SATYAjiT RAY

A master storyteller, Satyajit Ray belongs to the highest echelons of world cinema. Regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Ray mastered the craft of storytelling through simple yet emotive narration. Despite being made in a vernacular language, Satyajit Ray's films appeal to a universal audience with their subtle depictions of the spectrum of human emotions and relationships.

Pather Panchali, Ray's debut film, remains a landmark in his illustrious career. It is considered as one of the classics in neorealist cinema. The film is notable for the way the most mundane of occurrences have been imaginatively captured through the eyes of child protagonist Apu. Aparajito and Apur Sansar, the other two films of Apu trilogy, also received rave reviews from critics and viewers alike. 

Satyajit Ray is also known for his contributions to Bengali literature. Detective Feluda and Professor Shanku are two of his popular literary creations.

Apu Trilogy
Apu trilogy refers to the three films by Satyajit Ray that revolved around the central protagonist Apu, a young kid in the Bengal hinterland. Pather Panchali, the first film of the trilogy, was based on a novel of the same name by Bibhutibhusan Bandopadhyay

Awards
Satyajit Ray was no alien to awards. Ray's virtuosity in the art of filmmaking fetched him awards and laurels aplenty. From Pather Panchali to Charulata, all his masterpieces bagged honors in prestigious film festivals. 

Life of Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray was born on May 2, 1921 in Calcutta into a Bengali family of a distinguished cultural lineage. After graduating from the famous Presidency College of Calcutta, Ray enrolled in the Visva-Bharati University founded by noted poet Rabindranath Tagore.

Literary Works
Apart from being a master filmmaker, Satyajit Ray was also a versatile litterateur known for his eloquent verse. Literature was another avenue for the expression of his creative talents. Be it detective fictions or film anthology, Ray's literary works bore the hallmark of the powerful pen he wielded.
Source: http://www.thecolorsofindia.com/

DADA SAHEB PHALKE

The moniker, 'Father of Indian Cinema,' is a befitting tribute to Dadasaheb Phalke whose pioneering efforts laid the foundation of Indian cinema. Despite heavy odds and scathing criticisms, Phalke went ahead with his endeavors and made people realize the cultural and financial worth of the film medium. As more and more entrepreneurs took to film-making, films became an integral part of mainstream entertainment. 

Now as the Bollywood juggernaut rolls on to every nook and corner of the country and even transcends the national boundaries, the film fraternity is reaping the benefits of the seeds sown by Dadasaheb Phalke. The film industry has become an extension of the Indian culture commanding a massive fan-following all over the country. The financial stakes too are staggering with films being made with high budgets and actors drawing hefty pay packages. 

India's most prestigious film award has been named after Dadasahab Phalke to honor his path-breaking efforts in Indian cinema. 

Father of Indian Cinema
Dadasaheb Phalke is regarded as the Father of Indian Cinema. Phalke was a visionary gifted enough to foresee the awesome potential of the film medium almost a century ago. Phalke's film 'Raja Harishchandra' was not the first ever Indian film.

Life of Dadasaheb Phalke
Dadasaheb Phalke, the founding father of Indian Cinema, was born on April 30, 1870 at Trimbakeshwar near Nasik in the Maharashtra state of India. Named as Dhundiraj Govind Phalke by his Sanskrit scholar parents, Phalke developed a passion for creative arts from a young age and enrolled at the Sir J.J. School of Arts, Bombay in 1885. 

Award
The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is the most prestigious award in the realm of Indian cinema. Named after Dadasaheb Phalke, the pioneer of Indian film industry, the award is bestowed to honor distinguished contribution to the growth and promotion of the film medium.
Source: http://www.thecolorsofindia.com/

LUMIERE BROTHERS

	The Lumière brothers, Auguste and Louis, were sons of well known Lyons based portrait painter Antoine Lumière. They were both technically minded and excelled in science subjects and were sent to Technical School. Antoine, noting the financial rewards of new photographic processes, abandoned his art and set up a business manufacturing and supplying photographic equipment. Joining him in this venture was Louis who began experimenting with the photographic equipment his father was manufacturing. During his experimentation, Louis discovered a process which assisted the development of photography. Louis developed a new 'dry plate' process in 1881 at the age of seventeen, it became known as the 'Etiquette Bleue' process and gave his father’s business a welcome boost, and a factory was built soon after to manufacture the plates in the Monplaisir quarter of the Lyons Suburbs. By 1894 the Lumières were producing around 15,000,000 plates a year. Antoine, by now a successful and well known businessman, was invited to a demonstration of Edison’s Peephole Kinetoscope in Paris. He was excited by what he saw and returned to Lyons. He presented his son Louis with a piece of Kinetoscope film, given to him by one of Edison’s concessionaires and said, "This is what you have to make, because Edison sells this at crazy prices and the concessionaires are trying to make films here in France to have them cheaper". The brothers worked through the Winter of 1894, Auguste making the first experiments. Their aim was to overcome the limitations and problems, as they saw them, of Edison’s peephole Kinetoscope. They identified two main problems with Edison’s device: firstly its bulk - the Kinetograph - the camera, was a colossal piece of machinery and its weight and size resigned it to the studio. Secondly - the nature of the kinetoscope - the viewer, meant that only one person could experience the films at a time. By early 1895, the brothers had invented their own device combining camera with printer and projector and called it the Cinématographe. Patenting it on February 13th 1895, the Cinématographe was much smaller than Edison’s Kinetograph, was lightweight (around five kilograms), and was hand cranked. The Lumières used a film speed of 16 frames per second, much slower compared with Edison’s 48 fps - this meant that less film was used an also the clatter and grinding associated with Edison’s device was reduced. Perhaps most important was Louis’s decision to incorporate the principle of intermittent movement using a device similar to that found in sewing machines. This was something Edison had rejected as he struggled to perfect projection using continuous movement. The brothers kept their new invention a closely guarded secret with Auguste organising private screenings to invited guest only. The first of such screenings occurred on 22nd March 1895 at 44 Rue de Rennes in Paris at an industrial meeting where a film especially for the occasion, Workers leaving the Lumière factory, was shown. Unlike Edison, the Lumière Brothers were quick to patent the Cinématographe outside of their native France, applying for an English Patent on April 18th 1895. The brothers continued to show their invention privately, again on June 10th to photographers in Lyon. Such screenings generated much discussion and widespread excitement surrounding this new technology - in preparation for their first public screening on 28th December at the Grand Cafe on Paris’s Boulevard de Capuchines. The programme of films on show that day was as follows: La Sortie de usines Lumière (1894) La Voltige (1895) La Peche aux poissons rouges (1895) La Debarquement du congres de photographie a Lyons (1895) Les Forgerons (1895) L’ Arroseur arrose (1895) Repas de bebe (1895) Place des Cordeliers a Lyon (1895) La Mer (1895) Louis photographed the world around him and some of his first films were 'actuality' films, like the workers leaving the factory. The brothers began to open theatres to show their films (which became known as cinemas). In the first four months of 1896 they had opened Cinématographe theatres in London, Brussels, Belgium and New York. Their catalogues grew from 358 titles in 1897 to 1000 in 1898 to 2113 in 1903; although out of the 2113 titles in the 1903 catalogue, less than 50 were the brothers. The rest were taken by other operators like Promio, Doublier and Mesguich. In 1900 the brothers projected a film on a huge 99 x 79 foot screen at the Paris Exposition, after which they decided to curtail their film exhibitions and devote their time to the manufacture and sale of their inventions. In 1907 they produced the first practical colour photography process, the Autochrome Plate. Antoine, after the initial cinematic explosion, returned to his art and continued to paint until his death in 1895. Source : http://www.earlycinema.com/

CURRENT STATE OF CINEMA...

Cinema has been changed, it's no more a strongest  medium of mass communication. Cinema has turned into a money making process, a business. Today, films are being made just for earning profits for which, film makers are making fool of audience and also have ruined the meaning of cinema. Below, two links have been mentioned for the brief explanation of current state of cinema.

Joseph McBride speaks on the current state of cinema: Click Here

Steven Soderbergh speaks on the current state of cinema: Click Here

HISTORY OF CINEMA...

Cinema was pioneered in late 19 century by lumiere brothers. A short video has been attached to explain the history of CINEMA.

Click here: HISTORY OF CINEMA

What CINEMA is..???

Theatre, some call it cinema hall, some call it entertainment zone, some call it time pass, some even call it a place to kiss your girlfriend as its all dark there. But, what it should be called...? I think a place to express, share etc. the feelings, ideas, believes, reality etc. of an individual, group, place etc. Exactly, it's the definition of communication, and it suits here best as cinema is a form communication, mass communication and theatre is a place to show the cinema.

Cinema plays a very imp role in the process of mass communication, when one wants to disseminate a message to mass, cinema can taken as a medium. It is a very strong medium of conveying message as it could connect one to the situation, consequences, reasons etc. I am not here to criticize or comment on anyone, but just to express what I feel, and according to me a good screen writer should good enough in inserting his outcome into the brains, hearts and souls of his/ her audience. Cinema can bring drastic change in the mentality of people if used properly, hence one should use cinema wisely and carefully to disseminate a message