Telugu Cinema

Introduction

The Cinema of Andhra Pradesh (also known as Telugu cinema or Tollywood) is a part of Indian cinema, based in Hyderabad, India. Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu is the father of Telugu Cinema. Since 1909, he was involved in many aspects of Indian cinemas history, like travelling to different regions in Asia to promote film work. In 1921, He produced Bhishma Pratigna the first silent film in the state.



Early History

In 1931, the first Telugu film with audible dialogue, Bhakta Prahlad, was produced by H.M. Reddy. Popularly known as 'talkies', films with sound quickly grew in number and fanbase. In 1934, the industry saw its first major commercial success with Lavakusa. Directed by C. Pullaiah and starring Parupalli Subbarao and Sriranjani in lead roles, the film attracted unprecedented numbers of viewers to theaters and thrust the young film industry into mainstream cultureThough it is celebration time for talkies, can we forget the efforts of pioneers like Dhundiraj Govind Phalke better known as Dadasaheb Phalke who made India's first silent film Raja Harischandra (1913) and R. G. Torney or our own Raghupathi Venkaiah, his son R.S. Prakash and C. Pulliah who made cinema popular during the silent era taking film rolls and projectors exhibiting films in nook and corner of the South? Raghupathi Venkaiah hailed as father of Telugu cinema is the first exhibitor in the South. He bought crono-megaphone, the first projector equipped to reproduce `sound' by disk system and exhibited short reels way back in 1910. He travelled all over the South and in Burma and Ceylon. Venkaiah established Star of East studios known as glass studio to produce silent films.

In 1933, East India Film Company has produced its first Indian film Sati Savithri in Telugu, Shot in Calcutta on a budget of INR 75 thousand, based on a popular stage play by Mylavaram Bala Bharathi Samajam, the film was directed by father of Telugu theater movement, C. Pullaiah, casting stage actors Vemuri Gaggaiah and Dasari Ramathilakam as Yama and Savithri, respectively. The blockbuster film has received an honorary diploma at Venice Film Festival.The first film studio in South India, Durga Cinetone was built in 1936 by Nidamarthi Surayya in Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh.

In 1938, Gudavalli Ramabrahmam, has co-produced and directed the social problem film, Mala Pilla which dealt with the crusade against untouchability, prevailing in pre-independent India. In 1939, He produced Raithu Bidda, which was banned by the British administration in the region, for depicting the uprise of the peasantry among the Zamindar's during the British raj. The film had a second release in 1948.

1940 film, Vishwa Mohini, is the first Indian film, depicting the Indian movie world. The film was directed by Y. V. Rao and scripted by Balijepalli Lakshmikanta Kavi, starring Chittor V. Nagaiah in the lead role. 1951 film Malliswari is the first Telugu film, to be screened at International film festivals like Asia Pacific Film Festival. The film had a public release with thirteen prints along with Chinese subtitles at Beijing on 14, March 1953, and a 16 mm film print was also screened in the United States. The film was directed by Bommireddy Narasimha Reddy, the first person to receive the Dada Saheb Phalke Award from South Indian film industry. He was the first Indian film personality, to receive the Padmabhushan in 1974, and the Doctor of Letters honour.

1951 film Patala Bhairavi was the first South Indian film which was showcased at the first India International Film Festival, held in Mumbai on 24 January 1952. 1956 film Tenali Ramakrishna has garnered the All India Certificate of Merit for Best Feature Film.  As per the CBFC report of 2011, the industry is placed second in India, in terms of films produced yearly. The industry holds a memorandum of understanding with Motion Picture Association of America to combat video piracy. 


World War II

The outbreak of World War II and the subsequent resource scarcity caused the British Raj to impose a limit on the use of filmstrip in 1943 to 11,000 feet, a sharp reduction from the 20,000 feet that was common till then. As a result, the number of films produced during the War was substantially lower than in previous years. Nonetheless, prior to the ban, an important shift occurred in the industry: independent studios formed, actors and actresses were signed to contracts limiting who they could work for, and films moved from social themes to folklore legends. 1942's Balanagamma typified these changes: the film featured fantasy elements of cultural lore, was produced by Gemini Studios, and its producers added a restricting clause to the lead actress' contract. By 1947, nearly all films were produced by studios with contracted actors.


The History of Telugu Cinema (Documentary)



The History of Indian Cinema (Documentary)