Natya Shastra
Paper: 2 Relationship Of Dance And Theatre, Study Of Rupaka And Uparupaka, Traditional Theatres Of India Module 33 Inter-Relationship Between Dance And Theatre -1 (From Natyashastra To Bollywood ) Cinema is often hailed as the 20th century medium for artistic expression. The film industry in India began with the silent film “Raja Harish Chandra” in 1913. It had an all-male cast, with even the female roles being played by men, and subtitles in English and Hindi. As its cast and crew were mostly Marathi it is also regarded as the first Marathi film. Its success greatly encouraged the fledgling industry, and many films were produced after this but it was only in 1931, that “Alam Ara/आऱम आरा” was made, the first talkie. There are believed to be several influences on Indian cinema, of which one major influence was the epics of the Ramayana and Mahabharata. The side story, back story, and story within a story are all techniques one finds in the telling of the epics which perfectly suit global cinema and which Indian cinema has also extensively adopted. Some of the most powerful renderings of the epics can be found in folk theatres of India that use song, dance, music, and humour to get its message across. The influence of Parsi theatre, with the elements of song, dance, flamboyant dialogue and humour, even of the crude variety, blended in a mix of fantasy and realism to create a narrative and a spectacle, largely dependent on the twist of deus ex machine, was the direct 1 ancestor of Indian films.
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