On the historic midnight of August 14-15, 1947, India became independent from British rule. The speech of India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, “A Trial with Destiny,” was recorded by independent filmmaker Ambles J. Patel using two cameras and sound equipment. There were no official Indian government film units or other Indian filmmakers to capture this historic moment and the ensuing nationwide celebrations.
That was 57 years ago, but today India boasts a vibrant independent documentary community. Today, Indian documentary filmmakers have carved out a niche for themselves in the non-fiction genre with their creativity and vibrant work on topics ranging from Indian art and social issues to natural history. Traditional Indian depictions of the Taj Mahal, drought and poor people have given way to films that highlight a range of social, societal, environmental and human issues facing India. Films on topics such as human rights, censorship, gender roles, public policy, individual freedom, and sexual identity are forming a new Indian documentary community.
But the tradition of documentary filmmaking in India dates back to long before independence. In 1888, Harishchandra Saharam Bhatwadekar made a short film about the wrestlers Pundalik Dada and Krishna Navi in the Hanging Gardens of Bombay. It was the first recorded documentary in India. In the 1930s, filmmakers D.G. Tendulkar, who studied film in Moscow and Germany, and K.S. Girelekar, who studied film in Germany, brought in the latest concepts of documentary filmmaking and laid the foundation for the documentary movement in India.
In April 1948, the Government of India formed the Film Department and called it “the official body of the Government of India for the production and distribution of informational films and newsreels.” It was made mandatory for all cinemas in India to show documentaries produced by the Film Department before feature films. In June 1949, the Film Department began regular distribution of newsreels and documentaries through its own distribution system. Films were dubbed into five languages-English, Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, and Telegu-and 97 films were produced in 1949-50. The Film Department soon became one of the most important sources of public information, and it tried to reach people in the remotest corners of India. Many exciting films have come out of the film department – SNS Sastry’s I Am 20, Fali Bilimoria’s The House That Ananda Built, Sukhdev’s India 1967 and Sukhdev’s Through the Eyes of a Man. by Sukhdev and Through the Eyes of an Artist by M.F. Hussain. The Film Department is today Asia’s largest producer of documentaries and short films, with countless films that have won accolades at home and abroad over the past 56 years.
In the 1950s, the private Burmah-Shell company invested in educational and sales promotion films. Canadian filmmaker James Beveridge, who worked for the National Film Board of Canada and was a protégé of John Grirson, produced and directed several Burmah-Shell films in India.
In 1978, Meeting Faces, Vinod Chopra’s documentary about Bombay street children, went all the way to Hollywood, where it was nominated for an Academy Award. The film also won 9 out of 12 awards at the Oberhausen Film Festival, and also won top prizes at festivals in Milan, Leipzig and Finland. The film won the Golden Peacock at the International Film Festival in India. The film’s technique was particularly praised: direct, unwavering conversations with children, without intercession or pity.
The advent of digital video technology has further changed the technique of documentary filmmaking in India. Traditionally, Indian documentary filmmaking had largely favored didactic social documentaries, but now filmmakers have moved toward the internationally accepted style of direct cinema, adopting its realistic aesthetic and relying on interviews while continuing to retain Grierson’s voiceover.
Until the satellite television boom in India in the early 1990s, the two national terrestrial channels of the state broadcaster Doordarshan were the only television networks in India where documentaries could be shown. The launch of the Discovery Channel in India in August 1995 and the subsequent entry of the National Geographic Channel in 1998 opened up additional opportunities for Indian filmmakers to screen their work. Discovery Channel also launched Animal Planet in India and will add a Lifestyle channel in October 2004. India’s largest television network, Zee TV, has announced plans to launch a documentary channel called Khoj within the next few months.
In addition to broadcasters, a non-profit Public Broadcasting Trust has been established to support the production of independent documentaries. The trust receives funding from the Ford Foundation and Doordarshan. According to Rajiv Mehrotra, internationally acclaimed filmmaker and founder of PSBT, “We do not seek sensationalism or open confrontation – although this may lead to television ratings – we seek to provide quiet, measured insight and, dare I add, wisdom on which to focus contemporary difficulties and the valuable elements of our heritage. We encourage filmmakers to work with newer, less expensive digital technologies so that they can explore more innovative methods and approaches to documentary, afford more time on location, and create truly insightful, poignant films.” “A History of Indian Broadcasting” which will assess and document the achievements of public service broadcasting in India.