populace.
Early examples of Indian cinema's social realist movement include Dharti Ke Lal (1946), a film about the Bengal famine of 1943 directed and written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas,6 and Neecha Nagar (1946), a film directed by Chetan Anand and written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas that won the Grand Prize at the first Cannes Film Festival.7 Since then, Indian independent films were frequently in competition for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, with some of them winning major prizes at the festival.
Certain art films have also garnered commercial success, in an industry known for its surrealism or 'fantastical' movies, and successfully combined features of both art and commercial cinema. An early example of this was Bimal Roy's Do Bigha Zamin (1953), which was both a commercial and critical success. The film won the International Prize at the 1954 Cannes Film Festival and paved the way for the Indian New Wave.141516Hrishikesh Mukherjee, one of Hindi cinema's most successful filmmakers, was named the pioneer of 'middle cinema', and was renowned for making films that reflected the changing middle-class ethos. According to Encyclopædia Britannica, Mukherjee "carved a middle path between the extravagance of mainstream cinema and the stark realism of art cinema".17 Renowned Filmmaker Basu Chatterjee also built his plots on middle-class lives and directed films like Piya Ka Ghar, Rajnigandha and Ek Ruka Hua Faisla.18 Another filmmaker to integrate art and commercial cinema was Guru Dutt, whose film Pyaasa (1957) featured in Time magazine's "All-TIME" 100 best movies list.19 The most recent example of an art film becoming commercially successful is Harpreet Sandhu's Canadian Punjabi film Work Weather Wife; it marks the beginning of cinema in the Punjabi film industry.20
In the 1960s, the Indian government began financing independent art films based on Indian themes. Many of the directors were graduates of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), in Pune. The Bengali film director Ritwik Ghatak was a professor at the institute and a well-known director. Unlike Ray, however, Ghatak did not gain international fame during his lifetime. For example, Ghatak's Nagarik (1952) was perhaps the earliest example of a Bengali art film, preceding Ray's Pather Panchali by three years, but was not released until after his death in 1977.2122 His first commercial release Ajantrik (1958) was also one of the earliest films to portray an inanimate object, in this case an automobile, as a character in the story, many years before the Herbie films.23 The protagonist of Ajantrik, Bimal, can also be seen as an influence on the cynical cab driver Narasingh (played by Soumitra Chatterjee) in Satyajit Ray's Abhijan (1962).24
The Cinema of Karnataka saw its first ray of hope of surrealism in N. Lakshminarayan's directorial debut Naandi (1964). Featuring mainstream actors like Rajkumar, Kalpana and Harini, the film was both a critical and commercial success. Produced by Vadiraj, it set a landmark by being the first ever Kannada film to screen at an International film festival. The movement gained significant momentum in the 1970s and 1980s resulting in numerous national awards and international recognition to Kannada cinema.
The Cinema of Maharashtra saw its first significant movement towards realism and artistic expression with the emergence of parallel cinema in the 1950s and 1960s. One of the pioneering films of this era was Shyamchi Aai (1953), directed by Pralhad Keshav Atre. Based on the novel by Sane Guruji, the film explored a boy named Shyam shares a deep bond with his mother, who has had a significant influence on his life and upbringing. She instilled in him the importance of sticking to his ideals and principles, even when faced with poverty and hardships. It was both a critical and commercial success, making a lasting impact on Marathi cinema. The Marathi parallel cinema movement truly gained momentum in the 1970s and 1980s, due to filmmakers like Vijay Tendulkar, Jabbar Patel and Rajdutt. This era produced films that focused on social realism, shedding light on the struggles of the marginalized, rural life, and complex human relationships. The movement brought national awards and international recognition to Marathi cinema, with films like Ghashiram Kotwal (1976), Samna, Jait Re Jait (1977), Sinhasan (1979), Umbartha (1982) which were praised for their bold narratives and artistic direction. This era of Marathi cinema also laid the foundation for later filmmakers to experiment with different forms and explore the nuances of human emotion, regional culture, and societal issues. The legacy of parallel cinema continues to influence Marathi cinema, with films like Shwaas (2004) directed by Sandeep Sawant, Fandry (2014) directed by Nagraj Manjule and Court (2015) directed by Chaitanya Tamhane receiving international acclaim.25
By the early 1990s, the rising costs involved in film production and the commercialisation of the films had a negative impact on the art films. The fact that investment returns cannot be guaranteed made art films less popular amongst filmmakers.
Other major reasons for decline
One of the major reasons for the decline of the parallel cinema in India is that the F.F.C. or the National Film Development Corporation of India did not seriously look into the distribution or exhibition of these films. The mainstream exhibition system did not pick up these films because these films did not have the so-called 'entertainment value' that they were looking for. There was a talk of building small theatres for such film, but there was no serious attempt made to realise this alternative mode of exhibition. Thus, it left to a few Film Societies to screen these film; that too on a single screening basis. The advent of television and its popularity saw the film society movement decline. Gradually, the government reduced the patronage of such films, for they had only unseen films to be shown on their balance sheets.
The Parallel Cinema in its true sense was always on the fringes of the mainstream cinema. Since most of the parallel cinema rejected the regressive worldview that was largely embodied the mainstream cinema they never found acceptance in the mainstream production, distribution and exhibition system. With an absence of an alternative exhibition system or an art house circuit as it is called in the west, many of the off beat films made by present generation film makers like Sushant Mishra, Himanshu Khatua, Ashish Avikunthak, Murali Nair, Amitabh Chakraborty, Paresh Kamdar, Priya Krishnaswamy, Vipin Vijay, Ramchandra PN, Ashwini Mallik, Anand Subramanian, Sanjivan Lal, Amit Dutta, Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni, Gurvinder Singh, and Bela Negi have never had a large audience.
Resurgence
The term "parallel cinema" has started being applied to off-beat films produced in Bollywood, where art films have begun experiencing a resurgence. This led to the emergence of a distinct genre known as Mumbai noir,32 urban films reflecting social problems in the city of Mumbai.33 The introduction of Mumbai noir was marked by Ram Gopal Varma's Satya (1998). However the Mumbai noir is a genre that is not considered artistic in ambition even though it concentrates on realistic portrayal of the Mumbai underworld; these are generally commercial films.
Aamir Khan, with his production studio, introduced his own brand of social cinema in the early 21st century, blurring the distinction between commercial masala films and realistic parallel cinema, combining the entertainment and production values of the former with the believable narratives and strong messages of the latter. He has helped introduce parallel cinema to mainstream audiences, with his films earning both commercial success and critical acclaim in India and overseas.34
Another prominent filmmaker is Mrinal Sen, whose films have been well known for their Marxist views. During his career, Mrinal Sen's film have received awards from almost all major film festivals, including Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Moscow, Karlovy Vary, Montreal, Chicago, and Cairo. Retrospectives of his films have been shown in almost all major cities of the world.52
Another Bengali independent filmmaker, Ritwik Ghatak, began reaching a global audience long after his death; beginning in the 1990s, a project to restore Ghatak's films was undertaken, and international exhibitions (and subsequent DVD releases) have belatedly generated an increasingly global audience. Alongside Ray's films, Ghatak's films have also appeared in several all-time greatest film polls. A number of Satyajit Ray films appeared in the Sight & Sound Critics' Poll, including The Apu Trilogy (ranked No. 4 in 1992 if votes are combined),53The Music Room (ranked No. 27 in 1992), Charulata (ranked No. 41 in 1992)54 and Days and Nights in the Forest (ranked No. 81 in 1982).55 The 2002 Sight & Sound critics' and directors' poll also included the Guru Dutt films Pyaasa and Kaagaz Ke Phool (both tied at #160), and the Ritwik Ghatak films Meghe Dhaka Tara (ranked #231) and Komal Gandhar (ranked #346).56 In 1998, the critics' poll conducted by the Asian film magazine Cinemaya included The Apu Trilogy (ranked No. 1 if votes are combined), Ray's Charulata and The Music Room (both tied at #11), and Ghatak's Subarnarekha (also tied at #11).57 In 1999, The Village Voice top 250 "Best Film of the Century" critics' poll also included The Apu Trilogy (ranked No. 5 if votes are combined).11The Apu Trilogy, Pyaasa and Mani Ratnam's Nayakan were also included in Time magazine's "All-TIME" 100 best movies list in 2005.19 In 1992, the Sight & Sound Critics' Poll ranked Ray at No. 7 in its list of "Top 10 Directors" of all time,58 while Dutt was ranked No. 73 in the 2002 Sight & Sound greatest directors poll.59
The cinematographer Subrata Mitra, who made his debut with Ray's The Apu Trilogy, also had an importance influence on cinematography across the world. One of his most important techniques was bounce lighting, to recreate the effect of daylight on sets. He pioneered the technique while filming Aparajito (1956), the second part of The Apu Trilogy.60 Some of the experimental techniques which Satyajit Ray pioneered include photo-negativeflashbacks and X-raydigressions while filming Pratidwandi (1972).61
K. Moti Gokulsing, K. Gokulsing, Wimal Dissanayake (2004). Indian Popular Cinema: A Narrative of Cultural Change. Trentham Books. p. 17. ISBN 1-85856-329-1. ↩
Sharpe, Jenny (2005). "Gender, Nation, and Globalization in Monsoon Wedding and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge". Meridians: Feminism, Race, Transnationalism. 6 (1): 58–81 [60 & 75]. doi:10.1353/mer.2005.0032. S2CID143666869. ↩
Gooptu, Sharmistha (July 2002). "Reviewed work(s): The Cinemas of India (1896–2000) by Yves Thoraval". Economic and Political Weekly. 37 (29): 3023–4. ↩
Gulzar; Nihalani, Govind; Chatterjee, Saibal (2003). Encyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema. Encyclopædia Britannica (India) Pvt Ltd. p. 592. ISBN 81-7991-066-0. ↩
Basu Chatterjee (Rajnigandha)[link removed]. newsle. Retrieved 17 August 2013. ↩
Kevin Lee (5 September 2002). "A Slanted Canon". Asian American Film Commentary. Archived from the original on 18 February 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2009. ↩
"Subrata Mitra". Internet Encyclopedia of Cinematographers. Archived from the original on 12 October 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2009. ↩
Parallel cinema, or New Indian Cinema, is a film movement in Indian cinema that originated in the state of West Bengal in the 1950s as an alternative to the mainstream commercial Indian cinema.
It is known for its serious content, realism and naturalism, symbolic elements with a keen eye on the sociopolitical climate of the times, and the general rejection of inserted song-and-dance routines that are typical of mainstream Indian films.
History
Origins
Realism in Indian cinema dates back to the 1920s and 1930s. One of the earliest examples was Baburao Painter's 1925 silent film classic Savkari Pash (Indian Shylock), about a poor peasant (portrayed by V. Shantaram) who "loses his land to a greedy moneylender and is forced to migrate to the city to become a mill worker.1 Acclaimed as a realistic breakthrough, its shot of a howling dog near a hut, has become a milestone in the march of Indian cinema." The 1937 Shantaram film () also critiqued the treatment of women in Indian society.
The Parallel Cinema movement began to take shape from the late 1940s, by pioneers such as Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Bimal Roy, Mrinal Sen, Tapan Sinha, Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Chetan Anand, Guru Dutt and V. Shantaram. This period is considered part of the 'Golden Age' of Indian cinema.345 This cinema borrowed heavily from the Indian literature of the times, hence became an important study of the contemporary Indian society, and is now used by scholars and historians alike to map the changing demographics and socio-economic as well as political temperament of the Indian populace.
Early examples of Indian cinema's social realist movement include Dharti Ke Lal (1946), a film about the Bengal famine of 1943 directed and written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas,6 and Neecha Nagar (1946), a film directed by Chetan Anand and written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas that won the Grand Prize at the first Cannes Film Festival.7 Since then, Indian independent films were frequently in competition for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, with some of them winning major prizes at the festival.
Certain art films have also garnered commercial success, in an industry known for its surrealism or 'fantastical' movies, and successfully combined features of both art and commercial cinema. An early example of this was Bimal Roy's Do Bigha Zamin (1953), which was both a commercial and critical success. The film won the International Prize at the 1954 Cannes Film Festival and paved the way for the Indian New Wave.141516Hrishikesh Mukherjee, one of Hindi cinema's most successful filmmakers, was named the pioneer of 'middle cinema', and was renowned for making films that reflected the changing middle-class ethos. According to Encyclopædia Britannica, Mukherjee "carved a middle path between the extravagance of mainstream cinema and the stark realism of art cinema".17 Renowned Filmmaker Basu Chatterjee also built his plots on middle-class lives and directed films like Piya Ka Ghar, Rajnigandha and Ek Ruka Hua Faisla.18 Another filmmaker to integrate art and commercial cinema was Guru Dutt, whose film Pyaasa (1957) featured in Time magazine's "All-TIME" 100 best movies list.19 The most recent example of an art film becoming commercially successful is Harpreet Sandhu's Canadian Punjabi film Work Weather Wife; it marks the beginning of cinema in the Punjabi film industry.20
In the 1960s, the Indian government began financing independent art films based on Indian themes. Many of the directors were graduates of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), in Pune. The Bengali film director Ritwik Ghatak was a professor at the institute and a well-known director. Unlike Ray, however, Ghatak did not gain international fame during his lifetime. For example, Ghatak's Nagarik (1952) was perhaps the earliest example of a Bengali art film, preceding Ray's Pather Panchali by three years, but was not released until after his death in 1977.2122 His first commercial release Ajantrik (1958) was also one of the earliest films to portray an inanimate object, in this case an automobile, as a character in the story, many years before the Herbie films.23 The protagonist of Ajantrik, Bimal, can also be seen as an influence on the cynical cab driver Narasingh (played by Soumitra Chatterjee) in Satyajit Ray's Abhijan (1962).24
The Cinema of Karnataka saw its first ray of hope of surrealism in N. Lakshminarayan's directorial debut Naandi (1964). Featuring mainstream actors like Rajkumar, Kalpana and Harini, the film was both a critical and commercial success. Produced by Vadiraj, it set a landmark by being the first ever Kannada film to screen at an International film festival. The movement gained significant momentum in the 1970s and 1980s resulting in numerous national awards and international recognition to Kannada cinema.
The Cinema of Maharashtra saw its first significant movement towards realism and artistic expression with the emergence of parallel cinema in the 1950s and 1960s. One of the pioneering films of this era was Shyamchi Aai (1953), directed by Pralhad Keshav Atre. Based on the novel by Sane Guruji, the film explored a boy named Shyam shares a deep bond with his mother, who has had a significant influence on his life and upbringing. She instilled in him the importance of sticking to his ideals and principles, even when faced with poverty and hardships. It was both a critical and commercial success, making a lasting impact on Marathi cinema. The Marathi parallel cinema movement truly gained momentum in the 1970s and 1980s, due to filmmakers like Vijay Tendulkar, Jabbar Patel and Rajdutt. This era produced films that focused on social realism, shedding light on the struggles of the marginalized, rural life, and complex human relationships. The movement brought national awards and international recognition to Marathi cinema, with films like Ghashiram Kotwal (1976), Samna, Jait Re Jait (1977), Sinhasan (1979), Umbartha (1982) which were praised for their bold narratives and artistic direction. This era of Marathi cinema also laid the foundation for later filmmakers to experiment with different forms and explore the nuances of human emotion, regional culture, and societal issues. The legacy of parallel cinema continues to influence Marathi cinema, with films like Shwaas (2004) directed by Sandeep Sawant, Fandry (2014) directed by Nagraj Manjule and Court (2015) directed by Chaitanya Tamhane receiving international acclaim.25
By the early 1990s, the rising costs involved in film production and the commercialisation of the films had a negative impact on the art films. The fact that investment returns cannot be guaranteed made art films less popular amongst filmmakers.
Other major reasons for decline
One of the major reasons for the decline of the parallel cinema in India is that the F.F.C. or the National Film Development Corporation of India did not seriously look into the distribution or exhibition of these films. The mainstream exhibition system did not pick up these films because these films did not have the so-called 'entertainment value' that they were looking for. There was a talk of building small theatres for such film, but there was no serious attempt made to realise this alternative mode of exhibition. Thus, it left to a few Film Societies to screen these film; that too on a single screening basis. The advent of television and its popularity saw the film society movement decline. Gradually, the government reduced the patronage of such films, for they had only unseen films to be shown on their balance sheets.
The Parallel Cinema in its true sense was always on the fringes of the mainstream cinema. Since most of the parallel cinema rejected the regressive worldview that was largely embodied the mainstream cinema they never found acceptance in the mainstream production, distribution and exhibition system. With an absence of an alternative exhibition system or an art house circuit as it is called in the west, many of the off beat films made by present generation film makers like Sushant Mishra, Himanshu Khatua, Ashish Avikunthak, Murali Nair, Amitabh Chakraborty, Paresh Kamdar, Priya Krishnaswamy, Vipin Vijay, Ramchandra PN, Ashwini Mallik, Anand Subramanian, Sanjivan Lal, Amit Dutta, Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni, Gurvinder Singh, and Bela Negi have never had a large audience.
Resurgence
The term "parallel cinema" has started being applied to off-beat films produced in Bollywood, where art films have begun experiencing a resurgence. This led to the emergence of a distinct genre known as Mumbai noir,32 urban films reflecting social problems in the city of Mumbai.33 The introduction of Mumbai noir was marked by Ram Gopal Varma's Satya (1998). However the Mumbai noir is a genre that is not considered artistic in ambition even though it concentrates on realistic portrayal of the Mumbai underworld; these are generally commercial films.
Aamir Khan, with his production studio, introduced his own brand of social cinema in the early 21st century, blurring the distinction between commercial masala films and realistic parallel cinema, combining the entertainment and production values of the former with the believable narratives and strong messages of the latter. He has helped introduce parallel cinema to mainstream audiences, with his films earning both commercial success and critical acclaim in India and overseas.34
Another prominent filmmaker is Mrinal Sen, whose films have been well known for their Marxist views. During his career, Mrinal Sen's film have received awards from almost all major film festivals, including Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Moscow, Karlovy Vary, Montreal, Chicago, and Cairo. Retrospectives of his films have been shown in almost all major cities of the world.52
Another Bengali independent filmmaker, Ritwik Ghatak, began reaching a global audience long after his death; beginning in the 1990s, a project to restore Ghatak's films was undertaken, and international exhibitions (and subsequent DVD releases) have belatedly generated an increasingly global audience. Alongside Ray's films, Ghatak's films have also appeared in several all-time greatest film polls. A number of Satyajit Ray films appeared in the Sight & Sound Critics' Poll, including The Apu Trilogy (ranked No. 4 in 1992 if votes are combined),53The Music Room (ranked No. 27 in 1992), Charulata (ranked No. 41 in 1992)54 and Days and Nights in the Forest (ranked No. 81 in 1982).55 The 2002 Sight & Sound critics' and directors' poll also included the Guru Dutt films Pyaasa and Kaagaz Ke Phool (both tied at #160), and the Ritwik Ghatak films Meghe Dhaka Tara (ranked #231) and Komal Gandhar (ranked #346).56 In 1998, the critics' poll conducted by the Asian film magazine Cinemaya included The Apu Trilogy (ranked No. 1 if votes are combined), Ray's Charulata and The Music Room (both tied at #11), and Ghatak's Subarnarekha (also tied at #11).57 In 1999, The Village Voice top 250 "Best Film of the Century" critics' poll also included The Apu Trilogy (ranked No. 5 if votes are combined).11The Apu Trilogy, Pyaasa and Mani Ratnam's Nayakan were also included in Time magazine's "All-TIME" 100 best movies list in 2005.19 In 1992, the Sight & Sound Critics' Poll ranked Ray at No. 7 in its list of "Top 10 Directors" of all time,58 while Dutt was ranked No. 73 in the 2002 Sight & Sound greatest directors poll.59
The cinematographer Subrata Mitra, who made his debut with Ray's The Apu Trilogy, also had an importance influence on cinematography across the world. One of his most important techniques was bounce lighting, to recreate the effect of daylight on sets. He pioneered the technique while filming Aparajito (1956), the second part of The Apu Trilogy.60 Some of the experimental techniques which Satyajit Ray pioneered include photo-negativeflashbacks and X-raydigressions while filming Pratidwandi (1972).61
K. Moti Gokulsing, K. Gokulsing, Wimal Dissanayake (2004). Indian Popular Cinema: A Narrative of Cultural Change. Trentham Books. p. 17. ISBN 1-85856-329-1. ↩
Sharpe, Jenny (2005). "Gender, Nation, and Globalization in Monsoon Wedding and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge". Meridians: Feminism, Race, Transnationalism. 6 (1): 58–81 [60 & 75]. doi:10.1353/mer.2005.0032. S2CID143666869. ↩
Gooptu, Sharmistha (July 2002). "Reviewed work(s): The Cinemas of India (1896–2000) by Yves Thoraval". Economic and Political Weekly. 37 (29): 3023–4. ↩
Gulzar; Nihalani, Govind; Chatterjee, Saibal (2003). Encyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema. Encyclopædia Britannica (India) Pvt Ltd. p. 592. ISBN 81-7991-066-0. ↩
Basu Chatterjee (Rajnigandha)[link removed]. newsle. Retrieved 17 August 2013. ↩
Kevin Lee (5 September 2002). "A Slanted Canon". Asian American Film Commentary. Archived from the original on 18 February 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2009. ↩
"Subrata Mitra". Internet Encyclopedia of Cinematographers. Archived from the original on 12 October 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2009. ↩