Film as a medium had an influence on the public on a scale that no other performance-based medium had, especially in terms of informing and influencing the public on social reform and politics. In addition, cinema in India has always catered to the masses, becoming a key factor in propaganda. Though initially silent films in South India didn’t participate in political activism, small references and undertones of political situations were present in films even as something as small as an imprisoned protagonist wearing a Gandhi cap in a scene. Over time, the topics covered in films have been influenced by the social and political situation of the time and place that they were made in. The influence wasn’t just direct in terms of the settings of the film drawing from reality, but also subtly through the effect on trade and travel, affecting what filmmakers were exposed to and therefore affecting the aesthetics and opinions that the films carried.

At the beginning of World War 1, most funds went towards funding war efforts and the British army, so the financing for films ran low, in addition, though there was a demand for Indian mythological films in the West, orders for prints couldn’t be met due to the impact of the war on trade between India as a British colony and Britain and the import of raw films. Apart from the war, the Spanish flu had taken a large toll on the Indian population considering a third of the Spanish Flu deaths worldwide in 1918 and 1919 were in India alone. Filmmakers in India were not entirely deterred though, with Dadasaheb Phalke releasing 23 films between 1913 and 1918 by initially mortgaging his insurance policies and later getting several loans, and even travelling to England during the war to screen some of his films there. The first studio in Madras, the India Film Company, was established in 1916 and the first Tamil silent film, ‘Keechaka Vadham’ was released amid the First World War.

After World War 1, Indian filmmakers’ attraction to German cinema led to several of them travelling to train at the UFA Studios, resulting in an adoption of the aesthetics and the type of content covered. At the level of marketing films on the other hand, in retaliation to US films being offered at lower prices, Britain had enforced the ‘Cinematograph Films Act’, having found their productions lacking in comparison to the US studio’s marketing tactics, making it a legal obligation to show a minimum quota of British films for 10 years from 1928. Since British films were any films made by British companies or British-controlled companies (made by studios in the British Empire authored by a British subject), Indian Films benefitted. Despite their rivalry in the market, what both Hollywood and British films had in common were their propaganda films. Especially Imperial propaganda films portrayed India as a primitive society and an “oriental fantasy” while pushing the idea of white supremacy and of the British as rulers. But this wasn’t without backlash and causing agitation, with the National Congress calling for the boycott of ‘Gunga Dun’, an American film, in provinces where it hadn’t already been banned before release. This led to Britain’s official advisory to Hollywood and British filmmakers to avoid several topics that would incite backlash. Drama artists brought political activism to cinema produced by Indian filmmakers as well with the arrival of talkies. ‘Kalidas’, the first Tamil talkie, though a mythological film, had a calling for civil disobedience and a song praising Gandhi. Political films soon became a key part of propaganda when they started moving away from using mythological allegories and became “politically conscious”. 

As all forms of art do, film drew from reality, and with films focussing on more current issues, they moved away from becoming more overtly political. The Japanese invasion of Burma and the Indian exodus from Burma was one such event, influencing films like ‘Maana Samrakshanam’ and, ‘Burma Rani’ (which was banned after independence for its negative portrayal of the Japanese and Burmese). With World War 2’s start, the British went as far as to mandate the use of the War as a setting, ensuring every studio produced one film highlighting the efforts of the British for every three films they made. “War films became the flavour of the day,” says P.V. Gopalakrishnan in his ‘Nitrate Saga’. The British government discouraged local film production to promote “Empire films” (movies made in England) ultimately to promote the commercial interests of British Film Companies.

An advertisement of BURMA RANI

From the magazine PESUM PADAM PONGAL MALAR 1945

PC: From the archives of TCRC

After the British government recognised the role of films in political propaganda and with tensions rising in the country, they attempted to tighten censorship, particularly around communist ideas, labour, Hindu-Muslim relations, and other such socio-political issues in an attempt to quell any spread of nationalist ideology. This led to extremely non-controversial entertainment and escapist cinema. From 1942 to 1943, with people fleeing from Madras City due to fear of Japanese invasion. Gemini Studios and The Film Chamber temporarily moved out of the city after the Japanese bombing of Madras in October 1943. Production of films took a significant hit, but never stopped, using the reality of life in the South during the war as topics in films. With Independence from British colonisation, the topic of films shifted to patriotism and freedom. The effect of Partition on South Indian film wasn’t direct since unlike North India, the exodus from India didn’t include filmmakers and actors from this industry. However, with the migration of Muslims who owned large parcels of land in Kodambakkam, South Indian filmmakers acquired the land and turned the area into a hub for filmmaking in South India, and still houses many Tamil film studios to this day.

About the Author:
Sarayu Sankriti Kaushik: Sarayu is an undergraduate student currently interning at TCRC. Having always been interested in all forms of art, she is currently pursuing a B.A. degree in Literature and Arts.