Film as a medium of mass communication

Introduction-

Another footprint in the sand of communication is after the invention of films. Cinema or film a
form of Mass Media has become a powerful tool since the day it was introduced to the world.
Cinematographic derived from the Greek word meaning movement and writing was invented by
the Lumeire Brothers. In 1929, “The Lights of Newyork” the first talking film was screened.
Cinema came to India in 1986, when the film “Pundalik” directed by R.G.Torney and N.C.Chitra
was released in 18th may. The film industry has grown rapidly for the past years and has brought
about a lot of changes in the society.

Strength of Films/cinema

Films/cinema is a powerful medium. It speaks with the language of universality. Films through
story-telling, documentary, realism or fiction demands a universal language. By accessing and
understanding what makes a universal issue, the audiences can better engage with the world
around them. Films represent and at the same time signify. They remix the real, the unreal, the
present, real life, memory, and dream on the same shared mental level. Film is a means of
creative expression. It performs the functions of mass media, such as information, education,
entertainment and transmission of culture.

Films are widely popular and their audio visual nature provides them a pervasive power for
social influence. Cinema has certainly some clear advantages over other media. It combines
primarily, both audio and video and is thus very appealing to the eyes and the ears. With the
development of color cinematography, and stereophonic sound, it is certainly one up on other
media. The moral values conveyed through the medium of cinema have a lasting effect on the
audience. The audience also has a moral, emotional involvement in the course of events and the
roles of various characters, their language and style of speaking does leave an impression on the
spectators.

Indian cinema has seen a great transformation since the early nineteen-thirties. The 1930’s saw
the emergence of three big banners in Indian cinema- Prabhat, Bombay Talkies and New
Theatres. The first Indian talkie – Alam Ara – was released on March 14, 1931. After that, there
was no turning back. Directed by Ardeshir Irani, it was the first Indian film with sound.

During the same period, South India saw the release of two talkies- Bhakta Prahlada in Telugu
and Kalidas in Tamil. Following the release of these movies was the till-date-famous Devdas.

During the 1940s cinema in South India accounted for nearly half of India’s cinema halls and
cinema came to be viewed as an instrument of cultural revival. The late 1940’s also saw the
commencement of the “Golden Age of Indian Cinema”.  The “Golden Age” was from late
1940’s to 1960’s.

Mehboob Khan’s Mother India dealt with several social issues. It was one of the earliest films
that were women centric. It became a landmark in Hindi cinema. Released in 1957, it brought the
character of mother at the centre-stage in Hindi films. It was also nominated as an Oscar for the
best foreign language film.

While commercial cinema was thriving, the same age saw the emergence of a new Parallel
Cinema movement mainly led by Bengali cinema. It was the cinema of social significance and
artistic sincerity, presenting a modern, humanist perspective in contrast to the fantasy world of
the popular cinema.

During the 1960’s, popular cinema shifted its social concerns towards more romantic genres.
This period also became prominent for a more assertive Indian nationalism. Mughal-e-Azam
carved a niche for itself because of its panache.

There was also an introduction of Comedy of Errors. For the first time, the double role of an
actor was introduced by the movie Ram aur Shyam. Later a lot of similar films were made. These
include Sita aur Geeta and Duplicate.

Following the Indo-Pakistan wars in 1962 and 1965, the Indian officer came to be a rallying
point for the national imagination. Old films such as Aradhana, Sangam, and newer ones like
Main Hoon Na and Mausam highlight this.

The 1970’s were an introduction to young romance. The movie Bobby brought forward teenage
love. This era was also a time for action flicks, the most loved one perhaps being Sholay. At the
same time, devotional films were given importance. Jai Santoshi Ma is a devotional classic
released in 1975.

It was in the late 1970’s that Yash Chopra’s film Kala Patthar released. It focuses on the pitiable
and dangerous lives of the coal miners. This movie too sees the characters fight for social justice.
It was Mahesh Bhatt’s film Arth that put a bold theme before the yet reserved audience. The big
screen was familiarized with the idea of extra marital affair.

South India’s Malayalam cinema of Kerala, regarded as one of the best Indian film genres,
experienced its own “Golden Era” during the 1980’s and 1990’s.

In the late 1990s, ‘Parallel Cinema’ began experiencing resurgence in Hindi cinema, largely due
to the critical and commercial success of Satya, a low-budget film released in 1998. It was based
on the Mumbai underworld, directed by Ram Gopal Varma.

The new millennium started with the controversy generated by the filming of Deepa Mehta’s last
of the Trilogy Water, which was based on the life of Hindu widows in the 1930’s. The years that
followed saw movies like Rang De Basanti and No One Killed Jessica that not only popularized
the concept of candle march, but also encouraged the audience to stand up against crime and in
favour of justice. The famous movie 3 Idiots changed the way students looked at marks.

Today’s generation films have handled a lot of controversial topic has a main plot in the
movies.such as religion, terror attacks, transgender, homosexuality, child labor, poverty etc.
Movies have actually brought to the world an idea about all the above through their stories and
concepts. But at the same time they idealize or generalize few things for the profit sake and
public believes it and it finally becomes a stereotype process.

This majorly happens in Indian cinemas as most of the stories relate to the audience, if not the
story at least segment of it will. Indian movies have a better impact on the audience compared to
other movies because it is only in this country people go to the theatre as a practice, habit ,
sometimes even for information.

Film is a reflection of society for both the present and the past. Film and its innovation
sometimes have to catch up to society but sometimes it leads the society and culture too.

Limitation of films/cinema

Negative point-

 Movies can sometimes show the wrong way to deal with problems.
 Violent behaviour and killing Action.
 In present movies are not showing the real life facts except a few exceptions
 Movies based on terrorism which leads youths mind to dangerous way.

The films, which were earlier produced with a message for society, now largely focus on
business. The sole concern of the director and producer is the money that a particular film is
supposed to bring. It is now a considered a lucrative business. Erosion in social values has made
the producers and directors completely deaf towards their social responsibility. Now, films full
of indecent scenes of violence, sex and crimes are produced.

It is due to this negligence, that film industry has been a target of criticism. Even the apex court
of the country had to come forward and ask the Censor Board not to release sex and violence
soaked films. It further goes on to advice the Censor Board to “step in firmly and insist that the
film being released has a message to improve the value of life and contains only such scenes
which promote good values.” Certain crimes are committed by being motivated from some films.
Reports of such instances very often appear in newspapers.

The scenes of violence, crime, sex, etc. cause fear and lead to abnormal social behaviour in
children. Such scenes in films are often presented as a justifiable means of settling disputes of
our daily life. Continued viewing of such scenes tends to inculcate among the audiences,
particularly in children, a tendency to use violence in their real life. Indeed, the impression
created by the cinema on the minds of the audiences is strong and lasting. This characteristic of
cinema adds to its social obligation.
Current Scenario

In India, the demand for quality movies has always been high. The same demand has paved way
for the movie industry to come up with innovative and quality content. Bollywood has always
played the big daddy's role in the Indian cinema industry. The sector was predominantly looked
up to Bollywood releases as it always sets new benchmarks and traditions behind us. It is no
longer the scenario today. The trend has changed; smaller towns and regional movies also play a
very critical role towards making this happen in the country. It is no longer the industry of just
Bollywood.

While we celebrate the centenary of the Indian film industry, it is not only the fact that we have
completed 100 years of its inception, but also a matter of a great pride for every citizen in the
country that has played a role to make it one of  the most powerful tools of communication and
entertainment in society.  Today the Indian Film industry is the largest in the world, in terms of
the number of films produced in a year. We produce over 1600 to 1800 movies every year in 25+
languages.

Cinema Industry has gained momentum in the recent past due to various factors.  Technological
advancement and satellite-enabled last mile connectivity has played a larger role towards that
goal. The segment has grown almost 30 per cent in the year 2017 due to overseas releases and
rural penetration. If we go by the recent industry reports, the segment is poised towards
achieving new success benchmarks. As per the PwC report, India is poised to be the third largest
cinema market in the world by 2021 and the Indian media and entertainment industry is slated to
grow steadily over the next four years. The industry is expected to exceed Rs 2, 91,000 crore by
2021, growing at compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.5 per cent between 2017 and
2021.

Sum up-

It is a matter of pride that, Indian cinema has not only remained popular in India, but it has
increased its boundaries elsewhere in world. Movies are a really powerful medium in India.
India has a history of hundred years of cinema. Indian films have been recognized nationally and
internationally. Films in India have not only remained the medium of entertainment but film
making has emerged as a major art form which is a creative expression of the film makers or
artists.

In the words of Bertolt Brechet, German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet-

“We need a type of theatre which not only releases the feelings, insights and impulses possible
within the particular historical field of human relations in which the action takes place, but
employs and encourages those thoughts and feelings which help transform the field itself.”