Telugu Cinema-for non telugu speaking students
- 1. తెలు గు సినిమా Telugu Cinema Department of Media and Communication Studies Indian Film Studies IFS105: Indian Language Cinema Savitribai Phule Pune University
- 2. Telugu Cinema:Course overview • This course is designed to introduce students to the regional language cinema from South India from its beginnings to the present. Telugu industry is one of the largest producers of films, after Hindi and Tamil, and its existence as a model cannot be ignored. This elective will first provide the background to the early landscape of Telugu cinema; and trace the specific genres, thematic concerns, and formal makeup of popular cinema. Readings will include conceptual and historical writings on different aspects of Telugu Cinema that will also provide the political developments of the modern state. • This is part of IFS105 Indian Language Cinema for 2 credits with internal assessment and semester- end Examination • Every Friday from 6.15 pm to 7.45 pm till mid-November 2023
- 3. Cinemas of South India 5 States ,1 Union Territory and languages 1. Telugu in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana 2. Tamil in Tamilnadu and Pondicherry 3. Kannada in Karnataka 4. Malayalam in Kerala Konkani, Tulu and Kodava
- 4. Course Structure/Plan 1. The beginnings….. Silent and the Sound ( 1921–40) 2. The Rise of Formula and the Star System in the Mythological Era (1941–50) 3. Film Market and the Formation of Andhra State: The 1950s 4. Socials, Colour, Stunt, and Other Experiments: The 1960s 5. Populism, Curry Westerns, and a New Idiom: The 1970s 6. Telugu Comedy films and Rise of the New Brigade: the 1980s 7. New millennium cinema and formation of Telangana State( 90-2014) 8. Beginning of Pan-Indian cinema: current trends (2015_ till date)
- 5. The beginnings………. First Indian film (1913) First Tamil Film (1916) First Telugu Film Bheeshma Pratigna (1921)
- 6. The ‘Mookie’ era • Raghupathi Surya Prakash son of Raghupati Venkaiah Naidu secured his place in the history of Telugu cinema as the first Telugu film director. • They built the first Indian-owned cinema theatre in Madras, the Gaiety, in 1913. later built Crown Theatre on Mint Road in 1914 and Globe Theatre in Purusavakkam in 1915. • The Raghupati Venkaiah Award is an annual award incorporated into the state Nandi Awards honoring veteran artists who made significant contributions in Telugu cinema
- 7. The ‘Mookie’ era Prakash is credited with making • Gajendra Moksham, Bhakta Nandanar and Samudra Madhanam in 1923 • Draupadhi Bhagyam in 1924, Kabirdas in 1925 • Mohini Avatharam and Stage Girl in 1926 • Dasavatharam and Kovalan in 1929 • Lanka Dahanam and Gandhariyin Pulambal in 1930 • Rose of Rajasthan, Coral Queen, Laila in 1931 • Vishnu Leela in 1932. • Lotus Film Company by Nizams along with D. Gangopadyay. is credited with producing • Hara Gowri, Indrajit, Lady Teacher, Sadhu Aur Shaitan in 1922 • and Chintamani, Step Mother and Yayathi in 1923. Mookie Production in Hyderabad and Kakinada Dhirendranath Gangopadyay Indo-British Film Company and produced a few silent films in Calcutta. Mahavir Photoplays and National Film Company, made a few silent films in Hyderabad.
- 8. Mookie Era • C. Pulliah was introduced to all aspects of film production while working with the Kohinoor Film Company in Bombay. He worked with renowned film director, A.R. Kardar, who is credited with establishing the Lahore film industry. • Pulliah from Kakinada made the silent film Bhakta Markandeya in 1924. • Gramophone Companies and Drama Companies • Film historian Theodore Baskaran makes the distinction between the nataka sabha and the drama company • Some of the drama companies of the time were run by the rajas, zamindars, and the landed gentry.
- 9. Production and Viewing Cultures in the Mookie Era • Initially, silent shorts were screened in parks and on the roadside.This was a phase in which people used to watch them just for novelty. • One of the greatest poets of all time in Telugu, Gurram Jashuva, worked as a narrator for silent films in Vinukonda and Rajahmundry during his formative years. • To meet the demand, many silent films imported from the US, UK and other foreign countries were screened.
- 10. The coming of sound……. First Talkie: Bhakta Prahlada Produced by Ardeshir Irani of Imperial Film Company . He delegated this work to H.M. Reddy, who had assisted him in the production of Alam Ara. He gained the rare distinction of becoming the director of the first Tamil talkie, Kalidasa (1931),and the first Telugu talkie, Bhakta Prahlada.
- 11. Theatre Still reigns • In terms of themes, mythologicals, which reigned supreme on the stage in Telugu-speaking areas, were adapted to the screen with minimal changes. Several popular stage plays such as Paduka Pattabhishekam, Shakuntala, Pruthiviputra, Ramadasu, Sati Savitri and many more were adapted from the stage to screen. • Lava Kusha (1934), directed by C. Pullaiah for the East India Film Company, made huge collections at the box office. With twenty-one songs and ten poems, the film’s music was also released as a gramophone record. • Draupadi Vastrapaharanam (1936) with eighty songs and poems, produced by Saraswathi Talkies and directed by H.V. Babu under the supervision of H.M. Reddy in Kolhapur, was a huge success, while Draupadi Manasamrakshanam (1936) with the same theme produced by Lakshmi Films in Bombay turned out a box-office dud.
- 12. The Rise of New Studios • In the first half of the 1930s, East India Films, Calcutta, and Imperial Films, Bombay, competed with each other in making Telugu films. Besides these studios, Telugu films were produced in Prabhat Studios, Pune, Krishna Film Company and Sagar Movietone in Bombay and New Theatres and Aurora Film Corporation in Calcutta. • C. Pullaiah, H.M. Reddy and Chitrapu Narasimha Rao directed most of these films, produced by financiers from Bombay and Calcutta and they were travelling to respective studios. The first Telugu talkie to be entirely produced by Telugu was Prithvi Putra (1933). • Sitarama Kalyanam (1934), produced by P.V. Das in Vel Picture Studios, became the first Telugu talkie produced on south Indian soil. Srikrishna Leelalu (1935) and Maya Bazar (1936), shot in Vel Picture Studios • The Motion Pictures Producers Combine (MPPC) was set up in 1937 by K. Subramanyam in Madras as a joint venture of film producers. This studio was later purchased by S.S. Vasan and renamed Gemini Studios.
- 13. Rohini and Vahini Studios • The first movie produced by the Rohini banner, Gruhalakshmi (1938), ran successfully. The film touched on the issues of infidelity in marriage and alcoholism. While making this film, differences apparently cropped up between H.M. Reddy and B.N. Reddy over the aesthetic treatment and ethical standards in film-making. B.N. Reddy moved out to start Vauhini Productions • Vandemataram (1939) was Vauhini’s first movie. B.N. Reddy tried to address at least one social issue in each of his films. His Sumangali (1940) handles the issue of widow remarriage, Devata (1941) deals with premarital sex and Swargaseema (1946) tackles infidelity among successful men; to some extent the last film also tries to throw light on female stars in the film industry. • Gudavalli Ramabrahmam: Socials • Malapilla ( Harijan Girl) • Rythubidda (Farmer’s son)
- 14. Talkie era • Zamindar’s fantacy: the Raja of Challapalli and the Raja of Mirjapuram • Of the seventy-five films produced between 1931 and 1940,only ten dealt with social and contemporary issues and the rest were mythologicals and folklore related. • Film Songs: Origins in the First Decade Some Telugu stage actors were inspired by Marathi stage actors Bal Gandharva, Narayanrao Vyas, Master Krishnarao and Patwardhan. • Hindustani ragas like Bhimpalas, Sohani, Bageswari, Kalinga and Todi were extensively used by Telugu stage actors like Jonnavithula Seshagiri Rao and Eelapata Raghuramaiah.
Editor's Notes
- #4: Cinema Studies Centered under the frame work of ‘Nation’ largely construed as Tamil Cinema Arrival of sound in cinema and its impact on the cultural rootedness of the films. Mapping of Language on to region: Study of the film ,urdu/Hindi words in telugu, telugu in tamil and tamil in Malayalam
- #5: Condensing the history, conscious attempt to analyse important developments covering the important films, film-makers and developments in the film industry in that decade, with reflections on the significant political, social and cultural developments and movements and their influence on the film industry. the impact of literature, theatre, world cinema and other regional cinemas on Telugu cinema across the decades. The impact of the star system, technology and liberalization. lyrics, music composition and choreography
- #7: ‘Star of the East Film Company’. The dewan of Travancore, Sir C.P. Ramaswami Iyer, and Kasturiranga Ayyangar of The Hindu joined this venture as business partners. The first film for this banner was Bhishma Pratigna directed by his son Prakash.
- #9: Chittor Nagaiah, P. Suri Babu, Eelapata Raghuramaiah were popular stage actors who sang for gramophone records. Many of these stage actors became successful film actors after the arrival of the talkies. During the mookie decade they kept away from films because they had successful careers on stage and through gramophone records
- #10: The locally produced films in the silent era had to compete with imported films, alongside those produced in Bombay and Calcutta. With the arrival of the talkies, linguistic markets started taking shape, giving local producers a relatively safe playing field
- #11: By then Reddy has directed many mookies for the Imperial Film Company, including two films starring Prithviraj Kapoor.
- #13: Out of the thirty-eight talkies that came out till 1937, only four were made in Madras.12 This slowly started to change with the emergence of Rohini, Sarathi and Vauhini as the new flag bearers of Telugu cinema. AVM Pictures, Madras, Pakshiraja Films, Coimbatore, and Modern Theatres, Salem, were some of the regular producers of Telugu films.