INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

The history of Indian cinema is as rich and vibrant as the history of India as a country. It is full of small stories of little men doing extraordinary things, of seemingly insignificant incidents which later went on to change the face of cinema in a global sense. It is a story which is more than a century long and full of more than 50,000 tales told in celluloid. It starts with a couple of men in 1896 making the first ever short films in the history of India and altering the course of events forever. The stories it holds are in no way less amazing then those seen in cinemas across the world. For convinces sake, the history of Indian cinema can be divided into 6 eras from the time of its conception in the year 1896 till today.

I. The birth of cinema in India - Silent Era (1899 to 1930)

II. Advent of Talkie and Colour (1931 to 1950)

III. The golden Era of the 50’s (1951 to 1960)

IV. Masala Movies and rise of Parallel Cinema (1961 to 1980)

V. Big Budget Films and Studio Monopoly (1981 to 2000)

VI. Contemporary Cinema (2000 – present)