Issues raised in India’s parallel cinema movement of the ’70s and ‘80s?
Are those stories still valid?
What is parallel cinema and what was the movement?
Parallel cinema is the term that was given to the kind of movies that were different from mainstream films. The directors in foreign countries influenced the parallel cinema in India, where a wave of Italian Neo-Realism was taking place. The movement was inspired by the realist works in Italy and Germany where Parallel Cinema was mainly government-aided.
Parallel Cinema in India originated/emerged in Bengal in the 1950s. This was the time when Italian Neo-realism was at its peak. This movement in India was led by acclaimed filmmakers like Satyajit Ray, Tapan Sinah, Ritwik Ghatak, and others who gained a lot of prominence in this field.
The time when Parallel Cinema emerged was also known as the Golden Age of Indian Cinema. The Bengali cinema is credited with providing light to the Parallel Cinema in India. Indian Literature had also started forming the essential inspiration for the movies. Literature and films became the reflection of the Indian society of that time. Literature also helped to provoke ideas behind the topic of such movies.
Why did it start?
The movement for parallel cinema was given birth in India by these filmmakers to bring out important elements of society and provide the audience with a more realistic, natural, and current idea of society. The movies/films had a lot of symbolic elements and gave an accurate idea of the socio-political climate of the country at the time. The movies or films that were made during the time under the influence of parallel cinema, were very different from that of mainstream films. These movies refused to insert dance numbers or song routines which were typical for mainstream Indian films.
The aim of parallel cinema was to give the audience a little more than meaningless entertainment. Parallel cinema dealt with issues that were talked about in society in hushed whispers. Cinema or any form of art has the power to influence society. This is a two-way interaction; society influences art and art influences society. Parallel Cinema tried to mirror society and at the same time ended up affecting it.
How did the movement start?
There were a couple of movies that appeared in the 1940–50s which marked the start of Parallel Cinema in India. There were movies like ‘Neecha Nagar ‘(1946) directed by Chetan Anand, which is a good example of how the movement gained momentum when filmmakers tried to break the monotony of the movies just for entertainment. Satyajit Ray’s first film called ‘Pather Panchali’ (1955) was accredited as the pioneer of parallel cinema in India. Sic.
The movement gained a lot of tempo when the Government of India started financing these independent art films based on Indian themes in the 1960s. Thus, Parallel Cinema witnessed a much wider range and reach, and it grew exponentially in Bollywood in the 1970s.
Recognized directors like Gulzar, Shyam Benegal, Saeed Akhtar Mirza, and others assisted the growth of Parallel Cinema in the 1960s-70s. They were later joined by Govind Nihalani and Mahesh Bhatt.
Parallel Cinema in India also presented careers to actors like Naseeruddin Shah, Smita Patil, Shabana Azmi, Pankaj Kapoor, Om Puri, and many others. These actors became well known because of their realistic portrayal of the characters, their immense artistic caliber, and finesse in showcasing their skills through several unconventional portrayals.
Does Parallel Cinema still exist?
By the 1990s, Parallel Cinema in India witnessed a setback because for a number of reasons like investment, underworld financing of commercial cinema, popularization of television, piracy, and economic turmoil. There were times when it rose again when several modern filmmakers felt the passion for realism and art and they tried to depict realist concepts in movies again.
Parallel Cinema doesn’t have the kind of support that it had back in the day, but it still exists in the corner for people like us. The only thing required to find movies like these is the ‘want’. There are movies like Sudhir Mishra’s ‘Hazaaron Khwahishein Aisi’, Ritesh Batra’s ‘The Lunch Box’, and others. There is a resurgence but the momentum might not be as much as it had in the 1960s-70s.
Is there still a need, If yes, why?
I believe that there is always going to be a need for the kind of movies that are made under Parallel Cinema. A society, a human being, and a community can never be rid of all negativity. There will always remain one or more issues in society. A society without conflict would be a utopian thought.
Today, society faces issues on multiple fronts. There are going to be hiccups and obstacles all the way, and that is why there will always be a need for stories and art which bring them to light and tackle those issues head-on.
Movies like under the Parallel Cinema, are good attempts to try and bring more awareness about the issues to the masses. These movies explore the nature of life, human, reality, and culture. The films highlight the prevalent issues and make people more vigilant about issues that we forgot still existed. For example, if we talk about the movie ‘Article 15’ directed by Gaurav Solanki, everyone is aware of the discrimination against the Dalits which existed, but people somehow forgot/didn’t pay attention to how it was still very prevalent in the country. Movies like these bring back our conscience and motivates the youth to isolate and eradicate the issue from the root.
Have the issues changed with time?
It has already been established that there is still a need for Parallel Cinema in India and the need is because the society still faces a number of issues. As mentioned, society faces these issues on multiple fronts. The nature of some issues has changed with time but some remain the same.
For example, when we talk about the issues regarding women, they have changed in nature. The patriarchy is still very prevalent in society, but the approach to the same has comparatively changed. We no longer see child marriage happening in movies, women have more property rights than they did earlier, and we have a number of films with working women as lead characters. Although, a woman’s life in most movies is still seen revolving around a man, her status is better and different that how it used to be a decade earlier, when women were disregarded and didn’t have the freedom to go out of their houses and work alongside men.
Movies like “Jaane Bhi do yaaro” directed by Kundan Shah is still very relevant to us since we can still see political and corporate corruption and their nexus in society, media is often misused for the benefit of a particular community or strata of society like shown in the film.
Similarly, ‘Aakrosh’ directed by Govind Nihalani talked about class stratification, exploitation, and issues faced by the tribal, which is still relevant to us today.
Even the movie ‘Main Aazaad Hoon’ directed by Tinnu Anand was based on how media houses manipulated the public for the publicity of their magazine. In the movie, they manipulated the student unions, politicians, farmers, and others for their benefit, which can still be seen in contemporary India.
We also have a number of tribal issues, casteism, social hierarchy, racism, and stereotypes in society, but the nature of these issues has changed with the assistance of the movies that are made under Parallel Cinema. These movies and their storylines have improved the way people look at certain things and spheres of the society.
Conclusion
There is bound to be a change in society. The change is slow but sure. It is said that chaos leads to the development of an idea and an idea leads to change. Parallel Cinema is a collection of ideas and an idea never ends.
I once read that “Creation is bigger and greater than the creator” and this fits perfectly here. These stories would outlive the mainstream cinema and remain prominent for the culture. These stories which show us the mirror are like history books. They sensitize people towards a caste, community, class, and others.
Parallel Cinema in India is a true reflection of the Indian social-political-economic structure.
