According to Nasreen Munni Kabir, a cinema scholar, this is a moment of great churning in Indian films. Films such as Kahaani and Vicky Donor prove that people are ready to accept different kinds of films which are observant about characters and life.These are presented in a humorous way.

According to Nasreen, popular cinema is repetitive —  the hero and heroine with 65 dancers behind them. It gets tedious, as it does not convey anything. It strives to entertain. After a while, one cannot tell  one scene from the other. There is space for this kind of cinema, but it should not be the only kind of cinema that is produced.

The 200-crore club, formerly pegged at 100-crore and likely to go up to 300-crore, indicates commercial success, but it does not indicate good cinema necessarily. The audience is willing to see other kinds of movies.

However, Indian cinema has developed a narrative which is so strong and so connected to the audience that it has survived Hollywood. There is no other cinema that has succeeded in surviving Hollywood, not even the French.

Amitabh Chakraborty’s Bengali movie Cosmic Sex was premiered at Osian’s-Cinefan festival in Delhi in August, 2012. It had an uncensored sexual intercourse in an Indian film. Rii, the leading actress, who had given an uninhibited performance, was present. She took the questions from the audience. The idea of the movie was to achieve spiritual equilibrium through sex. Rii is the common link between a set of films defying conventional rules and decorum. She featured in Bishh, Gandu and Tasher Desh. Except Bishh which had a theatrical release, the other films were restricted to special screenings and festivals. Cosmic Sex is Chakraborty’s second movie in 23 years after his experimental debut Kaal Abhirati. The budget of Cosmic Sex is a meagre Rs 80 lac. Tasher Desh has been made by Q or Kaushik Mukherjee, who is Rii’s partner in life.She is officially Rituparna Sengupta.

A filmmaker can make a film without a screenplay. He needs just film, a camera and money to develop and print the film.Jean-Luc Godard’s some of the best films were made this way — no script at all, at the most notes scribbled on paper napkins at any cafe. The truth is that most filmmakers do not work this way. There are obvious aesthetic and commercial reasons. Before the cameras roll, they have a script in hand. Thus there is a need for writers.

A script originates as a personal idea. It could be an individual’s idea or a collaboration between writers or between a writer and a filmmaker. This team constructs the script on screen for an audience. A scriptwriter is both an artist and a technician.

Film making is akin to cooking with a number of ingredients going into it to make a savoury dish. An assistant director is like the sous-chef of the kitchen. An AD brings method to madness. It is an apprenticeship in film making.He has to see the progress of the production schedule.He arranges logistics, and prepares daily call sheets. He checks cast and crew, and maintains order on the sets. The job description varies. Some ADs are involved in pre-production and shoot. Some are involved  in the whole creative process from the idea to its release as a film. An Ad has to read the Director’s mind correctly. He has to make things happen. He has to match the director’s vision and the producer’s budget. An AD keeps running around on the set, and acts as a troubleshooter. An AD becomes the first AD, and then a full-fledged director. It is a stepping stone to direct a film one day.

Pundalik was a play presented by Shripad Natak Mandali. It was converted into a film by Dadasaheb Torane, and the film was released in Mumbai’s Coronation Theatre on 18th May, 1912. The even happened 102 years ago. Pundalik was Advocate Ramrao Kirtikar’s play, and was staged first by Pathare Prabhu Amateur Dramatic Club in 1904. The first show was witnessed by Ramchandra Gopal Torane as a spectator. He congratulated the cast and director. Thereafter, Kirtikar set up his Shripad Natak Mandali, and presented Shree Pundalik.There were many shows of the play.

India was influenced by the advent of films in 1896. Torane intended to picturise it. He contacted Hollywood people to get the technical know-how in 1909. He estimated the budget. One member of this Natak Mandali Advocate Nanasaheb Chitre secured Williamson Kinematograph movie camera of Born and Shepherd Company’s Mumbai branch.He also procured raw film and Johnson as cameraman. The cast included Torane, Tipnis and Joshi. The film was sent for processing to London by ship and the print was brought back. Whether there was a separate script for the film or the drama was captured on the film is still a matter of research. Shri Pundalik was released in Coronation Theatre, Sandhurst Road, Girgaon, Mumbai on 18th May, 1912. Dadasaheb Torane was just 22 then.

Dadasaheb Torane was from Malwan. He was born on 13th April, 1890 at Sukulwad village. He went to Karachi and learnt about electricity while on the job. He came to Mumbai and joined Greaves Cotton. He worked on Pundalik in his leisure time. He again went to Karachi. There he set up his first distribution company — Famous Pictures. He learnt about the different departments of film making.

In 1927, the first talkie Jazz Singer of Hollywood was released. Torane was fascinated by audio recording.  He set up Movie Camera Company to provide audio equipment. He  imported audiochemix from Hollywood to record sound. The same equipment was used for India’s first talkie Alam Ara of Ardeshir Irani.

He set up a production house Saraswati Cinetone in 1931. He presented Shamsundar in 1932. It was directed by Bhalji Pendharkar, and edited by Nanasaheb Sarpotdar. Shamsundar was both in Hindi and Marathi. The Marathi version completed 27 weeks at West End (present day Naaz ) in Mumbai. It was the first talkie that completed a Silver Jubilee. It had the cast of  Shahu Modak and Shanta Apte. In those days, Prabhat’s Ayodhyacha Raja and Agnikankan too were released both in Marathi and Hindi.

Dadasaheb Torane has to his credit 20 films. He ceased his production work after 1942. His films include 5 silent films and fifteen talkies. Of these fifteen, 5 were bilingual, 7  Marathi and 3 Hindi. He had given his studio on rent, but the tenant mortgaged the studio using fake documents. He was betrayed. He, therefore, bade good bye to film industry.

The inputs have been given by Firoz Rangoonwalla and by an article obtained by Haneef Shakur for Screen from Dadasaheb Torane himself (1953 ).Paras Publications, Kolhapur has published a book on his life (2007). Shushma Yervadekar has contributed an article on him to Rangdeep, 2007. She got some inputs from Anil Ramchandra Torane, son of Dadasaheb Torane.

Advocate Ramrao Kirtikar’s contribution must be recorded. Pundalik as a play was conceived by him — the costumes, script, direction, stage arrangement, entry and exits. Pundalik as a film owes a lot to Kirtikar.

Alam Ara, India’s first talkie, was premiered in march 1931 at the Majestic Cinema, JBS Road, Girgaon, Mumbai. It has been closed for more than four decades now. It has been replaced with a grey, 12 storey commercial building. Majestic was  built in the late 1920s by Ardeshir Irani who produced and directed Alam Ara. The threatre was equipped with special sound equipmen1 to screen a talkie. Basant ( 1942 ) ran for record 50 weeks at Majestic.It featured Madhubala as a child star. On Sundays, Majestic screened. Hollywood classics. The theatre shut in the 1960s. Anmol Ghadi ( 1946 ) musical was screened here.