South Asian Cinema: Catering to the Needs of Multi-Cultural Communities
South Asian Cinema can be sub-divided into a series of categories with Indian Bollywood cinema being the most well known. Regardless of this, the film industry in this region have thrived and developed in leaps and bounds as it caters to the diverse needs of its multi-cultural communities.
With the invention of the first movie camera in the late 19th century, film and cinema began to make headway in becoming a distraction, a diversion and a form of entertainment for people. While cinema draws greatly from the play format and even literary works, it initially underwent a period known as the 'silent era' wherein movies were entirely silent and often merely mimed. Hence, the impact of sound in the industry was phenomenal and movies progressed towards re-capturing and re-inventing classical novels and plays, iconic moments in history and even independent films and documentaries that captured various themes and notions. Thus, in the 21st century, the impact of the film industry is truly sensational with technological advancements bringing forth 3D cinema and a host of other new ways to experience the traditional film.
The 21st century has also seen the world move away from a euro-centric focus and highlight upon Asian and African themes and cinematic adaptations as well. One such regional strand includes South Asian Cinema, encompassing the films made and produced in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Pakistan, Nepal and Maldives. Given the cultural and communal diversity embedded in this region, oriental cinema takes a number of diverse and intriguing forms. Particularly noteworthy is the genre of 'Masala Films' which are essentially a mix of comedy, drama, romance and action. Such films are famous in India while most Indian films, particularly Bollywood movies, include the screening of infectious tunes and songs filmed in scenic areas. While Bollywood cinema is the most popular, Indian cinema alone can be sub-divided into a large number of categories such as Tamil Cinema, Telugu film industry, Kannada film industry, Tulu Cinema, Kashmiri Cinema and so on. Pakistani cinema, on the other hand, has only several strands, namely Lollywood and the Karachi and Pashto film industries.
Film production in Sri Lanka is also fairly active and is a lucrative endeavour as the needs of the diverse communities in terms of entertainment is multi-dimensional. Given this reality, production companies in Sri Lanka cater to this demand fairly effectively and companies such as Nkar Filmeye are definitely in the forefront in this aspect.
With the invention of the first movie camera in the late 19th century, film and cinema began to make headway in becoming a distraction, a diversion and a form of entertainment for people. While cinema draws greatly from the play format and even literary works, it initially underwent a period known as the 'silent era' wherein movies were entirely silent and often merely mimed. Hence, the impact of sound in the industry was phenomenal and movies progressed towards re-capturing and re-inventing classical novels and plays, iconic moments in history and even independent films and documentaries that captured various themes and notions. Thus, in the 21st century, the impact of the film industry is truly sensational with technological advancements bringing forth 3D cinema and a host of other new ways to experience the traditional film.
The 21st century has also seen the world move away from a euro-centric focus and highlight upon Asian and African themes and cinematic adaptations as well. One such regional strand includes South Asian Cinema, encompassing the films made and produced in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Pakistan, Nepal and Maldives. Given the cultural and communal diversity embedded in this region, oriental cinema takes a number of diverse and intriguing forms. Particularly noteworthy is the genre of 'Masala Films' which are essentially a mix of comedy, drama, romance and action. Such films are famous in India while most Indian films, particularly Bollywood movies, include the screening of infectious tunes and songs filmed in scenic areas. While Bollywood cinema is the most popular, Indian cinema alone can be sub-divided into a large number of categories such as Tamil Cinema, Telugu film industry, Kannada film industry, Tulu Cinema, Kashmiri Cinema and so on. Pakistani cinema, on the other hand, has only several strands, namely Lollywood and the Karachi and Pashto film industries.
Film production in Sri Lanka is also fairly active and is a lucrative endeavour as the needs of the diverse communities in terms of entertainment is multi-dimensional. Given this reality, production companies in Sri Lanka cater to this demand fairly effectively and companies such as Nkar Filmeye are definitely in the forefront in this aspect.