Classic Cinema
Indian film industry has been a showcase of some outstanding acting talent. Every new decade has witnessed an exceptional race of skills, dedication and passion for the art of entertainment. The hindi film industry, what we now call as Bollywood traces its roots way back in the era of 50's when the excellence of some astounding actors and actresses laid the foundations of film fraternity. Those jubilant emotions and magnetic charisma bounded the audience for a memorable experience of classic cinema.
The likes of bollywood actresses like Nargis, Madhubala, Nutan and others spelled the audience with their beauty and charms. On the other side, actors like Kishore Kumar, Dev Anand, Raj Kapoor and others graced the silver screen with their ever lasting memories. The period from 50's to today's bollywood can be viewed in decades of excellence, modesty and some movie magic.
The period from 1950 to 1960 is termed as the golden era of Bollywood. Every aspect of film industry experienced a revolutionary success in terns of acting, singing, music, lyrics and direction. Sparkling legends of Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, Ashok Kumar and others graced the silver screen with their ever lasting presence.
The era of 60's (1960-70) was no different in terms of making history. The most remarkable fact of this era was the complete outplay of black and white prints which marked this decade as the era of colors on the silver screen. During this time, hindi film industry experienced a sense of transformation from traditional scripts. Legends like Sunil Dutt, Shashi Kapoor, Helen, Saira Bano are some prominent names of that era.
The 70's decade is referred as the teen age of bollywood. It was the time when romance, grudge and action made its way to cinema halls in the form of movies like Deewar, Sholay, Anand etc. The era of 70's can actually be viewed as the beginning of an ever lasting history. Acting talent of industry heavyweights like Amitabh, Vinod Khanna, Hema Malini, Rekha and others spelled the audience with thei urgency and skillfull display of emotions. The era also witnessed the advent of bolywood villains in the form of 'gabbar singh' played by Amjad Khan.
Then came a brief hibernation period of bollywood where the movies lacked innovation and new concepts. Bollywood celebrities like Shabana Azmi, Anupam Kher, Parveen Babi, Sri Devi etc made their debut in hindi film industry but couldn't take film industry out of its dark period. However this decade had some successes of its share but on broad terms, the era of 80's is termed as the dark age of bollywood.
With 90's came the Khan force and bollywood rose to its all time high with some astounding works by Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Kajol, Karishma Kapoor and others. It was the period when success and movies became synonyms and every friday became a movie day. The concepts changed, values of acting were different and above all, dedication towards the art of entertainment was regarded as the religion by artists. The era of 90's is simply the best part of bollywood's history.
At present, bollywood has been facilitated with unmatched skills which have gained international statures also. A huge army of artists of Indian film industry have got recognition on world wide scale, including the likes of A.R Rahman, Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal and others. The second generation of classic cinema has made its way to the silver screen with likes of Ranbir Kapoor, Abhishek Bacchan, Kareena kapoor, Saif Ali Khan and others. Its the time when we can say that movies are celebrated and each day brings a heap of highlights from bollywood.
By : Saranjeet Singh
