The roots of Indian cinema
The first cinema screening in South India dates back to 1896, when six films by the Lumière brothers were shown in Mumbai, then Bombay, to the delight of the colonial and local elites. A few years later, photographer H. S. Bhatavdekar directed The Wrestler (1899), a shot of a wrestling match in Bombay's Hanging Gardens, the very first Indian film and documentary at that. In 1913, India's first feature film, Raja Harishchandra, was released. The brainchild of filmmaker Dadasaheb Phalke, considered by some to be the father of the Indian seventh art, the film's narrative is based on the Mahâbhârata, one of the sacred Hindu texts. More specifically, it tells of the sacrifices of King Harishchandra, who will do anything to honor his oath to the sage Vishwamitra. A great popular success, it confirmed the Indian people's infatuation with cinema. In the early 1930s, Indian cinema became talking pictures, with Ardeshir Irani's Alam Ara (1931). The language problem then arose, a real obstacle to the distribution of films in this multilingual territory, but also beyond the country's borders. While most of what was soon to become Bollywood was produced in Hindi, other studios and small producers were targeting regional markets in the south, releasing films in Tamil, Marathi, Malayalam and Telugu. To offset these conflicts, producers introduced dance and song as universal means of communication, establishing what was to become the norm for Indian films aimed at the general public. Splendid films from this period include Himansu Rai's Karma(1933), Homi Wadia's Diamond Queen (1940) and Vanakudre Shantaram's Kunku (1937). These works were part of the Hollywood dynamic of major studios such as Bombay Talkies, Prabhat and Wadia Movietone, companies that dominated the Indian audiovisual landscape until the early 1950s.
From collapse to a new golden age
Before Hollywood, India was to experience the fall of the major studios, under pressure from new producers who broke the system of actors under contract, offering fees on a film-by-film basis. A perilous but highly profitable technique that continues to this day, given the importance of headliners in the marketing of an Indian film. Parallel to this revolution, a number of filmmakers are leaving the studios of their own accord to gain creative freedom, bringing new individualities to the national audiovisual landscape. While Bengali cinema in the East saw the emergence of figures such as Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak, Bombay cinema was not to be outdone, with directors such as Khwaja Ahmad Abbas(Children of the Earth, 1946), Guru Dutt(The Thirsty, 1948) and Raj Kapoor(The Shoe Shine, 1954). This effervescence was also exported internationally for the first time, and films such as Chetan Anand's La Ville basse (1946) were acclaimed at major festivals.
Bollywood conquers Asia
"Bollywood", a contraction of Bombay and Hollywood, is now the name generally used to describe Indian cinema in the West. It should be pointed out, however, that while this industry accounts for the largest number of films shot each year, it is only one facet of Indian cinema. After a first golden age with the arrival of talking pictures, this industrial hub experienced a revival in the 1960s, when the number of films produced rose again to over 200 a year. Certain actors, who sometimes appeared in several feature films at the same time, gained tremendous popularity. Such was the case of Rajesh Khanna (1942-2012), who appeared in over 160 films between 1966 and the end of the 1990s. Bollywood's first superstar, he was followed by many others during the 1970s and 1980s, as Bollywood cinema diversified to deal with darker, sometimes even political subjects. However, musical comedy and melodrama remain the preferred genres, although more recently action films have also become box-office hits. Since the early 2000s, these films have also been increasingly exported internationally, raking in several tens of millions, with each new blockbuster beating the record of its predecessor. Of these works, the comedy Three Idiots (Rajkumar Hirani, 2009), the action film Singham (Rohit Shetty, 2011) and the biopic Dangal (Nitesh Tiwari, 2016) are three examples with very distinct styles, but all using the codes dear to this very particular industry.
Other cinemas in South India
To the southeast of Bollywood, another film industry hub is developing around Hyderabad. Produced in Tamil or Telugu, these productions are grouped together under the sobriquet Tollywood, to distinguish them from their Bollywood counterparts. The first talking Tollywood film, Bhakta Prahlada, was made in Telugu in 1932. Today, regional productions are often made in multilingual versions to facilitate distribution. Such is the case of the saga The Legend of Baahubali, by filmmaker S.S. Rajamouli. A tale of history and mythology produced simultaneously in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi, it became the most expensive film in the history of Indian cinema in 2011, before becoming one of its greatest successes. Chennai (formerly Madras), another bastion of cinema and co-producer of numerous Tollywood films, is home to the second-largest industrial hub of Indian cinema, just behind Bollywood. Kollywood, named after the Kodambakkam district in which it is located, produces cinema that is exported to Southeast Asia, and is regularly selected for international festivals. Kanchivaram by filmmaker Priyadarshan (2009) made its American premiere in Toronto, while Enthiran, a science-fiction film directed by S. Shankar, made a notable appearance on the American market in 2010. More recently, Kollywood blockbusters such as Bigil (2019) and Vikram (2022) have gone beyond the region's borders to become some of Indian cinema's biggest successes, thanks in part to their success in neighboring countries such as Malaysia, Singapore and even Japan.
Even further south, the seventh art also flourishes in Kerala, the nerve center of Malayalam or "Mollywood" cinema. With a more realistic bias, these films have been repeatedly recognized for their cinematic qualities, and have represented India at the Oscars on three occasions. For more than 25 years, the Kerala International Film Festival has been bringing the region's cinephiles together in Thiruvananthapuram, and is one of the major events on India's seventh art calendar.
Four major films from South Indian cinema, between yesterday and today
Mother India. One of the biggest hits of the 1950s, Mehboob Khan's Mother India tells the story of a poor mother's struggle to provide a decent life for her children in the face of adversity and an unscrupulous moneylender. A tale of two eras, the film is a grandiose fresco depicting India in transition, between tradition and modernity. With a cast featuring the biggest stars of the time (Nargis, Sunil Dutt, Raaj Kumar, Rajendra Kumar), Mother India was the first Indian film to be nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Language Film category, and remains a must-see for any filmgoer wanting to immerse themselves in the country's history.
Devdas. Devdas narrates the impossible romance between two characters from opposite backgrounds, whose love transcends their differences. A sort of Romeo and Juliet revisited by writer Sarat Chandra Chatterjee in 1917, this hugely popular tale has since been adapted for the big screen by Bollywood and other Indian cinemas. The best-known of these is Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 2002 adaptation, starring Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai. One of the most profitable films of the decade, it made a major contribution to the spread of Bollywood culture in France, where it sold over 100,000 tickets.
Gangs of Wasseypur. In a small mining town in the state of Jharkhand, two clans clash for control of the region's wealth. A mafia drama spanning several generations, this two-part film by director Anurag Kashyap was presented at the Cannes Film Festival's Directors' Fortnight in 2012. Fans of gangster cinema won't want to miss this captivating saga, sometimes tinged with humor when the actors ape classic Bollywood cinema, reprising certain lines that only connoisseurs will be able to spot.
RRR. With The Legend of Bahubali, director S.S. Rajamouli established himself as the man of all records. RRR, his latest film released in 2022, is no exception. The most expensive production of all time, this romanticized vision of the youth of two famous revolutionaries became one of the biggest successes in the history of Indian cinema in just a few months, thanks to its multilingual release. The film is a veritable festival of incredible scenes, yet is accessible to all. Its tale of rebellion against colonial authority makes it highly topical, and the relationship of brotherly conflict that develops between the two superstars Ram Charan and N.T. Rama Rao Jr. the film's two main protagonists, will make the best Hollywood buddy movies pale in comparison. A must-see if you want to make up your own mind about modern Indian cinema, not necessarily subtle but always grandiose.
