Indian Cinema in the 21st Century

Indian Cinema in the 21st Century

Indian Cinema in the 21st Century

Over the years, the Indian cinema has evolved into four segments, mainstream, specialized (art), diaspora and regional. There are no strict differences between these types and they often overlap. However, the general treatment decides its success as a commercial or artistic project. New Indian movies follow bolder and more meaningful themes and deal with taboo subjects, although mainstream cinema is still hesitant to take the bull by the horns, for fear of bombing at the box office.

Bollywood stands as the world's largest film industry in terms of production, with well over a thousand films produced each year. However, many people still mistake Bollywood for the entire Indian film industry. This is inaccurate since parallel cinema has a very strong international presence. Most of the celebrated film festivals screen new indian movies which are often well-received by an international audience. For example, nine Indian films were screened at the 2010 Berlinale (Berlin Film Festival), for the first time in 60 years of its existence. The Man Beyond the Bridge, Road Movie and Peepli Live were some of the films which received rave reviews from critics.

Although the conventional song and dance routine is retained in 21stcentury Bollywood films, filmmakers are now exploring different dimensions of reality. Parallel cinema has definitely travelled the distance to delve into the lives of the ordinary. This is visible in new indian movies like Peepli Live, (directed by Anusha Rizvi and produced by Aamir Khan) which focuses on the mass suicides among farmers. The Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol starrer My Name is Khan is a case of a smash hit getting unbelievable worldwide appreciation for what looked like typical Bollywood fare. The film was part of the Berlinale's Official Selcction out of competition and tickets which were auctioned at 1000 EUROs each, were sold out within five seconds.

Many critics view Indian cinema as a mere shadow of its gloriously creative past. This may be partially true although commercial cinema is largely dependent on what the audience wants. However, times are progressive now and films are turning progressive too, albeit in smaller and more subtle ways than the blatantly, in-your-face themes of western cinema.

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