Wednesday, February 22, 2006

“Period films” in Indian cinema

Period films, be they historicals, historical fiction or fantasy-mythology set in a “period” have a unique place in almost all major cinema. Few people can resist the heady rush that a swashbuckling adventure set in a time of lore and legend offers. Asia in general, and India in particular is rich in history, legend and myth. So it seems rather intuitive that Indian cinema should have some memorable historicals. The films of the other two big movie “powerhouses” of Asia, China and Japan, almost automatically bring up images of “period films”. Kurosawa made some superb films set in Medieval Japan. But he wasn’t alone in recreating medieval Japan on celluloid. The Samurai Trilogy (the story of Mushashi Miyomoto), Samurai rebellion and dozens of other non-Kurosawa “samurai” films became classics not only in Japan, but worldwide. These films were by no means a showcase for action alone, but told stories of people, set in a time remembered with nostalgia. Chinese films (mostly made in Hong Kong) used a period setting for non-stop kung-fu action, and Shaolin almost became a household name. Jet Li and Jackie Chan started off in obscure (now cult-classic) Kung-fu historicals before diversifying. More recent efforts by directors like Ang Lee and Yimou Zhang are colorful stories set in ancient imperial China. India has as many legends and fables and stories from the past (both real and imaginary) to provide an endlessly rich source of material for the movies. But to the average viewer of contemporary Indian cinema, period films, be they history or fiction, have become almost alien. Yet there’s a fantastic history of period films in Indian cinema.

Indian cinema started off in the early 20th century using this rich source of material, churning out period films that sometimes were outstanding. The very first movie from India was Raja Harishchandra, in 1913, in as much silent splendor black and white cinema could offer. And this was just the beginning of the “golden age” of period films in Indian cinema. The first “talkie” was Alam Ara, another period fantasy with a king, scheming queens, an abandoned princess, gypsies, a prince and “dazzling fights”. Saurab Modi and Prithviraj Kapoor himself starred in innumerable “historicals”, and audiences lapped it up. And stories were not just restricted to India or Indian stories. The Dilip Kumar classic Yahudi was set in imperial Rome, and Dilip Kumar played a Roman prince in love with a Jew, Meena Kumari. At a time when “special effects” were still a concept, directors relied on story, screenplay and drama, and crafted surprisingly moving movies. But within a few years of independence, the popularity of historicals waned, and “socialistic” movies of poor commoner heroes fighting oppressor land-lords or the scheming rich became increasingly popular. But even up to the seventies there were moments of “period film” excellence. Mughal-e-azam, a fascinating story of historical fiction about the love of the mughal crown-prince Salim for a court dancer, Anarkali, in spite of opposition from the emperor, became an instant cinematic classic. Lavishly glamorous, with outstanding music, a stellar star-cast, and outstanding performances, it was destined for Indian cinematic immortality. Taj Mahal and Pakeezah are just two other movies from the sixties that stand out in the historical genre in Indian cinema.

Regional cinema too was enamored by Indian myth and history. Tamil cinema, to take just one example, churned out some memorable historicals. Shivaji Ganesan became a household name with dialog heavy period movies like Manohara or Veerapandya Kattabomman. The other Ganeshan, “Gemini”, also had his share of period dramas, like Parthiban kanavu, while a later “savior of the people”, MGR, starred in a series of historical dramas, dueling away to stardom. There were also innumerable fantasies rooted in the Indian epics or fables, and some were even rollicking entertainers, movies like Tiruvilayadal or Mayabazaar. A lot of these movies when viewed today appear tacky, with gaudy sets or outlandish costumes. Yet, many of them still hold together very well because they remain rooted in a story that’s timeless and irresistibly appealing.

But period dramas were slowly relegated to the back burner by the mid seventies in Hindi as well as regional cinema. Angry young men or chocolate heroes began to dominate the screen, and more contemporary themes began to predominate cinema, and historicals became part of history. But in recent years there has been a small revival of sorts with period dramas. It started off with a series of movies set in India under the British Raj. Hey Ram or Bhagat Singh were excellent efforts, but Lagaan was a revolution of sorts. Lagaan had a rather predictable story, but it’s cast, picturization and screenplay were flawless (going with outstanding music), and the story was told beautifully. Devdas was an opulent extravaganza. Other efforts like Ashoka or Kisna were downright awful, and even the recent Mangal Pandey was rather tepid. But perhaps it’s just a lost skill being revived.

In order to make a good period film, be it history, fiction or absolute fantasy, there’s one little requirement. The moviemaker needs to be an old fashioned storyteller at heart, not unlike the wandering bards and minstrels of ancient India, who would build worlds in the minds of gaping listeners. The glitz or special effects come much later. Even though the special effects of the Lord of the rings were fantastic, Peter Jackson remained a storyteller at heart, and that’s what made the movie spectacular. But the technology now makes it possible for a talented storyteller to paint a cinematic canvas the way he or she imagines it. Perhaps it’s a perfect time for talented Indian storytellers to start mining this endless source of stories for the screen once again, and revive a genre that’s timeless.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

yes, I would love definitely to see such movies make a comeback, not just in Bollywood, but in regional cinema too.
..nice post!

Anonymous said...

Hello Sunil,
Thanx for echoing my thoughts on mythological movies. I simply love them. Yes pleeeaaassseee bring them back, although I have to say I have not seen any of the movies you mentioned except "Mangal Panday" and it just didnt have the "it" factor going for it. I have seen a lot of the historical Hollywood movies here, but I would simply love to see some Indian mythological movies. All that intrigue, mystery, love, passion, revenge and those drop dead gorgeous costumes! Wow! I would like to see it on the big screen in the US, but sadly the DVD will have to make do.:(

Sunil said...

Thanks Sue, anonymous....

I think it's just a matter of time before we start seeing some really good historicals or mythology/fantasy stories on celluloid in Indian cinema. Hindi cinema certainly has the money to do a good job with it (the talent......perhaps). The only regional cinema that could probably afford to do a job that wasn't tacky, but spectacular is probably Tamil or Telugu cinema. The rest are somewhat cash strapped. But yea!

Anonymous.....a lot of the older movies are available on dvd, or even "VCD's". See them (there are some mentioned in this post, for starters) if you can, and you just might enjoy them.

Michael Higgins said...

Hi Sunil
Great post.
I recall watching an excellent old black and white Tamil movie set during the time of the Pandavas (I think) It was probably one of the movies you mentioned above. But anyway it was an excellent story.

India has such a rich storytelling tradition that it is indeed ironic that India films make so little use of it. But period pieces are dangerous because they can look ridiculous. I think casting Shah Rukh Khan as Ashoka was about as ridiculous as casting Keanu Reaves as Buddha. He looked like a 21st century man transported back two millinia.

pippala leaf said...

There are three excellent movies ("Oru Vadakkan Veera Gaatha" , Vaishali, Perunthachan) in Malayalam that falls under such category. "Oru Vadakkan Veera Gaatha" - this national award winner was based on life of a "Chekavar" - somewhat equivilant of Japanese Samurai. All the three films were written by MT Vasudevan Nair (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M.T._Vasudevan_Nair) and all of them became massive hits. "Oru Vadakkan Veera Gaatha" is considered as a classic in Malayalam movie. The second one is "Vaishali" the story of which was developed by MT from a sloka of the Mahabharata. "Perunthachan" was based on a local legend. Watch them and you won't be disappointed.

Sunil said...

Michael.....i'll heartily agree with you about Ashoka. It was such a catastrophe that it must have pushed back the chances of a period drama revival in Indian cinema by 10 years. I have a strange suspicion that the old Tamil movie might have been Mayabazaar......it was darn entertaining.

Madhu....Oru Vadakkan Veera Gaatha is one of my favorite malayalam movies (i'd written about it in some old post.....need to trawl the archives to find it). One of Mammutty's best movies (lots of those though). I have not seen Vaishali, so will see if i come across it. Perunthachan was excellent.....though i enjoyed Veera Gaatha more. I liked that last fight in Veera Gaatha, with the urumi's, and all those dance like movements. But you can't go too wrong with Kallari....it's so awesome to watch. Chekavar's though weren't a real equivilant of a Samurai. Chekavar's were more like specialized warriors. They weren't feudal lords like the Samurai.........though the Samurai too were trained to live under a "warrior code".

Anonymous said...

Among period films, the best was Mughal-e-Azam. The latest one on Akbar is planned by the maker of Lagaan

Sunil said...

hiren....i'm looking fwd to Gowarikar's movie. He's pretty talented.

Anonymous said...

Sunil,
I loved Maya Bazaar! And the old mythological/historical movies were better also because they filtered out the garish costumes and sets, thanks to the grey-scale of the medium.

Our epics are a great source for wonderful stories - You might have been to the katha-kalakshepams where the story-teller would elaborate the Ramayana etc., bringing out layers within layers of the story. Such joy they would be!

A celluloid Mahabharata, along the lines of LOTR, would be great as well.

Anonymous said...

I really liked Maya Bazaar too ! Especially the song with the food in it.

When I was a child (in the '80's), I did go to some of the Katha Kaalakshepams that used to be held near where I lived in Bangalore. I wonder whether they are still being conducted-I fear that it was a dying tradition.

Sunil said...

Srikanth, vkrishna.......i used to enjoy those katha-kalakshepams too immensely. I too wonder if they happen often. They probably are a dying tradition in the bigger cities, though they might still be very alive in smaller towns.

Anonymous said...

Dear Sunil,
your aticle is very educative but strangely it is silent about Satayajit Ray's Sahtaranj Ke Khiladi. In my opinion it was a complete cinema and will remaoin the bench mark for the makers of period films of future.
V.Kumar

Anonymous said...

Once I played Rom, I did not know how to get strong, someone told me that you must have Rom Gold. He gave me some Runes of Magic Gold, he said that I could buy Rom Gold, but I did not have money, then I played it all my spare time. From then on, I got some Runes of Magic money, if I did not continue to play it, I can sell cheap Runes of Magic Goldto anyone who want.