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Birth of Parallel Cinema |
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 Cinema was born out of the impetus to represent the reality in a more convincing manner. An analysis of the earliest films clearly proves that. With the passage of time and the new technological achievements, cinema gradually metamorphosed itself into an entertainment medium. However cinema, like any other art forms, cannot be oblivious to the social changes that take place every day. It in fact mirrors the reality. Indian cinema is no exception. It has always reflected the social, political and economic changes throughout its history. In the 1970s, parallel cinema movement addressed this reality without any reservation. The birth of parallel cinema in India however was not a sudden phenomenon. The seed was sown much earlier. |
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| 1950s scenario |
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 Soon after independence, India got its first constitution and the first five year plan also came into being. The winds of change in the political scenario gave Indian cinema a fresh lease of life with film makers questioning the post colonial issues like poverty, illiteracy and unjustified social system. Satyajit Ray with his neo-realist film ‘Pather Panchali’ (1955) (song of the little road) heralded the beginning of a new genre of films, which many regard as the precursor of the parallel cinema. ‘Aparajito’ (1956) and ‘Apur Sansar’ (1959) further advanced Indian cinema towards what in the 1970s came to be known as the parallel cinema. Mrinal Sen, another noted Bengali filmmaker, also contributed immensely towards this goal. While these developments had been taking place in Bengal, a completely new breed of filmmakers like Shanta Ram and Shorab Modi in Bombay were carving niche for themselves with films that addressed social issues. These films were all chronicles of the social change that were taking place in the Indian society. |
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| The Dismal 1960s |
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 The questionings of these filmmakers during the 1950s turned sour in the 1960s. The discontent became even more pronounced soon after the death of Nehru and followed by the death of another prime minister, Lal Bahadur Sashtri. It was during this decade that India had fought two wars- one with Pakistan and another with China. The rising prices of the essential commodities, compounded further by the huge unemployment and drought, pushed the discontent of the Indians to the boiling point. Under these volatile circumstances parallel cinema was finally born in the 1970s. |
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| The Birth of the Parallel Cinema |
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 1970 began on a dismal note. The Bangladesh war pushed further the already strained Indian economy to its limit. This decade also saw the suppression of civil liberties during the emergency and subsequently the constitutional break up. The parallel cinema or art cinema addressed these growing frustrations of the Indians by completely deviating itself from the feel good movies. Films made under this genre were completely de-glamorized with emphasis on stark reality and is characterized by the complete lack of visual opulence. The films like ‘Interview’, ‘Ankur’, ‘Padatik’ all exude anger, which was representative of the mood of the ordinary Indians. Filmmakers like Mrinal Sen and Budhyadeb Das Gupta in West Bengal; G. Arvindan and Adoor Gopalakrishnan in Kerala; Shyam Benegal and Basu Chatterjee in Mumbai captured the prevalent mood of Indians through their films. The birth of Parallel cinema is also attributed to the various film schools that produced many educated filmmakers, who felt responsible for the cause of this new genre of cinema. |
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| Interview |
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| This 1970 film of Mrinal Sen is a representative of the frustration of the young Indians, discontented with the system. It is a narrative of a young man who despite being educated fails to get a good job; for he can’t afford to buy a suit. The central character played by Ranjit Mallick in the end destroys a western looking mannequin in a shop window. This scene clearly reveals that despite attaining independence, the colonial hangover still exists.
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| Ankur |
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 This film is a critique of the feudal social system of rural India. Surya (Anant Nag), the central character in this film is forced to quit his study to look after the family property. His marriage also takes place without his consent. Things complicate with Surya developing an affair with the married maidservant Lakshmi (Shabana Azmi), who gets pregnant by him. Things take a dramatic turn with Surya’s wedded wife Saryu coming to the scene. The conflict is however resolved with Surya, in the end, having been forced to resign to this fate. The parallel cinema of the 1970s however could not curb the supremacy of the Bollywood feel good movies. It nonetheless made the audience think for a while. |
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