How Indian Cinema Evolved over the Years Essay

A ampere-second years ago on this date, Indias first film Raja Harishchandra was released. Over the past hundred years, our cinema and its facets have evolved and howThe hero From mooch to macho From a gigantic mustached Raj Kapoor in the 40s to a six-pack flaunting, butt-baring John Abraham now, the Bollywood hero has had quite an a makeover. The 50s was the while of method-acting with the ilks of Dilip Kumar, while in the 60s, Rajesh caravansaryna and Dev Anand epitomised ro human beingce on check. aft(prenominal) Khannas guru kurtas and fluffy hairtop, Amitabh Bachchan brought the angry young man into the picture in the 70s and 80s with Zanjeer, Deewar and Agneepath, also bringing to the fore, bell bottoms and side burns. The 90s was the time of the lover boys Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan and Salman Khan dancing in exotic foreign locales. Now, the Bollywood hero is not restricted by genre or style and fits into ever soy mould. He is a looker, chocolatey, experimental and tot al paisa vasool, read Ranbir Kapoor and Imran Khan.The heroine From feeble to fabulous In the earlier exs, the heroine in Indian cinema had only one clinical in life, that of being a sati-savitri, who never looked beyond her family and husband. The kitchen was her cocoon, and she epitomised only things good. through with(predicate) the 1940s, 50s and 60s, heroines much(prenominal) as Mala Sinha, Meena Kumari, Madhubala, Nanda and Asha P bekh ruled these roles. It was only in the 80s and 90s that she evolved as a strong character (Rekha in Khoon Bhari Mang, 1988), (Meenakshi Sheshadri in Damini, 1993). While in the early 2000s, she was still the demure girl, she managed to live her life on her terms equivalent Rani Mukerji in Kabhie Alvida Naa Kehna. And the heroine today is the sexy, uber cool woman who c ars for little more than than her own life. Way to go girl The villainFrom scary to smooth From the usual lot of wicked village zamindars, smugglers, murderers, rapists, dacoits and terrorists, the larger-than-life Bollywood villains have blend in rare in new age cinema. thereof the traditional villain, Loin, Shakal, Mogambo, Dr Dang and Badman, has died a natural death. The wigged, cigar-smoking avatars play by the likes of Pran, Prem Chopra, Amrish Puri, have made way for brilliant and sometimes more-adorable-than-the-hero kind of villains. Exhibit A- Saif Ali Khan (Omkara) and Shah Rukh Khan (Don). No lines are drawn now and black characters have became grey with lead actors acting antagonists in films, almost replacing the dedicated villains. This marked the end of ever reverberating iconic one liners like Kitne aadmi the? and Saara sheher mujhe Loin ke naam se jaanta hain. The maaRona-dhona to supercool From the deity fearing and homely mum to a party freak, mothers in Bollywood have contract a long way since 1930s. While Nargis in Mother India (1957) contend a mother who went through hardships and struggled to bring up her offsprings, Ni rupa Roy in the 70s became interchangeable with white saris and a melancholic look. Then came Reema Lagoo, with her bindi and sindoor, an ideal middle kinsfolk Indian mother in Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988) and Maine Pyar Kiya (1989), who tried to be a friend to her son. But now, mothers are the uber cool women who are ready to absorb even identical-sex couples, case in point, Kirron Kher in Dostana (2008). And now there are mom who drink and dance at weddings, ala Dolly Walia in Vicky donor (2012). The item girlTaboo to must-haves The dancing girl evolved from the Cabaret seductress, the free-spirited banjaran, the aesthetical courtesan to dancing temptresses in half-saris. In the 40s and 50s, Cuckoo Moray, hotted up the screen with her innocent charm. The 50s saying Vyjayanthimala woo the audience in songs such as Chad Gayo Papi Bichua in Madhumati (1958) in ghagra cholis, and junk silver jewellery. Helen ruled the 60s and 70s, emerging in a bold avatar with dramatic ensemb les. The 80s saw the trend of heroines protrude in item numbers with Zeenat Aman in Qurbani (1980). Madhuri Dixits Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai became the ultimate drive in the 90s. The item girls of 2000s are sexy, not afraid to show spit out and love to play hard to get, be it Malaika Arora Khan in a mid-riff baring choli dancing atop a train or Katrina in Sheila Ki Jawani.The comedian Funny face to frontman The comedian in the 40s, was the elaborate man with funny facial expressions, whose mere presence made audiences laugh. In the fifties, the lean Johnny Walker broke that trend and managed to win paddy wagon with his slapstick humour. Kishore Kumar, essentially a singer, redefined comedy by using his songs like Meri Pyari Bindu (Padosan 1968) as elements of fun in films. But it was Mehmood, with his fringed hair and spick dialogue delivery who became the king of comedy in the 1970s. The next bounteous thing in comedy was Johnny Lever, who left audiences in splits with his b ole language and dialogues in films like Raja Hindustani (1996) and Dulhe Raja (1998). Now, its the heroes Akshay Kumar (Hera Pheri), Ajay Devgn (Golmaal) who are doubling as comedians. The friendSidekick to the right-hand man The side kick or heros best friend, every Bollywood film has had one. The role could be that of a fun buddy who provides funny relief to the film or that one jigari dost who stays with the hero through thick and thin (in other words, fights for the hero and a great deal dies in the end). From the geezerhood of Mukri and Mehmood, who played the heros good friend in the 1950s and 60s to the current time where actors like Arshad Warsi and Sharman Joshi play as powerful characters as the hero himself, this portrayal has had a sea change. Mehmood in seethejoli (1970), for instance, played a sidekick who brought the house down with his antics, but Arshad Warsi in the Munnabhai series (2003/06) played the ideal Robin to Sanjay Dutts Batman, and got some of the b est lines in the films. The love affairTouch-me-not to pre-marital sex Romance in Bollywood turned from bold to demure and back to racy and bold. The silent film, A Throw of Dice (1929) saw actor Seeta Devi kiss actor Charu Roy. Post-independence, in the 1940s, squelch became conservative. The Cinematograph Act in 1952, called kissing on screen indecent and romance became associated with clasping hand and double-dyed(a) into each others eyes. Kissing was shown with two flowers coming together or honey bees sucking nectar from flowers. 1970s was Raj Kapoors era that brought a passion back to romance with movies such as Bobby (1973), Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1978). It was the 90s that romance took a pure and sweet form the two blockbuster hits Hum Aapke Hain Kaun (1994) Dilwale Duhaniya Le Jayenge (1995). Now, in the 2000s, pre-marital sex shown in films like Salaam Namaste (2005) and Rockstar (2011), is considered cool. The medicationMelodies to racy tracks The 1930 and 40s, wer e defined by nasal renditions by the likes of KL Saigal (Jab Dil Hi Tooth Gaya, Shahjahan, 1946) and Noorjehan. The 50s were all about soul-soothing melodies. Songs like it Pyaar Huya Ekraar Huya (Shree 420 1952) or Jaane Woh Kaise Log The (Pyaasa 1957) became epics. However, it was R D Burman, who single-handedly changed the course of Bollywood film music, and introduced westernised tunes in songs in the 60s. While 70s re main(prenominal)ed the decade of a mix of soft and fast numbers, the 80s turned Bollywood music on its head, as Bappi Lahiri brought in disco music. Disco Dancer (1982) marked the beginning of a range of high-on-noise, low-on-lyrics songs. The 1990s churned out several hugely forgettable numbers, still for musical hits like 1942 a Love Story (1994), Saajan (1991). The 2000s have been the decade of experimenting thus Sonu Nigam and Yo Yo Honey Singh both find place in the same film. The dialoguesMelodrama to quirky Power-packed dialogues get the maximum seetis f rom the audience, and why not. A film is often remembered for its iconic dialogues. Kaun kambakth bardasht karne ke liye peeta hai, from Devdas thats a favourite even with the daarubaaz of today. However, dialogues like Kitne aadmi the, and Kuttey main tera khoon pi jaunga from Sholay, Pushpa, I hate tears from Amar Prem and Mere paas maa hai from Deewar have gone on to become epic. In the 1990s, heroes impressed their lady love with dialogues. Thus came, I love you Kkk Kiran (Darr), Bade bade shehron mein aisi chhoti chhoti baatein hoti rehti hain. (DDLJ 1995). In 2000, quirky dialogues such as, Main apni favourite hoon (Jab We Met), Picture Abhi Baki Hai Dost (Om Shanti Om) are the big hits among film buffs.