Introduction to Indian Cinema

The history of film in India begins with the screening of Auguste and Louis Lumière moving pictures in Bombay during the July of 1895. Raja Harishchandra—a full length feature film—was initiated in 1912 and completed later. Alam Ara (released 14 March 1931)—directed by Ardeshir Irani—was the first India movie with dialogs. Indian films were soon being followed throughout Southeast Asia and the Middle East—where modest dressing and subdued sexuality of these films was found to be acceptable to the sensibilities of the audience belonging to the various Islamic countries of the region. As cinema as a medium gained popularity in India as many as 1, 000 films in various languages of India were produced annually. Hollywood also gained a foothold in India with special effects films such as Jurassic Park (1993) and Speed (1994) being specially appreciated by the Indian audiences.[26] Expatriates throughout the the United Kingdom and in the United States continued to give rise to an international audiences to Indian movies, which—according to the The Encyclopædia Britannica (2008) entry on Bollywood—'continued to be formulaic story lines, expertly choreographed fight scenes, spectacular song-and-dance routines, emotion-charged melodrama, and larger-than-life heroes.