the same time and again and again. Further accompanied by live musicians and Film and Print Media the cinema could be shot over a period of sometimes by commentary by the 22 projectionist. It was only after several CHAPTER time and mixing and editing of the footage can give an entirely new effect. The plays technical developments that the films had sound and were known as ‘talkies’ written by George Bernard Shaw and Latha went to her great as they could talk. Ask your parents about the plays Shakespeare were visualised with camera grandfather’s town in summer holidays. during their childhood. In Telugu the first mooki was ‘Bhishma She wanted to see the latest film with and exhibited on the screen as a film. her great grandfather Rangaiah. Since What changes have occurred in Similarly, popular plays in Telugu like Vara Pratigna’ . The first talkie movie was Rangaiah was not well they talked about drama over the period? Vikrayam , Satya Harishchandra , ‘Bhakta Prahalada’ released in 1931, his childhood days. Latha was surprised Kanyashulkam were made into films. The produced by H. M. Reddy. to know that there were no films in her stage artistes made a beeline to the studios Make a mime presentation of five grandfather’s childhood. There were for a chance in films. The popularity of minutes and a play for five minutes. plays and folk artistes performing plays has decreased significantly while the Compare the ease of performance, various arts like Harikatha , films have gained prominence. However, the themes that can be presented and Burrakhatha and Tholubommalata . The several film artistes who became famous the communication to the audience. plays were both Padya natakam, continue to work for the theatre like famous for rendering poems with Gollapudi Maruti Rao, Naseeruddin Shah. The first lengthy ragas, and Gadya natakam . Talkie movie in Rangaiah recalled vividly the experience Hindi ‘Alam Ara’ Fig 22.1: of watching, they play Satya was released in Camera (above), Harishchandra and waking until dawn. 1931. This was Projector (below) The other plays he recalled were made by ‘Bhuvana Vijayam’, ‘Kanyashulkam’ , Ardesher Irani. ‘Bobbili Yudham’, ‘Vara Vikrayam’. Latha The father of has acted in a play that they put up for Telugu film their school anniversary and also saw a industry is stage performance. But she was surprised to know that at one time they Raghupathi Fig 22.2: Photograph of a scene from Venkaiah. He was Fig 22.3: Poster of were the major form of entertainment. Alam Ara Shakespeare’s play born in Bandar Birth of Cinema What are differences in a stage play The birth of cinema in can be attributed and settled in to Lumiere brother’s first public show at Watson and a film? Make a comparative table. Evolution of cinema Madras as a still Hotel in Mumbai on July 7, 1896. In 1887 William With the help of your teacher discuss photographer. He While drama is to be Friese-Green of England invented camera capable the changes in the livelihood built a cinema performed live with all the of taking upto ten photographs per second using opportunities from play to films. studio named instruments for music, perforated celluloid film (Fig 22.1). In 1895 ‘Gaity’ in Madras. development of technology has Latha was surprised to know that Woodwill Latham invented cinema projector As the owner of helped in shooting of a play and initially the cinema did not have sound capable of exhibiting lengthy film reels without Cinema Studios projecting it at several places at and that the projection was to be Raghupathi Venkaiah break. and theatres and

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the producer of time allocated by a channel to various also dubbed into Hindi and many October, 1940 in his fight with the Nizam cinemas, he themes like religion, News, films, regional languages. government at Babe Jhari. rendered his serials, etc. Share your findings with Several films on national movement There are several other films in valuable services other teams in the class. were made later. In Telugu, ‘Alluri Telugu which are on national movement to Telugu Seetharamaraju’ and ‘Komaram Bheem’ are Cinema and freedom movement or have a part of the story focusing on it. industry. Hence , films related to the struggles of the tribal Similarly there are several songs on Government of Rangaiah is visibly excited even now Fig 22.4: Nandi Award people. patriotism and national movement. when he talks about the films Mala Pilla and Ryhtu Bidda released in 1938 and The British passed the Forest Act in Suddenly Rangaiah started singing awards . Raghupathi Venkaiah award every 1939. Mala Pilla is about untouchability 1882 and were denying the tribals free the song ‘ Vedalipo Tella Dora Vedalipo… ’ year along with to people for and about entry of dalits into the movement in the forest and Podu (‘Go away white ruler, go away…’) from their contributions to Telugu film industry. temple. The protagonist is cultivation. Raju led the tribals in the film ‘ Mana Desam ’ made in 1949. Cinema - form of entertainment Chowdarayya, a Gandhian, who protesting against the British harassment Latha sang ‘ Bhale taata mana Bapuji… ’, Before the cinema there were various preaches to the upper caste to mend and raided several police stations, popular which is regularly played in her school forms of entertainment like folk art forms, their ways and exhorts the dalits to give as Rampa Rebellion of 1922. They fought on Gandhi Jayanthi and other national folk dances, classical dances, music, up drinking and get educated. The the British both with their traditional celebrations. She was surprised to know dramas etc. But gradually cinema became priest’s son falls in love with a dalit girl. weapons and arms captured during the from her grandfather that this song was the major form of entertainment. The songs The priest’s wife caught in a fire is saved raids. The British deployed a company of from the film ‘ Donga Ramudu ’ released from films have a popularity of their own. by a dalit, and that is when the priest Assam Rifles under Rutherford and in 1955. realises that there should be no Earlier radio and now T V broadcast these ultimately killed Raju and all the tribal untouchability. The dalits are given List at least two more films which songs independent of the movie. The actors leaders including Ghantam Dora. The film entry into the temple and the marriage tell about the freedom struggle. have a following in the public and fan clubs apart from being a big commercial success of the priest’s son and the dalit girl is have emerged. Popular dialogues from Collect patriotic songs from the blessed. won the National Best Lyric award for the films have become part of daily life. The Telugu movies. Rythu Bidda is about the Zamindari song ‘Telugu Veera Levara’ by Srirangam style and dresses of the actors and system, which shows the plight of the Srinivasarao, popularly known as Sri Sri. Influence of film on the society actresses are imitated by the people. With toiling farmers. A farmer who takes a ‘Komaram Bheem’ was made into a While the society influences the art, the advent of television, one need not go loan from the zamindar votes for the feature film and was released in July 2010, and hence films, it is also true that the films to a theatre to watch a movie. There are peasant party in elections. For this he after more than 20 years of its making. influence the society. Hair and dress styles dedicated channels and time slots for is harassed and put to difficulties. The Mukumdamgari Bhupal Reddy played the follow the latest popular films. Dialogues, telecasting films, songs, news about film zamindar’s son is kidnapped by his own lead role. The film director Allani Sridhar songs and mannerisms are also copied and industry etc. brother, which brings a change of heart received the Best First Film of Director. mimicked. The fan following is the highest in the zamindar. In the true Gandhian The film also received Best Feature Film and most organised for various heroes and Make a list of sources of thinking of Trusteeship he gives away on National Integration and several state heroines and there are several fan entertainment in your village or town. his lands to the tillers of the land. level Nandi awards. Komaram Bheem is a organisations. No other professionals nor How will you assess their popularity? Latha told Rangaiah that their Gond tribal from Adilabad. Though sports persons have such a fan following. What changes are occurring over school screened the film ‘Gandhi’. illiterate, he fought against the exploitation time? Rangaiah informed her that this film Form two groups and have a debate of the tribals by the Nizam government. He was made in 1982 by Richard on pros and cons of fan clubs. Select some popular TV channels. took up both legal battles and armed Attenborough in English. What she saw Films can influence opinions and ideas Form a team of 4 to 5 children. Each struggles. Bheem was killed on 27 th team should assess the proportion of was the dubbed film in Telugu. This was of people in the society. There are several

Free distribution by A.P. Government 241 242 Culture and Communication Film and Print Media films in Telugu depicting patriotism, Hyderabad with the encouragement from magazines which are published daily, ‘Krishna Patrika ’. It was edited by people’s struggles for land, real life heroes the government. The production of each weekly, fortnightly, monthly intervals. Mutnuri Krishna Rao. who have braved many challenges, fought film costs anywhere between Rs. 5 to 35 There are journals for various Technological revolution has crores. There are more than 2000 theatres against corruption etc. While this is so, purposes. Collect a cover page of old modernised the print media. For a long there are several bad influences of films. in the state. The film industry employs time, newspapers were produced by hand issues of various magazines available Women are shown in poor light in most of thousands of people directly in production composing. Later, these were replaced by in your village/ town and classify the films, which strengthens the gender and indirectly in exhibition. monotype and linotype. In this process, a them according to the subject. Are discrimination in the society. Smoking and machine operated by a keyboard was used Print Media there any other ways of classifying drinking are often depicted in the films to compose letters. This has also become which influence the young impressionable In the earlier classes you have learnt these journals? obsolete now and type setting computers, minds as acts of adults and heroism. Many about some great texts. Initially people Print media includes daily newspapers, offset and laser printing have taken over. In films are depicting more violence and are wrote on various materials like palm leaves, weeklies, monthlies and other forms of earlier days, newspapers were printed only vulgar. Juveniles caught in acts of bark and cloth. With the introduction of printed journals. The contribution of print in black and white. But now almost all the th robberies and violence have said that they paper production in the 11 century and the media in providing information and newspapers are printed in colour. printing machine by Gutenberg in the mid got the idea after seeing such and such a knowledge is remarkable. Even after the The newspapers give information about 15 th century things have changed. Earlier film. Children exposed to too much of advent of electronic media, the print media current affairs/ politics at various levels, reading and writing was limited to the elite violence can either become immune to had not lost its importance. business, sports, films etc. few. Printing has played a role in spreading violence or violent themselves. The newspapers play a very literacy to the masses. Bring to the classroom various On the other hand there are also films important role in our daily life. Many newspapers available in your area. made about social or political events Apart from making copies of various researchers consider “The Peking Form as many teams. Now analyse happening in society. These are called texts easily available, printing has Gazette”, published from China, as the the papers for the way the news is documentary films. introduced the culture of newspapers and first newspaper. It was started in the year organised. Analyse the latest movie that you saw 618. In the initial stages, this newspaper Collect one week issues of the above for its content and influence on was handwritten. Later it was printed newspapers. In the above teams make children like you. and circulated. The first news paper in the modern concept was published at a list of special features and the days Make a list of movies that various Oxford in London in 1655. It was the on which they appear and present it students in the class have seen during ‘Oxford Gazette’. In USA, the first to the class. Give your reasons why the month. Rank them on a scale of newspaper was “Public Occurrences” such features are published by the 0 to 5 for violence; where 5 is for which was launched in 1690. It was from newspaper. films with no violence and 0 for films Calcutta the first newspaper was Role of Newspapers in Cultural with repulsive violence. published in India in 1780. It’s name Awakening and Freedom Movement Film as an industry was ‘Bengal Gazette’. It has another title During the British period, Social ‘Calcutta Advertiser’. The Indian The Telugu film industry has a record reformers began actively campaigning for Gazette, the Calcutta Gazette, Bengal of number of films produced in a year – radical changes in the society. The Journals, India’s second, third, Fourth averaging about 200, which includes reformation of Hinduism, the move for newspapers also started from Calcutta. dubbed films. The film industry which was abolition of ‘ Sati ’ and efforts to encourage The first newspaper in Telugu was initially located in shifted to widow re-marriage were some of the

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major reforms. Inspired by these great consciousness among Indians. You have leaders, many newspapers were started in already read in brief about the Krishna different parts of the country. Patrika edited by Mutnuri Krishna Rao in Many freedom fighters of Indian an earlier chapter. Independence were the editors of Mahatma Gandhi wrote profusely. He newspapers. Amrit Bazar Patrika (started took over the ‘Young India’ in 1918 and in 1868) was edited by Sisir Kumar Ghosh, started another journal ‘Navjeevan’ in Bengalee (started in 1833) was edited by Gujarati. He wrote extensively in ‘Harijan’ Surendranadh Banerjee, ‘’ under the editorship of Mahadev Desai. (started in 1878) was edited by G. Subramaniya Iyer, ‘Kesari’ (started in Key words 1881) was edited by Balagangadhara Tilak. 1. Projector 2. Commentary The editors expressed their views through 3. Compose 4. Gazette these newspapers. These papers played a 6. Publish prominent role in arousing national

Improve your learning

1. Write any three differences between drama and film. 2. Do you think any story or poem in your language textbook could be made into a small film? Can you think of various people you will need in making a film based on that? 3. Some people argue “Cinema is a powerful tool to transform the society” others argue “It has a negative impact”. Whom do you agree with and why? 4. What were the major themes discussed in early films? How is it similar or different from the films you have seen? 5. How did newspapers play a major role in freedom movement? 6. Collect the newspaper clippings that depict latest issues.

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