Indian films have a history of their emergence, growth and development. There were
the days of silent films where viewers interpreted visuals on screen and constructed their
own understanding of what the films may have tried to communicate. Then came the days
of audio-visual films, black and white films and later, colour films.
People who can afford to watch films at theatres and those who can do so on their
television screens at home are entertained by the stories that films tell us. There are all
kinds of ideas, ideologies, tragedies, themes and values that films communicate. Today
one can watch films on the internet on one's mobile phones. Sometimes the explicit and
implicit messages are received by viewers, but they can also be lost on them.
Besides actors' abilities to 'play varied roles or characters, there are a whole lot of
persons involved with the production process as well as its marketing. This may include
the film director, screenplay writers, designers, sound engineers, make-up artists and stylists,
casting experts, musicians and so on.
Fields like Visual Sociology, Sociology of Mass Communication, and Marketing
Sociology have a role to play in the study of these varied dimensions. Films as a source
of knowledge play multiple roles even today. The story lines and types of films are ever
increasing. Films are not limited to nor bound by standard themes, love stories or gender
stereotyping. Films can cause much upheaval on the one hand and generate much interest
on the other. Regional films and international films have added to the list of viewing
possibilities and multiple interests.
make two brief questions after reading this passage
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Answer:
At 85, Virchand Dharamsey should be leading the retired life, but he is hard at work, digging deep for the hidden and unknown.
For the past few years, the Mumbai-based researcher has been writing a book tentatively titled Archaeology of Early Indian Cinema with Iyesha Geeth Abbas, a colleague from Kerala. Covering the period between 1895 and 1945, the project is as noble as it is challenging, given the shortage of reliable information on the earliest years of Indian cinema.
Just over 1,300 silent movies were made in India in the first three decades of the last century. By 1931, India had produced its first sound film, Alam Ara, and by 1934, the “talkies” had taken over the screens. But only 29 of the silent films made in India survive.