Indian cinema

Indian cinema is undoubtedly dominated by the regional film industries. With the diverse nature of this nation, regional language films have a tremendous influence on the mindset of Indian population. Let it be Telugu films, Tamil films, Kannada films, Malayalam films, Marati films etc… Though each of the South Indian states had its own film industry, it is being noticed that movies are being made in more Indian languages – Bhojpuri being one of them. These regional language films are so influential that even the ultimate super star of Indian cinema, Amitabh Bachan had to act in few of these regional language movies.

It is also a known fact that the super stars emerging from these regional cinemas had a great impact of the mindset of the Indian people. Let it be MG Ramachandran, NT Rama Rao, Raj Kumar, Rajanikant, Chiranjeevi, Mohan Lal all had a great influence not just in their respective states but on the Indian cinema as a whole. It is the popularity of these regional super stars which helped the popularity of the Indian cinema cross seven oceans.

Today, Indian cinema has audience not just in India but also in the United States of America, United Kingdom, Australia, Middle East, Far East …. literally in every part of the world. While the USA and England were always big markets for Indian cinema, more and more countries in the Europe are following Indian cinema. And it is this popularity which is forcing Indian producers organize global premier shows in countries like France, Italy, Germany – the nations which had nothing to do with the Indian cinema in the past.

It is a known fact that Rajanikant is hugely popular and has a great fan following in Far East nation like Japan. Rajanikant’s movies are now being dubbed not just into other Indian languages but international languages like Japanese. It is his popularity which created the biggest hit of 2010 ‘Robo’ – had it been another actor, the movie would have never become such a success. Another important point to be noted here is the fact that the music launch of ‘Robo’ which was produced by Kalanithi Maran of Sun Films was done in Malaysia in the presence of thousands of people. This highlights the popularity of Indian cinema and Indian film actors globally.

Another global personality produced by Indian cinema is none other than AR Rahman who bagged two Oscars in 2010 for his hugely popular numbers in ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ and is all set to increase his tally in 2011. Slumdog Millionaire itself bagged quite a few Oscar awards in February 2010. This home grown magician of music is now an international star is one of the most sought after music directors across the world. It is also a known fact that dancing superstar Michael Jackson was keen on doing a show along with AR Rahman. This shows the dominance of Indian cinema on the international arena.

Indian film technicians too are going international and Rasool Pukutty’s success at Oscars 2010 for his great work in Slumdog Millionaire is a testimony to this fact. There are many Directors like Shekhar Kapoor, Manoj Knight Shyamalan who created ripples in the West with their long lasting works. Manoj Shyamalan is also called a wiz kid by many internationally reputed film makers for his variety in film making.

From now on let’s see the kind of impact Indian cinema had on the global scenario and the impact regional cinema had on India as a whole. We will try and capture such movies which created ripples across the markets. We will see the people behind such films and the impact.