The Changing Face of Indian Cinema- Bioscope to OTT

Film Exhibition is an important part of any Cinema Industry. It is the foundation of the revenue of this business. For decades, the theatrical release window has been a valuable model for exhibitors and producers alike. It has traveled from the single theatres to the multiplex age. From the video parlors to the digital era and Satellite Releases.on your mobile phone. 
Though film production commenced in India in 1913, the progress of the film business started in 1896, the historical year when Lumiere Bros' films were exhibited at Watson Hotel in Mumbai. Harishchandra Sakharam Bhatvadekar was the first Indian to import a Cine-camera from London at a price of 21 guineas and made a topical in 1897. “Return of Wrangler Paranjapee”- first Indian Actually Film shot by Bhatvadekar. Hiralal Sen stars working in Bengal by filming extracts from stage-plays.
J.F. Madan (1856-1926) launched his bioscope show in a tent at Calcutta Maidan in 1902. Later in 1904  Manek D Sethna started exhibiting cinema regularly. He started to move from one place to another with his projector. In 1907 
the First Cinema hall in India was built by J.F. Madan in Calcutta in 1907 and it was named Elphinstone Picture Palace it was later called as Chaplin Cinema. By the time the first Talkie movie started many cinema theatres started working in many parts of India.,

With the emergence of TV, cinema finds new media to exhibit. Expansion of TV network all over India in the early eighties brought the films in our drawing rooms. This was the decade when Film piracy was at its peak. Pirated video cassettes were easily available, people stopped going to cinema halls and started to watch movies at their homes. 

By the end of the last century,. Indian cinema started a crossover from analog to digital. For distributors and exhibitors, one of the most evident benefits of this technological shift was the convenience factor. The content in the digital format does not have to be frantically shuffled between theaters but it can simply be delivered by way of satellite or hard drive. 

As digitalization has grown, so has the technology behind it. Over the decades there have been different types of digital projectors in use. With the emergence of multiplexes India, too, is taking rapid strides towards asserting this trend Soon all of India will be watching digitally transmitted movies. 

The main benefit of digitization is that there can be multiple pan-India releases.  A digital print can be sent anywhere via satellite. The first major Bollywood film Singh is Kinng was released via digital distribution. The film had released simultaneously in around 400 odd digital theatres. In 2008, Ghajini, starring Aamir Khan, released with the maximum number of prints in India – 1,200 (both digital and analog versions). In 2013, Dhoom 3 released with 4,500 prints, and almost all were digital.

Under the present circumstances of a complete lockdown in India due to Coronavirus, all the cinema halls are closed. Now the producers whose films are ready for release are now thinking to release their films directly to OTT a new platform for the young generation. Several big firms have lined up for a digital release, ditching the traditional route of a theatrical opening. This has led to a tug of war between producers and exhibitors. Direct-to-OTT could become an increasing reality in the near future. This platform bypasses cable, broadcast, and satellite television platforms, the companies that traditionally act as a controller or distributor of such content. This platform could be accessed via websites on personal computers, as well as via apps on mobile devices (such as smartphones and tablets), digital media players (including video game consoles), or televisions with integrated Smart TV. 
it`s the dawn of a new era where both patterns of release will probably find a way to co-exist. Many big films are now ready to get released on this platform in India.Amitabh Bachchan and Ayushmann Khurrana-starrer "Gulabo Sitabo" and Vidya Balans "Shakuntala Devi" are among the first.

Here are a few OTT platforms in India. Voot, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hotstar, Sonyliv, etc.

Kaanto Se Kheench Ke Ye Aanchal - An Experimental Song

EVERY song of ‘Guide’ is still fresh in the minds of people who love music. This 3.44-minute song of Lata Mangeshkar is one of her favorite songs  Could you believe that initially, she didn't like this song. This song was recorded in between the shooting of the film. Dev Anand, who was the producer of the film was also not satisfied with the song.
S D Burman experimented in his music in many of the songs of this film. In this song, he started the song with an Antara. Usually, Hindi songs start with a Mukhada but here Dada Burman started with Antara. The Mukada of the song is "Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna Hai" which comes after Antra. Probably a feat no other music director will ever be able to ever repeat
After the recording of this song in Bombay, Dev Anand joined the unit that was shooting at Udaipur in Rajasthan. Vijay Anand who was the director of the film now wanted to shoot the song but Dev Anand who was not satisfied with the song was not interested to shoot, Vijay Anand convinced him to shoot this song if even after he didn't like, they will re-record the song.

The song "was shot at Chittorgarh Fort, Rajasthan. In fact, the reflection of the heroine on one of the mirrors, during the song, is inspired by the legendary tale of Alauddin Khilji catching a glimpse of Queen Padmini on the same mirror in the main hall.
Composer Sachin Dev Burman fell seriously ill during this film and even requested Dev Anand to engage some other composer for the film. But Dev Anand stood firm to his side and said that he would wait till Dada Burman is fit again. Once cured, the masterpiece compositions started to flow; the first song recorded was the evergreen "Gaata Rahe Mera Dil".

Hindi Films with Unusual and FunnyTitles

In Bollywood’s more than 100 years of history, there are a number of films that are still remembered for their unusual and difficult titles such as Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai, Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola or Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety.
In every decade there are many films with such names, in 1946 there was a film Dr. Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani by V Shantaram, Shin Shinaki Boobla Boo in 1952, Alam Ara Ki Beti in 1960 or Badhti Ka Naam Dadhi by Kishore Kumar in 1972.
V Shantaram had a habit of keeping long and unusual titles of his films such as  Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje (1955), Do Aankhen Barah Haath (1957), Geet Gaya Patharon Ne (1964), Boond Jo Ban Gayee Moti (1967) and  Jal Bin Machhli Nritya Bin Bijli (1971).
Here I am sharing some of the difficult Hindi movie names for our readers.
1 

 Paap Ko Jalakar Rakh Kar Dunga - is a 1988  film starring Dharmendra and Govinda

2  

Andheri Raat Mein Diya Tere Haath Mein is a Hindi film made in 1986. The film is well known for its dual meaning dialogues like in all Dada Kondke films.

3  

 Dhoti Lota Aur Chowpatty This movie was made by Mohan Choti a comedian of yesteryears, was released in 1975. Because of the lengthy star cast of this film, the film got a lot of headlines. Despite actors like Sanjeev Kumar, Dharmendra, Mahmood, Prem Nath this film emerged as a flop movie on box office.

4  

Chala Murari Hero Banne is a 1977 Bollywood comedy film directed by and starring G. Asrani. The film had a fresh storyline but failed to click at the box office and was declared a Below Average grosser. This is one of the few films where Asrani had a leading role. He mostly played small comedy roles in his Bollywood career.

5   

Arvind Desai Ki Ajeeb Dastaan This film, adorned with artists like Om Puri, Shriram Lagoo, Rohini Hattangadi, Satish Shah was released in the year 1978. The film is directed by Bollywood director Saeed Akhtar Mirza. This film earned Filmfare “Filmfare Award Best Film – Critics” award.

6 

 Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro is a 1989 Indian film directed by Saeed Akhtar Mirza, with Pavan Malhotra as the lead. The film won the 37th National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi in 1989 

7 

Bandook Dahej Ke Seeney Par This film was based on the social topic of dowry and released in the year 1989. Actors like Shashi Kapoor, Gulshan Grover, Sadashiv Amrapurkar, Raza Murad, Kiran Kumar, Archana Puran Singh, Shekhar Suman, Alok Nath acted in this film.

8  

Ek Chalis Ki Last Local is a 2007 Indian Hindi crime comedy film directed by Sanjay Khanduri, starring Abhay Deol opposite Neha Dhupia in lead roles.

9 

 Manorama Six Feet Under is a 2007 Hindi thriller film directed and co-written by Navdeep Singh. The film features Abhay Deol, Raima Sen and Gul Panag in the lead roles.

10 

 Raja Rani Ko Chahiye Pasina is a 1978 Bollywood film directed by Sulabha Deshpande. The film stars Sushant Ray, Durga, Jasraj.

11  

Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola is a 2013 Indian black comedy film produced by Vishal Bhardwaj The film stars Pankaj Kapur, Imran Khan and Anushka Sharma in the titular roles, while Shabana Azmi and Arya Babbar play supporting roles. 

12

  Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana is a 2012 Indian comedy film produced by Ronnie Screwvala, Siddharth Roy Kapur and Anurag Kashyap and directed by Sameer Sharma.

13  

Allah Meharban To Gadha Pehalwan is a  1997 film. Kader Khan & Shakti Kapoor appeared in this film in leading characters. The film is directed by Ravindra Arora and Written by Ahsan Bharati. The movie was a big flop at the box office.


14

 Do Ladke Dono Kadke is a 1979 Bollywood drama film directed by Basu Chatterjee. The film produced and music composed by Hemant Kumar.

15

  Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety (transl. Sonu's Titu's Sweety) is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language comedy film directed and co-produced by Luv Ranjan.

16 

 Anaarkali of Aarah (Anārakalī ŏph Ārā) is a 2017 Indian film written and directed by debutant Avinash Das. The movie has Swara Bhaskar playing the lead role of a small-town erotic folk dancer in Arrah in Bihar. 

17 

 Phas Gaye Re Obama is a 2010 Bollywood satire film directed by Subhash Kapoor and starring Rajat Kapoor, Neha Dhupia, Sanjay Mishra, Manu Rishi and Amole Gupte in the lead roles.

18  

P Se Pyaar F Se Faraar is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Manoj Tiwari and produced by Joginder Singh under the banner Ok Movies. It features Bhavesh Kumar, who marks his debut in the film, and stars Jimmy Sheirgill, Sanjay Mishra.


19 

 Phata Poster Nikhla Hero is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language action comedy film directed by Rajkumar Santoshi. The film features Shahid Kapoor and Ileana D'Cruz in the lead roles.

20  

Apna Sapna Money Money is a Hindi comedy film released on 10 November 2006. Directed by Sangeeth Sivan, It is is a tale of several characters who are in a mad race to be rich. The film, produced by Subhash Ghai, is a situational comedy. The film stars Suniel Shetty, Ritesh Deshmukh, Shreyas Talpade, Celina Jaitly.

21

  Saare Jahaan Se Mehnga is a 2013 Bollywood satire film directed by Anshul Sharma starring Sanjay Mishra and Pragati Pandey. 

22  Balwinder Singh Famous Ho Gaya is a 2014 Indian Hindi-language comedy-drama film, directed by Sunil Agnihotri and produced by Sunil Agnihotri Productions, Vandana Motion Pictures Pvt Ltd. This film is Mika Singh's first attempt as an actor.

23  Kuku Mathur Ki Jhand Ho Gayi is a 2014 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy-drama film directed by Aman Sachdeva and produced by Ekta Kapoor and Bejoy Nambiar.

24  Hello! Hum Lallan Bol Rahe Hain is a Bollywood film starring Rajpal Yadav and Preeti Mehra in the lead roles. The film did well in small cities especially in the states of Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh.

25 Crazy Cukkad Family is a 2015 Bollywood, comedy film directed by Ritesh Menon and produced by Prakash Jha The film stars Swanand Kirkire, Shilpa Shukla, Zachary Coffin.Upon release, the movie received mixed to positive responses. Rajkumar Hirani, Sudhir Mishra, and Gauri Shinde praised the performances and the story.

Ek DO Teen- The Song that Shot Madhuri Dixit to Fame

"Ek Do Teen" featured in 1988 film Tezaab which proved to be Madhuri’s first claim to fame. The song was choreographed by Saroj Khan, sung by Alka Yagnik and composed by Laxmikant Pyarelal. 
Before the release of the film, the song became a super hit, Looking to its popularity a male version of this song was included in the film after the release of the film. The song was driving people crazy. Ek Do. Teen...they hum from the shower to the office. From the office to the bedroom. And everywhere else in between. The film was released on 11th Nov 1988 and all the cinema halls all over India witnessed a huge crowd. It ran in theatres for more than 50 weeks, becoming a golden jubilee, and it was the highest blockbuster at the box office for the year 1988 The film's soundtrack album sold more than 8 million units, becoming the second best-selling Bollywood music album of 1988.
The iconic hook step by Madhuri Dixit in this song was the creation of the choreography genius Saroj Khan. She was the first recipient of the Filmfare Best Choreography Award. Filmfare instituted this award after watching the excellent choreography and audience response to Khan's song "Ek Do Teen" from Tezaab. 
This song and dance were unique in itself, till that time in Indian cinema it had never happened that dance is being performed on stage, but the audience isn’t sitting, they are standing the way the crowd stands on Pop concerts in the west. The director of the film N Chandra wanted Saroj to have such an atmosphere that the crowd going wild and tearing their clothes with excitement.
For this song, Madhuri Dixit had to rehearse for15 days  This song was finally shot in front of a real crowd of 1000 people, everybody connected with this song was very proud that an iconic dance is in making.
In a recent tweet, Madhuri Dixit remembered the dance number and said, “The hook step became so popular at that time. I was shocked to know that people used to demand the song to be replayed in the theatres before the movie could continue & fling money on the screens. Everyone had started calling me Mohini.
This song was inspired by the opening bars of an old popular song "Chanda mama door ke" composed by the famous yesteryears music composer Ravi for the film Vachan.
It is almost 32 years completed of this song and its popularity is still there among the young generation. This song was recreated in the 2018 film Baghi 2.Now Jacqueline, dressed similarly in a pink and yellow skirt danced to the new version of the song.
Very recently Tiktok Users started a #EkDoTeenChallenge. Madhuri Dixit also joined TikTok to celebrate the momentous occasion with her fans, taking up the challenge herself to groove on her popular track with the community of over 200 million users. The #EkDoTeenChallenge clocked a phenomenal over 140 million views in just two days!

Song of Tezab 1988

Song of Tezab 1988 male version

Song of Baghi 2 (2018)

The Great Nurses of Bollywood

12 th May was the International Nurse Day, this inspired me to look into the role of Nurse played by various heroines of Bollywood. In the silent era heroines like Ruby Myers played the part of a Nurse. During. the Golden Era Meena Kumari played the role of a nurse in Dil Apna Aur Preet Parayi in 1960. It was one of the noted acting performances of lead actress Meena Kumari's career.

Other notable Nurses of Bollywood were Sadhna in Prem Patra (1962), Nutan in Bandini (1963), Waheeda Rehman in Khamoshi (1970), Lalita Pawar in Anand !971, and Aishwarya Rai in Guzaarish 2010. 

 Dil Apna Aur Preet Parayi  Writer-director Kishore Sahu’s 1960 superhit Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai, is a doctor-nurse romance  Kauna (Meena Kumari) joins Malhotra Hospital that opens on a waterfront as a nurse, where Sushil (Raj Kumar) is the resident surgeon. Cupid strikes at the very first meeting in the operation theatre. After a song on the beach with other nurses, Karuna runs into an injured young girl and reaches her home, realizing she is the surgeon’s sister. On learning her story, the mother invites her to visit the household. Her proximity at home and at the hospital adds fuel to fire,  On the other front, her dedication to her duty and care towards patients in the ward, especially Girdhari (Om Prakash), and another wayward patient, Nathu, makes her win everyone’s heart. Meena Kumari was nominated for the Best Heroine Award for this role. 

Prem Patra  Produced and directed by Bimal Roy. It stars Shashi Kapoor and Sadhana.

While studying in medical college Arun Kumar Mathur (Shashi Kapoor) has a misunderstanding over a love letter with Kavita Kapoor (Sadhana). Arun's marriage is arranged with Saroj Chowdhary (Seema Deo), who also happens to be a distant relative of Kavita.

 Arun loses his vision in an accident, Saroj is unable to go to take care of him, and Kavita takes her place. Unwilling to reveal her identity, Kavita lets him think it is Saroj. Sadhana plays the role of a nurse quite efficiently

Bandini 1963  The film was directed and produced by Bimal Roy, Bandini stars Nutan giving one of the finest performances of her career, along with Ashok Kumar and Dharmendra as leads, and explores the human conflicts of love and hate intertwined in the mind of Kalyani (Nutan).

The film is set in Bengal in the 1930s, during the British Raj, where Kalyani (Nutan) is the daughter of the postmaster (Raja Paranjpe) of the village, who falls in love with a freedom fighter, Bikash (Ashok Kumar), who later leaves her in the village promising to come back but never does. Society treats them harshly. Broken by her father's misery and that of her own, Kalyani moves to the city, to the singing of the sad song "O Jaanewale Ho Sake To Laut Ke Aana". In the city, she works as a caretaker of an obnoxious and mentally unstable woman, who turns out to be the wife of Bikash. Kalyani learns that her father came to the city looking for her and died in an accident. That prompts her to poison her lover's wife, identifying her as the cause of her miseries in a moment of insane rage. Nutan recieved the Best Actress Award for her role.

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Khamoshi 1970 film directed by Asit Sen, starring Waheeda Rehman and Rajesh Khanna.The film is considered Waheeda Rehman's finest acting feat, as she carries the entire film through her powerful yet understated acting; she received a Filmfare nomination for it. 

Colonel Sahab (Nazir Hussain), a world war II veteran doctor, is head of psychiatry ward. Nurse Radha (Waheeda Rehman) in the same ward is a heart-broken after a civilian patient, Dev Kumar (Dharmendra), whom she cured by pouring out her love and affection, left the hospital. But she had been unable to keep her heart separate from her professional work and had fallen in love with that patient. Now Arun Choudury (Rajesh Khanna), a writer and poet enters as a patient, suffering acute mania after being rejected by his lover, Sulekha, a singer. After refusing to take his care, Radha relents and starts nursing him. In between while caring for Arun, she reminisces about her past and tells a story of how she took care of injured brave army soldiers when she was posted in Ladakh during the Sino-Indian war of 1962.

Guzaarish is a 2010 Indian romantic drama film written, composed and directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. The film stars Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai in lead roles The film narrates the story of a paralyzed magician-turned-Radio jockey who files a petition in court seeking permission to end his life.

Ethan Mascarenhas (Hrithik Roshan) is a former magician who is a quadriplegic. He becomes the Radio Jockey of an FM Station called Radio Zindagi. His show spreads magic, hope, and laughter through his irrepressible wit and humor to every listener and caller, making it difficult to imagine that this is a man who has been immobilized with a spinal injury for the last fourteen years. Sofia D'Souza (Aishwarya Rai) is his nurse who has been accompanying him for the past twelve years.

Aishwarya Rai was nominated as the Best Actress for this film.