It is a restful, pleasurable and entertaining means of rewinding and relaxing after a long day’s work. All the senses are captivated while viewing cinema and the next two and a half or three hours are spent in a wink. Moreover, it is that means of entertainment which every class and section of society can afford at their will and convenience.
Indian cinema-apart from world cinema-has a charm, flavor and magic of its own. It appeals not only to the film-crazy Indian public but also has enchanted a large number of audiences the world over. People who do not speak or understand Hindi still sing songs from Hindi films. An average Indian film is longer than film from other parts of the world, has ginger-touch of love, hate, revenge, drama, tears, joys and also its own share of songs and dances. A typical Indian film has it all-all the spice and variety of life condensed into it, transporting the audience on a magic carpet to a totally different world where everything and anything is possible.
Down the years, cinema in India has reached its own destination, created its own history, and touched its own milestones. From stereotyped love stories to action to drama to realistic to fictional – the silver screen in its every aspect has mesmerized, captured an d tantalized millions of every age, class, sex and community. The journey from mute film to voiced, from black and white to coloured has been a long. It has catered to the dreams and aspirations of many who have hungered for glamour and reached ‘Bombay’ and it still does. Thousands of young boys and girls haunt the city to see their dreams fulfilled. Some do see them bloom and others see them break. But then that is life, luck and cinema all about!
There have been two streams