English-language Indian films: Difference between revisions

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{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2013}}
{{Short description|English-language film industry in India}}
 
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}}
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'''English-language Indian films''' go back to the silent days. After the coming of sound, feature films in English almost disappeared. They reappeared in the 1980s, and have become increasingly common of late.
'''English-language Indian films''' date back to the [[silent film]] era. After the advent of [[Sound film|sound]], feature films in English almost disappeared.
[[File:India film clapperboard (variant).svg|thumb|upright]]


==The Silent Era==
== History ==
In the 1920s, films directed by [[Franz Osten]] and [[Himansu Rai]], including [[The Light of Asia]] and [[A Throw of Dice]], could be considered as English-language films because the titles were in English. With the coming of sound, directors such as Osten and Rai chose Hindi as the language, thus effectively bringing to a close this phase of English-language films made in India.


==Crossover films==
===Silent era===
In the 1920s, films directed by [[Franz Osten]] and [[Himansu Rai]], including ''[[The Light of Asia (film)|The Light of Asia]]'' and ''[[A Throw of Dice]]'', could be considered English-language films because the intertitles were in English. With the advent of sound, directors such as Osten and Rai chose Hindi as the language, thus effectively bringing to a close this phase of English-language films made in India.


An attempt to make English talkies in India named [[Karma (1933 film)|Karma]] failed domestically in 1933.
===Crossover films===


Indian crossover films appeared in [[Indian cinema]] with international productions with Indian themes, starting with [[Merchant Ivory Productions]]' first venture, ''[[The Householder]]'' (1963), which has an India story, setting with an Indian cast, which included, [[Shashi Kapoor]], [[Leela Naidu]] and [[Durga Khote]], followed by a number of India-themed films largely propelled by Indian-born producer, [[Ismail Merchant]]. However it took a while before an Indian director would commercially take up making films in the English language.
An attempt to make English talkies in India named [[Karma (1933 film)|''Karma'']] failed domestically in 1933.


==Indian productions==
Indian crossover films appeared in [[Indian cinema]] with international productions with Indian themes, starting with [[Merchant Ivory Productions]]' first venture, ''[[The Householder]]'' (1963), which has an India story, setting with an Indian cast, and included [[Shashi Kapoor]], [[Leela Naidu]], and [[Durga Khote]]. This was followed by a number of India-themed films largely propelled by Indian-born producer, [[Ismail Merchant]]. However, it took a while before an Indian director would commercially take up making films in the English language.
 
===Indian productions===
The first such film came at the peak of the [[Parallel cinema]] movement, when [[Aparna Sen]] directed ''[[36 Chowringhee Lane]]'' (1981) to critical acclaim. Its lead actress, [[Jennifer Kendal]] was even nominated for a [[BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role|BAFTA Award]]. The genre was able to stand on its own with [[Dev Benegal]]'s ''[[English, August (film)|English, August]]'' (1994) which was widely accepted by urban audiences and became its first hit, drawing an audience of 20 million.<ref name=guar/>
The first such film came at the peak of the [[Parallel cinema]] movement, when [[Aparna Sen]] directed ''[[36 Chowringhee Lane]]'' (1981) to critical acclaim. Its lead actress, [[Jennifer Kendal]] was even nominated for a [[BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role|BAFTA Award]]. The genre was able to stand on its own with [[Dev Benegal]]'s ''[[English, August (film)|English, August]]'' (1994) which was widely accepted by urban audiences and became its first hit, drawing an audience of 20 million.<ref name=guar/>


This paved the way for other directors to look at using English language as a viable medium, like [[Nagesh Kukunoor]] who made ''[[Hyderabad Blues]]'' (1998), Kaizad Gustad, ''[[Bombay Boys]]'' (1998) and more recently ''[[Being Cyrus]]'' (2006) by [[Homi Adajania]], and [[Rituporno Ghosh]] whose ''[[The Last Lear]]'' (2008), starring [[Amitabh Bachchan]] as the lead, won the Best English Feature Award at [[National Film Award (India)|National Film Award]].<ref name=guar>[https://www.theguardian.com/education/2008/oct/17/bollywood-english English is recast in Indian films] [[The Guardian]], 24 October 2008.</ref><ref>[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/18767508.cms Move over Bollywood, Indian films in English are here] IANS, [[The Times of India]], 11 August 2002.</ref> Meanwhile, film directors of Indian descent, such as [[Mira Nair]], [[Deepa Mehta]] and [[Gurinder Chadha]], continued to make English-language films on Indian themes to international acclaim; this has opened up the genre further both creatively and commercially.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=dLb33fhgsjcC&pg=PA196&dq=English+language+Indian+films&as_brr=0#v=onepage&q=English%20language%20Indian%20films&f=false New Wave Cinema] ''Beyond Bollywood: the cultural politics of South Asian diasporic film'' by Jigna Desai. Routledge, 2004. {{ISBN|0-415-96684-1}}. ''195-6''.</ref>
This paved the way for other directors to look at using English language as a viable medium, like [[Nagesh Kukunoor]] who made ''[[Hyderabad Blues]]'' (1998); [[Kaizad Gustad]], ''[[Bombay Boys]]'' (1998); [[Homi Adajania]], ''[[Being Cyrus]]'' (2006); and [[Rituporno Ghosh]], whose ''[[The Last Lear]]'' (2008), starring [[Amitabh Bachchan]] as the lead, won the Best English Feature Award at [[National Film Award (India)|National Film Award]].<ref name=guar>[https://www.theguardian.com/education/2008/oct/17/bollywood-english English is recast in Indian films] [[The Guardian]], 24 October 2008.</ref><ref>[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/18767508.cms Move over Bollywood, Indian films in English are here] IANS, [[The Times of India]], 11 August 2002.</ref>
 
In the 2000s, Aparna Sen visited the genre again, and made two successive English features in ''[[Mr. and Mrs. Iyer]]''  (2002) and ''[[15, Park Avenue]]'' (2005), which won a string of [[National Film Award (India)|National Film Award]]s.


In 2000s, [[Aparna Sen]] visited the genre again, and made two successive English features in ''[[Mr. and Mrs. Iyer]]'' (2002) and ''[[15, Park Avenue]]'' (2005), which won a string of [[National Film Award (India)|National Film Award]]s.
Meanwhile, film directors of Indian descent, such as [[Mira Nair]], [[Deepa Mehta]], and [[Gurinder Chadha]], continued to make English-language films on Indian themes to international acclaim. This further opened up the genre, both creatively and commercially.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=dLb33fhgsjcC&dq=English+language+Indian+films&pg=PA196 New Wave Cinema] ''Beyond Bollywood: the cultural politics of South Asian diasporic film'' by Jigna Desai. Routledge, 2004. {{ISBN|0-415-96684-1}}. ''195-6''.</ref>


==List of films (partial)==
==List of films (partial)==
Line 26: Line 31:
! scope="col"|Year
! scope="col"|Year
! scope="col"|Title
! scope="col"|Title
! scope="col"|Notes
|-
|-
| 1981
| 1981
| ''[[36 Chowringhee Lane]]''
| ''[[36 Chowringhee Lane]]''
| |
|-
| 1986
| ''[[On Wings of Fire]]''
|-
|-
| 1988
| 1988
| ''[[The Perfect Murder (1988 film)|The Perfect Murder]]''
| ''[[The Perfect Murder (1988 film)|The Perfect Murder]]''
| |
|-
|-
|1989
|1989
| ''[[In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones]]''
| ''[[In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones]]''
||
|-
|-
|rowspan="2" |1992
|rowspan="2" |1992
|''[[Electric Moon]]''
|''[[Electric Moon]]''
|
|-
|-
|''[[Miss Beatty's Children]]''
|''[[Miss Beatty's Children]]''
|
|-
|-
|1994
|1994
|''[[English, August (film)|English, August]]''
|''[[English, August (film)|English, August]]''
|
|-
|-
|rowspan="3" |1996
|rowspan="3" |1996
|''[[Fire (1996 film)|Fire]]''
|''[[Fire (1996 film)|Fire]]''
|
|-
|-
|''[[Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love]]''
|''[[Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love]]''
|
|-
|-
|''[[The Making of the Mahatma]]''
|''[[The Making of the Mahatma]]''
|
|-
|-
|rowspan="2" |1998
|rowspan="2" |1998
|''[[Hyderabad Blues]]''
|''[[Hyderabad Blues]]''
|
|-
|-
|''[[Bombay Boys]]''
|''[[Bombay Boys]]''
|
|-
|-
|1999
|rowspan="2"|1999
|''[[Split Wide Open]]''
|''[[Split Wide Open]]''
|
|-
|''[[Rockford (film)|Rockford]]''
|-
|-
|2000
|2000
| ''[[Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar (film)|Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar]]''
| ''[[Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar (film)|Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar]]''
|
|-
|-
|rowspan="2" |2001
|rowspan="2" |2001
|''[[American Desi]]''
|''[[American Desi]]''
|
|-
|-
|''[[Monsoon Wedding]]''
|''[[Monsoon Wedding]]''
|
|-
|-
|rowspan="3" |2002
|rowspan="4" |2002
|''[[Mitr, My Friend]]''
|''[[Mitr, My Friend]]''
|
|-
| ''[[Mr. and Mrs. Iyer]]''
|-
|-
|''[[Leela (2002 film)|Leela]]''
|''[[Leela (2002 film)|Leela]]''
|
|-
|-
|''[[Mango Soufflé]]''
|''[[Mango Soufflé]]''
|
|-
|-
|rowspan="2" |2003
|rowspan="2" |2003
|''[[Stumble]]''
|''[[Stumble (film)|Stumble]]''
|
|-
|-
|''[[Freaky Chakra (film)|Freaky Chakra]]''
|''[[Freaky Chakra (film)|Freaky Chakra]]''
|
|-
|2003
|''[[Five by Four]]''
|-
|-
|rowspan="4" |2004
|rowspan="4" |2004
|''[[Hyderabad Blues 2]]''
|''[[Hyderabad Blues 2]]''
|
|-
|-
|''White Noise''
|''White Noise''
|
|-
|-
|''[[Bride and Prejudice]]''
|''[[Bride and Prejudice]]''
|
|-
|-
|''[[Morning Raga]]''
|''[[Morning Raga]]''
|
|-
|-
|rowspan="2" |2005
|rowspan="3" |2005
| ''[[15 Park Avenue]]''
|-
|''Sins''
|''Sins''
|
|-
|-
|''[[Water (2005 film)|Water]]''
|''[[Water (2005 film)|Water]]''
|
|-
|-
|rowspan="3" |2006
|rowspan="3" |2006
|''[[Being Cyrus]]''
|''[[Being Cyrus]]''
|
|-
|-
|''[[Mixed Doubles (2006 film)|Mixed doubles]]''
|''[[Mixed Doubles (2006 film)|Mixed doubles]]''
|
|-
|-
|''[[Provoked (film)|Provoked]]''
|''[[Provoked (film)|Provoked]]''
|
|-
|-
|2007
| rowspan="2" |2007
|''[[Americanizing Shelley]]''
|''[[Americanizing Shelley]]''
|
|-
|-
|2007
|''[[Parzania]]''
|''[[Parzania]]''
|
|-
|-
|2008
|2008
|''[[Via Darjeeling]]''
|''[[Via Darjeeling]]''
|
|-
|-
|2011
|2011
|''[[Delhi Belly (film)|Delhi Belly]]''
|''[[Delhi Belly (film)|Delhi Belly]]''
|
|-
|2012
|''[[Divorce Invitation]]''
|-
|-
|2014
|2014
|''[[Finding Fanny]]''
|''[[Finding Fanny]]''
|
|-
|2015
|[[My Choice (film)|''My Choice (2015 film)'']]
|-
|-
|2016
|2016
| [[A Death in the Gunj]]
| ''[[A Death in the Gunj]]''
|
|-
|2022
|''[[Wonder Women (2022 film)|Wonder Women]]''
|}
|}


==See also==
==See also==
* [[National Film Award for Best Feature Film in English]]
* [[National Film Award for Best English Feature Film]]


==References==
==References==

Latest revision as of 11:59, 13 March 2026


English-language Indian films date back to the silent film era. After the advent of sound, feature films in English almost disappeared.

History[edit | edit source]

Silent era[edit | edit source]

In the 1920s, films directed by Franz Osten and Himansu Rai, including The Light of Asia and A Throw of Dice, could be considered English-language films because the intertitles were in English. With the advent of sound, directors such as Osten and Rai chose Hindi as the language, thus effectively bringing to a close this phase of English-language films made in India.

Crossover films[edit | edit source]

An attempt to make English talkies in India named Karma failed domestically in 1933.

Indian crossover films appeared in Indian cinema with international productions with Indian themes, starting with Merchant Ivory Productions' first venture, The Householder (1963), which has an India story, setting with an Indian cast, and included Shashi Kapoor, Leela Naidu, and Durga Khote. This was followed by a number of India-themed films largely propelled by Indian-born producer, Ismail Merchant. However, it took a while before an Indian director would commercially take up making films in the English language.

Indian productions[edit | edit source]

The first such film came at the peak of the Parallel cinema movement, when Aparna Sen directed 36 Chowringhee Lane (1981) to critical acclaim. Its lead actress, Jennifer Kendal was even nominated for a BAFTA Award. The genre was able to stand on its own with Dev Benegal's English, August (1994) which was widely accepted by urban audiences and became its first hit, drawing an audience of 20 million.[1]

This paved the way for other directors to look at using English language as a viable medium, like Nagesh Kukunoor who made Hyderabad Blues (1998); Kaizad Gustad, Bombay Boys (1998); Homi Adajania, Being Cyrus (2006); and Rituporno Ghosh, whose The Last Lear (2008), starring Amitabh Bachchan as the lead, won the Best English Feature Award at National Film Award.[1][2]

In the 2000s, Aparna Sen visited the genre again, and made two successive English features in Mr. and Mrs. Iyer (2002) and 15, Park Avenue (2005), which won a string of National Film Awards.

Meanwhile, film directors of Indian descent, such as Mira Nair, Deepa Mehta, and Gurinder Chadha, continued to make English-language films on Indian themes to international acclaim. This further opened up the genre, both creatively and commercially.[3]

List of films (partial)[edit | edit source]

Year Title
1981 36 Chowringhee Lane
1986 On Wings of Fire
1988 The Perfect Murder
1989 In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones
1992 Electric Moon
Miss Beatty's Children
1994 English, August
1996 Fire
Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love
The Making of the Mahatma
1998 Hyderabad Blues
Bombay Boys
1999 Split Wide Open
Rockford
2000 Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar
2001 American Desi
Monsoon Wedding
2002 Mitr, My Friend
Mr. and Mrs. Iyer
Leela
Mango Soufflé
2003 Stumble
Freaky Chakra
2003 Five by Four
2004 Hyderabad Blues 2
White Noise
Bride and Prejudice
Morning Raga
2005 15 Park Avenue
Sins
Water
2006 Being Cyrus
Mixed doubles
Provoked
2007 Americanizing Shelley
Parzania
2008 Via Darjeeling
2011 Delhi Belly
2012 Divorce Invitation
2014 Finding Fanny
2015 My Choice (2015 film)
2016 A Death in the Gunj
2022 Wonder Women

See also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 English is recast in Indian films The Guardian, 24 October 2008.
  2. ↑ Move over Bollywood, Indian films in English are here IANS, The Times of India, 11 August 2002.
  3. ↑ New Wave Cinema Beyond Bollywood: the cultural politics of South Asian diasporic film by Jigna Desai. Routledge, 2004. ISBN 0-415-96684-1. 195-6.
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