Greatest Bollywood Actors of the Classic Era

 

5 great films of Indian cinema that marked an era

Art

By: Luis Alberto Hara - 12/31/2021

A selection of classic Indian cinema

Indian cinema is more than a prolific production machine for unrealistic films that often feature supernatural figures, baroque dialogue, inexplicable  voice-overs or sudden bursts of epic choreography. Indian cinema is more than Bollywood , although Bollywood too has some gems amidst a sea of ​​bric-à-brac . 

The following five films are a sample of both the cinematographic quality - in an artistic sense - that has been achieved in India and the idiosyncrasy and temperament of this country prone to romanticism, epic and the extravagant. The sixth film, Peter Brooks' Mahabharata , although not an Indian film, is a good way to approach the Indian imagination, the Mahabharata being  the story behind all the stories in India, as the Iliad was for the Greeks. An unfilmable epic, which has nevertheless been filmed hundreds of times in the most diverse and irregular ways.

 

The Apu Trilogy (1955-1959)

The three films that make up this trilogy directed by Satyajit  Ray are almost unanimously considered the most important in Indian cinema, marking the golden age that occurred in the 1950s. Although perhaps with uneven results,  Pather Panchali ,  Aparajito and Apur Sansar constitute the references of Indian auteur cinema, with a style influenced by Italian neorealism but with its own essence. The films narrate the childhood and maturation of Apu in the emblematic region of Bengal. Ray's ability to master the entire art of cinema and his contemplative sensitivity made him one of the only Indian filmmakers to have achieved worldwide fame and admiration, including praise from directors such as Scorsese and Kurosawa. His trilogy, partly scored by Ravi Shankar and based on the books of Bibhutibhusan Banerjee, is considered one of the best works in the history of cinema. 

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The Music Room (1958)

Indian cinema has Ray as its most important figure, and one could choose other films of his. We chose Jalsaghar ( The Music Room ), which tells the story of a down-and-out aristocrat who finds pleasure only in the room where he has given many concerts over the years. The film is particularly valuable because it features appearances by some of the most important musicians of his time. Ray himself was a prominent music composer, as well as a writer, editor and graphic artist. 

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Mother India (1957)

Another of the most famous films from the golden age of Indian cinema, better known as Mother India (Madara indiya in Hindi). It was the first Indian film to win an Oscar nomination and is a response to a controversial 1927 novel of the same name by Katherine Mayo. The film is an affirmation of Indian culture, with abundant allusions to the mythology, values ​​and identity of the country after independence in 1947. The film tells the story of a woman, Radha, whose capacity for self-sacrifice is emblematic of some of the feminine ideals of Indian culture. The massive scale of the production inaugurated a new era in Indian cinema.

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Mughal-E-Azam (1960)

Mughal-E-Azam or The Emperor Akbar , another of the great productions of Indian cinema, tells the story of the illegitimate love affair between a prince and a dancer from the court of Emperor Akbar. The sets, costumes, music and production in general reached a scale hitherto unseen in the history of Indian cinema. It was the most watched film in India for 15 years and the first black and white film to be digitally coloured. Much of what is associated with Bollywood is present here, but in general terms and with greater aesthetic care.

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Pyaasa (1957)

Another of the most popular films in the history of Indian cinema, directed by Guru Dutt. The film tells the story of a struggling outcast poet who is helped by a friendly prostitute in the post-independence era. The poet appears to be dead and a publisher publishes one of his books, which is a success. But the poet has only been admitted to a sanatorium for mental disorders. The film brought fame to Dutt and his protagonists and is one of the most endearing in the history of Indian cinema, especially for its criticism of established society.

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BONUS: The Mahabharata (1989)

There are many versions of the Mahabharata , and perhaps some of a higher quality or more popular in India than Peter Brook's, but for Western audiences this is the best version, particularly as an introduction to the stories of this monumental classic. The film is based on Brook's play which originally ran for 9 hours. The TV version runs for 6 hours and the DVD version runs for 3 hours, yet only a few fragments of the epic are told. Brook attempted to create a universal work and cast actors from all over the world. The text itself boasts that "everything found in the Mahabharata is found elsewhere; what is not found in the Mahabharata is found nowhere." The Mahabharata seeks to emulate and perhaps replace the universe, being the model for every great work of art.