Why Bollywood Is Only Part of Indian Cinema

[00:00:01][music] >> If you asked most people, [music] what is Indian cinema? They would likely answer Bollywood.

[00:00:12]But Bollywood is only one branch of a far larger cinematic tradition.

[00:00:18]In this three-part series, we hope to correct [music] this assumption.

[00:00:22]To revel in the sights and sounds of truly magical work and to trace this rich [music] history back to its roots.

[00:00:32]This is the ultimate guide to Indian cinema.

[00:00:36]Episode [music] 1.

[00:00:40]India is home to 28 states, each shaped by distinct languages, cultures, and artistic traditions.

[00:00:48]Unsurprisingly, [music] it is also home to a constellation of film industries.

[00:00:53]Hindi cinema in Mumbai, Tamil cinema in Chennai, [music] Telugu cinema in Hyderabad, Malayalam cinema in Kochi, Kannada cinema in Bengaluru, Bengali cinema in Kolkata, Marathi cinema in Pune, and many [music] more beyond.

[00:01:14]Each possesses its own stars, genres, aesthetic traditions, and audience expectations.

[00:01:21]Yet [music] something runs beneath all of it.

[00:01:25]A common inheritance to myth, music, and live performance, all of which existed long before any camera rolled.

[00:01:35]Understanding Indian cinema means understanding what it was built on.

[00:01:40]But where did all of these industries [music] come from?

[00:01:44]To answer that, we must go back to the beginning.

[00:01:50]Dadasaheb Phalke is widely regarded as the father of Indian cinema.

[00:01:56]In 1913, he released Raja Harishchandra, a silent feature film whose intertitles appeared in Hindi, Marathi, and English.

[00:02:06]Phalke worked with an all-Indian crew and personally handled nearly every stage of production.

[00:02:13]Directing, editing, even processing the film stock himself.

[00:02:18]Early Bombay cinema grew from the traditions of Parsi theater, a vibrant stage culture shaped by Urdu dialogue, Persian romance epics such as Layla Majnu and Shirin-Farhad, and Islamic performance traditions like the ghazal and qawwali.

[00:02:37]These theatrical roots informed Indian cinema's early love of heightened drama, lyrical dialogue, and musical storytelling.

[00:02:46]The South Indian industry soon joined this emerging medium.

[00:02:50]R. Nataraja Mudaliar's Keechaka Vadham launched Tamil cinema, followed by the Telugu silent film Bhishma Pratigya, and the Malayalam film Vigathakumaran.

[00:03:03]From the beginning, each region developed its own storytelling tendencies.

[00:03:08]Malayalam cinema drew heavily from Kerala's literary tradition of social drama.

[00:03:13]Tamil and Telugu films [music] frequently adapted mythological stories from the Puranas and the great Indian epics.

[00:03:21]During the Tamil silent era from 1916 to 1932, 88 of the 107 films produced were based on mythological or devotional subjects, retelling stories of gods, heroes, and saints such as Kabir and Ramdas.

[00:03:39]Even though these films were technically silent, Indian cinema [music] was never truly experienced without words.

[00:03:46]In theaters across the country, exhibitors often hired live narrators who would read intertitles aloud and explain the action [music] to audiences.

[00:03:55]This practice reinforced something that would remain central to Indian filmmaking, the power of spoken dialogue and performance.

[00:04:04]Long before the arrival of synchronized sound, Indian cinema was already concretizing an oral storytelling tradition.

[00:04:24]MUSIC, TOO, WAS RARELY ABSENT.

[00:04:27]Many screenings featured live accompaniment.

[00:04:30]Tablas, harmoniums, or small orchestras added emotional rhythm [music] to the unfolding drama.

[00:04:37]These musicians, frequently hired from theater ensembles, would later become some of the pioneers of Indian film music direction.

[00:04:45]That transition came in 1931 with Ardeshir Irani's Alam Ara, the first Hindi talkie.

[00:04:54]Following its success, Irani entrusted the expansion of sound cinema in South India to H.M. Reddy, who had assisted him during the film's production.

[00:05:04]Reddy would soon achieve a rare distinction in film history, directing both the first Tamil talkie, Kalidas, and the first Telugu talkie, Bhakta Prahlada.

[00:05:15]Meanwhile, in the East, Bengal emerged as another early center of film production, with Calcutta rapidly developing into one of the subcontinent's major cinematic [music] hopes.

[00:05:27]Studios such as New Theatres helped pioneer literary adaptation, musical drama, and sophisticated sound filmmaking.

[00:05:43]Further East, filmmakers such as Jyoti Prasad Aggarwala helped lay the foundations of Assamese cinema, extending the medium's reach into India's northeastern cultural traditions.

[00:05:56]By the 1940s and 1950s, a new generation of filmmakers laid the groundwork for what is often called the golden age of Indian cinema.

[00:06:06]Among its most influential figures was Raj Kapoor, the son of Prithviraj Kapoor.

[00:06:13]Kapoor believed deeply in the primacy of artistic expression, once saying, "Filmmaking is an art. I agree that there should be some kind of economics, but for a true filmmaker, the heart has to reign [music] supreme.

[00:06:27]I would hate to live in an era where films are not being made as a creative pursuit, but where numbers are motivating filmmaking."

[00:06:35]>> [music] [clears throat] >> Blending social realism with music and romance, Kapoor's films such as Awaara and Shree 420 helped define the emotional and musical language [music] of Hindi cinema.

[00:07:05]These films also reached audiences across the Soviet Union, the Middle East, and Asia.

[00:07:11]Through his everyman protagonists, deliberately evocative of Charlie Chaplin's Kapoor helped introduce Indian cinema to a truly global audience.

[00:07:28]>> [music and singing] [music] >> At the same time, filmmakers such as Guru Dutt explored a more introspective and poetic dimension of the medium.

[00:07:44]Films like Pyaasa and Kagaz [music] Ke Phool combined lyrical music with striking visual compositions, meditations on alienation, artistic struggle, and the cost of fame.

[00:08:23]>> [music] [music] >> Together, Kapoor and Dutt [music] revealed the extraordinary stylistic elasticity of Hindi cinema at its height.

[00:08:55]Meanwhile, [music] in South India, stars were forging similarly powerful connections with regional audiences.

[00:09:02]In Tamil cinema, M.G. Ramachandran, widely known as MGR, became the archetype of the working class hero confronting everyday injustice.

[00:09:13]Across his films, he appeared as a fisherman, rickshaw puller, gardener, taxi driver, quarry worker, circus performer, and cowherd, figures drawn from the overlooked laboring classes of society.

[00:09:29]Many of his most popular films even took their titles from these professions.

[00:09:34]Padagotti, Vivasaayi, Mattukkara and Rickshawkaran.

[00:09:41]Through these roles, MGR transformed cinema into a vehicle for social aspiration.

[00:09:48]In neighboring Telugu cinema, N. T. Rama Rao, NTR, emerged as an equally iconic figure. Though his screen persona drew more directly from India's mythological traditions.

[00:10:00]NTR became famous for portraying divine and epic characters such as Krishna, Rama, and Karna, bringing the heroes of the Mahabharata and the Ramayana to life for modern audiences.

[00:10:14]His performances [music] helped cement the lineage between Indian cinema and its mythological storytelling heritage.

[00:10:22]Kannada cinema too developed its own rich star tradition during this period.

[00:10:27]Performers such as Dr. Rajkumar became beloved cultural icons.

[00:10:33]Revered for his versatility and moral gravitas, >> [music] >> Rajkumar helped define the heroic and ethical imagination of Kannada popular cinema for generations [music] of audiences.

[00:10:45]As much as Indian cinema was preserving the past, it was also redefining modern emotional language.

[00:10:51]Hindi film actors like Dilip Kumar introduced a new psychological realism to dialogue delivery, bringing an internal, almost literary intensity to performance.

[00:11:17]Often referred to as the tragedy king, he demonstrated that silence, restraint, and subtext could be as powerful as speech.

[00:11:26]This foundation was transformed in the late 1960s by Rajesh Khanna, widely regarded as India's first true romantic superstar.

[00:11:35]His [music] soft-spoken, intimate, emotionally direct style reshaped the relationship between actor and audience, making the camera feel less like a stage and more like a confidant.

[00:11:55]By the close of the 60s, you can already see the shape of everything that was coming.

[00:12:00]The music, the myth, the melodrama, the poetry.

[00:12:05]Each tested in isolation, [music] in different regions, in different languages, and different traditions.

[00:12:12]What no one had done yet was to fuse it [music] into a singular popular form.

[00:12:17]That was about to change.

[00:12:21]In the next episode, [music] we will cover the modern history of Indian cinema, including the films and filmmakers that continue to make vibrant and [music] powerful work.

[00:12:30]In the meantime, Studio Binder is here to assist in all your pre-production needs.

[00:12:35]Scripts, storyboards, schedules, call sheets, and more. [music] That's all for now. Join us next time as we continue our journey through the cinematic subcontinent.

[00:12:56]>> [music]