Marathi cinema

Marathian-language cinema is considered the oldest film industry in India, since it includes the first silent Indian full-length film, Raja Harishchandra , as its film crew consisted entirely of representatives of the Maratha people ^[2] . Another film that came out before the sound of the movie, which is attributed to the cinema on the Marathi, is the historical epic Sairandhari (1920), shot by the next year the founding field of the . Episodes from the history of the Marathas were chosen by him because of his special interest in decoration, costumes, design and painting, which allowed him to further specialize in the historical genre. Baburao Painter made many silent films until 1930. However, the Maharashtra Film Company lost its position after the appearance of sound in the movie ^[3] .

The first sound film in Marathi, “King Ayodhya” ( English Ayodhyecha Raja ), as well as the first Indian film based on the legend of Raj Harishchandra, was shot in 1932, just a year after the first sound film in Hindi “ Light of the World ” ^{[ 4] [5]} .

The cinema reached its heyday with the advent of such movie figures as , , , , and . Of the film companies in the industry, the dominated, releasing 20 films in a decade and a half, most of which were . Under their banner, in 1933, V. Shantaram made an attempt to make a color film Sairandhari . The film was shot and developed in India, but for replication I had to go to Germany, where it turned out that due to technical defects allowed during the development, it was impossible to get a good image ^{[6] [7]} . Released by the same company, "Saint Tukaram" ( English Sant Tukaram ) was the first Indian film to receive an award at the Venice Film Festival in 1937 ^{[8] [9]} . In the late 1930s and early 1940s, the industry held the second place in the country in terms of the number of films produced per year ^[10] .

However, in the 1950s, competition with Hindi films , gaining more and more popularity, led to the financial crisis and the departure of many talented filmmakers. Two movie studios in Pune closed , and film production became possible only at the only one left in Kolhapur . The heyday of the Marathi-language theater in the early 1960s and the emergence of color films in Hindi led to the outflow of the educated middle class and youth from the audience of films ^{[11] [12]} . The remaining spectators were mainly residents of the villages of Maharashtra who did not understand Hindi. Focusing on them, cinematographers took the formula as the basis for their work and produced films, the action of which was unfolding in the village. The success of the film by Sangtye Aaika (1958), the rental of which in one of Pune's cinemas lasted 132 weeks, was based on this formula. Another film popular among villagers was (1953) by Shantarama ^[13] .

As a result, over the next twelve years, Marathi cinema consisted almost exclusively of rural dramas with the same artists, directors, composers and a meager budget. Although there have been some attempts to create non-template movies, in particular: Santh Vahate Krishnamai (1967) Madhukara Patnaika, Ek Gaon Bara Bhangadi (1968) Ananta Mane and “ Son-in-law from Bombay ” (1970) ^[13] . Among other recognized Marathi films, is the first winner of the National Film Award of India ^{[12] [14]} .

Ten years from the end of the 2000s and the beginning of the 2010s are perceived as a revival of the cinema on the Marathi, thanks to the writers and directors of the new generation, unusual stories, grants and government subsidies ^[15] . So, released in the 2000s, the films Shwaas (2004), Harishchandrachi Factory (2009) and The Court (2014) were nominated for an Academy Award ^{[16] [17] [18]} .

The film industry was increasing in volume, and the number of films produced was steadily growing. While in the 20th century 10–30 films a year were released ^[10] , since 2010 more than 100 films have been released annually ^[19] . The most commercially successful film on Marathi at the moment is “ Wild ” (2016) - a melodrama about the love of two young people from different castes with an unexpected outcome ^{[20] [21]} . However, 90% of films still have difficulty repaying the costs of their production ^[15] .

• Rangualla, Feroz. Cinema of India: Past and Present. Panorama of Indian cinema / Under. ed. M. L. Salganik. - M .: Rainbow, 1987 .-- 384 p.
• Narwekar, Sanjit. Marathi Cinema: In Retrospect . - Maharashtra Film, Stage & Cultural Development Corp., 1995. - 149 p.
• Nandgaonkar, Sudhir. Marathi Cinema in Search for an Identity // Rasa: The Indian Performing Arts in the Last Twenty-five Years . - Calcutta, India: Anamika Kala Sangam, 1995 .-- Vol. 2. - P. 259−266. - 728 p.
• Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema / Edited by Ashish Rajadhyaksha, Paul Willemen. - 2nd Edition. - Routledge , 1999. - 658 p. - ISBN 978-1579581466 .
• Gokulsing, K. Moti; Dissanayake, Wimal. Routledge Handbook of Indian Cinemas . - Routledge, 2013 .-- 486 p. - ISBN 978-0415677745 .