UNIT INDIAN THEATRE

Structure
Objectives
Introduction
Theatre Tradition in India
12.2.1 Sanskrit Theatre
12.2.2 Folk Theatre
12.2.3 Modem Theatre
The Tradition of Plays in India
12.3.1 Sanskrit Plays
12.3.2 Post Sanskrit Plays
12.3.3 Modem Plays
Modern Indian Theatre
12.4.1 Pami Theatre
12.4.2 Elite Theatre
12.4.3 Peoples' Theatre
Theatrical Forms
12.5.1 Western Theatrical Porn
12.5.2 Sanskrit Theatrical Form
125.3 Folk form
12.5.4 Others ,
Let Us Sum Up
Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises

12.0 OBJECTIVES '

It is imperative for people and institutions, active in the field of tourism, to become familiar
with different facets of Indian culture. It is generally possible for us to get an idea of the rich
tradition of India's art aud culture through the Indian theatre. This Unit proposes to
introduce you to Indian theatn, its &tory and present form. After reading it you will:

be able to explain In&s theatre tradition,

understand India's drama (play) tradition,
be able to describe the different facets of Indian theatre,
distinguish between the marathi, bengali and the hindi tradition of plays, and
familiarise yourself with the main theatrical forms of contemporary India.

12.1 INTRODUCTION
'Indian Theatre' is the first Unit of Block 4 on 'Popular Culture'. In this Unit you will be
introduced to the rich tradition of Indian theatre. The tradition of writing and enacting plays
is quite old in India. Alongwith plays, theatre had also developed. Bharat's book Natya
Shastra ( The art/philosophy of dance) has focussed on the play, theatre, audience and the
sensory response after watching the play (called rasa). Alongwith a pan - Indian tradition,
different regions have developed their own tradition of popular plays. Although the ancient
tradition of Sanskrit plays could not develop in the medieval times, the popular drama
tradition kept advancing uninterrupted through the ages.

In modern times the drama tradition emerged in a new form. New theatre auditoria came
into being. The exposure with the west brought in the influence of the Greek tradition and
the modern western theatre tradition. Modern Indian theatre has benefitted from both, the
popular folk tradition and the western drama tradition. Simultaneously the modern play
wights have also made new experiments.A knowledge about these aspects would enable you
to put in perspective the development of India theatre. Such knowledge is crucial to those
involved in the field of tourism, as they would be able to appreciate the specificitiesof Indian
theatre in the overall context of Indian Culture.
Popular Culture
12.2 THEATRE TRADXTION IN INDIA
It is diicult to determine the beginning of theatre and play in India. Some experts feel that
it is non-Aryan culture which has contributed significantly to the development of Indian plays.
Though it is diitcult to discern the exact nature of this contribution, yet a developed sanskrit
drama tradition must have been preceded by a folk tradition of plays. In other words, the
sanskrit tradition presupposes the existence of a folk tradition prior to that. But it is difficult
for us to decipher and identifythis folk tradition.We can oply extrapolate it from the available
sanskrit plays, literature related to drama and the existing folk tradition. Let us, therefore,
have a look at the sanskrit and folk tradition of Indian theatre.

12.2.1 Sanskrit Theatre '

Rig Veda is the oldest available text in sanskrit. It makes a reference to various art forms which
include music, dance, poetry etc., but drama has not been included in these art forms.
Nevertheless, Mantra Sahitya in the Rig Veda contains Sanlap Suktas ( romantic verses)
which refer to dramatic literature in its original form. Urvashi and Pururava romance in Rig
Veda is sigmficant in so much as it has been developed in a number of later sanskrit texts.
Famous sanskrit poet Kalidasa had based his epic play Vikramorvashiyam on the Urvashi
and Pururava story. Yajur Veda makes a reference to the term Abhineta (actor).
India's epic Natyashastra, written between the third and the frfth centuries A.D., focuses on
two themes - rasa and the means of expressing rasa. Rasa refers to that feeling which is
expressed through the play. Natyashastra talks about four ways of expressing feelings:

1) Gestures (Angik): acting by the movement of the different parts of the body.

2) Oral (Vachik): acting through dialogues.

3) Spiritual (Satwik): expressions through gestures.

4) Properties (Aharya):The material required for the play like colours, dresses and decora-
tions etc. All these are mentioned specificallyin reference to the theme of the play. Bharat
has also described ways of managing the stage in his Natya shastra. Dance and music
have been considered the essential ingredients in the play. There is also a reference to
the desirable qualities found in the actor (abhineta).
Ancient India observed a tradition of organising plays on important occasions like marriage,
travel, coronation ceremony, making a ceremonial entry into a house (griha pravesh) or a
city, birth of a child or-other special occasions. Plays for the ruling classes used to be enacted
in the forts or the temples but those for common people could be played in any open space
or even during travels.

Ancient sanskrit texts have elaborate references to the size of the theatres. Natya Shastra
refers to theatres of a squarish size. Other books talk about various kinds of stages and
galleries etc. From the above references it seems that various aspects of the theatre and
organising plays wmeasnremplated lipon in Ancient India.

12.2.2 Folk Theatre

Many scholars believe that a folk theatre existed in Ancient India along with a rich classical
sanskrit theape. With the passage of time the sanskrit tradition faded but the folk tradition
continued unhampered. As many as 20 different forms still exist and flourish in different parts
of India. Theseainclude Ramlila and Raslila in North India, Jatra in Bengal, Akiya Nat,
Kirtania and Bidesia in Bihar and Assam, Khyal and Kathputli in Rajasthan, Tamasha in
Maharashtra, Swang and Nautanki in Pudjab, Bhandjashan in Kashmir, Kariala in Himachal
Pradesh, Bhawai in Gujarat, Manch in Madhya Pradesh, Kudiattam and Chabitta in.Kerala,
Bhagwatmel in Tamilnadu,Yakshagan in Karnataka and Kuchipudi in Andhra Pradesh.

The forms of folk plays are said to have originated from sangitaka referred to in the old
sanskrit plays. Sangitaka contains five elements-song, musical instruments, dance,
auditorium and the Nat-Nati (compere or the story telling couple). These elements were
shared by both the classical and the folk plays although the nature of the auditorium varied.
 Some of the folk plays did not need the stage at all. For instance Raslila could be performed
on the stage as well as on the floor in the midst of the audiences.

The thematic content in the folk plays was generally of two kinds - worldly and religious.
Ramlila and Raslila were primarily religious plays. Kirtania and Ankia Nat were also
portrayals of religious stories. Nautanki, Swang, Bhand, Tamasha and Khyal were based on
worldly tales. Certain folk plays like Jatm combined both.

12.23 Modern Theatre

As has been said earlier, the modern Indian theatre draws itself from three different traditions
i.e. the sanskrit theatre tradition, folk theatre tradition and the tradition of western theatres.
It is actually the third which can be said to form the basis of the modern Indian theatre. The
sanskrit tradition had evaporated in the medieval times and there was no significant trend of
plays being performed for the r u h g classes. This view is now being contested and some
researchers feel that the sanskrit tradition did not decline in the medieval times. Among the
common people, however, the folk tradition continued as we have discussed in the Sub-sec.
12.2.2.
I '
Modern Indian theatre started after the advent of the British in India. The British developed
Calcutta in the east, Bombay and Surat in the west and Madras in the south as important
centres of trade and administration. They also set up theatres in these cities for their
entertainment. Levdef, a gentleman of Russian origin, established a theatre by the name of
bengali Theatre. Abridged versions of plays like Disguise and Love is the Best Doctor were
enacted on 21 November 1765, well over 200 years ago. Many rich drama lovers followed the
example ofkvdef and started conducting shows in their houses, lawns and gardens. This set
in motion a process in which many theatres were established and plays enacted.
once general interest developed in the plays, their commercial viewing became inevitable.
. This led to the formation of theatrical companies among which the Parsi theatrical companies
became most popular. These companies toured various provinces and made money. But,
more ~ i g ~ c a n t lthey
y , contributed to the popularisation of the plays by writing them in
Indian languages. Since money making was their main aim, these companies did not either
promote-excellence or bring about any experiments in the methods of presentation.
Nonetheless, they helped in providing a popular platform to plays.
The modern Indian drama was greatly influenced by the west. It, therefore, contained all the
features of the western theatres. The Ancient Indian tradition rested on a happy ending of
the plays whereas in the western tradition the tragic ending was generally in vogue even though
comedy was not completely absent there. Although influenced, modern Indian theatre was
not merely an imitation of the west. On the contrary, it was a product of certain Indian social
developments. The processes of modernisation and Renaissance in the Indian society,
brought about Socio - cultural changes and these changes were reflected in the field of art
and literature. All this influenced the Indian theatre as well.

The initial thematic content of the modern Iddian plays rested on the historical and the
mythological themes. Later the social and political themes were also given a place. Along
with this, Indian theatre soon began incorporating elements from the classical spskrit
theatres and folk theatres. This combination brought about many changes in the Indian
theatre. For example, plays in the Parsi theatres gave tremendous importance to music, song
and dances which was the influence of the traditional folk plays.

The post independencetheatre also incorporated much of the folk and the Sanskrit traditions
but , in essence, retained the realist western tradition. Play wights like Badal Sarkar,
Shambhu Mitra, Vijay Tendullcar, B.V.Karant, Ibrahim Alkazi, Girish Karnad and Utpal Dutt
etc. made new experiments in the theatrical devices.

The decade after the seventies witnessed an important development when theatre broke out
of the auditoria and surfaced on the open streets and lanes. This heralded a significant change
in the world of theatres by adding a new dimension. But it did not in any way diminish the
simcance of the stage based plays.
popular Culture
ICheck Your Progress-1

1) Discuss the different forms of folk theatre.

2) The theme of Kalidasa's play Vikramorvashiyam was inspired by an ancient Sanskrit

text. What was its name?

3) Match the following theatrical forms with the regions they belong to:

1) Jatra a) Karnataka
2) Khyal ., b) Assam
3) Ankiya Nat c) West Bengal
4) YakshaGan d) Maharashtra
5) ,Tamasha e) Rajasthan

123 THE TRADITION OF PLAYS IN INDIA

Regarding the origin of plays, Bharat says in his Natyashastra, Having borrowed text
(pathya) from Rig Veda, song Fnm Sam Veda, acting (abhinaya) from Yqjur Veda and rasa
from AthamaVeda, Brahma created a fifth Natya Veda. It is difficult to say when the tradition
of play writing might have begun in India but Bharat makes a reference to various plays in his
Natyashastra. The leading 5th century playwright Kalidasa refers to Bhas, Saumilla and
Kayiputra as his predecessors. He has remembered Bharat also with reverence. Leading
gramni-bt:ianPanini (5th century B.C.) has referred to the Nat Sutras of Sbilali and Krishakh.

There are different opinions on how the play started in India. Some scholarsbelieve it to have
begun with the prayer of Vishnu whereas some others trace it to the dance of puppets. Some
take it back to the vedasand some others look upon it as the influence of the Greek tradition.
It is a fact that a rich tradition of plays has been in existence for a long time. Let us briefly
look at the sanskrit plays because these have been the earliest Indian plays.

123.1 Sanskrit Plays

In sanskrit language, the play has been considered a parf of poetry. Poetry has been divided
into two heads - shravya (audio) and drishya (video). Poem, story etc. are examples of audio
poetry (drishya kavya) and theatre is an example of visual poetry (shravya kavya). Play has
also been called a Roopak (metaphor) in the Indian tradition. As many as ten Roopaks are
mentioned in sanskrit. These are Natak, Prakaran, Bhan, Vyayog, Samvakar, Dim,
Eehamrag, Ank, Mthi and Prahasan. These include one act plays, monologues and full length
proper plays.
Prastavna (introduction),Vishambhak and Praveshak play a very important role in sanskrit
dramas. In Prastavna, the compere (Sutradhar) introduces the story to the audiences.
Vishambhak and Praveshak link one act of the play with the other. The Sutradhar comes
only at the beginning and the end. He does not figure in the play and isyexternal to it.
 Indian Theatre
Bhas is the first sanskrit play writer (2nd-3rd century) whose plays are available to us. The
most important of these is Swapna Vasavadatta. It is important to talk of Ashwa ghosh's play
Sariputra Prakaran which was written before Bhas but the complete play is not available.
Bhas' plays follow the contemporary epic tradition. Dcsot Vakyaand Doot Ghatotkach etc.
are tragedies.

After Bhas, Kalidas (5th century approximately) is the most distinguished playwright. Three
of his plays are available: Malvikagnimiyram, Vikramorvashiyam a n d Abhigyan
Shakuntalam. All his plays have a happy ending and portray life's diversity and conflicts quite
beautifully.

Mrichh Katikam by Shudrak can be called a realist play. The selection of characters in this
play secms quite contrary to the elite tradition of the sanskrit plays.

Bhav Bhuti and Vishakh Dutt from the 7th-8th centuries are other important playwrights.
Bhav Bhuti has written Mahavir Charit, Malti Madhav and Uttar Ramcharit, of which the
last is most important. Bhav Bhuti does not portray Ram as a god but as an idealist king who
loves his wife and is torn betwecn his duty as a king and his love for his wife. He is constantly
searching for a way out. Vishakh Dutt's Mudrarakshasam, based on the story of
Chandragupta and Chanakya, is a political play.

Apart from thesc, Harsha's Ratnavali, Naganandand Priyadarshika; Mahendra Vikram

Varman's Mattavilas; Bhatta Narayan's Veni Sanhar; Muravi's Anargha Raghav;
RajShekhar's Bal Ramayan, Karpur Manjari,and Vidwashal Bhanjika; Kshemishwar's
Chand Kaushik; Damodar Mishra's HanumrnanNatakand Krishna Mishra's Probodh
Chandroday are also important sanskrit plays. These plays have generally displayed a conflict
between man's efforts and his fate. The conflict also brings out man's helplessness and agony.

Modern theatre personalities have often tried to stage this rich heritage of sanskrit plays.
Aorne presented them in the old Sanskrit form and some others in the western theatre form.
Aome playwrights have also experimented by presenting them in the folk form. Few of these
efforts have been successful but it can be said undeniably that the sanskrit plays, Natya
Shastra and the ancient forms of staging have shaped Indian theatre quitc profoundly.

12.3.2 Post Sanskrit Plays

It is difficult to determine tile language in which the edrhcst plnys wc ,
7 .
the earliest available plays arc in sanskrit only. The credit f o ~ :vclopi. 'ri- ,f>
go to Bhas, Shudrak, Vishakhadut, Kalidas, Bhavbhuti, etc 'I I,<y pruv;c ;r %relle~c,e ,a,,
through themes, portrayal of characters, poetry content and dramatir,~.

, After sanskrit, some plays were written in pali and prak~,also, which focussed mainly on the
lives of Buddha and Mahavir, respectively. It has been argued by some that tlfe writing and
staging of plays was discontinued because of the arrival of the Muslims. But this is not true.
In fact,the staging of plays had declined from 8th century itself but the tradition of folk plays
continued. A possible explanation for the decline in the writing of plays had something to do
with the attitude of the heads of the Brahmin, Buddhist and Jain religions. These elites looked
upon the art of play writing with contempt. Secondly, this was the age of political instability
of the feudal class. This affected adversely the patronage which the play writing used to
receive earlier. Even the cultural regeneration created by the Bhakti movement during the
medieval period did not create any space for a renewal of the classical drama tradition. This
was because the sections, where the Bhakti movement was active, were already exposed to
the folk tradition of plays. It was precisely the folk tradition which was used and developed
during the Bhakti period. Certain new experiments like Ramlila, etc. were also made in the
specific forms of folk plays during this period.

Ramlila, Raslila, Jatra,Yakshagan, Ankia nat, etc. draw there themes mainly from religious
stories and ballads of gods and goddesses. They catered to the religious sentiments of the
people andentertained them at the same time. On the other hand, the kathputli, Bhan, Khyal,
were oriented towards wordly themes. In these folk plays the storyline was invariably
traditional, and not many innovations were made at that level, but the elements of songs dance
and music kept the audiences engrossed. The folk plays did not have a tradition of writing
plays and could, therefore, change easily according to the place, time and the preferences of
the participants involved.
These folk forms are important in so much as they fill a gap of around thousand years between
the ancient sanskrit plays and the modern plays. They represented their times mainly through
religious and worldly stories. Their contribution to modern theatre can be discerned easily
through the works of Vijay Tendulkar (Ghasiram Kotwal), Girish Karnad (Hayvadan), Mani
Madhukar (Ras Gandharva), Sarveshwar Dayal Saksena (Bakari), Arun Mukherjee
(Mareech Samvad), K.N.Panikkar (Abnavan Katamba), and Satish Alekar (Mahanirvan).
All of them have used, very creatively, the traditional folk forms and style.

12.3.3 Modern Plays

As has been mentioned earlier, the credit for reviving interest in the play in modern times,
goes to the British. When Indians watched plays in the theatres set up by the British, they
realised the absence of play literature in their own languages. Thus began the process of
translation of English and Sanskrit plays in vernacular languages. The initiative was taken in
bengali language. In 1857 Kali Prasanna Singh translated Kalidas' Vikramorvashiyam in
bengali by the name of Vidyotsahni. Subsequently, Ramnarayan Tarkaratna translated
Venisanhar (1856), Ratnavali (1859), Abhigyan Shakuntalam (1867), and Malti Madhav
(1867) into bengali. Around the same time translations were done from English and Sanskrit
to assamese, telugu, punjabi, sindhi, marathi and hindi etc. The translations from English
were not mere translations but had been adapted into their Indian version. For instance,
Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice appeared in its indigeneus form as Bhanumati
Chitravilas.

After the phase of translations, original play writingin Indian languages was taken up. Initially
plays in all the languages centred around mythological and historical themes alongwith satires ,
on social problems. The ideas of religious morality dominated the initial plays but with the
emergence of the Indian National Movement nationalist expressions also found an entry into
the world of plays. For this, playwrights chose historical settings and characters. These plays
combined emotions of immense courage, selflessness, pathos and prospects of a bright future
which would leave a deep imprint on the readers and the audiences.

Girishchandra Ghosh and Dwijendralal Roy wrote historical plays in bengali language. The
former tended to lean more towards religion than patriotism unlike the latter whose plays
were more inspired by patriotism. Venkatrai Shastri (Pratap Rudriyam), Kolachalam
Srinivas (Ramanuj Charitra), Sripad Krishnamurti Shastri (Bobbili Yuddham),
Yagyanarayan Shastri (Rasaputra Vijayam) were some of the leading playwrights in telugu.
Similarly historical plays were written in hindi, tamil, malayalam and marathi. Nationalist
plays were written by Jayshankar Prasad and Harikrishna Premi in hindi, K.M.Munshi and
Umashankar Joshi in gujarati and Krishna Pillai in malayalam.

Combining nationalism with contemporary social reality was another trend in modern plays.
The first famousplay of this kind was written by Deenbandhu Mitra (Nee1 Darpan) in bengali.
This play was based on the theme of forcible cultivation of indigo inflicted on the native
planters by British imperialism. This play was also indicative of a newly emerging
consciousness of nationalism. It became very popular in Bengal. assamese plays by
Padmanath Gohai Barua (Lochit Barfukan), Lahshmikant Bejbarua (Ckakradhwaj Singhj
and Bimlanand Barua (Sharai Ghat) were also powerful expressions of nationalist feelings.
Pavler wrote nationalist plays (Khadrin Verdri and Desheeya Koti among others) in tamil.
In malayalam the nationalist tradition was carried by V.T. Bhattiripad, K. Damodaran,
Govindan, Ittasheri, S.L. Puran, K.T. Muhammad, etc. Bhartendu Harishchandra wrote
nationalist satires in hindi (Bharat Durdasha, Bharat Janani and Andher Nagri) and his
tradition was carried to its culmination by the plays of Jai Shankar Prasad.

The Indian intellectuals of the 19th century had grasped the reality that India's degeneration
was not only because of the alien rulers but also because of certain social evils and
superstitions prevalent in the Indian society. The plays of that period reflect this
understanding very well. The playwrights focussed their sarcasm on those Indians who were
busy in blindly following the west. The playwrights of this period attacked the caste system,
child marriage, dowry, false notions of pride and prestige, prostitution, untouchability and .
other social evils in their plays. Michael Madhusudan Dutt in bengali; Bhartendu, Pratap
Narain Mishra and Radhacharan Goswami in hindi; Hemchandra Barua and Gunbhiram
Barua in assamese; Narayan Rao in telugu; Kailasam, A.N.Murtirao, K.Ksheersagar and
Srirang in kannada; S.D.Sundaram, Krishnamurti and Neelkanth in tamil; V.T.
Bhattatirishad, M.P.Bhattatirippad, K.Damodaran in Malyalam; Ranchhod Bhai Udayram,
 Indian Theatre
Umashankar Joshi and Gulabdas Broker in gujarati; and Khanchand Daryani and
M.U.Malkani in sindhi are some of the leading playwrights of this period.

By the fourth decade of the 20th century play writing had matured considerably. This was
reflected in a certain breaking out of the fold of idealism and moving towards realism. The
plays now were also influenced by the problem-oriented plays of Ibsen. As a result social and
personal problems began to be seen together in the plays. Instead of focussing only on events,
the plays now began to concentrate on the internal conflicts and dilemmas of the characters.
As a result, matters of everyday life acquired importance in the theme selection of the plays.
It had its effect on the staging of the plays as well. The earlier plays, though excellent from
the literary point of view, were difficult to stage. On the other hand, the commercial Parsi
plays were fit to be staged, but few of these could meet the literary standards satisfactorily.
However, now the gap between the literary plays and the plays to be staged had started
narrowing down.
Apart from the expansion of the thematic content, the plays in this phase also acquired a deep
humanistic element. P.B.Rajrnannar's play Tappe Varidi (who is guilty), closely resembling
Premchand's famous novel Nirmala, makes a detailed examination of man- woman relations
through the problem of incompatible (incompatibility of age) marriage. P.Sriram Murti and
K.Gopalram Sharma in telugu; Praveen Phukan and Sharda Phukan in assamese; Lankesh in
kannada; N.Krishna Pillai, ~ . ~ u r e n & G.Sahnkar
an Pillai and C.N.Shrikanthan in Malyalam;
Mama Varerkar, Ackarya Atre and M.G.Rangnekar in marathi; Chandra Badan Mehta,
Jayanti Dalal ahd Ganesh Shankar La1 Shankar Pandya in gujarati and Jai Shankar Prasad
( D h r ~ v s w ~Lakhshmi
), Narayan Mishra and Upendra Nath Ashk in hindi are some of
the famous playwrights of this period.
"
Some writers of the pre- independence phase, like Rabindranath Tagore, do not fall into the
above mentioned categories. Many of his works can be called symbolic plays. He created
poetic dramas and ballets as well. No attempt at reconstructing the history of Indian plays
will ever be copplete without a reference to Tagore.

Post Independence Plays

The post independence period witnessed changes in both the style and content of the Indian
plays. The second world war and the partition of the sub-continent had a profound impact
on Indian society. The widely shared optimism of a better tomorrow turned out to be an
illusion after the attainment of independence. On the one hand, sufferings of the common
people increased, and on the other, a powerful class emerged which pursued opportunism
disregarding the values of the freedom movement. The rapid changes brought about by
science and industrialisation in the society, affected the value systems of the people. These
, changes were bound to show up in the world of Indian plays in a variety of ways.

An important change was the increased access, to India, of plays written in foreign languages
other thanEnglish.Indianswere nowgetting introduced to the plays of Brecht from Germany,
Gogol and Chekhov from Russia and Sartre from France. This influenced both the writing
and staging of the new plays. The new trend is most visible in the plays of Badal Sarkar in
bengali, Vijay Tendulkar in marathi and Girish Karnad in kannada. The new plays displayed
areceptivity towards new experiments being made in the field. The earlier trend was to write
five act plays, with many scenes in one act. This was reduced to three and finally to one. Many
scenes in an act used to disturb the continuity and interrupt viewer's pleasure. Therefore, the
practice of having many scenes in an act was almost discontinued.
The historical plays of the pre-independence period used to focus on invokmg national pride.
But the new historical plays attempted to understand and analyse history from a new angle.
The plays of Uttam Barua (Varja Fuleshwari, assamese), P.Lankesh (Sankranti, kannada),
Girish Karnad (Tughlaq, hindi), Vijay Kumar Mishra (Tat Niranjan, oriya), Dharmvir Bharti
@miha Yug, hindi), Mohan Rakesh (Ashadh Ka Ek Din, hindi), Jagdish Chandra Mathur
(Pahla Rqja, hindi) and Sant Singh Sekhon (Mohu Sar Na Kai, punjabi) are quite remarkable
in this respect.

In the post-independence plays the mythological form was also used to portray complex
human emotions and dilemmas. Plays of Budh DevBasu (Kaal Sandhya and Pratham Parth
in bengali), Girish Karnad (Yayati in kannada), C.N.Srikanthan Naiyar (Lanka Lakshmi,
Kanchan Sita and Saketam in Maylalam), Sant Singh Sekhon (Kalakar in punjabi, based on
I the life of a mythological character Ahilya), Dharmavir Bharti (Andha Yug in hindi) and
Popular Culture The focus on social plays continued in the post independence period as well, with a much
enlarged canvas to include new social problems and themes. Now, the increasing economic
disparity with resultant frustrations, the plight of women in the society, the despondency of
the dalits and the depressed, Hindu-Muslim relations, the miseries of the rural life,
de-humanisation of the city life, hypocrisy of the middle class and the clash between the new
and the old values dominated the thematic content of the new social plays. Many examples
of the new social plays can be cited but Adhe Adhure of Mohan Rakesh, Anjo Didi' of
Upendra Nath Ashq, Bakri of Sarveshwar Dayal Saksena, Tilchatta of Mudrarakshas,
Shuturmurg of Gyan Dev Agnihotri, Ek Aur Dronacharya of Shankar Ghosh (all in hindi);
Shantata Court Chalu, Ghasiram kotwal, Sakharam Binder and Gidb of Vijay Tendulkar
(in marathi); Evam Indrajit, Baki Itihas and Pagla Ghora of Badal Sarkar, Tin Ki Talwar of
Utpal Dutt, ginpig of Mohit Chatterjee and Chako Bhanga Madhu of Manoj Mitra (all in
bengali); Suryast of Jagannath Prasad (in oriya); Interview of Amar Pathak (in assarnese);
Agniputri of Sadanandan (in Malyalam); Aayo Nayo jamano of Ram Panjwani (in sindhi);
and N.G.O. of Acharya Atre and Padi Pand of Venkateshwar Rao (in telugu) would stand
out among the many that exist.

At the level of experiments, folk plays, ballets, absurd plays, street plays and radio plays were .
some of the major innovations carried out. We shall discuss Them later when we talk about
the various forms of plays.

r
1)
Check Your Progress-2

Read the following statements and mark correct [dl or incorrect [XI.

a) The sanskrit plays are quite often tragedies. [ ]

b) Bhavbhuti has portrayed Ram's character as that of an idealist king. [ ]
c) In sanskrit plays, we find a conflict between a man's efforts and his destiny. [ 1.-
d) Mrichh Katikam of Shudrak is an elitist romantic play. [ 1
e) Sanskrit plays have no relevance today. [ ]

2) Which have been the main sources in the theme selection in the folk plays?

3) What was the initial thematic concern of modern plays'!

 Indian Theatre
4) What has been the dominant perspective in the presentationof the historical and the
mythological plays during the post independence period?

5) . Match the name of the play with that of its author and the language.

a) Sankranti 1) Dharmavir Bharti i) punjabi

b) Kalakar 2) P. Lankesh ii) marathi
c) AndhaYug 3) Badal Sarkar iii) hindi
d) Evam Indrajit 4) Vijay Tendulkar iv) kannada
e) Ghsairam Kotwal 5) Sant Singh Sekhon v) Bangla

12.4 MODERN INDIAN THEATRE ,

As we have already informed you, modern Indian theatre was started in calcutta in 1765 by
Levedef, a Russian. Eleven years later, in 1776, a theatre was started in Bombay, the other
important town. Gradually, general interest increased in the theatre and this was reflected
in the setting up of new theatres. New theatrical companies were established which started
touring different cities to stage plays. The plays now began to be identified as a popular art
form. Among these companies, the role of the Parsi theatre is particularly important. Apart
from Parsi theatre, the traditional folk theatre also got an opportunity. The folk theatre also
influenced the westernised theatrical forms. The westernised elite theatre had been confined
only to big cities and the elite audiences. The formation of Progressive Writers Association
in 1936wassoon followed by the formation of the Indian Peoples Theatre Association (IPTA)
in 1942 which carried forward the march of folk theatres in India. In this Section we intend
to familiarise you with the different forms of the modern Indian theatre.

12.4.1 Parsi theatre

The Parsi community had &gated from Persia and settled at the western coast. Essentially
a trading community, the Parsis made rapid progress in trade and industry during the British
period. Bombay presidency was the centre of their activity. The Bombay theatre, as we have
informed you, was established in 1776 and initially only English plays were staged there.
Besides, the theatre was open only to the soldiers and officers of the East India Company.
The theatre was closed for repairs in 1818 and reopened again on the 1st January 1819. In
1835 it was bought by Jamshedji Jijibhai but it was closed down again. In 1846, Jagannath
Shankar Seth, a famous trader from Bombay, started his Grant Road Theatre, situated on
the Grant Road in Bombay. The theatre started off with English plays, but it was not before
long that gujarati, marathi and hindi-urdu plays began being staged there.

Bombay theatre was constructed along the lines of the Drury Lane Theatre of London. The
dress box was surrounded by a large gallery from all sides. the dress box could accommodate
72 people,'pit765 and the gallery 200. Thus the entire auditorium could easily accommodate
337 viewers.

The first ten years of the Grant Road Theatre were far from smooth.Unlike Bombay Theatre,
it received no patronage from the government. Once the officers and the gentry stopped
visiting the theatre, it started attracting sailors, soldiers and small traders. Free from any kind
of fear, they used to make loud noises during the play, create a ruckus and often fight amongst
themselves. This was precisely the kind of audience inherited by the Parsi theatre and later
by the popular cinema also.
Popular Culture
By contemporary standards, the theatre was very expensive. The dress box would cost Rs.
eight and the gallery Rs. three for the English plays. It was in 1821 that the indians got the
first opportunity of watching the theatre. Till 1853, the Grant Road theatre continued staging
only English plays but with the increase in the Indian audiences, plays in Indian languages
also began to be staged. It was during this period that Parsi Dramatic Core came into being
which presented agujarati play by the name of Rustam Zaboli Aur Sohrab at the Grant Road
Theatre. The theme was derived from Shahnama of Firdausi. Two more plays were staged
in the Indian languages in 1853. This set in motion the staging of Indian plays by the Parsi
theatre. On 6th May 1854 was staged a comedy called Teekhe Khan in the Hindustani
language (mix of h~ndi-urdu).Thus the Parsi theatre, which started with gujarati plays, staged
hindi-urdu comedies as well. These plays are no longer available to us in a written form.

Initially the actors at the Parsi theatres were invariably Parsis who used to advertise their
plays to attract viewers. Another company with the name Parsi Natak Mandali was set up in
1853by Pestonji Dhanji Bhai Master. He used to act also. Parseee Theatrical Committee was
yet another company. The ticket rates of the Parsi theatres were considerably less expensive
than those of the English plays - dress circle for Rs. three and 'pit' for only one rupee. The
tickets for dress circle were later reduced further to two and a half rupees.

The main play writers of the Parsi Natak Mandali were Vamanji N. Kavasji and Jahangir
Nasharvanji Patel. Vamanji Kavasji wrote many plays like Bholi Gul, Baghe Bahisht, Vapna
shrap, Noore neki, Wafa Par Jafa and Deljung DiIer. Jahangir Nasharvanji wrote an
extremely popular comedy called Fakuro Feeturi.

In Bombay another theatre company was established in 1867 called the Victoria Natak
Mandali. A number of Parsi companies were active in Bombay before 1890. These included
both the commercial and non-commercial companies. The rehearsals of the plays used to be
supervised by a director.

Increasing popularity of the parsi theatres led to the opening of a number of theatre halls in
Bombay. Some of these were Eros Theatre, Edward Theatre, Empire Theatre, Elphinston
Theatre, Esplaned Theatre, Original Theitre, Novelty Theatre, Royal Opera House, Victoria
Theatre and hindi Natyashala. After 1930, a number of them were converted into cinema
halls.

Although the play writers provided by the Parsi theatres were not really talented from literary
point of view, yet their contribution towards initial attempts at play writing is immensely
important. Most of the initial play writers were Parsis only. Some of these were Kavasji
Kaikhuro Navrozeji (Bezan Manizeh, Jamshed, Faredoon, Lavkush and Nandbattisi),
Eduljee Jamshedji Khori (Rustam Ane Sohrab, Hazamvad Ane Ugamvad, Khudabakhsh,
Noorjehan and Zalam Jare), Nanabhai Rustamji Ranina (Karani Tevi Par Utarni, Kala
Mentha, Homlo Hau, Sati Savitri and Nazan Shirin), Heerji Khambatta (Aabe Iblees),
Jahangir Khambatta (Kbudadad in urdu), Juddin Jhagro, Mad House and Dhartikamp),
Merwanji Nasarvanji Wadia (Satno Nigabpan Khuda and Honeymoon). Most of their plays
were written in gujarati. Their translations into hindustani were also staged.

Among the play writers writing in urdu-hindi for the Parsi theatres were Abbas Ali Abbas
(Naurange Sitamgar, Zanjeere Gauhar, Nairang Naz, Dukhia Dulhan, Shamsheer Islam
and Ek Hi Paisa), Mohammad Ibrahim Ambalvi 'Mashhar'(Dushmane Iman, Joshe Tauhid,
Gunahgar Bap a n d Garib Hindustan), Mahmud Mian Banarsi 'Raunak' (Benazir
Badremunir, Laila Majnu, Puran Bhagat and Fasane Ajayab), Husain Mian zarif (Gul
Sanover, Kbuda Dost and Ishrat Sabha), Munshi Vinayak Prasad 'Talib' (Lailo Nihar, Nal
Damyanti, Fasane Ajayab, Gopi Chand, Harishchand, Vikram Vilas and Alladin); Narayan
Prasad 'Betab' (Husne Farang, Qatle Nazir, Mahabharat, Ramayana and Patni Pralap),
Agha Mohammad Shah Kashmiri 'Hashr' (Aftabe Mohabbat, Khoone Nahak, Dame Husn,
Shaheede Naz, Achhoota Daman, Madhur Murli, Bhagirath Ganga, Hindustan, Turki Hoor
and Ankh Ka Nasha), Mehdi Hasan 'Ahasan' (Zahre Ishq, Chandravali, Kboone Nahak and
Chalta Purza) and Radhey Shyam Kathavachak (Abhimanyu). Among these, the plays of
Mehdi Hasan, Narayan Prasad 'Betab', Agha Kashmiri and Vinayak Prasad 'Talib' can
certainly be considered of a very high quality.

Apart from the companies referred to above, there were also ~ o r o s t r i hTheatrical Club
(1866), Empress Victoria Natak Mandali (1876) and the Corothian theatre etc. Moreover,
there existed theatre companies in the towns of Karachi, Jodhpur, Agra, Aligarh, Hyderabad,
Meerut, Lucknow and Lahore along the lines of the Parsi theatres which staged both
commercial and non-commercial plays.
 Indian Theatre
The thematic content was initially derived mostly from the Persian background. Once the
Hindus and Muslims started watching the plays their traditions were also included in the
themes. The historical and mythological themes dominated the Parsi plays and these were
often presented in a romantic and melodramatic way. The influence of the English Elizabeth
Theatre was also quite visible. Shakespeare's plays often appeared in an Indianised form.
The music, apart from a few ghazals, was invariably Indian classical, particularly thumri,
dadra, jhinjhoti etc. The level of poetry was somewhat pedestrian. Good, sensitive poetry
was quite rare. ,

Initially Parsi theatres had no place for music. Dialogues were in prose. The opera was used
for the fust time by D a d Patel, famous Parsi actor and director, in his Benzir Badre Munir.
This virtually opened the flood gates as far as music in Parsi theatres was concerned.
Nasharvanji Apakhtyar, Alladiya Meharban, Master Jhande Khan and Master Lal were some
of the leading music directors of the Parsi theatres.

In the context of the Parsi theatres, it is iplportant to make a reference to Inder Sabha. Inder
Sabha was written by Syed Agha Hasan who wrote under the pen name Amanat. He wrote it
in 1853and it exercised a profound impact on the plays of the Parsi theatres. Somenath Gupt,
a researcher on the Parsi theatres, has referred to a number of plays which were influenced
by Inder Sabha. He writes, 'Inder Sabha had acquired unimaginable fame in its times. It was
translated into many Indian and foreign languages. Its songs and their tunes were onthe lips
of the people. It gave a new lease of life to the classical music. It was translated into marathi
and German. Sinhalee plays in Sri Lanka were influenced by it. Such was the extent of its
influence that certain companies used to show portions of Inder Sabha before staging their
plays, primarily in order to attract the audiences. In its larger impact, the romantic stories of
fairies, giants and princes generally came to be regarded as Inder Sabhas. (Parsi Theatre,
p. 229.)

An important feature of Inder Sabha and othersimilar plays was that they were all in a poetic
format. The language was hindi ed with urdu. All the plays had more or less the same
$"
story line. It was either the story o a fairy falling in love with a man or the other way round.
Their union was achieved after crossing many hurdles. The plays were full of magical powers
and mesmerising situations which used to completely captivate and hypnotise the audiences.
The influence of Inder Sabha was not just confined to the Parsi theatres. The popular cinema
today seems like an extension of Inder Sabha. However, with the arrival of talkies in the 1930s,
the Parsi theatre lost much of its charm and popularity.

12.4.2 Elite Theatre

After its inception under the British, the development of the modern theatre got diversified.
The Parsi theatres had their appeal among the lower middle classes. The traditional folk
forms like Ramlila, Raslila, Nautanki, Yakshagan and Jatra etc. were popular among the
rural population of different areas. It is important to remember that these traditional folk
forms had not remained unchanged over the centuries. The Nautankies had begun
resembling the Parsi plays and the Ramlilas had also changed from the days of the Bhakti
movement.

Besides these two another kind of theatre had started developing, and was different from
them. The educated Indians, exposed to the western plays and also to the theatres established
by the British, could not have been contented either with the English or the Parsi theatre.
This class created a theatre which may conveniently be called the Elite theatre. It started in
Cgcutta. We have already discussed that the bengali theatre was the result of the efforts of
Levdef (1765) but it had no effect on the common people. For almost fifty years no new
initiative was taken. It was no further in 1831 that Prasanna Kumar Tagore established a
Hindu Theatre which staged Shakespeare's plays and the English versions of the sanskrit
plays. Another theatre was set up in 1833 at the house of Naveen Chandra Bose and every
year about four to five plays were staged there. Vidya Sunder, staged in 1835, was particularly
successful. Initially, the female roles were also done by the male artists. This was true of the
entire 19th century theatrical tradition. Another common tradition was that the plays which
were enacted were seldom published.

The bengali plays, in the early stages, did not have much of a literary value but a new phase
began in 1857 in bengali plays and theatres. It was for the first time that four already published
Bangla plays were staged at three different theatres in Bengal. This trend continued even
later.
Popular Culture Famous bengali poet Michael Madhusudan Dutt saw some English plays and was very
impressed by their quality. He, then, decided to write such plays in bengali also. His play
Sharmistha, staged for the fust time on the 3rd September 1859,was a trend setter in so much
as it was decidedly much superior than any of the plays staged till then. Michael Madhusudan
Dutt went on to write many tragedies, comedies and satires. He completely transformed the
quality of bengali plays and theatres. He also developed, in the people, an appetite for good
plays.

It was precisely this climate which made possible the creation of a play like Neel Darpan.
Deen Bandhu Mitra's play focussed on the imperialist exploitation and the poor peasants'
struggle against it. In a way, this was the beginning of a particular tradition of progressive
plays which was to later culminate in the formation of IPTA (Indian Peoples Theatre
Association) and carry on as a politico-literary movement.

After making a beginning in Bengal, the new theatre gradually spread to other languages also.
Bhartendu Harishchandra's efforts resulted in the creation of a hindi theatrical company.
Bhartendu wrote plays for it and also acted in them. Pratap Narayan Mishra worked towards
the setting up of theatres in Kanpur. Many such plays were staged in various Indian cities
catering mainly to the aesthetic sensibilities of the middle classes. It was from within this that
the two major theatrical traditions developed:

One was that of the elite, artistic and the experimental thkatre which provided a certain
level of excellence to the art of Indian theatres.
The other was that of the peoples' theatre which gave a certain purpose and political
relevance to Indian theatre.

However, there was no rigid barriers between the two. The two concerns - aesthetic
excellence and social relevance - were reflected in the staging of various plays. Commercial
profit and sheer entertainment were certainly not the only concerns of these plays.

12.4.3 Peoples' Theatre -

Deen Bhandhu Mitra's Neel Darpan, Bhartendu's Andher Nagri and Madhu Sudan Dutt's
Boodhe Shaliker Ghare Ran generally focussed on people's struggle against imperialism and
feudal oppression. Till 1930, the dominant plays were either the commercial plays from the
Parsi theatres or the overtly nationalist plays based on historical and mythological themes.
The decade after 1930wtnessed an increasing left wing influence on the freedom movement.
All India organisations of the students, peasants and workers came into being. The trends
were also visible in the field of art and literature. In 1936 Progressive Writers Association
(PWA) was formed under the presidentship of Premchand. Seven years later was held the
first convention of the Indian Peoples Theatre Association (IPTA). With IPTA a new kind
of theatre came into existence.

IPTA initiated an all India movement of the theatre for the people. The theatres hitherto
were active only in their specific linguistic zones somewhat unconnected with their
counterparts in other languages. IPTA helped bring them together on a common platform.

From its very inception, IPTA was associated with ensuring peoples' participation in the
freedom struggle, a cultural defence against imperialism and fascism, liberation from every
form of oppression, generating awareness against socio-religious superstitions and the
development of a humanistic aesthetics. After 1943, branches of IPTA spread in different
parts of the country. This encouraged the yiting and screening of people oriented plays in
almost all the Indian languages. IPTA contributed some of the great play writers, directors,
actors, music directors and singers. Leading theatre personalities like Mama Varerkar,
Makhdum Mohiuddin, Dr. Raja Rao, Shambhu Mitra, Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, Ali Sardar
Jafri and Saijad Zaheer had been associated with IPTA from its first conference only. Later,
names like M.Vallatole, Hemant Mukherjee, Jyotindra Mitra, Balraj Sahni, Uday Shankar,
Prithvi Raj Kapoor and Shanta Gandhi etc. also remained associated with IPTA. IPTA not
only staged plays but also made significant contributions in the field of songs, music, dance
and film making. In 1944, famous artist Uday Shankar staged his play Ram Lila in front of
the workers, with the help of IPTA.

The play and dance companies associated with IPTA visited different parts of the country to
present their programmes. Although the main areas of activities were Bengal, Andhra
Pradesh and Kerala, but IPTA was also active in Punjab, Assam, Orissa, U.P. and
 Indian Theatre
Maharashtra. IPTA also contributed to the encouragement of the regional theatre. Regional
theatre experimented with the folk ?lay forms to create new forms of theatres. IPTA has,
therefore, not only made the Indian theatre progressive, but also enriched it by incorporating
various folk theatrical forms into it. IPTA generally staged its theatres among the workers
and peasants and participated enthusiastically in popular movements. Often this involvement
in political activities tended to hamper the artistic quality of their plays, but it also provided
the much needed incentive to carry on their activities. It can be said that the political theatre
could become a possibility largely because of IPTA's efforts.

Prarja Natya Mandali formed in Andhra Pradesh, as a result of IPTA's influence, staged plays
using folk forms. In Kerala, Kerala Peoples Art Club staged plays in Malabar and North
Travancore, along with peasant organisations. Jyoti Prasad Aganvala and Bhupen Hazarika
from Assam and KPatnayak from Orissa were also associated with IPTA.

IPTA also influenced cinema in the 1950s. Dharti Ke Lal, made in 1946 by Khwaja Ahmad
Abbas, was the result of the collective efforts of IPTA. Balraj Sahni, Ravi Shankar, Krishan
Chander, Chetan Anand, Prithvi Raj Kapoor (whose plays like Kisan and Pathan etc. were
very much a part of IPTA tradition) were all associated with IPTA.

IPTA continued to be active till about a decade after independencebut' slackened somewhat
with the slackening of PWA in 1953.A number of writers, music directors, singers and actors
associated with IPTA joined cinema instead. Some of them dissociated themselves from the
theatre. Today IPTA may have disintegrated somewhat but the tradition of people's theatres
still continues. A sharpening in popular movements in the 1970s once again turned the focus
on peoples theatres. A number of peoples theatres were formed in Bengal, Kerala, Andhra
Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tripura, Punjab, U.P., Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and
Rajasthan. A difference between these theatres and IPTA was that these new peoples
theatres adopted a new form of theatre called 'street theatre'. Street theatres have now
become very popular all over and they champion the cause of the oppressed. This has led to
frequent attacks on the peoples' theatres by the vested interests. For example a famousyoung
theatre activist Safdar Hashmi was killed in an attack by goondas, during the staging of a
street theatre Halla Bol, in a workers colony near Delhi, in 1990.

12.5 DIFFERENT THEATRICAL FORMS

Indian theatre has come of age. Theatre in regional languages has developed along with
different theatrical forms. Westernised, sanskrit and folk forms have helped impart a certain
shape to Indian theatre. Plays within the auditoriums have experimented with the writing and
staging of plays, while alternatives to auditoriums have also been explored in order to reach
out to more people. The writing and staging of plays has, on the one hand, been influenced
by radio, cinema and television; and by the experiments in the theatrical forms, on the other.
In the following Sub-secs., we shall introduce you to some of these forms.

12.5.1 Westernised Theatrical Form '

Westernised forms have made a significant contribution to Indian theatre. The first influence
on the modern Indian theatre was that of the Elizabethan Theatre which staged
Shakespeareanplays. Initially, in places like Bombay theatres were even constructed like the
Elizabethan theatre, with the audiences sitting on all the three sides of the stage. The play
used to be staged in the day time. The area of acting on the stage used to be quite large and
the platform was permanent. Elizabethan theatre also influenced the Parsi theatres. Later,
the Indian theatre was influenced more by the realist theatre. The Indian theatre has also
been quite receptive to many western art movements. Symbolism, Expressionism, naturalism
and absurdism, theatre of the absurd have been some of the major art movements which
influenced the Indian theatre. Stanislavsky and Brekht have influenced the writing, acting and
the presenting of the plays. Their theatre forms have contributed to Indian theatre. Absurd
theatre has been quite dominant even in India since the sixth decade of this century. Many
plays staged here have been influenced by the plays of Samuel Beckett. Brekht's influence is
particularly marked on the street plays.
Popular Culture
12.5.2 Sanskrit Theatrical Forms ,

The Sanskrit form has influenced the Indian theatre in two ways. First was the fact that some
of the leading sanskrit plays were translated into Indian languages and staged. Plays like
Abhigyan Shakuntalam, Vikramorvashiyam, Mrichh Katikam, Swapnavasvadatta,
Mudrarakshasam and Uttar Ram Charit etc. were staged many times. Secondly, staging of
these plays, as of some modern plays as well, was attempted along the lines prescribed in the
Natya Shastra. Needless to say, these attempts were not very successful. But the fact can not
be denied that the sanskrit theatrical form has exercised an important influence on the
modern Indian theatre.

12.5.3 Folk Forms

The impact of the traditional folk plays on the modern Indian theatre is a lot more profound,
compared to their sanskrit counterparts.Their influence in the field of play writing has already
been discussed. B.V.Karant, Jabbar Patel, Satish Alekar, Ratan Kumar Thiyam,
K.N.Panikkar, Bansi Kaul, Habib Tanvir and Prasanna etc. have creatively incorporated
aspects of traditional theatres into their plays. B.V.Karant successfully staged Barnam Van
(based on Shakespeare's Mackbeth) by using tlie yakshagan form. Vijaya Mehta, Ajitesh
Bandyopadhyayand M.K.Raina have made experiments in presenting western plays in a folk
form. We can conclude by saying that the traditional folk theatrical forms have kept alive the
diversities and the specificities of India's socio-cultural life. These forms have still a lot to
offer to the Indian theatre in terms of the methods, conventions and the traditions followed.

12.5.4 Others
One act play, radio feature and operaare some of the other forms. Let US briefly look at them.

One Act Play: One act play is not egactly a form but a kind of play which has a shorter duration
than a normal play. It consists of just one act. The exact difference between the two is that
between a story and a novel. In the initial stages of play writing small plays were written to be
presented either at the beginning of the play or during the interval. One act plays continued ,

to be written and staged till the fifth and the sixth decades of the 20th century but declined '
after the arrival of the radio features. Nonetheless, one act plays continued to be played in
the street theatres. Such small plays, lasting for ten to fifteen minutes, became quite popular
on the radios. Somenath Zutshi, Somenath Sadhu, Faruk Masoodi (Kashmiri); Uma Shankar
Joshi, Jayanti Dalal, Gulab Das Broker and Raman Lal Mehta (gujarati); Upendra Nath
Ashq, Jagdish Chandra Mathur, Lakshmi Narayan Lal and Uday Shankar Bhatt (hindi);
Basant Kumar Mohapatra, Jaduthan Das Mohapatra and Kamal Lochan Mohanti (oriya);
Balwant Gargi and Kartar Singh Duggal (punjabi) and Mirza Kalich Beg, S.U.Malkani and
Moti Prakash (sindhi) are some of the leading one act play writers in different languages.

Radio Feature: Plays started being presented on the radio once it established itself as a
popular medium. Given the constraints of radio, it was essential for radio features to convey
the story mainly through dialogues. Keeping this in mind features were written in many Indian
languages both as one act plays as well as full fledged plays. Yashodh Mehta, Chunni La1
Bhadia, C.C.Mehta and Shiv Kumar Joshi (gujarati); Vishnu Prabhakar, Revti Raman
Sharma and Chiranjit (hindi); N.N.Shiv Swamy (kannada); Pushkar Bhan, S.M.Zutshi and
Hari Krishna Kaul (Kashmiri); S.K.Naiyar and K.R.Pillai (Malyalam); Mudda Krishna
(telugu) and Krishna Chanda and Manto (urdu) have been some of the prominent names
associated with the world of radio feature.

Play and theatre in India have been particularly influenced by cinema and television. The
Parsi theatre was rendered redundant by popular cinema. The art theatre also had tbimprove
its quality in order to face new challenges and survive in a competitive world. The real threat
to the theatre has come, not so much from cinema, as from the television. On the one hand,
it has provided a powerful and economically viable alternative to theatre artists, it has also
snatched away a large chunk of theatre's audiences, on the other. Needles to say, the theatre
is not going to completely die out in the face of these challenges because no new art medium
can completely wipe out the old. Every art form has something unique of its own, to offer,
and this 'uniqueness' keeps it going even though its base might shrink a bit.

The government subsidy to the Indian theatre in the pre-independence period was almost
non-existent. But things have changed since independence. Various institutions have been
 IndianTheatre
created to promote Indian theatre. A Sangeet Natak Akademi was established at an all India
level and similar academies were set up in the states. Different states have also contributed
to the preservation and protection of their traditional folk theatre forms. A National School
of Drama (NSD) was established in New belhi to provide the necessary training to acting,
stage management (decoration and maintenance of the stage)and direction. Ibrahim Alkazi, % .,

a leading theatre personality, has made a seminal contribution to the training of talented
theatre artists and the generaluplift of the Indian theatre. The theatre in India has been deep]\
influenced by the plays directed by Alkazi.
The theatre in India has inherited a long tradition and still continues&spite of the deterrants
from within and without. Continuous staging of plays in various parts of the country is ample
proof that theatre as an art form still enjoys a following among the people. It also shows that
the need for good plays is not likely to even die out.

C I I
Check Your Progress-3

1) Mark correct [d ] or incorrect [ x ] against the following statements regarding the Parsi
theatres.

a) Only gujarati plays were staged in the Parsi theatres. [ ]

b) The plays of the Parsi theatres were quite influenced by Inder sabha. [ ]
c) Most of the plays of the Parsi theatres were based on the historical and the
mythological themes. [ ]
d) Parsi theatres were completely devoid of songs. [ ]
e) Parsi theatres influenced the Indian cinema. [ ]

2) Name the institution responsible for transforming peoples' theatre into a movement.
How did this transformation brought about?

3) In what ways did the peoples' theatre influence the Indian theatre?
.................................................
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. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
I popuiar cu~ture 4) Answer the following questions.

a) Which national institute was established to promote plays and theatres?

b) Which national institute was established to impart training to different aspects of

theatre?

c) What was the name of the play writer and the play on the exploitation of indigo
cultivators by British imperialism?

d) What is street theatre?

5) Following are statements regarding the contribution of the folk theatrical forms to the ,
development of modern Indian theatre. Mark correct [ d ] or incorrect [ x ]against them. - p

a) Folk theatre brought Indian theatre closer to peoples' lives. [ ]

b) Folk theatre made Indian theatre obscurantist and backward looking. [ ]
c) Folk theatre obstructed the possibilities of new experiments being carried out in
the Indian theatre. [ ]
d) Folk theatre enabled the Indian theatre to acquire depth and imagination. [ ]
e) Folk theatre established a certain intimacy between the actor and the audiences.
[ I

12.6 LET US SUM UP

After reading this Unit, you must have learnt the following points.

The theatre tradition in India is quite old. Much like the Greek tradition, play writing
and the manuals prescribing their staging have developed in an unprecedented manner.
Sanskrit tradition has given us a text like Natya Shastra and writers like Kalidas and
Bhavbhuti.
The folk tradition in India is as old as the sanskrit tradition. The sanskrit tradition was
obstructed for about a thousand years but the folk tradition continued unhampered.
About 25 different folk forms have continued to be active from centuries in different
parts of the country. They are still popular and continue to entertain and enthrall their
audiences. This tradition has contributed in no small measure to the development of
Indian theatre.
Modern theatre was started in India by the British who established theatres for their
entertainment. Watching and reading plays of Shakespeare and Ibsen inspired Indians
to start and set up their own theatre. The early Indian theatre was influenced by
Elizabethan theatre. Later it also incorporated elements from &her western theatrical
forms, sanskrit and folk forms.
Play writing for Indian theatre was started with the translations of english and sanskrit
plays. This was because plays in Indian languages did not exist. However, original play
writing in Indian languages began by mid 19th century. The thematic content. had a
historical and mythological base and vPas motivated by the contemporary social reality,
 Indian Theatre
expressing ideas of national and social regeneration. The initial plays were not very
conveniently to the stage but gradually overcame this limitation. Deen Bhandhu Mitra,
Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Bhartendu Harishchandra, Jayshankar Prasad,
Rabimdranath Tagore, Mama Varerkar, Kusumagraj, P.Lankesh, Girish Karnad, Vijay
- Tendulkar, Badal Sarkar, Mohan Rakesh and G.P.Deshpande have been some of the
leading Indian play writers.
The Parsi theatre has contributed in no small measure in the'development of modern
Indian theatre. Started by the Parsi community in the 19th century, the Parsi theatre
initiated a melodramatis style which entertained the urban middle and lower middle
classes for almost eight decades. Inspired and influenced by Inder Sabha, this theatre
contained all the elementswhich later helped in the development of popular cinema. The
Parsi theatre also gave us some distinguished play writers and actors. These plays used
to be staged in gujarati, hindi-urdu and marathi.
Along with the sharpening of the leftist influence in the national movement, emerged the
peoples' theatre in the fourth and the fifth decades of this century. Helped by IF'TA in
its growth, the peoples' theatre gave expression to anti-imperialist,anti- fascist ideas and
inspired the oppressed Indian people to collectively struggle against it. The theatre
personalities associated with the peoples theatres staged their plays among the workers
and peasants. Peoples theatre also helped in the growth of theatres in regional languages.
This theatre gave us good theatre persons in the field of dance, music and acting. IPTb,
has also helped in the making of good cinema. In the seventh and the eighth decadp he
street theatres have carried forward the tradition of IPTA.
Sanskrit,western and folk theatricalformshave contributed to the developmenkof Indian
theatre. At the same time, one act plays, poetic drama, ballets and o p e p have also
influenced Indian theatre. Plays were also written for the radio.

. 12.7 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS EXERCISES j

I Check Your Progress-1

1) Base your answer on Sub-sec. 12.2.2.

2) Rig Veda.

3) 1-c, 2-e, 3-b, 4-a, 5-d.

I
- -

Check Your P r o g r e s d

1) a) x , b ) d , c ) d , d . x , e . x .

2) Religious and wordy.

3) Historical, mythological and problematic social.

4) To redefine these issues from a new perspective.

5) a-Ziv, b-5-i, c-1-iii, d-3-v, e-4-ii. .

-
Balraj Sahni An IPTA activist
Popular Culture

1Check Your Progress- 3

2) Indian Peoples Theatre Association (IPTA).

3. i) Spread the ideas of anti-imperialism and anti-fascism.

ii) Gave vent to expressions of the oppressed people.
iii) Took theatre to the workers and peasants in the form of movements.
iv) Helped develop regional theatre.

4) a) Sangeet Natak Akademi

b) National School of Drama (NSD)
c) Deen Bandhu Mitra, Nee1 Darpan.
d) Plays which were played not in the auditoriums but out in the open among the
people.

A scene from Girish Karnad's Tughlaq by ALlrezL

 Indlnn Theatre

New Victoria Theah, Bombay.

A sctnc fmm the sanskrlt play Mudramks-

Popular Culture
.UNIT INDIAN CINEMA

Structure

Objectives
Introduction
Introducing Indian Cinema
13.2.1 Era of Silent Films
13.2.2 Pre-Independence Talkies
13.2.3 Post Independence Cinema
Indian Cinema as an Industry
Indian Cinema :Fantasy or Reality
Indian Cinema in Political Perspective
Image of Hero
Image of Woman
Music And Dance in Indian Cinema
Achievements of Indian Cinema
Let Us Sum Up
Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises

A 13.0 OBJECTIVES
This Unit discusses about Indian cinema. Indian cinema has been a very powerful medium
for the popular expression of India's cultural identity. After reading this Unit you will be able
to:

familiarize yourself with the achievements of about a hundred years of Indian cinema,
trace the development of Indian cinema as an industry,
spell out the various ways in which social reality has been portrayed in Indian cinema,
place Indian cinema in a political perspective,
define the specificities of the images of men and women in Indian cinema, .

outline the importance of music in cinema, and

get an idea of the main achievements of Indian cinema.

13.1 INTRODUCTION .p

It is not possible to fully comprehend the various facets of modern Indan culture without
understanding Indian cinema. Although primarily a source of entertainment, Indian cinema
has nonetheless played an important role in carving out areas of unity between various groups
and communities based on caste, religion and language. Indian cinema is almost as old as
world cinema. On the one hand it has gdted to the world great film makers like Satyajit Ray, ,

it has also, on the other hand, evolved melodramatic forms of popular films which have gone
beyond the Indian frontiers to create an impact in regions of South west Asia.

In this Unit we will familiarize you with those characteristics of Indian cinema which enable
a better and fuller understanding of modern India. Although it is not possible to include all
the aspects of Indian cinema in one Unit, we would nevertheless try to introduce you to those
aspects which would provide a background to y~ur~activities in relation to tourism. This Unit,
therefore, focuses on those aspects of Indian cinema which will prove useful in your pursuits
e.g. an overview of hundred years of Indian cinema, its development as an industry,
identifymg Indian social reality as expressed in cinema, and the political context of Indian
cinema. This Unit will also looks at cinema as an art form and highlights those factors, like
Indian film music and dance, which have contributed to its popularity.
 Indian Cinema
13.2 INTRODUCING INDIAN CINEMA
8

When Lumiere brothers invented cinema in the last decade of the 19th century, they did not
quite realize the fact that their invention would, in years to come, entertain millions across
the world in an unprecedented manner. India may have lagged behindother countries in many
fields but has maintained near parity in the field of cinema. Only seven months after its
inauguration (premier show) in France, Lumiere brothers' films were shown in Bombay for
the first time on 7 July 1896. In 1899, Harishchandra Sakharam Bhatwadekar made a film on
a wrestling match in Bombay. In 1901Bhatwadekar made the first news reel. The honour of
making the first feature fdm goes to Dada Saheb (Dhundiraj Govind ) Phalke who made the
first silent film Raja Harishchandra in 1913. Indian cinema has thus completed about a
hundred years and feature Glms have completed a span of more than 80 years. The history of
Indian cinema caa be broadly divided into three phases:

1. The era of silent films: 1913-31.

2. Pre-independence talkies: 1931-47.
3. Post independence films: 1947 till today.

We will now study all these phases separately.

132.1 The Era of Silent Films

The era of silent films lasted for almost two decades. To begin with in only three silent iilms
were made in 1913. This number kept increasing every year. By the end of silent era in 1934
around 1300 films were made. 1931was a year of climax for silent films. When a total of 200
silent films were made it was also the time of the making of first talkie. This number declined
to 64 the next year. In 1934, the last year of silent cinema, only seven silent films were made.
1

In 1916, three years after the making of Raja Harishchandra, R.Natraj Mudliar made
'Keechak Vadham' (The killing of Keechak a character from the epic Mahabharat) in south
India. The very next year J.F.Madan made 'Satyavadi Harishchandra' in Calcutta. In the
same year Babu Rao Painter, a famous film maker and Dada Saheb Falke's disciple, started
aMaharashtriagfilm company. The same year Dada Saheb Phalke made a short film on movie
making itself, called,How Films are Made. Film Censor Boards were established in Bombay,
Calcutta and Madras in 1920. The first film magazine 'Bijoli' was published in bengali from
Calcutta the same year. A film Nal Damyanti was made with Italian collaboration, again in
1920. This was the first Indian film made with foreign collaboration.

'The themes of silent films were invariably religious and mythological and sometimes social.
Sawkari Pash, a film made by Baburao Painter in 1925, is rated by many film critics as the
first Indian art film. V. Shantaram played the role of a peasant whose land is appropriated
by a greedy moneylender. The peasant is forced to become a mill worker in a city. Sawkari
Pash was the first realistic cinema in an era of religious films based on a melodramatic
formula. Both the trends in film making were to culminate^ later into very very different
traditions of film making, broadly classified as art films and commercial films. The
melodramatic and theatrical tradition of film making owed itself to Parsi theatres which were
quite popular among the people when cinema made its entry. (You must have read about it
in Unit-12.)

13.2.2 Pre-Independence Talkies

Foreign talkie films had been screened in India before the first Indian talkie was made. These
films inspired Ardeshir M. Irani to make the first Indian sound feature film (talkie) Alam
Ara. The film was in hindi and had twelve songs in it. It was from here that songs and music
became an integral part of Indian cinema. The year 1931witnessed the making of 28 talkies
,of which there were 23 in hindi, four in bengali and one in tamil. The first tamil talkie Kalidas,
directed by H.M. Reddy, was also made in 1931. The number of talkies increased to 84 the
next year and kept increasing in subsequent years. In 1947 alone a total of 280 films were
screened in as many as 15 languages. Of these 33 in bengali, 11in Gujrati, 183 in hindi,'five
in kannada, six in marathi, three in oriya, 29 in tamil and six in telugu were screened.

The traditions of realistic and melodramatic cinema ran parallel to each other in the era of
talkies also. But the dividing line between them was not as strong and clear as it became after
 popular Culture independence and particularly in the era of new cinema in the 1970s.Today films are known
for their heroes and heroinesbut the films of 1930sand 1940swere known for their ~roduction
companies. Bombay Talkies, Prabhat Films, New Theatres and Filmistan were some of the
famousfilm companies. In south India A.V.M. (A. V. Meiyappan) f i company and Gemini
Pictures were established. Although Bombaywas the centre of film making, ~alcutta, ~adras
and Pune were also important places for such activity.

The films, to begin with, were not only silent but also devoid of any colours. ~ v e ntalkies
continued to be made only in black and white although attempts were made to impart colours
to filfns. In 1933, Prabhat Films, Pune got their film sairandhri processed Germany and
this was the first coloured indian film. But coloured films did not catch on and during the first
two decades after 1933films continued to be made in black and white only-The decade after
that witnessed both coloured and black and white films. It was not until 1970 that the making
of black and white film virtually came to an end.

During the pre-independence period the Indian cinema did not directly contribute to the
struggle for freedom for fear of being censored. But the ideas of freedom continued to be
expressed indirectly through religious and historical cinema. Often such films had to face
bans and censorship. The second major contribution of cinema during this period was in the
field of social reform. ~ c h h u tKanya, made in 1936 by Bombay Talkies, focused on the
question of social justice. Similarly Sant Tukaram (marathi, 1936) became a classic in the
history of Indian cinema. The year 1936 witnessed the emergence of leftist movements and
this was reflected in the cinema as well. Duniya Na Mane (hindi, 1937),Pukar (hindi, 1939),
Tyagbhumi (tamil, 1939), Roti (hindi, 1942), Ramshastri (hindilmarathi, 1944), Dharti Ke
La1 (hindi, 1946), Doctor Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani (hindi, 1946), Neechanagar (hindi, 1946)
were important films in this direction.

All of them were artistic attempts at portraying existing social contradictions in a ~ealistic
form (manner). Among the main film makers of this era were V.Shantaram. Nitin Bose,
P.C.Barua, Dhiren Ganguli, Himanshu Roy, Sohrab Modi, Chetan Anand, Mehboob Khan,
K.Subramanyam, V.Damle, S.Fattelal and Khwaja Ahmad Abbas.
I

t13.2.3 Post-Independence Cinema

Attempts at combining entertainment and social relevance in the cinema continued even after
independence. Although the censor boards, created during the British period, remained,
movie makers now enjoyed greater liberty in making political and social films than they bad
before. Technically the world of cinema had advanced quite a bit and this was reflected in
Indian cinema too. The movie makers, active during this phase, displayed an acute awareness
of the changes taking place in world cinema. Combined with this was an optimism,
-
determination and a resolve to do something new. Satyajit Ray, Bimal Roy, Ritwik Ghat&,
Guru Dutt, Rishikesh Mukerjee, Raja Paranjpe, L.V.Prasad, K.Balchander, Raj Kapur,
Rajender Singh Bedi, Mrinal Sen, Dutta Dharmadhikari,Anant Mane, Dinkar Patil, B.Naga
Reddy and C.P.Sridhar etc. were the main movie makers of the post independence period
who based their cinema on social realism, aesthetic sophistication (excellence)and healthy
entertainment. Many films of this period were acknowledged and awarded nationally and
internationally. Pather Panchali (bengali, 1955), Charulata (bengali, 1964), Chemmin
(mala~alam,1965), Jagte Raho (hindi, 1956) and Do Bigha Zameen (hindi, 1953) were
distinguished films of this period. Kismat (hindi, 1943) had already created a record for the
longest running at a cinema hall in Calcutta- three and a half years! SimilarlyMughal-i-Azam
( urdu, 1960), Mother India (hindi, 1958) and Ganga Jamuna (hindi, 1%2) credM new
standard in popular cinema. Awara (hindi, 1951) extended the popularity of Indian cinemr
beyond Indian frontiers to U.S.S.R. and West Asia. In South India, N.T.Ramarao (telugu),
Shivaji Ganeshan and M.G.Ramchandran (tamil), Prem Nazir (malayalam) and Rajkumar
(kannada) achieved popularity with their hero centred (hero oriented) films and captured
popular imagination as regional heroes.
Hope, faith and optimism reigned supreme in the Indian society and people in the first two
Satyajit Ray decades of the post-independence India. The newly won freedom had ushered in an era of
hope among the people. They believed that in independent India old promises would be
fulfilledand new changeswill bring about prosperity, equality and a better life for the common
people. This romanticism was reflected fairly clearly in contemporary cinema. Dukh Bhare
Din Beete Re Bhaiya, Ab Sukh Aayo Re ( Gone are the days of sorrow, it's happiness ever
after, a song from the hindi fdmMother India) was really the voice of this cinema. Expressions
26 of pain and agony were also tinged with a hope for a better tomorrow- Woh-Subah Kabhi To
 Indian Cinema
Aayegi (better days will be here some day, a song from the hindi film Phir Subah Hogi). But
hopes began turning into despair by the seventh decade of the century. Culture of self
aggrandizement and consumerism began to dominate the Indian cinema. The technical
excellence acquired by the cinema during the 1970s was also accompanied by a certain moral
degeneration in the theme selection.

Parallel to this ran another k i d of cinema. Deteriorating social situation motivated people
into collective popular political action. This popular urge for social action found its voice in
the new cinema also. It was called the new cinema or the parallel cinema. As you are aware,
a tradition of realistic cinema had always existed, but now it became a very significant trend
and also created a space for new experiments. This cinema was made possible by
contributions from N.F.F.C. (National Film Financing Corporation) and financial assistance
from stategovernments.This new cinema was of two kinds- the experimental cinema of Mani
Kaul and Kumar Sahni on the one hand, and the 'committed' cinema of Shyam Benegal,
Adoor Gopal Krishnan, Gautam Ghosh, Govind Nihlani, Syed Akhtar Mirza, Ketan Mehta
and Jabbar Patel, on the other. The second category of cinema was essentially an expression I

of social protest. Indian cinema in this phase benefitted immensely by the entry of actors,
directors and technicians trained in the Film Institute of Pune. Bhuwan Shome (hindi, Mrinal
Sen), Uski Roti (hindi, Mani Kaul), Sanskar (kannada, Girish Kasarvalli), Swayamwaram
(Malydam, Adoor Gopal krishnan), Ankur (hindi, Shyam Benegal), Pasi (tamil, Durai), Shyam Benegal
Umbartha (marathi, Jabbar Patel), Bhawani Bhawai (gujarati, Ketan Mehta), Sadgati (hindi,
Satyajit Ray), Paar (hindi, Gautam Ghosh), Maya Miriga (oriya, Nirad Mahapatra), Aakrosh
(hiidi, Govind Nihlani), etc.were some of the important films of this phase.

The new cinema did not flourish for long and had a somewhat premature end in the 1980s.
'Popular cinema also began changing its complexion. The romance of the 1960s gave way to
sexandviolence. But it should be admitted that the number and influence of socially relevant
films, although on a decline, has not disappeared altogether.

-- -

133 INDIAN CINEMA AS AN INDUSTRY

i India tops the list in the number of films made every year. Approximately 800 films in about
25 languages are made every year. In the last eight decades India has made about 25000 films
in about 50 languages. It did look at some point that the expansion of the television might
I
send the cinema into oblivion. On the contrary, the number of films has increased with the
television boom. In 1990 only, a total of 948 films were screened.

The maximum number of films are made in hindi, tamil, telugu and malayalam. Apart from
these Karnataka, Bengal, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Orissa and Assam have a long tradition of Gaulam Ghosh
good film making. India has a total of 13000'cinema halls catering to a population of 900
million people. Of these, 8000 are permanent cinema halls. They entertain a total of 15million
b movie goers every week. More than half the cinema halls are located in the four states of
South India whereas the seven hindi states, put together, have only 2400 cinema halls. The
single state of Andhra Pradesh has more cinema halls (2600) than all the hindi states put
together.
I

The cinema as a medium has been used, ever since the beginning, for making feature films
mainly. This has been partly because of the ability of this medium to portray a story in its
totality. But this must be borne in mind that makinga feature film is very different fin- writing
a story, novel or poetry. The latter are primarily individual ventures. Film, on the contrary, is
a collective effort which requires investments at a very large plane, both at the level of making
and screening. It is for this reason that film making, distribution and screening have taken the
form of an industry. A total of sixlakh people are involved andemployed, in various capacities,
i a the industry. According to an estimate, approximately seven billion rupees have been
invested in the making of the films, four billion in distribution network, 13billion in the form
of cinema halls, 400 million in laboratories and the same amount in recording studios. A total
of three billion rupees are invested every year in movie making and the expenditure on an
average frlm comes to more than ten million rupees.

The government receives eleven billion rupees annually as tax from the sale of tickets. In the
year 1988-89 the total income from the film industry was to the tune of six and a half billion
rupees after paying all the taxes. Hence, cinema is an important source of governmerit
revenue.
Popular Culture Cinema has also played an important role in earning money through exports. Indian films are
exported to 50 countries. This includes countries which do not have Indian population. During
1978-80, National Film Development Corporation (N.F.D.C.) received 120 million rupees
from the export of Indian films. In a decade's time this increased to 750 million. The exact
import figures are not available, but the income of N.F.D.C., active in this field, has been on
an increase. Strangely enough, in such a huge industry churning out 800 films every year, the
proportion of commercially successful films is not more that ten percent. Another ten percent
manage to break even and the remaining 80 percent end up commercially unsucessful. This
does not, however, deter movie makers in their ventures. In hindi only, the making of about
300 films is declared every year, although only half of them are made and barely one third
manage to get a screening.

In spite of such losses for a majority of the films, it is the incentive of huge profits which
explains the investment of billions of rupees every year in the Indian cinema. The successful
films at the box office normally return five to ten times the original cost of the film. The
successful film of 1994, Hum Aapke Hain Kaun, with an estimated investment of about
seventy million, earned one and a half billion rupees in one year only.

ICheck Your Progress-1

1. a. Social relevance and aesthetic sophistication being the criteria, which Indian film
can be called the first art film?

b. Which was the first coloured Indian film?

c. Which was the first talkie made in tamil?

d. Who directed the above mentioned film?

e. Which talkie was the first to acquire the status of a classic?

2. a) Name the four languages in which maximum films are made.

...
i) U )ill)_ iv)-

b) Which are the four states with maximum number of cinema halls?
i) ii) iii) iv)
c) What makes following persons famous?
i) Dada Saheb Falke
ii) Babu Rao Painter
iii) Ardeshir M. Irani

3. 80 percent of the films flop at the box office. Why is there so much of investment in the
cinema?

INDIAN CINEMA :FANTASY OR REALITY

Like other art forms cinema is both a part of existing social reality and also a medium of
portraying it. But the way in which the reality is portrayed in cinema is different from other
art forms. This aspect is often ignored while analysing Indian cinema. A great motivating force
 Indian Cinema
behind movie making is the huge ocean of audiences, drawn from the middle and lower middle
classes, located in big cities and small towns. Although not more than one fourth of the
population, it still forms a great bulk of the people. This bulk consists of groups with diverse
habits, priorities, expectations and life styles. The Indian cinema has to, necessarily, cater to
these diverse groups and represent their variety.

The long span of popular Indian cinema over the last 80 years has rested on certain formulae
which have also undergone periodic changes. Films revolving around love story, song and
dance, comic interludes and sex and violence are also a reflection of the time and social
surroundings. Cinema uses various contradictions inherent in our society l i e raw materials.

A central contradiction, used by the cinema, is the one between the rich and the poor. Apart
from this, the rural and the urban, different generations, Hindus and Muslims, upper caste
and lower caste, man and woman often form the core of the films' story. Situations of conflict,
harmony and struggle are created out of these contradictions. Also, an attempt to transcend
differences of religion, caste, language and region to adopt a humanitarian view and position
has also been central to Indian cinema. This is, however, not to imply that popular cinema
provides any meaningful and socially creative alternative to the real contradictions of our
society. On the contrary, popular cinema, in its ideological moorings, does not posit any
radical solutions to societal problems.
There is also a sense in which hiidi cinema is different from their regional counterparts. hindi
films try to express forms of pan-Indianism in their stylistic representations. Regional films,
on the other hand, are able to portray their specific regional cultural flavour without diluting
it in anyway. In spite of this difference, popular films in all languages use social contradictions
like raw material. Reality is moulded to such an extent that.it acquires the+,hape of a fantasy,
in harmony with middle class aspirations and fantasies. Popular cinema, thus, on the one
hand, becomes contextual and credible by establishing a link with reality, and, on the other,
constructs a world of fantasy, providing the audiences a certain release (escape) from their
'real' world, full of sorrow and agony.

i 13.5 INDIAN CINEMA IN POLITICAL PERSPECTIVE

Indian cinema has developed primarily as a source of entertainment and has, therefore, been
unable to play an important role in bringing about basic political transformation. On the
contrary, popular cinema has tended to avoid political tension to be able to establish a larger
social base. But it is generally not possible for any source of entertainment to make itself
popular without taking into cognition the existing social reality. Therefore, Indian popular
cinema has, paradoxically enough, used the existing social reality and sought to escape it, at
the same time. Cinema before independence, maintained a safe distance from the freedom
struggle and avoided echoing, after independence, popular aspirations. Although, on the one
hand, Indian films expressed and upheld positive values of democracy, nationalism and
communal harmony; on the other hand, t h y also lent legitimacy, directly or indirectly, to the
feudal structure of the family, deep religiosity and male domination in the society. If hindi
cinema tended to promote national chauvinism, regional cinema promoted, though
unconsciously, regionalism. Quite often, a condemnation of westernisation also became, in
popular cinema, an attempted resurrection of the rotten feudal structure.

Along with being a source of entertainment, India's popular cinema has also acted like opium
for the people, thus tranquilising their consciousness into deep slumber. The politics of
cinema has always been a supporter of status quo. Through a fantasisation of the social reality, .
the popular cinema has prevented the exposure of the popular consciousness towards the
naked truth of their own lives and has often trapped them into an unreal, fantastic world.
Admittedly,cinema is not the only medium to be doing this and not every cinema is misleading
the popular consciousness in this manner. B.R.Painter, V.Shantaram, Satyajit Ray, Bimal
Roy, Guru Dutt, Shyam Benegal and Adoor Gopal Krishnan etc. have provided a better
alternative to Indian cinema by making pro-people films.
Popular Culture
EIIl
Check Your Progress-2

1) What is the identity of the audiences of the Indian films?

.................................................
.................................................
.................................................

2) 'Give one important difference between hindi cinema and regional cinema?

3. What kind of a value system has been portrayed in the popular Indian cinema?

13.6 IMAGE OF HERO ,

The prevalence of hero centred cinema is merely a reflection of the male dominated society
of ours. The pre-independence hero was well aware of his social responsibility and fully
committed to change the society. But his own life had nothing but pain and sorrow. The
post-independence hero, by contrast, was a romantic who nurtured softer emotions. He
dreamt of setting up a home with the beautiful girl he loved. This was interrupted by the entry
of the villain who was a bad man, with dubious morality and motivated by greed. His singular
mission was to capture and win the heroin by hook or crook. The hero- villain conflict reached
its climax in the fight between the two and the film ended with the defeat of the villain. The
fight between the hero and the villain provided the only instance of violence in film full of
romantic scenes, softer emotions and a musical environment. Such were the films of Dilip
Kumar, Raj Kapur, Guru Dutt and Ashok Kumar.

The films from south followed more or iess the same pattern expect that their hero behaved
in a more heroic fashion than their counterpart in the hindi films. He also had strong regional
roots unlike heroes from the hindi films. M.G.Ramachandran, Shivaji Ganeshan,
N.T.Ramarao and Prem Nazir etc. represented this regional hero. This was the product of
the optimism generated during the Nehru era.

The 1970s came up with crude versions of this romantic hero. The romance became shallow,
almost verging on consumerism. By now the optimism of Nehru era had begun evaporating
in thin air. It was this c1ima:e which productd a new hero. This was a rough, tough and angry
man motivated by vengeance. His motto in life was an eve for an eve. Needless to sav this was
 Indian Cinema
Amitabh Bachchan era. In regional cinema this image was carried mainly by Rajnikant. In
their hasic attributes these heroes were so different from their predecessors that they were
called anti-heroes.

The crisis of the Indian society deepened in the decades of 1980s and 1990s.Greed for wealth
increased among the middle and upper classes. Idealism became a thing of the past.
Degeneration in values became rampant. Distinction between good and bad got blurred.
Violence and intolerance were on an ascent. Increasing communalism, separatism,
regionalism and consumerism were indicators of the decay that had set in the society.

Indian cinema was merely the reflection of the increasing violence in the society. The
anti-hero of the earlier decade became a proper Khalnayak (villain) now. The distinctions
between the hero and the villain almost disappeared. Sanjay Dutt, Shahrukh Khan and
Nagarjun are the heroes of this villain era. A challenge to this 'villain' era is the unprecedented
success of the heroine centred, romantic musical Hum Aapke Hain Kaun which perhaps
shows that it is still possible for the society to overcome its degeneration of social values.

13.7 IMAGEOF WOMAN ,

The image of woman, like that of the hero, has been constantly changing in the Indian cinema.
This is also related to the changing roles of woman in the society. During the silent cinema
the movie makers had questioned the feudal restrictions on a woman's life. Dhiren Ganguli,
Baburao Painter and V.Shantaram opposed child marriage through their films and promoted
widow remarriage, women's education, freedom to choose their own husbands, and working
along with men outside the house.

Indian cinema continued to embrace and espouse this reformative attitude towards woman
but also glorified motherhood, and fidelity among women. An ideal woman was a devoted
wife and a loving mother who would make any sacrifice for the family. Even now it is virtually
impossible to show the ideal woman resorting to divorce, remarriage or marriage with a man
of other religion.

In order to highlight the orthodox image of the devoted wifE, the Indian films have
counterposed this image with that of the vamp who is just the opposite. She is a westernised
woman, smokes and drinks, and is cruel, selfish and unscrupulous. In other words, she is the
anti-thesis of the 'womanly' attributes- soft, polite and sacrificing. Needless to say the real
woman's image did not correspond to any of these extremities. The real picture of the woman
has been portrayed very powerfully by movie makers endowed with a strong sense of social
awakening. They have also posited the alternative of woman's liberation in a commendable
manner. V.Shantaram, Ritwik Ghatak, Guru Dutt, Satyajit Ray, Bimal Roy, Shyam Benegal
and Jabbar Pate1 etc. have emphasised the real plight of the woman through some of their
important films. Simultaneously she has also been upheld for her courage and the capacity
to struggle.

Whether it is the traditional woman or the modern liberated one, Indian actresses have
enacted these roles and images very powerfully. Devika Ran;, Durga Khote, Nargis, Meena
Kumari, Nutan, Waheeda Rehman, Sharda, Smita Patil and Shabana Azmi are some of India's ,
all time greats.

13.8 MUSIC IN INDIAN CINEMA ,'

During €he days of silent cinema, the cinema halls used to keep an orchestra in front of the
screen facing the audience. The orchestra would provide the viewers an outline of the story
and background music along with the film. In between the scenes they would also entertain
the viewers with songs. Music, song and dances had been the integral part of the popular
theatres, and so it was assumed that cinema, too, should be accompanied by songs and music.
In the Parsi theatres the dialogues, too, used to be delivered in a lyrical manner. Indian cinema
inherited this tradition. Whereas the first talkie Alam Ara (1931) had twelve songs in it,
Indrasabha had 70. Films in other languages maintained this tradition. The non theatrical
(realistic) films, in which songs were avoided owing to respect for realism, were invariably
rejected by the people. Even today films with as many as fourteen songs are box office hits.
Pop& Culture In fact, music has been a major factor in the recent hits Roja, Bombay and Mum Aapke Main
Kaun.
The 60 years' march of filmy music has gone through many stages. In the initial days when
dubbing was not possible, songs had to be recoided along with shooting. The entire orchestra
used to be present at the shooting sight. The actual singing had to be done by the actors and
actresses themselves, as background sicging was not possible. Noorjahan, Suraiya, Surendra,
Ashok Kumar, M.S.Subbalakshmi and K.L.Sehga1were all actors/actresses cum singers. With
dubbing came a new tradition of playback singers.

Music in Indian films is generally not conceived as an autonomous entity within itself, but has
Lo be intimately connected to the storyline. Songs and music are created in accordance with
the requirements of the film and are woven into the various situations of the film. In spite of
these limitations, the melodious music produced by the Indian cinema is an example in itself
and has few parallels.

Film music has derived its melodies from three diverse sources- Indian classical music, folk
music from different regions and western classical and popular music. Initial music directors
did not copy this music but adapted and modified it to create a music tradition suitable to the
common man.

In the fourth and the fifth decades, the use of the orchestra was minimal and the music director
displayed his musical abilities with the help of very few musical instruments. This did not,
however, take away from the music its melody and charm. R.C.Bora1, Pankaj Malik,
K.L.Sehga1, Kanan Devi, K.C.Dey, Pahari Sanyal, Saraswati Devi and Khem Chandra
Prakash were some of the greatest singers and music directors of this period whose melodious
voices and lyrical music is very popular even today,

Many new and promising music directors emerged during the 1950s. Anil Biswas, Vasant
Desai, Naushad, C.Ramchandra, S.D.Burman, Jaidev, Madan Mohan, Roshan,
M.S.Baburaj, S.Bal Chander, Salil Choudhry, Bhupen Mazarika, Hemant Kumar,
P Nageshwar Rao and Sudhir Phadke were some of them. Part of the credit for their success
should also go to a whole generation of immensely talented lyrists, dfawn from the world of
poetry and literature. Sahir Ludhianvi, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Shailendra, Ka5Azmi, Pradeep
and Gopal Das Neeraj were some of the leading lyrists of the 1950s. Apart from these, Lata
Mangeshkar, Geeta Dutt, Asha Bhonsle, Mohamrnad Rafi, Talat Mehmood, Mukesh,
Kishore Kumar, Manna Dey and Hemant Kumar were great singers who, in company with
the music directors and the lyrists, produced ever lasting melodies. These singers sang not
only in hindi and urdu but in various other Indian languages. Lata Mangeshkar alone is
credited to have sung about 25000 songs in fifteen different languages. Not only that, the magic
of her voice has completely mesmerised and captivated the Indian people for five full decades.
This duration must be a record in the history of singing.

The golden phase of film music began fading by the 1970s when violence began to dominate
the Indian films. Romance and soft emotions, fodder for good music in the films, received a
set back in the popular films of the 1970s and 1980s. In trying to keep pace with life, softness
and subtle nuances of music gave way to fast, loud and orchestral forms. R.D.Burman, Ilia
Raja, Laxmikant Pyarelal and Bappi Lahiri were some of the popular music directors of this
period though occasionally they gave pleasing music also. The cacophonic tradition of music
continues even today but the 1990s has brought reminders of the golden period of film music.
A.R.Rahman, the.famous young director from south, and some budding music directors from
hindi films are trying to revive the glorious past.

Like music dance has also been an integral part of Indian films. Music and its strong presence
in the films is actually rooted in India's rich cultural tradition. Classical dance forms like
Bharat Natyam, Kathak, Odissi, Kuchipuri and Manipuri etc. are a part of this tradition.
Apart from these ,the tradition of folk dances is no less rich and diverse. It is indeed a truism
to say that the dance and music form an important part of Indian life.

The dance forms in Indian cinema have borrowed very heavily from Indian classical tradition,
folk tradition and the western dance tradition. But film dances do not use them in their
original, pure form. Thematically speaking, dances are used in films in three ways. F i s t is a
solo performance by the heroine or the vamp on the stage or at a party. The dance form
employed here is often a classical one. Second is a chorus at a festival or some big occasion.
Sit~lationsfor these dances are somehow woven into the theme of the film. These are often a
combination of folk and western dance traditions. The third form is often employed by the
 Indian Cinema
hero and the heroine to express their love for each other. The mod intimate moments between
the hero and the heroine are portrayed through songs and music in the films. No specific
dance form is resorted to, by the hero or the heroine.

The combination of songs and music is generally used to convey a sense of happiness, elation
or sorrow. The focus is generally not on its pure and classical form but on its popular
manifestations. Sometimes it becomes quite difficult to decipher the exact dance form in the
films.Of late, there has been an increase in vulgarity in film dances which is nothing but a
part of increasing vulgarity in Indian cinema in general. There is not much to distinguish
regional films from their hind counterparts, as far as dance is concerned. The regional cinema
generally does not use the specific dance form and music of that particular region.
Nonetheless, it can not be denied that dance and music have played a very crucial role in
popularising Indian cinema.

13.9 ACHIEVEMENTS OF'INDIAN CINEMA

Indian cinema may not have played a revolutionary role but has definitely contributed to the
welding together of 900 million Indians from different languages, religions and cultures.
, Different parts of the country have contributed to the development of the film industry.
Interestingly, people from the non hindi areas have contributed to popular hindi cinema,
more than the hindi speaking people. Paradoxically Tamilnadu, where hindi as a language
has never been popular, has played an important role in the promotion of hindi films. Film
produc~ngunits A.V.M., Gemini Films, Vijaya pictures and Prasad Productions from
Madras have constantly made films in hindi and thereby provided the much needed bridge
between north and south. South has also given a number of famous heroines to hindi cinema.
Waheeda Rahman, Vyjayanti Mala, Hema Malimi, Jaya Prada, Shri Devi and Rekha have
dominated the silver screen for a long time. Great film makers like Dada Saheb Phalke,
Hiralal Sen and Baburao Painter of the silent era and V.Shantaram, Himanshu Roy, Nitin
Bose, Guru Dutt, Bimal Roy, Rishikesh Mukerjee, SohrabModi, Mrinal Sen, ShyamBenegal,
Ketan Mehta, Raj Kapur and Jabbar Pate1 have all come from non-hindi areas. Even today
Mani Ratnam's films, A.R.Rehman's music, S.P.Bala Subramanyam's voice and Sridevi's
acting have brought together millions from across the regions. This contribution from
non-hind areas in the development of hindi cinema has not only helped popularise hindi all
over the country but has also helped in creating a pan indian scenario which has been equally
acceptable to people from different religions, regions and languages.

The other major contribution of Indian cinema has been towards developing and preserving
a composite culture for India.

Indian cinema has always espoused love and good will among hindus, muslims, sikhs and
christians. Even while upholding religious faith Indian cinema has always condemned
religious bigotry and communal animosity. Themes in popular cinema have been replete with
instances of inter-religious friendships particularly those between Hindus and Muslims. This
has resulted in both Hindu and non-Hindu actors becoming the idols of cinema lovers. The
dt of non-Hindu idols is very long and stretches from Dilip Kumar (YusufKhan) to Shahrukh
Khan, Naushad to A.R.Rehman, Nargis to Shabana Azmi, Sahir Ludhianvi to Kaifi Azmi,
Noorjahan to Mohammad Rafi and K.Asif to Jabbar Patel. The importance of this
contribution of Indian cinema, in providing idols cutting across cultures and religions, should
not be under estimated.

Yet another contribution of Indian cinema is its music about which you have read in Section
13.7. Indian cinema has also given to the worldsatyajit Ray whose films have been appreciated
the world over and who has been honoured with a special Oscar award.

Apart from making the maximum number of films in the world, India has other records also.
Lata Mangeshkar (for singing 25000 songs in fifteen languages), famous malayalam actor
Prem Nazir (for playing the leading role in 600 films) and hindi actor Jagdish Raj (for
maximum roles as a police officer) have all figured in the Gueniss Book of World Records.

lndian cinema has retained its popularity even in the age of television. The number of film
watchers has increased manifold thanks to dish antenna. Television channels like movie club,
zee cinema and other regional frlm channels show films round the clock. It is thus that Indian
cinema-has become the most popular medium of India's popular cultural expression.
 CzzIl
Check Your Progress3

What are the dominant characteristics of the hero in the Indian cinema after 1970?

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How has the woman been portrayed in popular Indian cinema?

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3. Which different sources did the film music derive itself from?

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- 13.10 LET US SUM UP b

In this Unit you have learnt about the main achievementsof a hundred years of Indian cinema.
You also know how Indian cinema entertains million by making 800 to 900 films in more than
25 languages every year. Cinema has been portraying contemporary reality and fantasy
through silent films and then through talkies over decades. It has also protected the composite
culture of the country and played an important role in establishing unity among Indian people.
However the political perspect~veof popular cinema has been that of the ruling classes of the
country. That Indian cinema has reflected and responded to the societal changes becomes
evident when we see the changing image of its heroes and their changing attitudes towards
women. The most outstanding feature of Indian cinema has been its music. It is virtually
impossible to imagine Indian cinema without music, songs and dances. This symbolises the
vitality, not only of popular Indian cinema, but also of different Indian cultures and
communalities and their deep faith in life. Lata Mangeshkar is a product of this great
tradition. Finally the contribution of Indian cinema should be seen not only in the field of
entertainment but also in achieving excellence in the field of popular art. All the glory and
greatness of Indian cinema issymbolised in the contributions of Satyajit Ray.
 Indian Cinema
13.11 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS EXERCISES

.I
Check Your .Progress-1

I) a) Sawkari Pash b) Sairandhri c) Kalidas d) H.M.Reddy e) Sant Tukaram.

2) a) i) tamil ii) telugu iii) hindi iv) malayalarn

b) i) Andhra Pradesh ii) Tamilnadu iii) Karnataka iv) Kerala
c) i) For making the first feature film k j a ~arishchindra
ii) For making the first realistic art film, iii) For making the first talkie

See Sec. 13.3.

nCheck Your Progress-2

See Sec. 13.4.

See Sec. 13.5.

See Sec. 13.5.

ICheck Your Progress3

1) See Sec. 13.6.

2) See.+Skc.13.7.

3) Indian classical music, folk music from different Smilq Patiie A versatile actress
regions and western classic and popular music
have all influenced film music.

IUtwik GhaIPk: A legend in 8 e n g d Cinema