The Silent Era of Indian Cinema

Indians are known to follow three things religiously namely cricket, cinema and religion itself. Among these, cinema has influenced their life more than anything else. And this love for cinema is old as cinema itself and people used to flock the theatres to see the silent movies. The history of Indian cinema is more than 100 years old. The first silent movie to be released in India was on 7th July 1897 at Hotel Watson in Bombay by the Leiumour Brothers who produced the film. The film had only six scenes in all and was 10 minutes long. The first Indian to produce a film was H.S.Bhatwdekar. He got a camera from London and shot 2 scenes of 3 minutes each. He titled them as Do Pahalwanon Ki Kushti  and Bandar Kho Nachata Hua Madaari, which was released in December 1889. On 1^st January 1900, a Britisher by the name of Mr Taivello released a silent movie at Novelty Cinema at Lamington Road, Bombay. Fatima, an Indian dancer was the star of the movie. Ram Chandra Gopal Torne, N.G. Chitre and Stevenson, a cinematographer jointly produced a 22 minutes silent film named Pundalik. This film was based on a life of an actual saint from Maharashtra. But the year 1913 saw the real evolution of Indian cinema. A full length silent movie was produced by one Mr Dadasaheb Phalke, who later on earned the title of the father of Indian cinema. The name of the movie was ‘Raja Harishchandra’ and it was based on the Sanskrit epic of a famous mythological king of India. The total length of the movie was 40 minutes. A unique feature about this movie was that there were no female artists in it as working in a movie was a taboo and the male artists enacted the roles of female characters. It was a taboo to such an extent in the society that Dadasaheb Phalke had to tell his artists to tell everybody that they were working in a factory of a man named Harishchadra. The movie had English and Hindi subtitles and was released at the coronation Cinema in Bombay. Dadashaeb made many other movies after this. He made Mohini Bhasmasur in 1913, Satyavan Savitri in 1914 and Lanka Dahan in 1917. Lanka Dahan went on to become India’s first box office hit. Many silent movies were made in the 1920’s. Dhiren ganguly made Bilat Ferat, a love story in 1921. Madan made Nala Damayanti in 1921, Pati Bhakti in 1922 and Noor Jehan in 1923. The famous Baburao painter made Maya Bazaar in 1923, Kaala Naag in 1924 and Cinema Queen in 1926. Other  notable silent movies were Bhaneli Bhamini, Anarkali, Gopal Krishna, Chandramukhi, Hatim Tai, Diler Jigar, Raajrani Meera. Though these movies were known as silent movies, they had music which was made by certain instruments like a tabla, flute or a sitar which would accompany the scenes. As there were no dialogues, they had subtitles mainly in English and one regional language. In the year 1931 Ardeshir  Irani made India’s first talking movie that is movie with sound and dialogues, Alam Ara. With this a new chapter in cinema started. Silent movies were still produced at this time but within a short span of time it eventually died out as it could not meet with the competition of talking cinema as people preferred the later. Many artist who did very well during the silent era struggled as they were not good in dialogue delivery but at the same time artist with excellent voice and acting power came to the limelight. Songs were an addition feature added to the cinema. Nearly half a century later, in 1988 S.Sreenivas Rao experimented with a silent movie named Pushpak which had no dialogues or subtitles. Well known actor Kamal Hasan was the lead actor of the movie. The movie was made very well and went on to become a big box office hit.

F1 2009

A new season of F1 is all set to begin. It will be an exciting season if any indication of the last two seasons can be taken into account. Lewis Hamilton won the drivers’ championship from Filepe Massa by a single point in the last race of 2008. It could not get more exciting than this. This year’s F1 season will be very different to the last years as FIA, the governing body have made many changes to the season . Slick tyres will make a comeback after nearly 10 years. There are stringent aerodynamics regulations. The front wing will be lower and wider while the rear wings will be higher and narrower. This will enhance the mechanical grip of the car, A new system known as Kinetic Energy Recovery system (KERS) will be introduced where the energy generated during braking is stored and can be used to give the extra boost and acceleration when needed, though this optional. The pit lane speed limit has been increased from 50 mph to 62 mph. A massive cost cutting has been put to place and the budget of each team may be cut to half the amount they had spent last year. The engine has to last 3 races, the gearbox has to last 4 races. The team will be penalized 5 places if they put a new engine or gearbox before this period. The rule that the pit lane is closed during the safety car period is done away in 2009. There was supposed to be a major change in the Driver Championship allocation wherein the driver who wins the most number of races will be given the title instead of the driver who has the most points like previous years but this rule was taken back after strong opposition from the participating teams.  The 2009 calendar will have 17 races in all. The season will begin with the Australian GP in March and will end with the newly constructed Abu Dhabi GP in November. The French and the Canadian GP have been dropped from this year’s calendar. There will be a night race in Singapore. Ten teams will be taking part this season. Team Honda has been bought by Ross Brawn, the former technical advisor of the Ferrari team and has been renamed as Brawn- Mercedes team. Interestingly a huge controversy is brewing among the F1 teams regarding the use of diffusers on the car. A diffuser is an extension of the floor at the back end of the car, between the rear wheels to gather and organize the high speed air rushing under the car. This reduces drag and increases down force, so the speed and agility of the car is increased. Some teams like Toyota, Williams and Brawn have diffusers which are working better than other teams so their cars are much faster . Teams like Ferrari and Renault have lodged a complaint against this and the hearing is to take place sometimes  soon. Will it again be team Ferrari dominating as we have seen many times before or teams like Mclaren, Toyota, Renault going all out for the championship. This only time will tell but one thing is for sure that there will be no shortage of drama, suspense, thrill and controversies when the season will finally kicks start on the 29^th of March on the famous Melbourne Grand Prix circuit. Get, set, go.

A pristine beach in the Konkan known as Ladghar

To beat the summer heat, there is a beautiful place known as Ladghar which is famous for its clean, unspoilt, scenic beach. Its near Khed in the Konkan region. Catch a train from Mumbai to Khed as there are many trains between the two places or drive down to Ladghar which is about 7 hours drive on the Mumbai Goa Highway or catch a MSRTC bus from Mumbai.The train journey takes about 5 hours. Once you reach Khed catch a MSRTC bus from Khed to Dapoli. The ride will take about 25 minutes. Get down at Dapoli and again catch a MSRTC bus to Ladghar which is 24 kms from Dapoli and it will take you about 45 minutes. Do not worry about the bus as their frequency is good. As you reach Ladghar one has the choice of staying at the famous Sagar Sawali hotel which has both air conditioned room as well as non air conditioned rooms or staying at the shacks which the locals have built for tourists which are good for tourist with a low budget. To get the real feel  of the place I advise you to stay in the local shacks which are built on the seashore and they provide with homemade food which adds to the wonderful experience . The climate there is cool even in the summer due to the cool sea breeze blowing from the Arabian Sea. In Ladghar go for a stroll along the beach and collect colourful sea pebbles. This place is less crowded as many people do not know about it. At times you may be the only one on the entire shore. This place is very famous for its dolphins. To sight the dolphin pods, the local fisherman will take you into the open sea early in the morning in their boat for Rs 800. This is a must do as the boat trip on the sea waves itself along with the dolphin sighting is mind blowing. One important thing worth mentioning is that as Ladghar has few shops so to shop you must go to Dapoli which is not very hectic as there are regular shared Tempo Trax taxis which charges Rs 10 per person along with the regular MSRTC buses to and fro from Ladghar and Dapoli. Other places worth visiting are the ancient temples of Veleshwar dedicated to Lord Shiva which is more than 1000 years old and Lord Datta temple which is situated on a hill. One has to trek about 30 minutes to reach the temple but the journey to the top is awesome with a small pool of spring water to freshen you on the way. This trek is through some heavy plantation of coconut and betel nut trees so it is kind of walking through some dense vegetation which is very refreshing. Do make a point to eat at the local homes while coming down as it adds to the experience. The food is delicious and inexpensive to say the least. Then there are the famous Panhalekaji caves. These are ancient caves with Buddhist and Hindu sculptures  and are worth a visit. Other places of interest are the clean and pristine beaches of Harnai, Murud, Dabhol. Over all this trip is for those who want to get away from the maddening crowd, pollution of Mumbai and other places for a short period and as this place is not far away from Mumbai and Pune and is inexpensive, give it a try. I bet people who have come here alone or with their friends or with their family will come back sooner or later. The pros of this place are proximity to Mumbai but still has that very village feel. Its well connected to other places and the roads are good. The place is pollution free and the most important factor is that it’s not crowded as there are less number of visitors throughout the year but do not know for how long. The con if any is that this place has limited options for accommodation. Still undoubtedly, one of the best place I have every visited.

The Great Indian Election

The election season is back again. The whole country is now gearing up to vote. The Congress is trying to retain its government in the centre and the main opposition party the BJP are trying their best to dislodge them and come to power. But with these two main parties, a third front has come to the party which comprises of the Left parties, the CPI and the CPM and regional parties like the BSP, PSP, Forward Bloc, JD(S), TDP, TRS and the AIADMK. The Congress is banking on its performance in the last 5 years. Honestly speaking I don’t see much of a difference their policies have made for the country. Everything has gone haywire, inflation had shot up to a new high, unemployment increased but we can give them the benefit of the doubt as we may put this on global recession. But the security scene was if best described at its worse. There was the Malegaon, Ahmadabad, Bangalore and Allahabad blasts and to add to it there was the dreadful and unforgetful Mumbai terror attack which left many people dead and the whole country in a state of shock and fear. Some people attribute this to the weak anti terror policies of the government. Then there is the issue of farmers committing suicide in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra and in the state of Andhra Pradesh. The BJP are playing their card on these policies and promising a great change for the country but as during their their time of governance, they made little impact and were voted out of power by the people of this country. Their poll manifesto includes promises of tougher anti terrorism law, creation of new state for better governance, good governance and development. They are putting themselves as a party with a difference. What difference will they make for the country is still to be seen. The Third Front is purely formed on the basis of the aspirations of their leaders. Most of them like Mayawati and HD Devegowda who are a part of this coalition want to be the PM of this country incase their Front gets the majority. This is highly unlikely scenario but then you never know in Indian politics. Anything can happen here. Poverty, terrorism, naxalism, population boom, unemployment, development, crime, corruption, illiteracy, malnutrition etc are the problem which are haunting our country today. Something must be done now to solve these problems. But with the candidates, the parties have put up and the sincererity of the political parties who want to solve these problems, the problem seems to be far from being solved. But like every single election in the past, we as responsible citizens should go out in large numbers and vote expecting at least this time, there will be change for the good for us as well as for India and hope for the best.

Kaun Banega Pradhan Mantri

 

In India most of the politicians ultimate aim is to be the Prime minister. These politicians can go to any length to have a go at the chair. Here are some potential aspirants for the prime ministerial post. Atleast some of them think so !

·         Dr. Manmohan Singh – The best  finance minister India ever had and the present prime minister .This is the person who is sure to continue as the PM of this country if the Congress does well in the elections. The Congress has portrayed him as the PM if it wins and the chances are looking good. One advice to Mr Singh, please make some decisions on your own without the advice from MADAM.

·         Rahul Gandhi- Scion of the Gandhi-Nehru family. His biggest advantage is that his father, grandmother and great grandfather were all PMs so he is following them. It sounds like dynastic rule in a democratic republican country. He is too young without much experience so he has to wait but his time will come for sure.

·         Lal Krishna Advani- Leader of the Opposition, the BJP. He is the party’s Prime Ministerial candidate if they come to power in the centre. The chances look slim but can happen. Mr Advani nurtured the ambition of becoming  the PM from a long time. They did not come to power for a long time and when they did, Mr A.B. Vajpayee was made the PM with a consensus much to the displeasure of Advaniji. At 82 years, I guess he will  leave no stone unturned as he will feel this is his last chance at the PM’s chair. Hope he wont beat Morarji Desai in it.

·         Narendra Modi-Some BJP members had come up with his name as a probable candidate for the post of PM. But since Modi was never involved in national politics and has limited base that too in Gujarat, he is not likely to be BJPs  face for the PM’s post. But now even though he has started taking interest in national politics, there is a long wait for him to take a shot that the throne.

·         Sharad Pawar- Leader of NCP which is a part of the ruling UPA. Mr. Pawar , union agriculture minister in the government has been known to switch parties in the past. He has made his ambition for the post of the PM public. He has limited time to fulfill his ambition as he is not keeping good health. In desperation he is switching sides, sometimes he is seen with the Congress, sometimes talks of his alliance with the Shiv Sena are doing rounds, and at times he is attending rallies of the Third Front. I guess he is trying every equation available that will make him the PM. All the best Mr. Pawar. Try, try till you succeed even if it means going to the extreme and teaming with people you hardly know.

·         H.D. Deve Gowda- One time Prime Minister of India (for a very very short time) made a statement saying that even if the Congress or the BJP offers him the PM’s post he will not accept it. Mr. Gowda, it’s a good thing that your are very optimistic but optimism does not always pay. Please do not fool anybody by telling them that you are a strong contender to the PM’s post.

·         Mayawati or Behenji – She formed the Third Front with other parties and declared herself the Prime Ministerial candidate from this Front. This lead to much heart burn within the Front as other leaders have the same aim. She was finally forced to withdraw her name and was decided that the Front will name the Prime Ministerial candidate after the elections that is they get any kind of majority. No one thinks they can. And as everyone knows the Indian political system and the games that are played there, you can’t rule her or  for that matter  anyone out of the race.