Golden Age of Indian cinema Apu and Durga running to catch a glimpse of a train, a famous scene of the famous Bengali film Pather Panchali[55] A dance scene from the Tamil movie Chandralekha (1948) Following Indias independence, the period from the late 1944s to the 1960s are regarded by film historians as the Golden Age of Indian cinema.[56][57][58] Some of the most critically acclaimed Indian films of all time were produced during this period. This period saw the emergence of a new Parallel Cinema movement, mainly led by Bengali cinema.[59] Early examples of films in this movement include Chetan Anands Neecha Nagar (1946),[60] Ritwik Ghataks Nagarik (1952),[61][62] and Bimal Roys Do Bigha Zameen (1953), laying the foundations for Indian neorealism[63] and the Indian New Wave.[64] Pather Panchali (1955), the first part of The Apu Trilogy (1955–1959) by Satyajit Ray, marked his entry in Indian cinema.[65] The Apu Trilogy won major prizes at all the major international film festivals and led to the Parallel Cinema movement being firmly established in Indian cinema. Its influence on world cinema can also be felt in the youthful coming-of-age dramas that have flooded art houses since the mid-fifties which owe a tremendous debt to the Apu trilogy.[66] The cinematographer Subrata Mitra, who made his debut with Satyajit Rays The Apu Trilogy, also had an important influence on cinematography across the world. One of his most important techniques was bounce lighting, to recreate the effect of daylight on sets. He pioneered the technique while filming Aparajito (1956), the second part of The Apu Trilogy.[67] Some of the experimental techniques which Satyajit Ray pioneered include photo-negative flashbacks and X-ray digressions while filming Pratidwandi (1972).[68] Rays 1967 script for a film to be called The Alien, which was eventually cancelled, is also widely believed to have been the inspiration for Steven Spielbergs E.T. (1982).[69][70][71] Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak went on to direct many more critically acclaimed art films, and they were followed by other acclaimed Indian independent filmmakers such as Mrinal Sen, Mani Kaul, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, G. Aravindan and Buddhadeb Dasgupta.[59] During the 1960s, Indira Gandhis intervention during her reign as the Information and Broadcasting Minister of India further led to production of off-beat cinematic expression being supported by the official Film Finance Corporation.[52] Commercial Hindi cinema also began thriving, with examples of acclaimed films at the time include the Guru Dutt films Pyaasa (1957) and Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959) and the Raj Kapoor films Awaara (1951) and Shree 420 (1955). These films expressed social themes mainly dealing with working-class urban life in India; Awaara presented the city as both a nightmare and a dream, while Pyaasa critiqued the unreality of city life.[59] Some epic films were also produced at the time, including Mehboob Khans Mother India (1957), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film,[72] and K. Asifs Mughal-e-Azam (1960).[73] V. Shantarams Do Aankhen Barah Haath (1957) is believed to have inspired the Hollywood film The Dirty Dozen (1967).[74] Madhumati (1958), directed by Bimal Roy and written by Ritwik Ghatak, popularised the theme of reincarnation in Western popular culture.[75] Other mainstream Hindi filmmakers at the time included Kamal Amrohi and Vijay Bhatt. Ever since Chetan Anands social realist film Neecha Nagar won the Grand Prize at the first Cannes Film Festival,[60] Indian films were frequently in competition for the Palme dOr at the Cannes Film Festival for nearly every year in the 1950s and early 1960s, with a number of them winning major prizes at the festival. Satyajit Ray also won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival for Aparajito (1956), the second part of The Apu Trilogy, and the Golden Bear and two Silver Bears for Best Director at the Berlin International Film Festival.[76] Rays contemporaries, Ritwik Ghatak and Guru Dutt, were overlooked in their own lifetimes but had belatedly generated international recognition much later in the 1980s and 1990s.[76][77] Ray is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema,[78] with Dutt[79] and Ghatak.[80] In 1992, the Sight & Sound Critics Poll ranked Ray at No. 7 in its list of Top 10 Directors of all time,[81] while Dutt was ranked No. 73 in the 2002 Sight & Sound greatest directors poll.[79] A number of Indian films from different regions, from this era are often included among the greatest films of all time in various critics and directors polls. At this juncture, Telugu cinema and Tamil cinema experienced their respective golden age and during this time the production of Indian folklore, fantasy and mythological films like Mayabazar, listed by IBN Lives 2013 Poll as the greatest Indian film of all time,[82] and Narthanasala grew up. A number of Satyajit Ray films appeared in the Sight & Sound Critics Poll, including The Apu Trilogy (ranked No. 4 in 1992 if votes are combined),[83] The Music Room (ranked No. 27 in 1992), Charulata (ranked No. 41 in 1992)[84] and Days and Nights in the Forest (ranked No. 81 in 1982).[85] The 2002 Sight & Sound critics and directors poll also included the Guru Dutt films Pyaasa and Kaagaz Ke Phool (both tied at #160), the Ritwik Ghatak films Meghe Dhaka Tara (ranked #231) and Komal Gandhar (ranked #346), and Raj Kapoors Awaara, Vijay Bhatts Baiju Bawra, Mehboob Khans Mother India and K. Asifs Mughal-e-Azam all tied at #346.[86] In 1998, the critics poll conducted by the Asian film magazine Cinemaya included The Apu Trilogy (ranked No. 1 if votes are combined), Rays Charulata and The Music Room (both tied at #11), and Ghataks Subarnarekha (also tied at #11).[80] In 1999, The Village Voice top 250 Best Film of the Century critics poll also included The Apu Trilogy (ranked No. 5 if votes are combined).[87] In 2005, The Apu Trilogy and Pyaasa were also featured in Time magazines All-TIME 100 best movies list.[88]
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