Monday 9 February 2015

Rock climbing Equipments/Rock climbing Gears

Rope, cord and webbing

See also: Rope and Webbing
Rope and climber's shoes
Climbing ropes are typically of kernmantle construction, consisting of a core (kern) of long twisted fibres and an outer sheath (mantle) of woven coloured fibres. The core provides about 80% of the tensile strength, while the sheath is a durable layer that protects the core and gives the rope desirable handling characteristics.
Ropes used for climbing can be divided into two classes: dynamic ropes and low elongation ropes (sometimes called "static" ropes). Dynamic ropes are designed to absorb the energy of a falling climber, and are usually used as Belaying ropes. When a climber falls, the rope stretches, reducing the maximum force experienced by the climber, their belayer, and equipment. Low elongation ropes stretch much less, and are usually used in anchoring systems. They are also used for abseiling (rappeling) and as fixed ropes climbed with ascenders.
Modern webbing or "tape" is made of nylon or Spectra/Dyneema, or a combination of the two. Climbing-specific nylon webbing is generally tubular webbing, that is, it is a tube of nylon pressed flat. It is very strong, generally rated in excess of 9 kN, or about 2,020 pounds of force. Dyneema is even stronger, often rated above 20 kN (about 4,500 lbf or 2000 kg) and as high as 27 kN (about 6,070 lbf or 2700 kg).[citation needed] In 2010, UK-based DMM performed fall factor 1 and 2 tests on various Dyneema and Nylon webbings, showing Dyneema slings can fail even under 60 cm falls. Tying knots in Dyneema webbing was proven to have reduced the total amount of supported force by as much as half.[2]
When webbing is sewn or tied together at the ends, it becomes a sling or runner, and if you clip a carabiner to each end of the sling, you have a quickdraw. These loops are made one of two ways—sewn (using reinforced stitching) or tied. Both ways of forming runners have advantages and drawbacks, and it is for the individual climber to choose which to use. Generally speaking, most climbers carry a few of both types. It is also important to note that only nylon can be safely knotted into a runner (usually using a water knot or beer knot), Dyneema is always sewn because the fibers are too slippery to hold a knot under weight.
Webbing has many uses such as:
  • Extending the distance between protection and a tie-in point.
  • An anchor around a tree or rock.
  • An anchor extension or equalization.
  • Makeshift harnesses.
  • Carrying equipment (clipped to a sling worn over the shoulder).
  • Protecting a rope that hangs over a sharp edge (tubular webbing).

Carabiners

Main article: Carabiner
Carabiners are metal loops with spring-loaded gates (openings), used as connectors. Once made primarily from steel, almost all carabiners for recreational climbing are made from a light weight aluminum alloy. Steel carabiners are much heavier, but harder wearing, and therefore are often used by instructors when working with groups.
Carabiners exist in various forms; the shape of the carabiner and the type of gate varies according to the use for which it is intended. There are two major varieties: locking and non-locking carabiners. Locking carabiners offer a method of preventing the gate from opening when in use. Locking carabiners are used for important connections, such as at the anchor point or a belay device. There are several different types of locking carabiners, including a twist-lock and a thread-lock. Twist-lock carabiners are commonly referred to as "auto-locking carabiners" due to their spring-loaded locking mechanism. Non-locking carabiners are commonly found as a component of quickdraws.
Carabiners are made with many different types of gates including wire-gate, bent-gate, and straight-gate. The different gates have different strengths and uses. Most locking carabiners utilize a straight-gate. Bent-gate and wire-gate carabiners are usually found on the rope-end of quickdraws, as they facilitate easier rope clipping than straight-gate carabiners.
Carabiners are also known by many slang names including biner (pronounced beaner) or Krab.
First climber who used a carabiner for climbing was German climber Otto Herzog.

Quickdraws

2quickdraws.saa.jpeg
Main article: Quickdraw
Quickdraws (often referred to as "draws") are used by climbers to connect ropes to bolt anchors, or to other traditional protection, allowing the rope to move through the anchoring system with minimal friction. A quickdraw consists of two non-locking carabiners connected together by a short, pre-sewn loop of webbing. Alternatively, and quite regularly, the pre-sewn webbing is replaced by a sling of the above-mentioned dyneema/nylon webbing. This is usually of a 60 cm loop and can be tripled over between the carabiners to form a 20 cm loop. Then when more length is needed the sling can be turned back into a 60 cm loop offering more versatility than a pre-sewn loop. Carabiners used for clipping into the protection generally have a straight gate, decreasing the possibility of the carabiner accidentally unclipping from the protection. The carabiner into which the rope is clipped often has a bent gate, so that clipping the rope into this carabiner can be done quickly and easily. Quickdraws are also frequently used in indoor lead climbing. The quickdraw may be pre-attached to the wall. When a climber ascends the wall, (s)he must clip the rope through the quickdraw in order to maintain safety. The safest, easiest and most effective place to clip into a quickdraw is when it is at waist height.

Harnesses

Main article: Climbing harness
A harness is a system used for connecting the rope to the climber. There are two loops at the front of the harness where the climber ties into the rope at the working end using a figure-eight knot. Most harnesses used in climbing are preconstructed and are worn around the pelvis and hips, although other types are used occasionally.
Different types of climbing warrant particular features for harnesses. Sport climbers typically use minimalistic harnesses, some with sewn-on gear loops. Alpine climbers often choose lightweight harnesses, perhaps with detachable leg loops. Big Wall climbers generally prefer padded waist belts and leg loops. There are also full body harnesses for children, whose pelvises may be too narrow to support a standard harness safely. These harnesses prevent children from falling even when inverted, and are either manufactured for children or constructed out of webbing. Some climbers use full body harnesses when there is a chance of inverting, or when carrying a heavy bag. There are also chest harnesses, which are used only in combination with a sit harness; this combination provides the same advantages as a full body harness. However, test results from UIAA show that chest harnesses can put more impact on the neck than sit harnesses, making them slightly more dangerous to use.
Apart from these harnesses, there are also caving and canyoning harnesses, which all serve different purposes. For example, a caving harness is made of tough waterproof and unpadded material, with dual attachment points. Releasing the maillon from these attachment points loosens the harness quickly.
Canyoning harnesses are somewhat like climbing harnesses, often without the padding, but with a seat protector, making it more comfortable to rappel. These usually have a single attachment point of Dyneema.

Belay devices

ATC-XP on locking carabiner
Main article: Belay devices
Belay devices are mechanical friction brake devices used to control a rope when belaying. Their main purpose is to allow the rope to be locked off with minimal effort to arrest a climber's fall. Multiple kinds of belay devices exist, some of which may additionally be used as descenders for controlled descent on a rope, as in abseiling or rappelling.
Belay devices are available in both passive and active designs:
Passive belay devices rely on the belayer's brake hand and a carabiner to lock off the rope. Sticht plates and the Air Traffic Controller (ATC) line of belay devices by Black Diamond Equipment are examples of passive belay devices. If a belay device is lost or damaged, a Munter hitch on a carabiner can be used as an improvised passive belay device.
Active belay devices have a built-in mechanism that locks off the rope without the help of any other pieces of equipment. The GriGri by Petzl is an example of an active belay device. The offset cam in the GriGri locks off the rope automatically to catch a falling climber, much like a seat belt in a car locks off to hold a passenger securely.
However, the GriGri's automatic action can lead to less alert belayers. The GriGri is not a hands-free belay device and constant vigilance is required by the belayer no matter what kind of device is used. One common mistake with the GriGri is reverse threading it, rendering the camming action useless.[3] Though, in a fall with a reverse threaded GriGri, bending the rope sharply under the GriGri provides more than enough friction to hold a falling climber as long as the belayer locks off the rope as they would with a tube style (passive) device.[citation needed]
It's important to note that in the event of a fall, automatic belay devices place more force on the anchors so are better suited for sports/indoor climbing. Most only work with thick single ropes, and they are not as versatile as other devices.[4]
An example of traditional belay is the Body Belay or the Hip Belay, where the rope is wrapped around the body to provide enough friction to catch a climber. This is often used in Alpine climbing where efficiency is important.[citation needed]

Rappel devices (descenders)

These devices are friction brakes which are designed for descending ropes. Many belay devices can be used as descenders, but there are descenders that are not practical for belaying, since it is too difficult to feed rope through them, or because they do not provide sufficient friction to hold a hard fall.

Figure eight

Sometimes called "figure of eight" or just "eight", this device is most commonly used as a descender, but may also be used as a belay device in the absence of more appropriate equipment.
It is an aluminum or steel "8" shaped device, but comes in several varieties. Its main advantage is efficient heat dissipation. A square eight, used in rescue applications, is better for rappelling than the traditional 8.
A figure eight descender
Figure eights allow fast but controlled descent on a rope. They are easy to set up and are effective in dissipating the heat caused by friction but can have a tendency to cause a rope to twist. Holding the brake hand off to the side twists the rope, whereas holding the brake hand straight down, parallel to the body, allows a controlled descent without twisting the rope. An 8 descender can wear a rope more quickly than a tube style belay/rappel device because of the many bends it puts into the rope. Many sport climbers also avoid them because of the extra bulk a Figure 8 puts on the climbing rack. However, many ice climbers prefer to use the 8, because it is much easier to thread with stiff or frozen rope.

Rescue eight

A rescue eight is a variation of a figure eight, with "ears" or "wings" which prevent the rope from "locking up" or creating a larks head or girth hitch, thus stranding the rappeller on the rope. Rescue eights are frequently made of steel, rather than aluminum.

Petzl Pirana

The Petzl Pirana is a slight variation to the traditional Figure 8 rappel device. The Pirana consists of a single loop of metal with double prongs jutting out of the bottom. Designed primarily for canyoneering, the Pirana allows for a variety of friction modes and lowering speeds.[5] The Pirana supports three different braking positions, each supplying a different descending speed. In contrast to the Figure 8, the Pirana can be loaded or disconnected from the rope without having to be removed from the carabiner.
For comfort, the Pirana can be extended away from the climber with nylon webbing or with a number of locking carabiners.[6]

Rappel Rack

This consists of a 'U' shaped frame, attached to the rappeller's harness, into which snap multiple bars that pivot from the other side of the frame. The rope is woven through as many of the bars as are required to provide sufficient friction. This arrangement allows for variations in rope diameter and condition, as well as controlled rate of descent. Racks are seldom used in sport climbing. Cavers often use racks on long rappels because friction can be adjusted by adding or removing bars.

Ascenders

Main article: Ascender (climbing)
Ascenders are mechanical devices for ascending on a rope. They are also called Jumars, after a popular brand.
Jumars perform the same functionality as friction knots but less effort is needed to use them. A Jumar employs a cam which allows the device to slide freely in one direction but tightly grip the rope when pulled on in the opposite direction. To prevent a jumar from accidentally coming off the rope, a locking carabiner is used. The Jumar is first attached to the climber's harness by a piece of webbing or sling, and then the Jumar is clipped onto the rope and locked. Two ascenders are normally used to climb a fixed rope. For climbing a fixed rope attached to snow anchors on a steep slope, only one Jumar is used as the other hand is used for holding the ice axe.
Another type of ascender allows rope to feed in either direction, slowly, but locks up when pulled quickly. Such self-locking devices allow people to protect solo climbs because the amount of rope is automatically adjusted.

Slings

Slings
A sling or runner is an item of climbing equipment consisting of a tied or sewn loop of webbing that can be wrapped around sections of rock, hitched (tied) to other pieces of equipment or even tied directly to a tensioned line using a prusik knot, for anchor extension (to reduce rope drag and for other purposes), equalisation, or climbing the rope.

Daisy chain

A daisy chain
A daisy chain is a strap, several feet long and typically constructed from one-inch tubular nylon webbing of the same type used in lengthening straps between anchor-points and the main rope. The webbing is bar tacked at roughly two-inch intervals (or, in the past, tied) to create a length of small loops for attachment. Unlike the use of similar devices in backpacking, daisy chains in technical rock climbing are expected to be of sufficient strength to be "load bearing,". Daisy chain pockets however are not rated to full strength, and can only take static loads.
When clipped in, daisy chains should not be shortened by clipping in another pocket to the same carabiner. Failure of the pocket stitching results in the daisy chain disconnecting from the anchor, with potentially fatal consequences. If shortening the daisy chain when clipped in, in order to eliminate dangerous slack, a second carabiner should be used to connect to the anchor.[7]
Though daisy chains are sometimes used by free climbers as a type of sling (a quick attachment used from harness directly to a belay anchor), and for ad hoc purposes similar to those of the backpacker, the canonical use for a daisy chain is in aid climbing, wherein the leader will typically attach one end to the harness, and the other to the top-most anchor placement (by carabiner or fifi hook), particularly after having ascended in étriers as high as possible. This allows the leader to hang from the daisy chain while preparing the next anchor placement. The closely spaced loops allow fine-tuning the length from harness to anchor, thereby allowing the best possible reach for the next placement.
Daisy chains should not be confused with étriers, also known as aiders, which are short ladders made in the same way, but with larger loops, also used in aid climbing, nor with load-limiting devices often known as screamers (from their first trade name) designed to simulate a dynamic belay.

Protection devices

Protection devices, collectively known as rock protection or pro, provide the means to place temporary anchor points on the rock. These devices may be categorized as passive (e.g., nuts, Hexentrics, etc.) or active (e.g., SLCDs and some uses of tricams). Passive protection acts "merely" as a choke when pulled on, and constrictions in the rock prevent it from pulling out. Active protection transforms a pull on the device into an outward pressure on the rock that helps the device set more firmly. The type of protection that is most appropriate varies depending on the nature of the rock.

Nuts

Main article: Nut (climbing)
Typical nuts and a nut tool
Black Diamond Hexcentrics
Nuts are manufactured in many different varieties. In their simplest form, they are just a small block of metal attached to a loop of cord or wire. They are used by simply wedging them into narrowing cracks in the rock, then giving them a tug to set them. Nuts are sometimes referred to by the slang term, wires.

Hexes

Main article: hexes (climbing)
Hexes are related to nuts, and consist of a hollow eccentric hexagonal prism with tapered ends, usually threaded with cord or webbing. They are manufactured by several firms, with a range of sizes varying from about 10mm thick to 100mm wide. Sides may be straight or curved.

Spring-loaded camming devices

A SLCD placed in a crack.
These consist of three or four cams mounted on a common axle or two adjacent axles, in such a way that pulling on the shaft connected to the axle forces the cams to spread further apart. The SLCD is used like a syringe, by pulling the cams via a "trigger" (a small handle) which forces them closer, inserting it into a crack or pocket in the rock, and then releasing the trigger. The springs make the cams expand and grip the rock face securely. A climbing rope may then be attached to the end of the stem via a sling and carabiner. SLCDs are typically designed to maintain a constant camming angle with the rock to ensure that the normal force provided by the cam lobes against the rock face will supply enough friction to hold a cam in equilibrium with the rock.[8]

Tricams

Main article: Tricam
A Tricam is a device that can be used as either active or passive protection. It consists of a shaped aluminium block attached to a length of tape (webbing). The block is shaped so that pulling on the tape makes it cam against the crack, gripping the rock tighter. Careful placement is necessary so that the "cam" does not loosen when not loaded. It is generally not as easy to place or remove as a SLCD but is much cheaper and lighter, and often is the only thing that will work in situations like quarry drill-holes and limestone pockets. The smaller sizes can work well in old piton scars, and can also be used passively as nuts.

Training equipment

Various items of equipment are employed during climbing-specific training.

Grip savers

A small device that can help in developing the antagonist muscles to those used while gripping with the hand. Use of such a device can prevent the ligament injuries that are frequently experienced by climbers.[citation needed]

Fingerboards

A wooden or resin apparatus chiefly used for improving grip strength and practicing grip techniques. They generally consist of a variety of different-sized pockets and ridges that one may hang from, or upon which pull-ups can be performed. These pockets and ridges can range from large jug holds, to two-finger crimps. As well as exercising the arm, fingerboards can greatly improve finger strength, thus the name. When used effectively they can facilitate huge gains in forearm strength and lock off strength, mostly in the flexor digitorum profundus and flexor digitorum superficialis muscles of the fore arms. They are also an apparatus with the capability to injure the user, usually in the A1-4 pulleys or along sections of flexor carpi sheath linking the different FDS or FDP sections in the forearm.
Fingerboards are usually mounted above a doorway, or anywhere that allows the user's body to hang freely, one of the best available attachment areas is to roof beams. They are also called hangboards.

Campus boards

Main article: Campus board
A series of horizontal rungs attached to an overhanging surface that may be climbed up and down without the aid of the feet. When used properly, campus boards can improve finger strength and so-called "contact strength".

Bachar ladder

Main article: Bachar ladder
A ladder made by stringing large diameter PVC piping on webbing and climbed without using the feet. Improves overall upper body strength as well as core strength when used well.

Specialized clothing

In the early days of climbing, many would have considered specialised clothing to be cheating. In fact, the first climbers considered an untucked shirt or unbuttoned sport jacket a sign of weakness. Several climbers even chose to climb barefoot, an act that modern climbers would find amazing. In the 1980s and early 1990s, the trend was to wear tight, brightly coloured clothes often made from Spandex. The trend, now, is to wear looser-fitting clothing. Trousers can be tailored to prevent them from restricting movement by adding features such as articulated knee joints and diamond crotch.

Helmet

A Petzl Elios climbing helmet designed for caving and mountaineering
Black Diamond Equipment Half Dome climbing helmet
The climbing helmet is a piece of safety equipment that primarily protects the skull against falling debris (such as rocks or dropped pieces of protection) and impact forces during a fall. For example, if a lead climber allows the rope to wrap behind an ankle, a fall can flip the climber over and consequently impact the back of the head. Furthermore, any effects of pendulum from a fall that have not been compensated for by the belayer may also result in head injury to the climber. The risk of head injury to a falling climber can be further significantly mitigated by falling correctly.
Climbers may decide whether to wear a helmet based on a number of factors such as the type of climb being attempted, concerns about weight, reductions in agility, added encumbrances, or simple vanity. Additionally, there is less incentive to wear a helmet in artificial climbing environments like indoor climbing walls (where routes and holds are regularly maintained) than on natural multi-pitch routes or ice climbing routes (where falling rocks and/or ice are likely).

Climbing shoes

Main article: Climbing shoe
Specifically designed foot wear is usually worn for climbing. To increase the grip of the foot on a climbing wall or rock face due to friction, the shoe is covered with a vulcanized rubber layer. Usually, shoes are only a few millimetres thick and fit very snugly around the foot. Stiffer shoes are used for "edging", more compliant ones for "smearing". Some have foam padding on the heel to make descents and rappels more comfortable. Climbing shoes can be re-soled which decreases the frequency that shoes need to be replaced.

Belay gloves

A Belay glove
Belay gloves are constructed from either leather or a synthetic substitute. They typically have heat resistant padding on the palm and fingers. When lowering a climber they remove the possibility of rope burn and the subsequent involuntary release of the rope.
It is very important to use gloves if using a classic or body belay. They are also very useful for belaying with single lead ropes that are 9.5mm or smaller.[9]

Miscellaneous equipment

Tape

Medical tape is useful to both prevent and repair minor injuries. For example, tape is often used to fix flappers. Many climbers use tape to bind fingers or wrists to prevent recurring tendon problems. Tape is also highly desirable for protecting hands on climbing routes that consist mostly of repeated hand jamming.
"Tape" can also refer to nylon webbing.

Haul bag

A haul bag refers to a large, tough, and often unwieldy bag into which supplies and climbing equipment may be thrown. A rucksack or day pack often has a webbing haul loop on the top edge.
Haul bags are often affectionately known as "pigs" due to their unwieldy nature.

Gear sling

A gear sling is usually used by trad (traditional), or big wall climbers when they have too much gear to fit onto the gear loops of their harnesses. The simplest forms are homemade slings of webbing; more elaborate forms have padding

Chalk

Chalk bags are widely used by climbers as a way of drying sweaty hands. If a climber is sweating a lot and does not use chalk his hands have a very large probability of slipping off a grip involuntarily. The preferred way of storing chalk is in a chalk ball, which itself is stored in a chalk bag. The chalk ball is a spherical mesh filled with crushed chalk, so that when squeezed, chalk will be released through the mesh. Climbers tend to store chalk balls in a chalk bag - a small bag attached to the climber's harness or with a clip that goes round his/he

Wednesday 4 February 2015

Foothold

Foothold

A foothold is a point on a cliff face where a climber places his foot, which allows him upward progress. There are three basic types of footholds: smears (also called friction holds) where a rock shoe smears against the rock surface for purchase; edges where a rock shoe is placed on a protruding edge or shelf, which is usually a positive hold; and toe holds, which is when aclimber sticks the toe of his rock shoe into a pocket or places the toe on a foothold.

Crimp hilds

Crimp

A small handhold that a rock climber utilizes by using his fingertips on an edge, a narrow ledge of rock that ranges from the width of a dime to about an inch. The hold is also called a crimper. The action of grabbing the hold is called crimping. Crimp holds are not used often because they are very strenuous and it's easy to injure and stress fingers. Sometimes the thumb is wrapped around the index finger on a crimp hold to give more pulling power.

BUCKET HOLD

BUCKET: Definition of a Climbing Slang Word

A bucket is a large handhold that fills a climber’s hand like he’s grabbing the edge of a bucket. A large handhold is also called a jug, a Thank God Hold, and a wrapper. Buckets are found on many routes and are usually great for hanging from your arms and resting. A bucket can also be a foothold big enough for one or two feet to comfortably step onto.

Jugs holds

Jugs

Large handholds that are big enough to wrap you hands around. Or Juggy, which is a section of a route with large handholds, which makes the climbing easy.

Granite

Granite is a common intrusive igneous rock with a generally coarse and crystalline texture that widely occurs throughout the world.
Granite, usually an ancient rock that forms continents and mountain ranges, is an excellent medium for rock climbing with clean crack systems, face holds like chickenheads, and offers superlative friction for slab climbing. Some of the best climbing areas in the United States are composed of various types of granite, including Yosemite Valley, Tuolumne Meadows, Joshua Tree, Cochise Stronghold, Longs Peak and Rocky Mountain National Park, and Cathedral and Whitehorse Ledges
.


     An edge is a handhold or foothold on a climbing route that is a small, sharp ledge on a rock face. This narrow ledge or shelf ranges in thickness from the width of a dime to three or so inches wide. The bigger and wider an edge is, the easier it is to use as a hold.
A climber uses an edge on a rock face as a fooAn edge is a handhold or foothold on a climbing route that is a small, sharp ledge on a rock face. This narrow ledge or shelf ranges in thickness from the width of a dime to three or so inches wide. The bigger and wider an edge is, the easier it is to use as a hold.
A climber uses an edge on a rock face as a foothold when he stands on it with his rock shoes. This foot technique is called edging; it usually requires a stiff rock shoe to support the climber's weight, depending on the width and size of the
A climber can also use an edge as a handhold by using crimping techniques or grabbing the hold with an open hand grip. Edges form most of the handholds found on climbing routes.
thold when he stands on it with his rock shoes. This foot technique is called edging; it usually requires a stiff rock shoe to support the climber's weight, depending on the width and size of the edge.
A climber can also use an edge as a handhold by using crimping techniques or grabbing the hold with an open hand grip. Edges form most of the handholds found on climbing routes.

History  of indian cinima


Following the screening of the Lumière moving pictures in London (1895) cinema became a sensation across Europe and by July 1896 the Lumière films had been in show in Bombay (now Mumbai In the next year a film presentation by one Professor Stevenson featured a stage show at Calcutta's Star Theatre. With Stevenson's encouragement and camera Hiralal Sen, an Indian photographer, made a film of scenes from that show, namely The Flower of Persia (1898) The Wrestlers (1899) by H. S. Bhatavdekar showing a wrestling match at the Hanging Gardens in Mumbai was the first film ever to be shot by an Indian. It was also the first Indian documentary film.
The first Indian film released in India was Shree pundalik a silent film in Marathi by Dadasaheb Torne on 18 May 1912 at 'Coronation Cinematograph', Mumbai. Some have argued that Pundalik does not deserve the honour of being called the first Indian film because it was a photographic recording of a popular Marathi play, and because the cameraman—a man named Johnson—was a British national and the film was processed in London.

A scene from Raja Harishchandra (1913), first full-length motion picture

producer-director-screenwriter Dadasaheb Phalke, the Father of Indian cinema.

AVM Studios in Chennai, India's oldest surviving film studio
The first full-length motion picture in India was produced by Dadasaheb Phalke, Dadasaheb is the pioneer of Indian film industry a scholar on India's languages and culture, who brought together elements from Sanskrit epics to produce his Raja Harishchandra (1913), a silent film in Marathi. The female roles in the film were played by male actors. The film marked a historic benchmark in the film industry in India. Only one print of the film was made and shown at the Coronation Cinematograph on 3 May 1913. It was a commercial success and paved the way for more such films. The first silent film in Tamil, Keechaka Vadham was made by R. Nataraja Mudaliar in 1916.
The first Indian chain of cinema theatres, Madan Theatre was owned by the parsi entrepreneur Jamshedji Framji Madan, who oversaw production of 10 films annually and distributed them throughout the Indian subcontinent starting from 1902. He founded Elphinstone Bioscope Company in Calcutta. Elphinstone merged into Madan Theatres Limited in 1919 which brought many of Bengal's most popular literary works to the stage. He also produced Satyawadi Raja Harishchandra in 1917, a remake of Phalke's Raja Harishchandra (1913).
Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu was an Indian artist and a pioneer in the production of silent Indian movies and talkies. Starting from 1909, he was involved in many aspects of Indian cinema's history, like travelling to different regions in Asia, to promote film work. He was the first to build and own cinema halls in Madras. In South India, the first Tamil talkie Kalidas which released on 31 October 1931, barely 7 months after India's first talking picture Alam AraNataraja Mudaliar also established South India's first film studio in Madras.
During the early twentieth century cinema as a medium gained popularity across India's population and its many economic sections. Tickets were made affordable to the common man at a low price and for the financially capable additional comforts meant additional admission ticket price.Audiences thronged to cinema halls as this affordable medium of entertainment was available for as low as an anna (4 paisa) in BombayThe content of Indian commercial cinema was increasingly tailored to appeal to these masses.Young Indian producers began to incorporate elements of India's social life and culture into cinema. Others brought with them ideas from across the world.This was also the time when global audiences and markets became aware of India's film industry.
In 1927, the British Government, to promote the market in India for British films over American ones, formed the Indian Cinematograph Enquiry Committee. The ICC consisted of three British and three Indians, led by T. Rangachari, a Madras lawyer This committee failed to support the desired recommendations of supporting British Film, instead recommending support for the fledgling Indian film industry. Their suggestions were shelved.
Ardeshir Irani released Alam Ara which was the first Indian talkie film, on 14 March 1931 Irani later produced the first south Indian talkie film Kalidas directed by H. M. Reddy released on 31 October 1931 Jumai Shasthi was the first Bengali talkie. Following the inception of 'talkies' in India some film stars were highly sought after and earned comfortable incomes through acting. Actor of the time, Chittor V. Nagaiah, was one of the first multilingual film actor, singer, music composer, producer and director's in India. He was known as the Paul Muni of India in the media.
In 1933, East India Film Company has produced its first Indian film Savitri Shot in Calcutta on a budget of INR 75 thousand, based on a noted stage play by Mylavaram Bala Bharathi Samajam, the film was directed by C. Pullaiah casting stage actors Vemuri Gaggaiah and Dasari Ramathilakam as Yama and Savithri, respectively The blockbuster film has received an honorary diploma at Venice Film Festival The first film studio in South India, Durga Cinetone was built in 1936 by Nidamarthi Surayya in Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh As sound technology advanced, the 1930s saw the rise of music in Indian cinema with musicals such as Indra Sabha and Devi Devyani marking the beginning of song-and-dance in India's films. Studios emerged across major cities such as Chennai, Kolkata, and Mumbai as film making became an established craft by 1935, exemplified by the success of Devdas, which had managed to enthrall audiences nationwide. 1940 film, Vishwa Mohini, is the first Indian film, depicting the Indian movie world. The film was directed by Y. V. Rao and scripted by Balijepalli Lakshmikanta Kavi
Swamikannu Vincent, who had built the first cinema of South India in Coimbatore, introduced the concept of "Tent Cinema" in which a tent was erected on a stretch of open land close to a town or village to screen the films. The first of its kind was established in Madras, called "Edison's Grand Cinemamegaphone". This was due to the fact that electric carbons were used for motion picture projectorsBombay Talkies came up in 1934 and Prabhat Studios in Pune had begun production of films meant for the Marathi language audience. Filmmaker R. S. D. Choudhury produced Wrath (1930), banned by the British Raj in India as it depicted actors as Indian leaders, an expression censored during the days of the Indian independence movement Sant Tukaram, a 1936 film based on the life of Tukaram (1608–50), a Varkari Sant and spiritual poet, was screened at the 1937 edition of Venice Film Festival and thus became the first Indian film to be screened at an international film festival. The film was subsequently adjudged as one of the three best films of the year in the World In 1938, Gudavalli Ramabrahmam, has co-produced and directed the social problem film, Raithu Bidda, which was banned by the British administration in the region, for depicting the uprise of the peasantry among the Zamindar's during the British raj

Devika Rani and Ashok Kumar in Achhut Kanya (1936).
The Indian Masala film—a slang used for commercial films with song, dance, romance etc.—came up following the second world war. South Indian cinema gained prominence throughout India with the release of S.S. Vasan's Chandralekha During the 1940s cinema in South India accounted for nearly half of India's cinema halls and cinema came to be viewed as an instrument of cultural revival.The partition of India following its independence divided the nation's assets and a number of studios went to the newly formed Pakistan The strife of partition would become an enduring subject for film making during the decades that followed
After Indian independence the cinema of India was inquired by the S. K. Patil Commission.S.K. Patil, head of the commission, viewed cinema in India as a 'combination of art, industry, and showmanship' while noting its commercial value. Patil further recommended setting up of a Film Finance Corporation under the Ministry of Finance.This advice was later taken up in 1960 and the institution came into being to provide financial support to talented filmmakers throughout India. The Indian government had established a Films Division by 1948 which eventually became one of the largest documentary film producers in the world with an annual production of over 200 short documentaries, each released in 18 languages with 9000 prints for permanent film theatres across the country.
The Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA), an art movement with a communist inclination, began to take shape through the 1940s and the 1950s.A number of realistic IPTA plays, such as Bijon Bhattacharya's Nabanna in 1944 (based on the tragedy of the Bengal famine of 1943), prepared the ground for the solidification of realism in Indian cinema, exemplified by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas's Dharti Ke Lal (Children of the Earth) in 1946.The IPTA movement continued to emphasize on reality and went on to produce Mother India and Pyaasa, among India's most recognizable cinematic productions

Golden Age of Indian cinema


Apu and Durga running to catch a glimpse of a train, a famous scene of the famous Bengali film Pather Panchali

A dance scene from the Tamil movie Chandralekha (1948)
Following India's independence, the period from the late 1944s to the 1960s are regarded by film historians as the 'Golden Age' of Indian cinema Some of the most critically acclaimed Indian films of all time were produced during this period.
This period saw the emergence of a new Parallel Cinema movement, mainly led by Bengali cinema. Early examples of films in this movement include Chetan Anand's Neecha Nagar (1946) Ritwik Ghatak's Nagarik (1952)and Bimal Roy's Do Bigha Zameen (1953), laying the foundations for Indian neorealism and the "Indian New Wave" Pather Panchali (1955), the first part of The Apu Trilogy (1955–1959) by Satyajit Ray, marked his entry in Indian cinema. The Apu Trilogy won major prizes at all the major international film festivals and led to the 'Parallel Cinema' movement being firmly established in Indian cinema. Its influence on world cinema can also be felt in the "youthful coming-of-age dramas that have flooded art houses since the mid-fifties" which "owe a tremendous debt to the Apu trilogy".
The cinematographer Subrata Mitra, who made his debut with Satyajit Ray's The Apu Trilogy, also had an important influence on cinematography across the world. One of his most important techniques was bounce lighting, to recreate the effect of daylight on sets. He pioneered the technique while filming Aparajito (1956), the second part of The Apu Trilogy.Some of the experimental techniques which Satyajit Ray pioneered include photo-negative flashbacks and X-ray digressions while filming Pratidwandi (1972)] Ray's 1967 script for a film to be called The Alien, which was eventually cancelled, is also widely believed to have been the inspiration for Steven Spielberg's E.T. (1982) Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak went on to direct many more critically acclaimed 'art films', and they were followed by other acclaimed Indian independent filmmakers such as Mrinal Sen, Mani Kaul, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, G. Aravindan and Buddhadeb Dasgupta.During the 1960s, Indira Gandhi's intervention during her reign as the Information and Broadcasting Minister of India further led to production of off-beat cinematic expression being supported by the official Film Finance Corporation.
Commercial Hindi cinema also began thriving, with examples of acclaimed films at the time include the Guru Dutt films Pyaasa (1957) and Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959) and the Raj Kapoor films Awaara (1951) and Shree 420 (1955). These films expressed social themes mainly dealing with working-class urban life in India; Awaara presented the city as both a nightmare and a dream, while Pyaasa critiqued the unreality of city life. Some epic films were also produced at the time, including Mehboob Khan's Mother India (1957), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and K. Asif's Mughal-e-Azam (1960). V. Shantaram's Do Aankhen Barah Haath (1957) is believed to have inspired the Hollywood film The Dirty Dozen (1967).Madhumati (1958), directed by Bimal Roy and written by Ritwik Ghatak, popularised the theme of reincarnation in Western popular culture. Other mainstream Hindi filmmakers at the time included Kamal Amrohi and Vijay Bhatt.
Ever since Chetan Anand's social realist film Neecha Nagar won the Grand Prize at the first Cannes Film Festival, Indian films were frequently in competition for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival for nearly every year in the 1950s and early 1960s, with a number of them winning major prizes at the festival. Satyajit Ray also won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival for Aparajito (1956), the second part of The Apu Trilogy, and the Golden Bear and two Silver Bears for Best Director at the Berlin International Film Festival. Ray's contemporaries, Ritwik Ghatak and Guru Dutt, were overlooked in their own lifetimes but had belatedly generated international recognition much later in the 1980s and 1990s. Ray is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema, with Dutt and Ghatak. In 1992, the Sight & Sound Critics' Poll ranked Ray at No. 7 in its list of "Top 10 Directors" of all time, while Dutt was ranked No. 73 in the 2002 Sight & Sound greatest directors poll.

Sivaji Ganesan (1928-2001)
Sivaji Ganesan became India's first ever actor to receive an international award when he won the "Best Actor" award at the Afro-Asian film festival in 1960 and was awarded Chevalier title by the French Government. Tamil cinema is also influenced by Dravidian politics, with prominent film personalities like C N Annadurai, M G Ramachandran, M Karunanidhi and Jayalalithaa becoming Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu.
A number of Indian films from this era are often included among the greatest films of all time in various critics' and directors' polls. At this juncture, south cinema saw the production works based on the epic Mahabharata, such as Mayabazar, listed by IBN Live's 2013 Poll as the greatest Indian film of all time,and Narthanasala received awards for best production design and best actor to S. V. Ranga Rao, at the Indonesian Film Festival. A number of Satyajit Ray films appeared in the Sight & Sound Critics' Poll, including The Apu Trilogy (ranked No. 4 in 1992 if votes are combined) The Music Room (ranked No. 27 in 1992), Charulata (ranked No. 41 in 1992)and Days and Nights in the Forest (ranked No. 81 in 1982). The 2002 Sight & Sound critics' and directors' poll also included the Guru Dutt films Pyaasa and Kaagaz Ke Phool (both tied at #160), the Ritwik Ghatak films Meghe Dhaka Tara (ranked #231) and Komal Gandhar (ranked #346), and Raj Kapoor's Awaara, Vijay Bhatt's Baiju Bawra, Mehboob Khan's Mother India and K. Asif's Mughal-e-Azam all tied at #346. In 1998, the critics' poll conducted by the Asian film magazine Cinemaya included The Apu Trilogy (ranked No. 1 if votes are combined), Ray's Charulata and The Music Room (both tied at #11), and Ghatak's Subarnarekha (also tied at #11). In 1999, The Village Voice top 250 "Best Film of the Century" critics' poll also included The Apu Trilogy (ranked No. 5 if votes are combined). In 2005, The Apu Trilogy and Pyaasa were also featured in Time magazine's "All-TIME" 100 best movies list.

Modern Indian cinema


Superstar Rajnikanth, second highest paid actor in Asia
Kamal Haasan
Kamal Haasan The only actor to get 4 national awards and three international awards

Mohanlal and Amitabh Bachchan
Some filmmakers such as Shyam Benegal continued to produce realistic Parallel Cinema throughout the 1970s, alongside Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen, Buddhadeb Dasgupta and Gautam Ghose in Bengali cinema; K Balachandar, Balu Mahendra, Bharathiraaja and Mani Ratnam in Tamil cinema, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Shaji N. Karun, John Abraham and G. Aravindan also Bharathan and Padmarajan in Malayalam cinema ; Nirad Mohapatra in Oriya cinema; K. N. T. Sastry and B. Narsing Rao in Telugu cinema; Mani Kaul, Kumar Shahani, Ketan Mehta, Govind Nihalani and Vijaya Mehta in Hindi cinema.However, the 'art film' bent of the Film Finance Corporation came under criticism during a Committee on Public Undertakings investigation in 1976, which accused the body of not doing enough to encourage commercial cinema.
Kamal Haasaa received in 1990 the Padma Shri and in 2014 the Padma Bhushan for his contributions to Indian cinema. At age six he won the President's Gold Medal for Best Child Actor for his debut film, Kalathur Kannamma. Haasan is tied with Mammootty and Amitabh Bachchan for the most Best Actor National Film Awards with three. He won a National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil for producing the 1992 Tamil film, Thevar Magan. Kamal Haasan has a record 19 Filmfare Awards in five languages; after his last award, in 2000, he wrote to the organisation requesting no further awards.In 2003, his films Hey Ram, Pushpak, Nayakan and Kuruthipunal were showcased in the "Director in Focus" category at the Rotterdam Film Festival.[96] In 2004, Virumaandi won the inaugural Best Asian film award at the Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival (PiFan).[41][96]
The 1970s did, nevertheless, see the rise of commercial cinema in form of enduring films such as Anand (1971), Amar Prem (1971) and Kati Patang (1972), establishing Rajesh Khanna as the first Superstar of Indian Cinema. Later, in mid 70s, action films like Zanjeer (1974) and Sholay (1975), solidified Amitabh Bachchan's position as a lead actor. The devotional classic Jai Santoshi Ma was also released in 1975. Another important film from 1975 was Deewar, directed by Yash Chopra and written by Salim-Javed. A crime film pitting "a policeman against his brother, a gang leader based on real-life smuggler Haji Mastan", portrayed by Amitabh Bachchan, it was described as being "absolutely key to Indian cinema" by Danny Boyle. 1979 Telugu film, Sankarabharanam, which dealt with the revival of Indian classical musichas won the Prize of the Public at the Besancon Film Festival of France in the year 1981 1970 Kannada film, Samskara directed by Pattabhirama Reddy, pioneered the parallel cinema movement in south Indian cinema. The film won Bronze Leopard at the Locarno International Film Festival.
Many Tamil-language films have premiered or have been selected as special presentations at various film festivals across the globe, such as Mani Ratnam's Kannathil Muthamittal, Vasanthabalan's Veyyil and Ameer Sultan's Paruthiveeran. Kanchivaram (2009) was selected to be premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Tamil films have been a part of films submitted by India for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language on eight occasions, next only to Hindi. Mani Ratnam's Nayagan (1987) was included in Time magazine's "All-TIME" 100 best movies list.In 1991, Marupakkam directed by K.S. Sethu Madhavan, became the first Tamil film to win the National Film Award for Best Feature Film, the feat was repeated by Kanchivaram in 2007.[
Malayalam cinema of Kerala regarded as one of the best Indian film genres experienced its own 'Golden Age' in the 1980s and early 1990s. Some of the most acclaimed Indian filmmakers at the time were from the Malayalam industry, including Adoor Gopalakrishnan, G. Aravindan, T. V. Chandran and Shaji N. Karun. Adoor Gopalakrishnan, who is often considered to be Satyajit Ray's spiritual heir, directed some of his most acclaimed films during this period, including Elippathayam (1981) which won the Sutherland Trophy at the London Film Festival, as well as Mathilukal (1989) which won major prizes at the Venice Film Festival.
Shaji N. Karun's debut film Piravi (1989) won the Camera d'Or at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival, while his second film Swaham (1994) was in competition for the Palme d'Or at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival Commercial Malayalam cinema also began gaining popularity with the action films of Jayan, a popular stunt actor whose success was short-lived when he died while filming a dangerous helicopter stunt, followed by Mohanlal, whose film Yodha was acclaimed for its action sequences and technical aspects.
Commercial Hindi cinema further grew throughout the 1980s and the 1990s with the release of films such as Ek Duuje Ke Liye (1981), Mr India (1987), Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988), Tezaab (1988), Chandni (1989), Maine Pyar Kiya (1989), Baazigar (1993), Darr (1993), Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (1994), Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995) and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), many of which starred Madhuri Dixit, Sridevi, Shahrukh Khan, Aamir Khan and Salman Khan. At this juncture, Shekhar Kapur's cult classic, Bandit Queen (1994) which received international recognition, has also garnered high criticism by Arundhati Roy in her film review entitled "The Great Indian Rape-Trick". However, the film highlighted the revival of feminist themes.
In the late 1990s, 'Parallel Cinema' began experiencing a resurgence in Hindi cinema, largely due to the critical and commercial success of Satya (1998), a crime film based on the Mumbai underworld, written and directed by Ram Gopal Varma, with screenplay by Anurag Kashyap. The film's success led to the emergence of a distinct genre known as Mumbai noir,urban films reflecting social problems in the city of Mumbai. Later films belonging to the Mumbai noir genre include Madhur Bhandarkar's Chandni Bar (2001) and Traffic Signal (2007), Ram Gopal Varma's Company- Ajay Devgn (2002) and its prequel D (2005), Anurag Kashyap's Black Friday (2004).
Vishal Bhardwaj's 2014 film Haider, the third installment of Indian Shakespearean Trilogy after Maqbool (2003) and Omkara (2006), won the People's Choice Award at the 9th Rome Film Festival in the Mondo Genere category making it the first Indian film to achieve this feat. Other art film directors active today include Mrinal Sen, Mir Shaani, Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Gautam Ghose, Sandip Ray, Aparna Sen and Rituparno Ghosh in Bengali cinema; Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Shaji N. Karun and T. V. Chandran in Malayalam cinema; Nirad Mohapatra in Oriya cinema; Mani Kaul, Kumar Shahani, Ketan Mehta, Govind Nihalani, Shyam Benegal, Mira Nair, Nagesh Kukunoor, Sudhir Mishra and Nandita Das in Hindi cinema; K. N. T. Sastry, B. Narsing Rao, Akkineni Kutumba Rao, Deva Katta in Telugu cinema; Santosh Sivan in Tamil cinema; Deepa Mehta, Anant Balani, Homi Adajania, Vijay Singh and Sooni Taraporevala garnered recognition in Indian English cinema.

Global discourse

Indians during the colonial rule bought film equipment from Europe. The British funded wartime propaganda films during the second world war, some of which showed the Indian army pitted against the axis powers, specifically the Empire of Japan, which had managed to infiltrate into India. One such story was Burma Rani, which depicted civilian resistance offered to Japanese occupation by the British and Indians present in Myanmar. Pre-independence businessmen such as J. F. Madan and Abdulally Esoofally traded in global cinema.
Indian cinema's early contacts with other regions became visible with its films makinginroads into the Soviet Union, Middle East, Southeast Asia, and China. Mainstream film stars like Rajnikanth and Raj Kapoor gained international fame across Asia and Eastern Europe.Indian films also appeared in fora and film festivals.This allowed 'Parallel' Bengali filmmakers such as Satyajit Ray to achieve worldwide fame, with his films gaining success among European, American and Asian audiences.Ray's work subsequently had a worldwide impact, with filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese, James Ivory, Abbas Kiarostami, Elia Kazan, François Truffaut, Steven Spielberg, Carlos Saura, Jean-Luc Godard, Isao Takaha Gregory Nava, Ira Sachs and Wes Anderson being influenced by his cinematic style, and many others such as Akira Kurosawa praising his work.] The "youthful coming-of-age dramas that have flooded art houses since the mid-fifties owe a tremendous dbt to the Apu trilogy".  Subrata Mitra's cinematographic technique of bounce lighting also originates from The Apu Trilogy. Ray's film Kanchenjungha (1962) also introduced a narrative structure that resembles later hyperlink cinema. Since the 1980s, some previously overlooked Indian filmmakers such as Ritwik Ghatak and Guru Dutt have posthumously gained international acclaim.
Tamil films have enjoyed consistent popularity among populations in South East Asia. Since Chandralekha, Muthu was the second Tamil film to be dubbed into Japanese (as Mutu: Odoru Maharaja) and grossed a record $1.6 million in 1998. In 2010, Enthiran grossed a record $4 million in North America.
Many Asian and 'South Asian' countries increasingly came to find Indian cinema as more suited to their sensibilities than Western cinema. Jigna Desai holds that by the 21st century, Indian cinema had managed to become 'deterritorialized', spreading over to the many parts of the world where Indian diaspora was present in significant numbers, and becoming an alternative to other international cinema.[
Indian cinema has more recently begun influencing Western musical films, and played a particularly instrumental role in the revival of the genre in the Western world. Baz Luhrmann stated that his successful musical film Moulin Rouge! (2001) was directly inspired by Bollywood musicals. The critical and financial success of Moulin Rouge! renewed interest in the then-moribund Western musical genre, subsequently fuelling a renaissance of the genre. Danny Boyle's Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire (2008) was also directly inspired by Indian films, and is considered to be a "homage to Hindi commercial cinema". Other Indian filmmakers are also making attempts at reaching a more global audience, with upcoming films by directors such as Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Jahnu Barua, Sudhir Mishra and Pan Nalin
Indian Cinema was also recognised at the American Academy Awards. Three Indian films, Mother India (1957), Salaam Bombay! (1988), and Lagaan (2001), were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Indian winners of the Academy Awards include Bhanu Athaiya (costume designer), Satyajit Ray (filmmaker), A. R. Rahman (music composer), Resul Pookutty (sound editor) and Gulzar (lyricist).

Influences


Victoria Public Hall, is a historical building in Chennai, named after Victoria, Empress of India. It served as a theatre in the late 19th century and the early 20th century.

Prasads IMAX Theatre located at Hyderabad, is the world's largest 3D-IMAX screen, and also the most attended screen in the world.
Ramoji Film City located in Hyderabad, holds Guinness World Record as the World's largest film studio.]

PVR Cinemas is one of the largest cinema chains in India
There have generally been six major influences that have shaped the conventions of Indian popular cinema. The first was the ancient Indian epics of Mahabharata and Ramayana which have exerted a profound influence on the thought and imagination of Indian popular cinema, particularly in its narratives. Examples of this influence include the techniques of a side story, back-story and story within a story. Indian popular films often have plots which branch off into sub-plots; such narrative dispersals can clearly be seen in the 1993 films Khalnayak and Gardish.
The second influence was the impact of ancient Sanskrit drama, with its highly stylised nature and emphasis on spectacle, where music, dance and gesture combined "to create a vibrant artistic unit with dance and mime being central to the dramatic experience." Sanskrit dramas were known as natya, derived from the root word nrit (dance), characterising them as spectacular dance-dramas which has continued in Indian cinema. The Rasa method of performance, dating back to ancient Sanskrit drama, is one of the fundamental features that differentiate Indian cinema from that of the Western world. In the Rasa method, empathetic "emotions are conveyed by the performer and thus felt by the audience," in contrast to the Western Stanislavski method where the actor must become "a living, breathing embodiment of a character" rather than "simply conveying emotion." The rasa method of performance is clearly apparent in the performances of popular Hindi film actors like Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan, nationally acclaimed Hindi films like Rang De Basanti (2006), and internationally acclaimed Bengali films directed by Satyajit Ray.]
The third influence was the traditional folk theatre of India, which became popular from around the 10th century with the decline of Sanskrit theatre. These regional traditions include the Yatra of West Bengal, the Ramlila of Uttar Pradesh, Yakshagana of Karnataka, 'Chindu Natakam' of Andhra Pradesh, and the Terukkuttu of Tamil Nadu. The fourth influence was Parsi theatre, which "blended realism and fantasy, music and dance, narrative and spectacle, earthy dialogue and ingenuity of stage presentation, integrating them into a dramatic discourse of melodrama. The Parsi plays contained crude humour, melodious songs and music, sensationalism and dazzling stagecraft."[144] All of these influences are clearly evident in the masala film genre that was popularised by Manmohan Desai's films in the 1970s and early 1980s, particularly in Coolie (1983), and to an extent in more recent critically acclaimed films such as Rang De Basanti.[145]
The fifth influence was Hollywood, where musicals were popular from the 1920s to the 1950s, though Indian filmmakers departed from their Hollywood counterparts in several ways. "For example, the Hollywood musicals had as their plot the world of entertainment itself. Indian filmmakers, while enhancing the elements of fantasy so pervasive in Indian popular films, used song and music as a natural mode of articulation in a given situation in their films. There is a strong Indian tradition of narrating mythology, history, fairy stories and so on through song and dance." In addition, "whereas Hollywood filmmakers strove to conceal the constructed nature of their work so that the realistic narrative was wholly dominant, Indian filmmakers made no attempt to conceal the fact that what was shown on the screen was a creation, an illusion, a fiction.
However, they demonstrated how this creation intersected with people's day to day lives in complex and interesting ways."[147] The final influence was Western musical television, particularly MTV, which has had an increasing influence since the 1990s, as can be seen in the pace, camera angles, dance sequences and music of recent Indian films. An early example of this approach was in Mani Ratnam's Bombay (1995).[148]
Like mainstream Indian popular cinema, Indian Parallel Cinema was also influenced also by a combination of Indian theatre (particularly Sanskrit drama) and Indian literature (particularly Bengali literature), but differs when it comes to foreign influences, where it is more influenced by European cinema (particularly Italian neorealism and French poetic realism) rather than Hollywood. Satyajit Ray cited Italian filmmaker Vittorio De Sica's Bicycle Thieves (1948) and French filmmaker Jean Renoir's The River (1951), which he assisted, as influences on his debut film Pather Panchali (1955). Besides the influence of European cinema and Bengali literature, Ray is also indebted to the Indian theatrical tradition, particularly the Rasa method of classical Sanskrit drama. The complicated doctrine of Rasa "centers predominantly on feeling experienced not only by the characters but also conveyed in a certain artistic way to the spectator. The duality of this kind of a rasa imbrication" shows in The Apu Trilogy.[146] Bimal Roy's Two Acres of Land (1953) was also influenced by De Sica's Bicycle Thieves and in turn paved the way for the Indian New Wave, which began around the same time as the French New Wave and the Japanese New Wave.[66] Ray known as one of the most important influences to Parallel Cinema, was depicted as an auteur (Wollen). The focus of the majority of his stories portrayed the lower middle class and the unemployed (Wollen). It wasn’t until the late 1960s that Parallel Cinema support grew (Wollen).[149]

Multilinguals

Some Indian films are known as "multilinguals," having been filmed in similar but non-identical versions in different languages. This was done in the 1930s. According to Rajadhyaksha and Willemen in the Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema (1994), in its most precise form, a multilingual is
a bilingual or a trilingual [that] was the kind of film made in the 1930s in the studio era, when different but identical takes were made of every shot in different languages, often with different leading stars but identical technical crew and music.[150]:15
Rajadhyaksha and Willemen note that in seeking to construct their Encclopedia, it they often found it "extremely difficult to distinguish multilinguals in this original sense from dubbed versions, remakes, reissues or, in some cases, the same film listed with different titles, presented as separate versions in different languages.... it will take years of scholarly work to establish definitive data in this respect."[150]:15