The golden age of Indian cinema was between 1944-1960. This period saw the rise of great directors who made landmark films that gained national and international fame, helping establish Indian cinema as a force globally. Socio-political melodramas from this era like Mother India and Pyaasa are considered some of the best films ever made. It was also a time when parallel cinema emerged. Central organizations like the CBFC, NFDC, and Film Division were established to regulate, promote and archive Indian cinema.
2. Golden Fifties of Indian cinema
❖ In India the independence, the time of the 1944 up to end 1960 the years
are considered as the "golden rule era" of Indian cinema.some of most
powerful all Indian
fi
lms have been produced currently in course of this
period. This period provided for the creation of a new parallel Cinema
movement, and especially of bengali cinema. early examples of
fi
lms in
this movement
,
❖ The 50’s saw the rise of great directors like Mehboob, Bimal Roy, Guru
Dutt, Raj Kapoor and Satyajit Ray (Bengali Film Industry) who changed
the fate of Indian cinema and made it a force to be reckoned with. All of
these directors were associated with the
fi
lm industry since the 1930’s
and 40’s and seen the realty of a nation change in front of their eyes.
3. ❖ The 50’s were all about socio political melodramas. These
were the glory years when some of the landmark
fi
lms in
the history were made and gained national and
international fame. Examples include Raj Kapoor’s Awaara
(1951), Shree 420 (1955), Guru Dutt’s Pyaasa (1957), Kaagaz
Ke Phool (1959), Mehboob Khan's Mother India (1957),
which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best
Foreign Language Film, K. Asif's Mughal-e-Azam (1960),
Bimal Roy’s Do Bigha Zameen (1953) and Devdas (1955)
.
❖ The
fi
rst international Film festival of India (IFFI) was held
in Mumbai in the year 1952 and gave a much needed
platform to the Indian
fi
lm industry.
4. ❖ The most important
fi
lm so to speak was still Satayjit Ray’s Pather Panchali (1955)
which had the distinct honor of being the
fi
rst Indian
fi
lm to open the Cannes
international
fi
lm festival and once again put Indian cinema on the map of the
world as a force to be reckoned with
.
❖ While mainstream
fi
lms were thriving commercially, the time was also ripe for
parallel cinema to rise. Films by directors like Shyam Benegal, Mani Kaul, Ketan
Mehta, Govind Nihlani, Kumar Shahani and Vijaya Mehta were also being noticed
as a separate intellectual genre. Chetan Anand’s Film Neecha Nagar (1946) had
won the Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and paved the way for art
(parallel)
fi
lmmakers. Many of the
fi
lms made during this time
fi
nd themselves
listed among the best
fi
lms in the world in lists created by the AFI (American Film
Institute), BFI (British Film Institute) and even the prestigious lists by The Time
Magazine plus Sight and Sound Pyaasa and Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959
)
❖ The time between 1951 and 1965 was indeed the golden era in the history of Indian
cinema for both commercial and parallel ventures.
5. Central Board of Film Certification
❖ Central Board of Film Certi
fi
cation (CBFC) is a statutory body under this
Ministry for regulation of
fi
lms for public exhibition, under the provisions
of the Cinematograph Act, 1952. On Certi
fi
cation of the CBFC,
fi
lms can be
publicly exhibited in India
.
❖ The Board consists of non-of
fi
cial members and a Chairman which
functions with the Headquarter at Mumbai. The members of panel are
nominated and appointed by the Central Government for a period of two
years by drawing people from different walks of life.
❖ CBFC has nine regional of
fi
ces, functioning at Bangalore, Chennai, Cuttack,
Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi and
Thiruvananthapuram. The regional of
fi
ces are assisted by Advisory Panels
for examination of
fi
lms.
6. ❖ The
fi
lms are certi
fi
ed in following categories in accordance
with the Cinematograph Act, 1952, the Cinematograph
(Certi
fi
cation) Rules, 1983 and the guidelines issued by the
Central Government under Section 5 (B) of Cinematograph
Act, 1952
:
❖ U – Unrestricted Public Exhibition
.
❖ U/A – Unrestricted Public Exhibition but with a word of
caution that discretion required for children below 12 years
.
❖ A – Restricted to adults
.
❖ S - Restricted to any special class of persons.
7. NFDC
❖ National Film Development Corporation Ltd. (NFDC), incorporated in the year 1975, was
formed by the Government of India with the primary objective of planning and promoting
an organized, ef
fi
cient, and integrated development of the Indian
fi
lm industry.
❖ NFDC has so far funded / produced over 300
fi
lms. These
fi
lms, in various Indian
languages, have been widely acclaimed and have won many national and international
awards. The primary activities of NFDC are Film Production – 100%
fi
nance for debutant
directors & Co-Production with Foreign & Indian Film Makers, Promoting Indian Films at
various International Film Festivals and markets in India and abroad
,
❖ NFDC’s Film Bazaar has now become one of the leading platform for promoting &
showcasing Indian cinema to the world. NFDC is now positioned as a 360-degree integrated
media service provider for the creation and dissemination of advertising communication
across various electronic platforms. Ministry of I&B has taken the lead with a long-term
objective of positioning and promoting India as a preferred destination for
fi
lmmakers
across the world, by setting up the Film Facilitation Of
fi
ce (FFO), which is housed under the
aegis of NFDC
8. Film Division
❖ Films Division, headquartered at Mumbai, was established in 1948 by Ministry of
Information & Broadcasting primarily to produce documentaries and news
magazines for publicity of Government programs and cinematic record of Indian
history.
❖ For over 67 years, Films Division has produced more than 8000 documentaries, short
fi
lms, animation
fi
lms and news magazines on themes ranging from agriculture to art
& architecture, from industry to the international scenes, from food to festivals, from
healthcare to housing, from science and technology to sports, from trade and
commerce to transport, from tribal welfare to community development etc.
❖ The main activities performed by Division include Production of Documentary
Films, Organization of Mumbai International Film Festival for Documentary, Short &
Animation Films (MIFF) etc. National Museum of Indian Cinema (NMIC) is also
being established through Films Division.
9. ❖ National Film Awards- 1954 - Feature Films, Non-
Feature Films and Best Writing on Cinema
.
❖ NFAI - National Film archive of India(1964)-preserving
Indian cinematic heritag
e
❖ FTII- Film and television institute of India(1960)