Author: B D Garga
Publisher: Eminence Designs/Timeless
Year: 1996
Language: English
Pages: 320
ISBN/UPC (if available): 81900 6021X
Description
This book on art paper in large format, is a kaleidoscopic and captivating overview of the history of cinema in India. It has a comprehensively researched text of over a hundred thousand words, enhanced by touches of satire and humor. It is sumptuously illustrated with over 400 rare photographs, working stills, and other film memorabilia, most of which are from the author's enviable personal collection.
July 7 was the momentous day in 1896, when a Lumiere Brothers' representative presented the first cinematograph show at Watson's Hotel in Bombay. Indian audiences were enthralled by the spellbinding new form of entertainment - a phenomenon that has persisted through the following decades, with India playing a leading role as the largest film-producing country in the world.
Despite the immense threat posed by the advent of television in the 1960s, the Indian film industry has continued t prosper, with the production of spectacular movies for the millions supported by megastars and mega budgets. Although the majority of films are still predominantly made for the masses with a plethora of songs and dances, Indian cinema is now gaining international recognition and accolades, with the last renowned film-maker Satyajit Ray being awarded the coveted Oscar in 1992.
So many Cinemas is a kaleidoscopic and captivating overview of the history of cinema in India, authored by the eminent documentary film maker B D Garga, who is reputed as a pioneering historian and commentator of Indian films. The book has a comprehensively researched text of over a hundred thousand words, enhanced by touches of satire and humor. It is sumptuously illustrated with over 00 rare photographs, working stills, post cards, advertisements, film booklets and other film memorabilia, most of which are from the author's enviable personal collection.
Contents
Author's Note and Acknowledgements
Marvel of the Century
Let's Praise These Men
An Era of Innocence
The Empire Strikes Back
The Sound and Fury
The Movie Moghuls
The Movie Kaleidoscope
Emerging New Voices
Cinema as Spectacle
Movies for the Masses
Megabudgets and Megastars
The Bengal Visionaries
Different Strokes
So Many Cinemas
Epilogue
Chronology of events
Photo Credits
Select Bibliography
Index of Names
Index of Films