Where can I read/watch about what a movie theater was like in India before World War II?
March 13, 2011 10:10 PM   Subscribe

I am looking for sources, textual, audio/visual or otherwise, preferably in English, that describe South Asian movie-going culture in the pre-partition era (or pre-1960 if pre-1947 is too impossible to uncover).

I'm interested in learning what sights and sounds were seen at the movies. What other attractions were there? What was a typical program like? Were newsreels, cartoons and other shorts shown before the main feature? What kind of concessions were sold? Where were films screened, schools, churches, designated moviehouses. Did it vary from town to town or between urban and provincial settings? How did distribution work - moving prints from theater to theater? What was the cost of admission? Were there differently-priced seats? How affordable was it to various inhabitants of the locale? Were venues segregated by age, caste, gender, etc?

What were the smells, sights and sounds of a day at the movies? Tobacco, fried snacks?

Did people dress up for it?

Did conservative members of "proper" society eschew the movies?

What were the people involved called? Like the projectionist, the movie distributors, peanut vendors, ticket hawkers, advertisers, etc - and if the movie business was not a full time occupation what was there likely "day" job?

I am mostly interested in the 1920s - 1940s (before the "Golden Age" of Indian Cinema) for a "typical" (I know, I know) mid-sized town with infrastructure (rail, some public utilities, manufacturing, agriculture industry, etc). But I would be interested in any sources to help me understand what movie-going was like and what the movie-viewing culture was in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and/or Bangladesh before 1960.

Any help much obliged.


(Note, I am not concerned with the language of film, but the language of the sources available to me. I require English language sources, as my Hindi is terrible, but the source may concern the cinema-going culture of Bengali, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, etc. film).
posted by mds35 to Media & Arts (3 answers total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
Sorry I haven't got anything particularly useful, but drop me a MeMail if you need translations in Hindi or Marathi.

You might be interested in the movie Harishchandrachi Factory, released 2008 that focuses on the life of India's first filmmaker, Dadasaheb Phalke. It details the making of India's first indigenous film.

From what I could tell from the film, the scene in 1913 was at least so that films were played as attractions at fairs, alongside other performers. In one film showing, we see an English quartet playing before the film begins. It seems there was no racial segregation, as relatively middle-class Indians can be seen watching the films by themselves.

Later when Phalke finishes his film, he "exhibits" his film in a place called Coronation Cinema, which is advertised through newspaper. Apparently he handles the film's showings himself, at least initially.
posted by Senza Volto at 3:29 AM on March 14, 2011


Would putting you in touch with people who could give you firsthand accounts be helpful?
posted by bardophile at 9:31 AM on March 14, 2011


Response by poster: Senza Volt, thanks for the tip! I'll obtain a copy and view that film!

bardophile, yes! Feel free to MeMail me...I would love to speak to those with firsthand knowledge.
posted by mds35 at 9:25 AM on March 15, 2011


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