INDIAN CINEMA AND ITS IMPACT ON SOCIETY

The Indian society has been actively developing in different fields including; business, industries, education, health as well as entertainment. With concern to the development for the entertainment purpose, the Indian Cinema has played a vital role. The emergence of Indian cinema is marked in the post-independence era. During the pre-independence times, only the films like, Dada Saheb Phalke’s Raja Harishchandra it was the first silent film and Alam Ara was the first talking film; these proved to be super hit films. Later, the movies are also made in different regional languages like, Bengali, Telegu, Tamil, Gujrati, Malayalam, Oria, etc.

The period between 1940s and 1960s was regarded as the golden age of Indian cinema, as many emotional, intellectual and thought-provoking films were produced during this time. These films gained a lot of popularity through the delivery of new and innovative ideas to the audience. Gradually, the films became an important part of the society, as it would reflect the social issues, real-life situations and general problems that were easily connectable and relatable for the audience and thus, grabbed their attention.

The policies change brought an evolution in the Film-making industry. The new economic changes of 1991 such as, liberation, globalization, etc. encouraged the entry of new technology in the nation. The introduction of Satellite Television in 1992 changed the Indian Cinema and transformed it into more liberal version, that was inclined towards the western culture and criminality etc. The Indian cinema now started representing the true picture of every event rather than the haze image.

POSITIVE VALUES OF THE CINEMA

The cinema is not only a mode of entrainment, it has transformed itself into a system that provides diverse benefits. For instance, it holds immense educative and informative values for the society. The mass of the audience is youngsters and the educational films can prove to be a great way of grooming the young minds. Thus, the cinema can help compassing the education through teaching various subjects through the movies. The basic subjects like History, Geography can be easily depicted through the movies, also, the moral duties, responsibilities, need for hygiene, civil sense, respect for women, etc. can also be convoyed through the picturization effect. This can prove to be a complete package of entrainment with education.  

The films and stories have a deep influence over the minds and activities of the people. It has the power to act as a reformative instrument and expose the evils prevailing in the society, such as human trafficking, domestic violence, corruption, poverty, social exclusion, other discriminatory activities, etc. Movies and the actors have changed the minds and actions of the people, they are the paths to set new trends that have direct impacts over the social lives of the people. The audience and fans make attempts to replicate their favorite artists and aspire to build a life like them.

Several movies are based upon the lives of the renowned personalities and prove to be a mode of motivation and inspiration for many people. Also, the filmmakers make movies from the writings or literary works. They picturized and visible aspect to these writings and at the same time spread the good literature values. It imparts the knowledge and understanding of different cultures, traditions and lives of the people from the past, present and the expected future. The movies are an amazing mode to learn about the history, civilization, practices, religions, evolution, issues and methods of the society.

NEGATIVE IMPACT OF THE CINEMA

However, every coin has two faces. The negativity is complementary to the positivity, the Indian cinema is marked by certain setbacks and flaws that can adversely affect the Indian Society as a whole. Given below are certain negative effects of the cinema:

• In an attempt to expose the bitter reality, the Indian cinema has increasingly involving itself in the promotion of violence, nudity, racial discrimination, injustice, inequality, etc. The action films often involve violence at a large extent and influence the young minds in a negative and insensitive manner.
• The highlight of the stereotype religious practices, conventional ideologies, gender roles, etc. creates a tension among the members of the same society. At times, certain scenes can be abusive against a particular group or community in the society. Thus, it infringes their basic rights and also hurt their sentiments.
• Commercialization of the cinema has led to the loss of values and informativity. The Indian cinema is looked upon as a mode of profit by the filmmakers as well as the artists, thus, they are making no attempts to increase the extent of the content and are concerned only to the profitability.

Thus, there is a need to govern the activities of the cinema and review the movies made by them so that the basic purpose of the films is fulfilled. The audience should choose their content wisely and select the films that can brings positivity and knowledge in their lives rather than disturbance and negativity.