History of Indian Cinema: Phalke to the Oscars

Indian cinema is among the largest film industries in the world, with filmmaking in many languages. Hindi cinema, often called Bollywood, is the best known, but the history also includes Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi and many other film cultures. Quizzes love "firsts", so this guide is organised around them.

The silent era and the first talkie

• 1896: the Lumière brothers' films are screened in Bombay, the first film show in India.
• 1913: Raja Harishchandra, made by Dadasaheb Phalke, is released. It is regarded as India's first full-length feature film. Phalke is known as the "Father of Indian Cinema".
• 1931: Alam Ara, directed by Ardeshir Irani, is India's first sound film (talkie).
• 1937: Kisan Kanya, also by Ardeshir Irani, is regarded as the first indigenously made colour film.

Studios and the golden age (1930s-1960s)

• Bombay Talkies (founded in 1934 by Himanshu Rai and Devika Rani) and Prabhat Film Company in Pune were leading studios.
• Devdas (1935), directed by P. C. Barua, was a landmark adaptation of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's novel; many other versions followed.
• The 1950s are called the golden age. Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Dev Anand were leading stars, and Guru Dutt made Pyaasa (1957).
• Mother India (1957), directed by Mehboob Khan, was India's first film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
• Mughal-e-Azam (1960), directed by K. Asif, remains one of the most celebrated epics in Indian cinema.

Parallel cinema and Satyajit Ray

• Pather Panchali (1955), Satyajit Ray's first film, began the Apu Trilogy and won international acclaim.
• Ray, Mrinal Sen and Ritwik Ghatak in Bengal and Shyam Benegal and Mani Kaul elsewhere led the "parallel cinema" or "new wave".
• Satyajit Ray received an Honorary Academy Award in 1992 and the Bharat Ratna the same year.

The 1970s to the 1990s

• Sholay (1975), directed by Ramesh Sippy, was a blockbuster. Amitabh Bachchan's "angry young man" roles defined the decade.
• Hindi film music: R. D. Burman, Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar, Mohammed Rafi, Asha Bhosle.
• Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), directed by Aditya Chopra, starring Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, ran for many years in a Mumbai theatre and shaped modern romance films.
• Southern industries gained national audiences, with filmmakers such as Mani Ratnam.

The global era

• Lagaan (2001), directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
• A. R. Rahman won two Oscars (Best Original Score and Best Original Song for "Jai Ho") for Slumdog Millionaire at the 2009 ceremony. The film was a British production.
• RRR (2022), directed by S. S. Rajamouli, won the Oscar for Best Original Song for "Naatu Naatu" in 2023. The Elephant Whisperers won Best Documentary Short at the same ceremony.
• Bhanu Athaiya was the first Indian to win an Oscar (Best Costume Design for Gandhi, 1983).

Awards and institutions

Film industries by name

• Bollywood: Hindi, Mumbai
• Tollywood: Telugu (Hyderabad); the name is also used for Bengali cinema in Kolkata
• Kollywood: Tamil, centred on Kodambakkam in Chennai
• Mollywood: Malayalam
• Sandalwood: Kannada

Common traps

• Raja Harishchandra (1913) was silent; Alam Ara (1931) was the first talkie.
• Slumdog Millionaire was a British film, and the Oscars were won by A. R. Rahman and others in the music categories.
• No Indian film has yet won the Oscar for Best International Feature (formerly Best Foreign Language Film); Mother India, Salaam Bombay! (1988) and Lagaan were nominated.
• Bollywood is not the name of the whole of Indian cinema.