As mentioned in the first post of this ‘wonderful site’, Hindi cinema started its journey with the release of movie ‘Alam Ara’ in 1930s. What sets this period apart is emphasis on social themes. These themes were represented as a voice against the regressive norms and culture of soicety. Alam Ara was followed by several socially relevant themes like Damle & Fatehlal’s Sant Thukaram, Mehboob’s Watan, Ek hi Raasta and Aurat, V.Santharam’s Duniya Na Mane, Aadmi and Padosi and Franz Osten’s Achut Kanya. The last one mentioned was against the caste system starring Ashok Kumar and it was a mega hit.
Next decade had the same nucleus of socially relevant themes but with expanded focus on entertainment as well. Technology was a constraint and yet bollywood gave viewers many movies to cherish and rejoice. Some of the famous ones were, Mehboob’s Roti, Sohrab Modi’s Sikander, Pukar and Prithvi Vallabh, Shantharam’s Dr. Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani, Chetan Anand’s Neecha Nagar, Abbas’s Dharti Ke Lal, Uday Shanker’s Kalpana, J.B.H. Wadia’s Court Dancer, Vijay Bhatt’s Bharat Milap, S.S. Vasan’s Chandralekha, and Rajkapoor’s Barsaat and Aag to name a few. The legends of Indian cinema like Raj Kapoor, Mehboob, Shantharam etc arrived with a bang. But it was just the beginning of a great period of amazing movies.
One great talent was also making a silent entry into the mesmerising world of Indian cinema. He was none other than Satyajit Ray who single-handedly gave a new direction to Indian cinema. His biggest contribution was to make Indian cinema knonw to the world. He gave classical ones in 1950s and the themes were based on neorealism. 1950s also witnessed cinemas like V. Shantharam’s Do Aankhen Barah Haath and Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje, Rajkapoor’s Boot Polish, Shri-420 and Jagte Raho, Mehbood’s Mother India, Bimal Roy’s Do Bigha Zamin, Devadas and Madhumati, B.R. Chopra’s Kanoon and Gurudutt’s Pyaasa and Kagaz Ke Phool.