Celebrating 100 years of Indian cinema

The High Commission of India in Colombo hosted a colourful event at the Taj Samudra Hotel recently, to raise a toast to Indian cinema that’s 100 years old. It’s indeed a moment of great national pride and glory for all Indians. Unlike other western film industries, the Indian film industry has not been too heavily influenced by the Hollywood film industry and continue to retain its local flavour, essence, emotions and dialect. Indian films get to do their share of globetrotting at prestigious world film festivals, Indian stars walk the red carpet in Cannes and other festivals along with their global counterparts, our films find their reviews by top international film journals and newspapers.

A hundred years ago Dada Saheb Phalke made a movie about a king who never lied. Phalke’s inspiration came from an English film ‘The Life and Passion of Christ’ and he too wanted to translate the lives of Indian Gods to the screen. His first production ‘Raja Harishchandra’ was screened at the Coronation Cinema in Mumbai marking the beginning of Indian cinema. Regarded as the father of the Indian cinema, Phalke went on to make several silent films but became the first casualty when the silent era passed. Pather Panchali(1955) directed by Satyajit Ray was among the earliest Indian films to have received global recognition (it got 11 international awards). Indian cinema has an identity that is very unique and unmatched.

Pix by Pradeep Dilrukshana