Stalwarts of Odia Journalism | Balakrushna Kar

Phtojournalists of Odisha | Sanjib Mukherjee

Phtojournalists of Odisha | Sanjib Mukherjee

1.   Sanjeeb Mukherjee: (born March 2, 1959) started his career as a photographer in Kolkata. He shifted base to Bhubaneswar as he  joined Odia daily Sambad in 1984. He left Sambad in early nineties to work free lance. His photographs have appeared in several national and international publications. Presently he is working for The Telegraph.

He was born in Hooghly, West Bengal

Here are some of his photographs:

Photojournalists of Odisa | Ashok Panda

Photojournalists of Odisha |Ashok Panda

 Ashok Panda (born 28.01.1969), presently works as Chief Staff Photographer of Odia daily Samaya and contributes photographs to several State level and national newspapers and websites. He began his professional career as a photojournalist with Eastern Press Agency (1984-1995) and then joined Samaya (1996). He also contributed to The Asian Age (1997-2000) and The Times of India (2000-2011) and several other publications like The Patriot, Newstimes, Eenadu and Sanmarg.

His photographs of 1999 Orissa Super cyclone made him known in media circle all over the country. Later he held several exhibitions of selected photographs of the Super Cyclone titled 'Mahatandav'. He had two more exhibitions titled 'The Camera Cries: Five Years of Orissa Tragety' (2001) and 'Sky is the Limit'(2002). All his exhibitions won popular and critical acclaim.
He has received several awards including Best Photographer Award by www.orissadiary.com (2011) and Prerana (2011), Panchama Veda Best Photography Award (2010), Satabdira Kalakara Best Photographer Award (2010). He has also won the Photography Contest organised by Ministry of I & B on 2000. 

Born at Baisingha, Mayurbhanj to Pitambar Panda and Annapurna Panda, he studied at ITI, Balasore. He did a Diploma in Photography and Videography from State Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training.

Here are some of his photographs:

Photojournalists of Odisha | Jitendra Mohanty

Photojournalists of Odisha | Jitendra Mohanty

Jitendra Kumar Mohanty (born 1976) started photography as a hobby. He joined Odia daily Mahabharata and then Samaya in 2006. He has had four photo exhibitions till early 2015 titled Destitute, Nature's Fury, Platform Life and Life in Myriad Colours. 
His photographs of the devastating flood in Odisha in 2011. and cyclonic storm Phailin in October 2013 made him known in discerning photography circle.

Here are some of his photographs:

History of Hindi Journalism

History of Hindi Journalism

Dr. Mrinal Chatterjee

The first Hindi newspaper Oodhund Martand, a weekly was published in Kolkata on May 30, 1826 ‘in the interest of Hindustanis’. However, its editor Yugal Kishore Shukla (Jooghol Kishore Sookool- in some documents) faced many difficulties in running it. He was not allowed postal concession and had to close down the paper within a year. He made an attempt to start another paper in 1850 called Samyadani Martand but this also failed. 

The second Hindi newspaper Bangadoot was published in 1829 by Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Dwarika Prasad Thakore with Nilratan Haldar as its editor. Besides Hindi, it was also published in English, Bengali and Persian.

The first Hindi daily Samachar Sudha Varshan came out in June 1854 from Kolkata with Shyam Sundar Sen as its editor and publisher. It was a bilingual paper in which market and shipping reports were published in Hindi, the rest in Bengali.

Between 1850 and 1857 a number of Hindi Newspaper were published. Among them were Benaras Akbar, Sudhakar Tatwa Bodhini, Patrika and Sathya. Benaras Akhbar (1849) was the first paper to first paper to introduce Devnagari script in the North-West provinces. Some papers of this time used to carry both a Hindi and Urdu name and used to publish news in both languages in parallel columns, for example Sarvopkarak (Mufid-ul-Khaliaq), published from Agra in 1861 and the Bharat Khandamitra (Ab-i-hayat-i-Hind), published in 1864. But this trend did not last long. 

A literary magazine which set the standard for Hindi Journals in the early year of century was Saraswathi, a monthly edited by Mahavir Prasad Dwibedy. It standardised the style and pattern of Hindi journalism and developed literary criticism and book reviews. It became the torchbearer for later day Hindi journalists who cultivated its prose style. Newspapers like Bharat Mitra (1878), Sarsudhanidhi (1879), Uchit Wakta (1880) and Hindi Bangavasi (1890) were published from Calcutta during the last three decades of 19^th century. Bharat Mitra, published from Calcutta became the leading Hindi newspaper of the time under the dynamic stewardship of its early editors, Balmukund Gupta and Ambika Prasad Bajpai.”Some 150papers and journals were either started or restarted between 1884 and 1894. The contents of most of these papers were concerned with social or religious subjects, many of them were sectional, some were political and a few set a high literary standard.”[1]

The beginning of the new century saw the birth of many Hindi dailies in Bombay, Calcutta and Patna. The more prominent among them were Sri Venkateswar Samachar and Calcutta  Samachar. Viswamitra, which was started after the Calcutta Samachar became defunct, offered serious competition to Bharat Mitra from 1918.

Hindi journalism made rapid progress during the First World War period and many outstanding journalists came to the fore including Ganga Prasad Gupta, Nanda Kumar Deo Dharma, M. P.  Dwivedi, Hari Krishna Jouhar, Chhote Ram Shukla, Indra Vidyavachaspati, Shri Ram Pandey, Lakshminarayan Garde and Narmada Prasad Misra. One of the foremost Hindi journalists who earned a name for his patriotism was Ganesh Shanker Vidyarthi. In 1913, he brought out weekly Pratap from Kanpur. He made the supreme sacrifice in 1931 in the cause of Hindu-Muslim unity. Krishna Dutt Paliwal brought out Sainik from Agra which became a staunch propagator of nationalism in Western U. P. The noted Congress leader, Swami Shradhanand, started the publication of Hindi journal Vir Arjun and Urdu journal Tej. After the assassination of Swami Shradhanand, Vidyavachaspathi and Lala Deshbandhu Gupta, both prominent Congress leaders continued the publication of these journals.

At the turn of the century almost all Calcutta based Hindi newspapers went vocal against the suppressive and divisive policies of the Raj. This marked the beginning – in 1907- of two outstanding magazines: Nrisinha and Devnagar. Nrisinha edited by Ambika Prasad Vajpayee, a stauch supporter of Lokmanya Tilak was a political magazine and it joined the protest against British rule. Devnagar on the other hand tried to work on a uniform script.[2]

In 1920, the Aj was started in Banaras. It played a notable part in the freedom struggle. Its first editor was Sri Prakasa, a great freedom fighter who occupied positions of power and prestige in free India. He was assisted by Babu Rao Vishnu Parakar whose contribution to the development of Hindi Journalism was considerable. Espousing the national cause and waging a never-ending battle with the alien rulers, the Aj was a   bulwark of the Indian National Congress and its main forum to spread the message of freedom to the Hindi-speaking masses of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Nepal. It set the tone and style for Hindi Journalism and was acclaimed for its impartial objective reporting and illuminating and fearless editorials. A balanced blending of national and international news was one of its strong features.

In Patna the Desh, a weekly, was an influential journal and the mouthpiece of the Congress. It was founded by Babu Rajendra Prasad and his friends in 1920. But it was not a profitable venture and had to close down.

In 1924 there were 102 Hindi newspapers; four of them were dailies (AJ, Banaras, Swatantra, Calcutta, Arjun, Delhi and Calcutta Samachar, Calcutta) According to  one historian, until 1926, Hindi dailies were not financially successful.  “Their get up and printing was poor, the reading material not quite up to the mark and the editorials unwieldy and lengthy. The weeklies were better edited and got up.” Among the well-known better produced weeklies were Bhavishya (Kanpur), Karmaveer (Khandwa) and Sainik (Agra). Among the important Hindi dailies which flourished in 1930 were: Viswamitra and Bharat Mitra (Calcutta), Savadho Bharat (Bombay). Lokkat (Jabalpur), Variman (Kanpur), Milap (Lahore) besides  AJ (Banaras), Arjun(Delhi) and Lokmanya (Calcutta).

As freedom struggle gained momentum, there was a steady rise of Hindi journalism both in terms of quality and quantity. More number of Hindi publications took birth in almost all North Indian states and also in Maharashtra, Bengal, and Andhra Pradesh, especially Hyderabad. Hindi publications like other language publications by and large supported Nationalist movement and faced the suppression of the British rulers. One of the important Hindi dailies to be published from the capital was Hindustan, sister newspaper of the Hindustan Times, started in 1936.  Wide news coverage and a variety of special features marked the Hindustan. Started in 1940, Aryavari of Patna was a sister publication of the Indian Nation and enjoyed considerable influence.

Hindi journalism grew more rapidly after independence. After independence Hindi was adopted as the official language of India.[3] This also helped to spread Hindi language nationwide. The Nav Bharat Times of the Times of India group started in Delhi in 1950. The Amrita Patrika of Allahabad was another notable Hindi daily which was well-known for its trenchant editorials. By 1964 Hindi had the largest number of newspapers among language papers. The trend of publishing multiple editions from different states helped Hindi newspapers to increase their reach and circulation.

According to RNI (Registrar of Newspapers in India) the total number of publications in Hindi was 27,527 in 2007-8 including 3418 daily newspapers and 12793 weeklies.

By mid 2011 Hindi daily Dainik Jagran claimed to be the largest read newspaper of the world. Six out of the top ten newspapers with highest number of readership in India were Hindi. According to IRS (Indian Readership Survey Q-4)[4] the top ten largest read Hindi newspapers are: Dainik Jagran[5] (readership: 164.1 lakh), Dainik Bhaskar[6] (146 lakh), Hindustan[7] (120.4 lakh), Amar Ujala [8] (88.4 lakh), Rajasthan Patrika[9]  ( 68.47 lakh), Punjab Kesari (33.30 lakh),  Navbharat Times[10]  (25.73 lakh) Prabhat Khabar[11] (21.87 lakh), Patrika (17.87 lakh) and Nai Dunia[12] (16.49  lakh). All of the newspapers have multiple editions from different cities and states.

Hindi newspapers are published from several states. Besides the North Indian Hindi belt, sizable numbers of Hindi publications are there in West Bengal, Maharashtra, Gujarat and other states. There are two good Hindi dailies from Hyderabad – Swatantra Vaartha and Milap. Kolkata based Sanmarg has an edition from Bhubaneswar, Odisha too. Assam also had Hindi newspapers. Dainik Lokamanya was the first Hindi newspaper of Assam. It was published in 1963 in Guwahati by Pandit Ramshankar Tripathi. The four page broadsheet was priced 10 paisa. It survived only for few months.

Radio: Broadcasting started in India in June 1923 with programmes by the Radio Club of Bombay, followed by other radio clubs. Then, by an agreement of 1926 the private Indian Broadcasting Company (IBC) was granted permission to operate two radio stations; the Bombay station was inaugurated on 23 July 1927, the Calcutta station followed. The first ever news bulletin in the country went on the air from the Bombay Station on July 23, 1927 under IBC. Until 1935, two bulletins, one each in English and Hindustani were broadcast from Bombay and a bulletin in Bengali was broadcast from Calcutta. IBC went into liquidation in March, 1930 following which broadcasting came under the direct control of the Government of India. The service was designated as the Indian State Broadcasting Service. It was renamed All India Radio (AIR) on June 8, 1936.[13]

The real breakthrough in news broadcasting came after January 1936 when the first news bulletin from the Delhi Station went on the air on January 19, 1936 coinciding with the starting of its transmission. Besides, news bulletins in English and Hindustani, talks on current affairs were also started from the Station in both the languages. When India became independent in 1947 the AIR network had only six stations (in Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, Lucknow, and Tiruchi).

AIR made rapid progress after independence. By 2008-09 it had 231 radio stations. The entertainment channel of AIR, Vividh Bharati (started in October 1957) helped in popularizing Hindi music and language through its film music based programmes. AIR FM Rainbow and FM Gold channels also had large Hindi language content. In India, All India Radio - the public service broadcaster- had monopoly on radio broadcast, till 2000. In May 2000, the Government of India opened the sector for participation by the private FM broadcasters and offered 108 frequencies in 40 cities for open tender bidding.

The first private FM station in India was Radio City, which started functioning in Bangalore in 2001. Listenership grew. However, the government policy of charging higher licensing fee made private radio stations financially unviable. Of the 108 licenses issued, only 22 became operational in 12 cities. In the second phase of development in 2005, Government became flexible and accommodating, kick starting rapid expansion of radio in private domain. With the new industry-friendly policies, number of radio stations increased.  By end 2009, a total of 248 private FM stations and 171 FM transmitters of AIR stations were operational in the country. Maharashtra had the largest number of private FM stations (31) followed by Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu (21 each) and Rajasthan (19). Almost all private FM stations across the country have Hindi music as part of their content. In Hindi belt, it is the staple.

Television: Terrestrial television in India started with the experimental telecast starting in Delhi on 15 September 1959. The regular daily transmission started in 1965 as a part of All India Radio (AIR). The television service was extended to Bombay (now Mumbai) and Amritsar in 1972. Till 1975, only seven Indian cities had a television service and Doordarshan remained the sole provider of television in India. Television services were separated from AIR in 1976. National telecasts and colour transmission were introduced in 1982. Serials like Ramayana, Mahabharata, Humlog were very popular.

The next decade saw the growth and spread of satellite television channels both in government and private domain, thanks to a series of economic and social reforms starting in 1991, which allowed private and foreign broadcasters to engage in operations in India. Foreign channels like CNN, Star TV and domestic channels such as Zee TV and Sun TV started satellite broadcasts. Starting with 41 sets in 1962 and one channel, by 1991 TV in India covered more than 70 million homes giving a viewing population of more than 400 million individuals through more than 100 channels. The next decade saw a more rapid expansion- both vertical and horizontal. Both the number of audience, and channels grew at a break neck speed.

By mid 2011, there were over 100 Hindi news channels including Aaj Tak, IBN-7, Azad NEWS, Maurya Tv, AryanNews, News 7 Network, Khoj India, India TV, Raftaar News Channel, Live India, NDTV India, India News, News 24, Press TV, Sudarshan News, Sahara Samay, STAR News, Zee News, Zee Business, DD News, Total TV, A2Z News, Crime Nazar News, Channel No. 1, S-7 News, Mahua news, ETV Bihar, Time Today, DayNightnews, Jansandesh.tv, GNN News, P7, TV 24 News, newsxpress,  tv9 Mumbai, Sea News, Taaza TV, etc.

Newmedia: Rajasthan Patrika claims be the first Hindi newspaper to go online in 1999. By early 2012, almost all major Hindi newspapers, television channels and radio stations had their presence on cyber world. Several newspapers had e-paper version. There were numerous Hindi language news sites. Several newspapers like Raipur based Deshabandhu had started disseminating news on mobile platform either as a free service or as a paid service.

***

The author, a journalist turned media academician presently heads the Eastern India campus of Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), located at Dhenkanal, Odisha.

He can be contacted at mrinaliimc@yahoo.in

15 May, 2012  

This article was also published in 'Vidura'.

---

[1] History of Indian Journalism, J.Natarajan, Publications Division, Delhi, 2000

[2] Justice Sarada Charan Mitra’s organization Ek Lipi Vistar Parishad, established in 1905 to promote the cause of Independence and present write-ups of various languages in a uniform script, Devnagari lauched the magazine Devnagar as the parishad mouthpiece in 1907.  The Origin and Growth of Hindi Journalism in Kolkata, Prof(Dr.) Krishna Bihari Mishra, Press Club, Kolkata, 2005

[3] Article 343(1) of the Constitution provides that Hindi in Devanagari script shall be the Official Language of the Union.

[4] http://mruc.net/irs2011q4_%20toplines.pdf

[5] Dainik Jagran was founded by Puranchandra Gupta in Jhansi in 1942. In 1947 Dainik Jagran shifted its headquarters to Kanpur, where it launched its second edition on 21 September 1947. Currently, Dainik Jagran’s 36 editions are published across eleven states of India.

[6] Dainik Bhaskar was first published in Bhopal and Gwalior of the central province. The newspaper was launched in year 1956 to fulfill the need for a Hindi language daily, by the name Subah Savere in Bhopal and Good Morning India in Gwalior in year 1957, it was renamed as Bhaskar Samachar In 1958, it was renamed as Dainik Bhaskar

[7] The Hindi daily Hindustan was launched in 1936.

[8] Amar Ujala was launched on April 18, 1948. Presently it has a strong base in Western UP and Uttaranchal.

[9] Rajasthan Patrika was first published as an evening newspaper on 7th March 1956. It became a morning newspaper in 1964.

[10] Navbharat Times was published on the 3rd of April, 1947. It was the only Hindi publication those days to use rotary machines for producing the paper. A skeletal staff of 12 people used to produce a 6 pager newspaper which was then sold for one anna. It was the first Hindi newspaper to have editions in Kolkata, Lucknow, Patna and Jaipur. However, later several of these editions were closed.

[11] Pravat Khabar was founded in August 1984 in Ranchi (presently the capital of Jharkhand). The newspaper unearthed Fodder Scam in Bihar 1992. By 2011 it had several editions- Ranchi (1984),  Jamshedpur (1995),  Patna(1996),  Dhanbad (1999),  Kolkata (2000),  Deoghar( 2004),  Siliguri (2006),  Muzaffarpur (2010) Bhagalpur (2010)

[12] Naidunia was founded in Indore, Madhya Pradesh on  5 June 1947 by Babu Labhchand Chhajlani and Shri Basantilal Sethia. By 2011 it had over 15 editions from several cities across several provinces.

[13] http://allindiaradio.org/airnews.html

Essay | Theatre and Cinema

Theatre and Cinema in India: 

No Comparing, No Comparing; Only touching, Only Touching

Dr. Mrinal Chatterjee

Let me first explain the weird sounding title. There was this line from a popular (Ok, call it low brow) Hindi film song: No touching, no touching; only seeing, only seeing. The title of this paper is inspired (no copy, no copy) by this line.

Now let me say, what I’ll not attempt to do in this essay and why: I shall not put theatre against cinema. Why? Because... let me quote from a blog:

I keep on saying that comparing theatre with cinema is a donkey work. They are simply different and no one can prove which of the two (theatre or cinema) has more advantages or is of greater value. Of course, every person has his own preferences among various kinds of modern entertainment, but there is no use comparing the art forms mentioned above. Have you ever tried to compare a hand with a leg, to figure out which one is more useful? Do you find such a task sensible? The same thing happens when we begin to place theatre against cinema. These forms of art were born in different epochs, by different generations. But they both reflect people’s needs and demands though they employ different techniques, abilities, professional skills of actors as well as they have different aims and origin. Theatre gave rise to many other kinds of entertainment including cinema so it would be too ungrateful for cinematograph to disparage its own ‘mother’.[1]

What I shall try to do is to discuss the relationship between theatre and cinema in Indian context. My argument is: theatre and film are not engaged in an inherently antagonistic, mutually exclusive relationship. They share a very close relationship, much more than Robert Knoff has suggested.[2] Knopf has the premise that this relationship "must be based not only on the history and theory of the two media but also on the contributions of the artists who have been most influential in them," and that each artist's contribution is "personal, depending upon the 'lens' through which he or she views the two media"  

I’ll try to go two steps further. First, thematically both the media are very close. Both try to portray piece of life, experience. Both aim to engage people’s attention by ‘showing’ a story, by sharing an experience, etc. Second, both try to experiment with narrative form and structure almost in similar fashion.

Of course the two art forms are different and the difference is growing at one level and receding at the other. I’ll try to resolve the paradox later. First the differences.

·         Cinema speaks to millions at the same time whereas a theatrical performance at best can cater to a few hundred at a time. So, the impact of cinema is more than theatre. 

·         You see flesh and blood actors in theatre performing live before you. Cinema is moving pictures, which will remain the same ten or twenty or even hundred years hence. Cinema stands before time always judged where as the theatre performance is in a sense ephemeral.  Therefore it creates a strong feeling of nostalgia.

·         More people go to the cinema because it offers more visual entertainment through visual effects, whereas theatre offers more speech and real eye-contact.

A brief note about the origin of both the art forms will not probably be out of place here.

Origin of Theatre in India

Theatre in India has a tradition going back to at least 5000 years. It began with Rigvedic dialogue hymns during the Vedic period.The earliest book on dramaturgy anywhere in the world Natya Shastra, i.e., the grammar or the holy book of theatre by Bharat Muni (approximately between 2000 B.C. and 4th Century A.D.) provides detailed treatise on drama, performance and visual art form. It talks about rasa and using human body in kinetic form.

Theatre in India started as a narrative form with a distinct story line. Besides acting, reciting, singing and dancing were integral elements of the Indian theatre almost from the beginning. Theatre in India has encompassed all the other forms of literature and fine arts into its physical presentation: literature, mime, music, dance, movement, painting, sculpture and architecture - all mixed into one and being called natya or theatre in English. This emphasis on narrative elements and integration of different performing and plastic art forms made Indian theatre super sensory right from the beginning.

Hindu theorists from earliest times talk of two theories: lokadharmi and natya dharmi.[3]  Lokadharmi refers to replicating common men and women and their behavioural pattern. Natyadharmi refers to symbolic, stylised representation. Both the forms found expression in different format throughout the country, the former in folk form and the later in classical form.

Phase I, the classical period includes the writing and practice of theatre up to about 1000 A.D., almost based on rules, regulations and modifications handed by Natya Shastra. They apply to the writing of plays, performance spaces and conventions of staging plays. Playwrights such as Bhasa, Kalidasa, Shudraka, Vishakhadatta and Bhavabhuti contributed to a great measure through their dramatic pieces in Sanskrit. They based their plots on the epics, history, folk tales and legends. The audience was already familiar with the story. Therefore, a theatre language required a visual presentation through gestures, mime and movement. The actor was supposed to be well-versed in all the fine arts. In a way, it was a picture of total theatre. The noted German playwright and director Brecht evolved his theory of ‘Epic Theatre’ from these sources.

    Phase II involves theatre based on oral traditions. It was performed from about 1000 A.D. onwards upto 1700 A.D. and beyond. Emergence of this kind of theatre is linked with the change of political set up in India as well as the coming into existence of different regional languages in all parts of the country. Several regional languages emerged during this period. As the languages were new, it was too early to expect any writing in those languages. That is why this whole period is known as folk or traditional, i.e., theatre being handed over from generation to generation through an oral tradition. Another major change in the domain of presentation also took place with this kind of traditional theatre. The classical theatre based on Natya Shastra was much more sophisticated and rigid in its form. It aimed at an elite audience with a heightened sense of aesthetics. Folk or traditional theatre evolved out of rural roots. It aimed at unbridled entertainment without much attention to the grammar and rules. Though folk theatre used music, mime, movement, dance and narrative elements, it was more simple, immediate and improvisational even to the extent of being contemporary. Moreover, whereas the classical theatre was almost similar in its presentation in all parts of India at a particular time, the traditional theatre took to different presentational methods.[4] Another factor that contributed to the change was invasion. During the Middle Ages, the Indian subcontinent was invaded a number of times. Unlike in most other places of the world, the invaders here stayed on and made the sub continent their home. This played a major role in shaping of Indian culture and heritage as medieval India experienced a grand fusion with the invaders from the Middle East and Central Asia. It impacted the theatre form too both thematically and presentation wise. What emerged was a kaleidoscope of performing arts, known by the umbrella term folk theatre.

Phase III of theatre in India was again linked with a change in the political set up. The time span of about 200 years under the British rule brought the Indian theatre into direct contact with the western theatre. For the first time in India, the writing and practice of theatre was geared fully towards realistic or naturalistic presentation. Realism or naturalism was not totally absent in our tradition. However, in this phase, realism got an extra dimension. The usual storyline underwent a change. It was no more woven around big heroes and gods, but had become a picture of common man. It portrayed a new and immediate reality. This phase also saw theatre used as an instrument of protest and mass uprising against alien rule. To resist, the British Government imposed "Dramatic Performances Act" in 1876. From the latter half of the 19th century, theatre in India experienced both horizontal and vertical growth. But ironically there were inner conflicts over several key questions like: a. the purpose of theatre: entertainment or education, b. the form: realistic or stylistic, c. the narrative style: Indian or western, d. the funding: state-sponsored or audience-paid. The conflict grew after independence.

The theatre in contemporary India encompasses a combination of the three different phases of its evolution. The post independence theatre incorporated much of the folk and the Sanskrit traditions but, in essence, retained the realist western tradition. Play wrights like Badal Sarkar, Shambhu Mitra, Vijay Tendullcar, B.V.Karant, Ibrahim Alkazi, Girish Karnad and Utpal Dutt etc. made new experiments in the theatrical devices.

The decade after the seventies witnessed an important development when theatre broke out of the auditoria and surfaced on the open streets and lanes. This heralded a significant change in the world of theatres by adding a new dimension. But it did not in any way diminish the significance of the stage based plays. The eighties and nineties saw the growth of television, which impacted theatre in several ways. From content to form to the very nature and level of engagement of the theatre persons with their art- television and film impacted theatre in every which way.

Theatre in India is going through an interesting phase now, a phase of myriad influences and churning, reflecting myriad hues.

It was in the Phase III of theatre in India that cinema emerged. Therefore in initial period cinema in India was heavily influenced by theatre both in content, narrative style and form. The larger than life presentation of the hero, the melo drama, over the top acting, use of music and dance- they are all influences of theatre in India. Parsee theatre impacted early Hindi Films quite heavily. So did Bengali and Gujarati theatre.

In fact, theatre impacted early cinema everywhere including Hollywood. The reasons are simple, really. The play wrights, actors, musicians, music directors of theatre were engaged in cinema and they brought in their bag of skills and tried to see if it fits the new medium. Some fitted, some did not. Gradually cinema evolved as a separate medium of art with its own grammar, narrative style and own space. Interestingly, it is now, more than a century after the first cinema hit the screen- it is trying to rediscover the techniques of theatre. About that, later.

Origin of Cinema in India

History of Indian cinema dated back to the year 1896. The Lumiere Brothers first demonstrated the art of cinema to the sub continent. Bombay was the first Indian city that screened Cinematography, six short films by the Lumiere Brothers. The success of these films led to the screening of more foreign films, for instance, Vitagraph by James B. Stewart and Moto-Photoscope by Ted Hughes.

The initial period of Indian cinema saw the pioneering efforts of Save Dada (Harischandra Sakharam Bhatavdekar). He made two short films as early as in 1897. The first short films in India were directed by Hiralal Sen, starting with Flower of Persia (1898). In 1900 the Indian entertainment sector underwent huge changes. It was Dadasaheb Phalke, who took Indian cinema to new heights. Thus the path breaking film of the silent era, Raja Harishchandra, was released in 1913. During this time and the era of the talkies the main sources for Indian films were the mythological texts. The introduction of new technology in this domain and the rapid growth of the Indian cinema led to the end of the silent era and ushered in the era of the talkies. Now one could hear the actors and actresses talk, laugh, sing and cry. It changed the way people used to engage with cinema. Forever. Initially films were made in Hindi, Tamil, Bengali and Telugu and these films proved to be phenomenal successes. [5] Later, films were also made in other languages. Colour films began to be made in 1930s. By the next millennium, technology had advanced. Films were made in 3D for more realistic, almost ‘real-like’ feeling. From bulky celluloid cans, films were stored and distributed in digitized format through internet. Technology played (and continue to play) an important role in the development of cinema.

Thematically, the initial Indian films heavily depended on mythological and historical stories. Gradually social theme, contemporary issues found place. By late 1940s films in India were made in various languages but the religious influence was predominant. With struggle for independence the entire scenario altered. Indian cinema now saw films based on the then contemporary social issues. Movies no longer were limited to the periphery of entertainment; they were now potent instruments to educate the masses as well.

By 1960s realistic cinema gained much ground. There was a strong movement and market for socially relevant cinema till 1970s. Mainstream cinema always cared for entertainment. But the packaging usually catered to the whole family, and usually it revolved round a good story. Things began to change in 1980s with the emergence of VCD (Video CD Players) and television in India.  VCD made viewing films easy. One could see a film at one’s convenience sitting at home. No longer had one had to visit a movie hall at a particular time to watch a movie.  Television serials became popular in 1980s and cable and satellite television started beaming cinema to people’s drawing rooms. These factors held the ‘educated, middle class, family viewer’ audience at home. Movie halls gradually lost audience. It was a challenge for mainstream cinema producers. They had to attract audience to movie halls. In this situation they looked at the lowest common denominator factor in entertainment. They tried to put in masala to attract the kind of audience who, they thought would visit movie halls. And  the masala was: sex and violence. Thus emerged the violence, the sensual depiction, the item numbers, etc.  Not that these were not there in Indian films earlier. It was. But now it became the main course. The staple.

Things began to change to some extent by the new millennium. Interestingly, television was mainly responsible for the change.  It provided a commercially viable outlet for ‘different’ films. So did the multiplexes. Cinema in India is in a very interesting and fluid phase. ‘Different’ is the new mainstream now.

Before I elaborate this point, and try to highlight the ‘touching’ points of cinema and theatre, let me tell you that in India, like in Hollywood and many European countries films have been made out of plays. Girish Kannad's Nagmandal has inspired several movies. The recent Hindi movie Oh My God is based on a Gujarati drama. Among the Theatre artists who have made big in Cinema are Balraj Sahani, Utpal Roy, Nassiruddin Shah, Om Puri, Amrish Puri, Bijoy Mohanty (Odia).

Present Status and can we make the relationship more intimate?

Theatre and films have had close relationship as art forms engaged with storytelling and visual presentation. Though both have grown and experimented further in exploring its strengths as performing and visual medium, the relationship exists at a metaphorical level.

Can the relationship be made more intimate, which can help both media in their engagement with audience, in their growth? I am leaving the question: is it at all desirable to further debate and offering some suggestions, based on experiments carried out elsewhere.

 Theatres can be filmed and released as regular cinema. As Charles Spencer says, watching theatre on a cinema screen can be even better than the live event.[6] He writes:

When the National Theatre unveiled plans to film productions and relay them live by satellite to cinemas in Britain and 21 other countries, I was sceptical. I feared the results would seem excessively stagy and lack the excitement of watching actors in the flesh.

How wrong I was. The Esher Odeon was almost packed, and the performance of Dion Boucicault’s hilarious 19th-century comedy London Assurance was as entertaining on screen as it had been in the theatre. What’s more, there was a real sense of the live event about it. The cinema audience actually clapped at the end, and there was a sense of shared laughter and genuine community one rarely experiences at the flicks.

Can we try something like this in India? Doordarshan did try something like this when it put on air plays. But as far as I know, it has not been attempted on regular cinema halls. Can we film Bibhas Chakravorty’s Hamlet and screen it across the country. Technologically it is possible now in a cost effective way, thanks to internet-based distribution system. Will the audience love it? I do not know. But it is definitely worth a try.

The reverse can also be tried. Let us stage a Bhuter Bhabisyat or even a Dabang.  The contemporary opera parties in Odisha and West Bengal have done something like this. Can the avant-garde theatre directors think about this?

***

 The author, a journalist turned media academician writes fiction, plays and television screen play. He presently heads the Eastern India campus of Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), located at Dhenkanal, Odisha, India.

20 December 2012                                    

 Sanchar Marg, Dhenkanal 759 001, Odisha.   

  E-Mail: mrinaliimc@yahoo.in|Mobile: 91 94370 26194

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[1] http://groupa.ucoz.co.uk/publ/theatre_vs_cinema/1-1-0-13

[2] Theater and Film: A Comparative Anthology, Edited by Robert Knopf, New Haven, Yale University Press, 2005

[3] http://www.culturopedia.com/Theatre/theatre_intro.html

[4] There is, however, a pattern. All the folk and traditional forms in northern India are mainly vocal, i.e., singing and recitation-based like Ramlila, Rasleela, Bhand Nautanki and Wang without any complicated gestures or movements and elements of dance.

[5] http://www.indianetzone.com/2/history_indian_cinema.htm

[6] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/7884993/Why-watch-theatre-on-a-cinema-screen.html