How Indian Cinema Evolved over the Years
How Indian cinema evolved over the years
A hundred years ago on this date, India’s first film Raja Harishchandra was released. Over the past hundred years, our cinema and its facets have evolved and how!!
The hero
From mooch to macho
From a bulky mustached Raj Kapoor in the 40s to a six-pack flaunting, butt-baring John Abraham now, the Bollywood hero has had quite a makeover. The 50s was the era of method-acting with the likes of Dilip Kumar, while in the 60s, Rajesh Khanna and Dev Anand epitomised romance on screen. After Khanna’s guru kurtas and fluffy hairtop, Amitabh Bachchan brought the angry young man into the picture in the 70s and 80s with Zanjeer, Deewar and Agneepath, also bringing to the fore, bell bottoms and side burns. The 90s was the time of the lover boys Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan and Salman Khan dancing in exotic foreign locales. Now, the Bollywood hero is not restricted by genre or style and fits into every mould. He is a looker, chocolatey, experimental and total paisa vasool, read Ranbir Kapoor and Imran Khan.
The heroine
From feeble to fabulous
In the early decades, the heroine in Indian cinema had only one objective in life, that of being a sati-savitri, who never looked beyond her family and husband. The kitchen was her cocoon, and she epitomised all things good. Through the 1940s, 50s and 60s, heroines such as Mala Sinha, Meena Kumari, Madhubala, Nanda and Asha Parekh ruled these roles. It was only in the 80s and 90s that she evolved as a strong character (Rekha in Khoon Bhari Mang, 1988), (Meenakshi Sheshadri in Damini, 1993). While in the early 2000s, she was still the demure girl, she managed to live her life on her terms like Rani Mukerji in Kabhie Alvida Naa Kehna. And the heroine today is the sexy, uber cool woman who cares for little more than her own life. Way to go girl!
The villain
From scary to suave
From the usual lot of wicked village zamindars, smugglers, murderers, rapists, dacoits and terrorists, the
A hundred years ago on this date, India’s first film Raja Harishchandra was released. Over the past hundred years, our cinema and its facets have evolved and how!!
The hero
From mooch to macho
From a bulky mustached Raj Kapoor in the 40s to a six-pack flaunting, butt-baring John Abraham now, the Bollywood hero has had quite a makeover. The 50s was the era of method-acting with the likes of Dilip Kumar, while in the 60s, Rajesh Khanna and Dev Anand epitomised romance on screen. After Khanna’s guru kurtas and fluffy hairtop, Amitabh Bachchan brought the angry young man into the picture in the 70s and 80s with Zanjeer, Deewar and Agneepath, also bringing to the fore, bell bottoms and side burns. The 90s was the time of the lover boys Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan and Salman Khan dancing in exotic foreign locales. Now, the Bollywood hero is not restricted by genre or style and fits into every mould. He is a looker, chocolatey, experimental and total paisa vasool, read Ranbir Kapoor and Imran Khan.
The heroine
From feeble to fabulous
In the early decades, the heroine in Indian cinema had only one objective in life, that of being a sati-savitri, who never looked beyond her family and husband. The kitchen was her cocoon, and she epitomised all things good. Through the 1940s, 50s and 60s, heroines such as Mala Sinha, Meena Kumari, Madhubala, Nanda and Asha Parekh ruled these roles. It was only in the 80s and 90s that she evolved as a strong character (Rekha in Khoon Bhari Mang, 1988), (Meenakshi Sheshadri in Damini, 1993). While in the early 2000s, she was still the demure girl, she managed to live her life on her terms like Rani Mukerji in Kabhie Alvida Naa Kehna. And the heroine today is the sexy, uber cool woman who cares for little more than her own life. Way to go girl!
The villain
From scary to suave
From the usual lot of wicked village zamindars, smugglers, murderers, rapists, dacoits and terrorists, the