Film Renaissance

Change is nature’s norm. Everything which emerges out of creativity and manpower are bound to undergo changes at any given point of time. History has seen massive revolutions, some which turned out to be a success and some which gave a road to analyse what could have been improvised. One such enterprise, which saw a humongous change through years was the film sector. Worldwide, entertainment has a lot of momentum. Year by year, there are budding artists with a huge talent and versatility. New scripts, genres, filming locations are getting a stage to be portrayed.

Dating back to the early phases, when entertainment was novice, technology and finances could not support the domains related to film. They lacked quality and momentum. The first commercial public screening of films can be traced back to the 1890s. Slowly and steadily the concept of studios and film production companies was born. In the first 10 years, the industry saw film moving from a novelty. Another sea change was the transformation of the slow motion films from black and white to colour. This time skills were supported with improvised technology and visual effects. Black and white films were recorded without any sound and were profoundly known as the silent films and were a minute long. The concept of editing, camera movements, continuity between shots, and other cinematographic techniques popped up within a matter of time. Special effects became a popular feature in the films and many of these effects made the film extravagant. With technical advancements and synchronised sound recording in the early 20 th century, mega revolutions were brought in this sector.

Bollywood which is one of the leading sectors globally was a pioneer in making Mumbai, then Bombay as the film capital in 1925. Renowned movies in various languages like Marathi film Harishchandrachi factory by Dadasaheb Phalke and Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali became a milestone. As the financial crunch was managed with pouring funds, the public were able to appreciate the cinematographic world.

With nurturing minds working relentlessly in bringing a revolution, different genres of film were born. They widely ranged from comedy to thriller and from horror to love stories. Bold social messages came up in the form of theatre and films some of which were critically acclaimed while some were unaccepted. As the world of cinema transformed from conceptualization to reality, there was an evolution in the costumes, set and locations for shooting a film. Film makers round the globe were enticed to create more epic films that looked enthralling on big screens. Towards the end of the century, marking the beginning of the millennium, digital production methods became more and more popular resulting in increased realistic visual effects and an entire new domain emerged in the form of animations. Animations were able to constitute a large group of viewers, the budding age of kids which needed entertainment and side by side something that was apt for their age. By the 2000s, streaming partners like YouTube came into existence. These played a chief role in providing a platform to showcase. Home theatres were further able to add the flair for this. In the past two decades, there has been a lot of advancement in this sector with 3D and 4D films and with partners like Inox rendering their support, they have been able to reach the pinnacle.

With seeds of hard work and some sparks of luck, regional films in India grew exponentially and hence, they grew. A massive change in the taste of films could be seen in the viewers and the directors who portrayed them. Blend of Karan Johar films with superstars like Shahrukh khan were able to hit the box office with a high grossing value. Mega hit movies like 3 Idiots and Chhichore were able to reach out the crowd by passing some solid message. Films like Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and Dil Chahta Hai were able to take the audience to the world of Spain and Goa, the places where some shots were taken. With more and more biopics and true stories of historic importance coming up, people were able to appreciate the deep rooted Indian history and the cultural values which are embedded into our system for generations. Hollywood films like The Titanic by James Cameron were one of those kind which are instilled in the minds of the people till date. Not to forget the super heroes from the marvel world were able to bring in an emotion throughout their 21 MCU films holding its fans beyond boundaries on the globe.

Leisure which is a pre- requisite for a man has been alive since time immemorial. Bringing out an innovation from nothing and building up on it has been a herculean task. The foundation laid by the people then, is the reason we are able to enjoy these benefits. The millennial generation has grown up from seeing cartoon on television to drama on streaming partners like Netflix and amazon prime. Irrespective of the language, genre or the platform on which the film has been portrayed, cinematography has opened a window for many creations and will continue to become an integral part of our life.

Written by - Aaditi Joshi (aaditi.presidency@gmail.com)