Hindi Cinema:

A moveable feast                                                            
                                     
                                 

        by
Maithili Rao

Rewind time to the early 1900's . A small tent beneath a starry sky, a folding screen, a hand-cranked projector, some rusty cans of film…..and a mesmerised audience. Watching the first moving image slowly unfold. Sheer magic. That was the 'Bioscope' , the silent cinema, black and white footage travelling through dirt-road towns and growing-up cities; for music, they hired the local band.

It was the beginning of the great escape. Today, almost a hundred years later, the magic continues….with minor variations. The lights go out, a hush descends in the auditorium to the strains of music from overloaded speakers….or a state-of-the-art Dolby system. Yet another Hindi film unfolds and the audience surrenders once again. To a story told a million times!