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The South
Asian Life & Times - SALT |
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Contents Adventure & Sport Five
Ultimate Everest Apa
Sherpa-21 Times
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A SALT Tribute It has been a
hundred-year- long exciting journey for Indian cinema - from the first ever
film shown in Bombay in 1913 to becoming the largest film industry in the
world in 2013, projected to reach US $5 billion by the year 2015 – it is no
wonder Columbia, Disney, Fox and other international banners are wooing and
courting Mumbai.
Nearly
one thousand films are produced every year in India – one-third of these are
Hindi/Urdu language films produced in Mumbai. ‘Bollywood’ is the now almost
universally accepted slang term for the commercial Hindi movie industry of
India centred in Mumbai – increasingly associated with glitz, gloss, and
glamour. Purists however sneer at the term Bollywood. Indian cinema, unfairly
associated only with Bombay (now Mumbai), has had immense regional inputs.
India's three most prominent film industries – Marathi, Tamil, and Bengali -
originated in Bombay, Madras and Calcutta respectively.
In fact one of the world’s greatest
cinematic giants was from Bengal – none other than Satyajit Ray. A master
craftsman, he put Indian cinema on the world map. Decades after he passed
on, his film Pather Panchali is still rated among the best 50 films ever
made in the world. However, Indian cinema’s main hub remains Bombay (now
Mumbai) – a mega industry of song and dance blockbusters of dubious artistic
merit, and also one that brings out, every now and then, well-crafted
small-budget films that appeal to a discerning global audience. It is a difficult task to cover a 100-year journey
in a few pages – a journey made possible by great teamwork of producers,
directors, actors, poets, writers, composers – and singers. Many Indian
films would be junked if not for their music. As a conclusion to the centennial celebration of
Indian cinema, SALT pays tribute to its early pioneers in India, and the
three female actors who distinguished themselves in their craft, and finally
the two directors who did not delve into mainstream celluloid – followed
their heart and created great cinema. Satyajit Ray remains one of the best
in the world.
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