Backdrop of Indian Cinema

In 1981, India's sound-added movie era completed 50 years, counting from 1931 Alam Ara (Urdu); in this half century, some 15645 movies in 51 languages and dialects were certified and released. The neo-realist genre that began in 1950s in Kolkata in Bengali cinema sprouted in other film-making centres and in many other languages. Maximum releases in the decade, as in the previous, were in Hindi, more in the mainstream than in the offbeat genre. A new class of viewers arose, who liked entertaining movies - a potpourri of romance, love, prurient sex , chase, fights and violence. TV owners changed from antenna to cable TV; many homes and clubs acquired VCD (later DVD) players too, for watching movies on small and wide screen; number of audience in single-screen cinema-halls went down sharply, leading to closure of many of them.

      This changed the ethos and values of mainstream movies and made them family-oriented. Middle-class morality was questioned and tinged with sex, prurience and permissiveness. A formula fantasy world was born too, with young actors wooing and chasing pretty maidens, dancing or gyrating with, or against, them in parks, gardens, college campuses, streets, pastures and play grounds. This alienated elders from the wide screen, to watch the fast spread of TV and video gave a blow after the 1981 Asian Games in New Delhi.

     In the early 1980s, India had over 10,000 cinema-halls - temporary, permanent and touring, taken together. The FFC hired Mumbai's Lotus cinema for release of 'árt movies'; it merged with the IMPEC to be known as the NFDC. The Ministry of I & B published K.S. Karanth's Report of the Working Group on National Film Policy  which recommended setting up of a Chalachitra Academy but the Government did not accept it. A Satyajit Roy Retrospective was held in the IFFI 1980 and another on Mrinal Sen ran in National Film Theatre in London. A serious film magazine, Cinema Vision (India) was launched in Mumbai (then Bombay) with its first issue devoted to silent cinema. A short-lived Indian Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (IAMPAS) was formed in 1981. A three-part package, containing pre-Ray movies, Ray Retrospective and New Indian Cinema- toured the USA. Washington-based 'Journal for Asian Literature' brought out a special number on Indian Cinema. In 1982, the Government organised a series of festivals of India with fair representations of Indian movies in London, Paris and Moscow. Colour telecast began with Satyajit Ray's Sadgati and Shatranj ke Khiladi on 25th April; regular colour telecasts through the INSAT began on 15th August.

     In 1986, a high-brow magazine, 'Slice', edited by Shamik Banerji was launched but folded up after six issues. The NFDC launched a quarterly journal, 'Cinema in India'. Tamil cinema's superstar and Chief Minister, M.G. Ramanachandran passed away, causing a split in his party AIADMK. Two serious cine journals in English were launched - 'Cinemaya' and 'Deep Focus'. A panorama of Indian cinema was held in Central Pompidou in Paris. Between mainstream and offbeat, were a number of 'middle-of-the-road' or 'verging on offbeat' movies.