Republic Day 2025: Although Indian cinema had already laid its strong foundation in the 1940s, the construction of a tall building on that foundation started in 1950, when the Republic was established in India. Today, after 75 years, the same Indian cinema has become a grand palace and is attracting the world. However, it is also true that when Indian cinema was in its infancy, Hollywood films were at the forefront of the world. Here, today we have climbed many steps in cinema and reached a new peak. But, Hollywood films are unmatched even today. Over the years, even though we have not been able to surpass Hollywood films nor become at par with them, today India has become the largest film producing country in the world. We are also becoming capable of competing with Hollywood cinema. Today Indian films are being liked in more than 100 countries of the world.
If we go back in history, in May 1913, when Dadasaheb Phalke laid the foundation stone of Indian cinema by making the silent film ‘Raja Harishchandra’, the country was proud of this achievement. But, at that time cinema was also surrounded by many questions. Also, at that time, not only working in films but even watching films was considered bad. Even when the era of Savak films started with the film ‘Alam Ara’ in 1931, the society’s attitude towards cinema was not good, but by the time the Indian Republic was established in the country, cinema took such a turn that cinema became a ‘status symbol’. . However, in the 1940s our films started taking long strides. In the year 1946, Chetan Anand’s first film ‘Neecha Nagar’ hoisted the flag of Indian films for the first time in the world by winning the ‘Palm d’Or’ award for the best film at the Cannes Film Festival. Films like Bandhan, Chitralekha, Kismat, Ram Rajya, Shakuntala, Shaheed, Andaz, Mahal and Barsaat had increased the audience’s interest in cinema in this decade, but Indian cinema got its wings only after the first Republic Day in the year 1950. .
After the establishment of the Republic, the most successful films in 1950 were ‘Samadhi’, ‘Jogan’, ‘Har Har Mahadev’, ‘Sargam’ and ‘Aarzoo’. Ashok Kumar, Nalini Jaywant, Suraiya Kamini Kaushal, Nargis were famous then. At the same time, the triumvirate of Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Dev Anand was also emerging. On the other hand, in the first decade of the Indian Republic, many changes took place simultaneously in cinema. While the Censor Board was established in January 1951 under the Cinematography Act 1950, the ‘International Film Festival of India’ was also started in the country in the year 1952 with the aim of exchanging film culture with the world and expanding the reach of Indian cinema across the world. Given. Then in 1954, the first National Film Awards ceremony was started by the Government of India to encourage and honor the filmmakers. On the other hand, Filmfare Awards also started in this year. Immediately after the Republic, the condition of Indian cinema changed completely.
With these efforts of government and non-government organizations, our filmmakers made so many beautiful films in this decade that this period became the golden age of Indian cinema. Raj Kapoor’s film ‘Awara’ gained so much popularity in 1951 that Indian cinema crossed the country’s borders and started becoming popular in the world including Russia.
Raj Kapoor, Satyajit Ray, Lata Mangeshkar and Amitabh Bachchan
In these 75 years of the Republic, there were many great and brilliant filmmakers, due to which Indian cinema became prosperous and popular in the country and abroad, but if only two filmmakers are chosen then Raj Kapoor and Satyajit Ray are supreme among them. Both of them took great initiative in giving a unique identity and respect to Indian cinema in the world. Satyajit Ray brought the world’s attention towards Indian films through international film festivals with his first directorial Bengali film ‘Pather Panchali’ in 1955. Then Rai’s name is among the two film personalities of the country who have received the country’s highest honor Bharat Ratna. The second personality to receive Bharat Ratna is Lata Mangeshkar, who played a very special role in making film music popular and prestigious by making an unmatched contribution with her voice. On the other hand, there is only one megastar of these years – Amitabh Bachchan.
Here, if we look at the ten years from 1951 to 1960, this period was at the forefront in giving classic films. Three of the top five classic films of Hindi cinema – ‘Awara’, ‘Mother India’ and ‘Mughal-e-Azam’ came in this decade. After these films, we can include ‘Sholay’ and ‘Baahubali’ as two more classic films of Shikhar.
Over the years, Indian cinema has also been continuously progressing technically. Now we have reached such an era of technology where anything can be possible with AI technology. Before this, many technologies like special effects, 4 sound tracks, 3D, Dolby, VFX, Eye Max and 4K have completely changed the old picture of cinema.
There have also been changes in the subject and plot of films
In the last 75 years, there have been major changes in the subject and plot of films. Earlier, where more religious and historical films were made, then came the era of independence and patriotic films and also of social and action films. Love stories were present in films in every era, but later on, there were such changes in the portrayal of women and love stories in films which could not even be imagined.
Kasturi, the heroine of ‘Achhoot Kanya’, released in 1936, could not marry Brahmin youth Pratap due to his caste. Both of them get married at different places, but one day after marriage, when Kasturi meets Pratap in the fair, there is so much commotion that Kasturi commits suicide. At the same time, in 1959, the heroine of the film ‘Sujata’ did not have to sacrifice her life. The society accepts him.
On the other hand, the story of the heroine becoming a mother before marriage clearly reflects the changing storyline of films with time. Meena of the 1959 film ‘Dhool Ka Phool’ leaves her child in the forest to escape the stigma of becoming a mother before marriage, but ten years later in 1969, Vandana, the heroine of ‘Aradhana’ does not leave her child in the forest. But she is not able to call the child growing in front of her as her son. On the other hand, in 1975, Julie of ‘Julie’ gives birth to her illegitimate child, but far away from her city. Priya, the heroine of the 2000 film ‘Kya Kehna’, fearlessly goes to college with her pregnancy and gives birth to the child while staying in the same city. Here, in the last few years, live-in relationships are also being shown in films, while films are being made on many other bold subjects without any hesitation. On the other hand, the series of sequel films which started in the 1990s in the country is now at its peak.
Now films are also making new records in terms of earnings. Earlier the success of the film was measured by Silver Jubilee, Golden Jubilee, Diamond Jubilee, but after ‘Ghajini’ in 2008, the success of the film has started being measured by its box office earnings. Earlier this success was being estimated at Rs 100 to 500 crores, but now when films like ‘Pushpa-2’ have started earning up to Rs 2 thousand crores, all the old equations of success have been left behind.
,Senior journalist and film critic,