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In spite of its disorganized beginning, cinema has remained a strong mode of social communication in India since its inception. The history of the art is also quite long and eventful. In 1995, the world celebrated the centenary of cinema, marking the date in which the Lumiere brothers had patented a device that displayed moving images. In France, two brothers, Auguste and Louis Lumiere were working in their father Antoine鈥檚 photographic studio in Lyon. Thomas Edison鈥檚 Kinetoscope was shown in Paris in 1894; in the same city, Louis Lumiere began work on a machine to compete with Edison鈥檚 device. The Cine鈥檓atographe鈥搃nitially a camera and projector in one鈥搘as patented in the brother鈥檚 names on 13 February 1895 (Bergan: 2011: 13).

Moving pictures were, for the first time, screened in the Indian sub-continent on 7^th July 1896, with the Lumiere Brothers exhibiting six films at Watson鈥檚 Hotel in the Kalaghoda neighbourhood of Mumbai (then Bombay). A French chemist-turnedcamera-operator named Marius Sestier had, for the first time, brought Lumiere films to Bombay. He was one amongst a group of technically sound and trained cameramen, whom the Lumiere Brothers had assigned with the work of exhibiting their films around the world. They had the knowledge of shooting films as well as projecting these. Sestier had actually halted at India mid-way on his way to Australia, and planned for the shows at the Watson Hotel in Bombay. On the morning of the screening, an advertisement for the show appeared in the Bombay Gazette and The Times of India. 鈥淭he marvel of the century!鈥� the headline read, and beneath it, 鈥淭he wonder of the world!!" The playbill promised 鈥淟iving photographic pictures in life-sized reproductions鈥濃�攑erhaps the clearest description that could be offered to readers with little or no conception of cinema (Bhatia: 2017: 1).

Clear records are not found regarding the number of audience in that show as well as the number of Indians present. Contrary to popular belief, there鈥檚 evidence to suggest that Watson鈥檚 was not a Europeans-only establishment, so it鈥檚 quite possible that wealthy Indians attended the screenings. However, records are found that there were four shows in the evening, at 6, 7, 9 and 10; admission was a flat Re1; the films screened were Entry Of Cinematographe, Arrival Of A Train, The Sea Bath, A Demolition, Leaving The Factory, and Ladies And Soldiers On Wheels. (Bhatia: 2017: 1).

However it would be incorrect to say that people of India had not witnessed anything like the moving pictures before the Lumiere show. Similar to Europe and America, magic lantern shows were popular in India much before the advent of cinema. There were enterprising showmen like Madanrao Mahadev Pitale, who even used several consecutively placed slides to tell a story. Way back in 1890, going beyond these nascent experiments, a man called Mahadeo Gopal Patwardhan procured an old magic lantern and began to experiment with the art of making slides. Patwardhan鈥檚 son Vinayak was a graduate from Sir J.J. School of Arts at Bombay and had terrific skills in slide making. The father-son duo started experimenting with the successive slides so that these were not merely telling a story with pictures but were bringing the story alive through sort of movements. At last they were successful in their attempt in inventing a primitive form of animation through the slides. The technique involved was very simple indeed. Slides were prepared by painting directly on transparent glass plates. Two glass plates were used in tandem to create one scene. One glass plate contained the major elements of the scene which would remain static while the other glass plate contained the moveable elements. At first one glass plate was projected and then, the other glass plate was slowly brought into position and even moved backwards and forwards to create the appearance of movement. Two years later, in 1892, finally the father-son duo made their first appearance with this technique. The show was held as part of a function to felicitate Justice Kashinath Trimbak Telang on his appointment as the ViceChancellor of Bombay University. The show was dubbed as Shambarik Kharolika, which is the Marathi equivalent for magic lanterns.

This was something very unusual and attractive for the people who were adapted to watching only live entertainment through musical shows and stage plays. Inspired by the responsive audience and the success of their attempt, the Patwardhans began holding commercial shows, which gradually expanded to nearly two-and-half hours of duration. The venture proved to be very profitable for them. Mahadeorao began to think in terms of making the animation more realistic. He began to use three magic lanterns: one to project the static background scenes and the other two to project bits of the action. This made it possible to create even more complex scenes with several bits of simultaneous action. Having perfected his three-lantern version, Mahadeorao travelled throughout the entire Bombay Presidency (now the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat) during 1894-95. The tour terminated on December 27, 1895鈥攊ronically exactly a day prior to

Lumiere's first public show at the Salon Indien in Paris鈥攁t Poona where the eleventh Indian National Congress was being held. A show of the Shambarik Kharolika was held in the presence of such dignitaries as Lokmanya Tilak, Surendranath Bannerji and many others. Shows came to a standstill with the onset of the plague and could not be revived till the arrival of the new century. In the meantime Mahadeorao passed away in 1902 (https://pbhooshan.tripod.com/slides.htm).

Westerners, who were quick to realize the value of India as a site of filmmaking, both because of its natural beauty and its 鈥榚xotic鈥� culture, were inspired to make films that used Indian scenery and culture鈥攕uch as Coconut Fair (1897), Our Indian Empire (1897), A Panorama of Indian Scenes and Procession (1898), and Poona Races 鈥�98鈥� (1898) (Gokulsing & Dissanayake: 1998: 11).

After a few years of commercial exploitation, Louis Lumiere had sold out his film rights in 1900 to Charles Pathe. This might have been the outcome of Louis鈥� assessment regarding the future of his own invention. Rolling times could prove that he didn't have an eye into the future and that what was a simple invention leading to some business for him, would become a wonder for the coming century.

The man who is credited for being the pioneer in establishing a film industry in India is Dhundiraj Govind Phalke, popularly known as Dadasaheb Phalke. On 15 April 1911, Phalke took his family members to watch 鈥榤oving pictures鈥� at the America India Picture Palace. As it was Easter, the theatre had screened a film about Jesus, The Life of Christ (1906) by the French director Alice Guy-Blache. While watching Jesus on the screen, Phalke instead envisioned Hindu deities Rama and Krishna, and decided to start a business that would involve 鈥榤oving pictures鈥�.

Phalke had formal education and training in painting, photography and printing. He knew how to use a still camera. He was also a magician who used to perform in public. After watching The Life of Christ, he was so fascinated with the magic and thrill of the moving pictures that he desperately wanted to explore the field. Seeing a film about Christ, he got highly inspired to undertake a similar venture with stories based on Indian mythologies. Phalke has been quoted as鈥斺��while the life of Christ was rolling fast before my eyes, I was mentally visualizing the gods Shri Krishna, Shri Ramachandra, their Gokul and Ayodhya鈥� Could we, the sons of India, ever be able to use Indian images on the screen?鈥� (Mazid: 2011: 66). Thus, chasing his dreams of producing a feature film, Phalke even took loans and went to London to gain first-hand knowledge about movie cameras and other technical aspects of producing a film. After returning from London, Phalke employed elements from Sanskrit epics to produce a silent film called Raja Harishchandra. His wife Saraswati Bai became his biggest supporter and collaborator. Produced under the banner of Phalke Films Company, Raja Harishchandra was shot in the backyard of the bunglow where Phalke lived with his family. Challenges were many, like the non-availability of female actors during those days. In spite of all the hurdles, the film was finally shot. As there was no sound, to make the watching experience pleasant for the audience, the film carried postered ques of what was going to follow in the next scene. Also the acting technique of stage-plays was used in the film in an imitative manner. This film, regarded as the first full-length feature film made in India, had its theatrical release on 3 May 1913 at the Coronation Cinema in Girgaon, Bombay. The film earned immense response from people and turned into a commercial success, paving the way for a full-fledged film industry in the country. Phalke produced a series of commercially successful films like Mohini Bhasmasur (1913) and Kaliya Mardan (1919) and following his footsteps several other people came forward to carry on the legacy. Owing to his contributions as the pioneer of cinema industry in the nation, Dadasaheb Phalke is lovingly called 鈥楩ather of Indian Cinema鈥�. Apart from this, honouring the release date of the first Indian feature film Raja Harishchandra, Government of India declares the National Film Awards every year on May 3. It is noteworthy that the Indian film industry had begun with the 鈥榤ythological鈥� genre, which continued throughout the silent era, rolling forward till the 1960s as a main genre. Though it later went on to decline towards a sub-genre, yet Indian people are still fond of watching gods and goddesses on the silver screen.

Before Phalke, a silent film called Shree Pundalik produced by Dadasaheb Torne was released on 18 May 1912, which has been debated by many historians as the maiden film produced in India. However it was later found that Shree Pundalik was only a photographic presentation of a Marathi play (Thoraval: 2000: 5).

Reports say that some early film producers, after running their films, sold the film stock at the price of the silver metal being used. Instances of fire and film stock being burnt to ashes had occurred, for which fire-fighting equipment was installed in theatres along with a fireman. In spite of all these, silent films continued to be made. The National Film Archive of India has a record that between 1913 to 1931, about 1313 silent films were produced in India, out of which barely a very few have survived (Thoraval: 2000: 5). The long and eventful era of silent cinema in India was nurtured by numerous people with their own share of investment in terms of art and business in the industry. However the saga depicting the initial journey of cinema in India would not be complete without highlighting the contribution of four stalwarts, who were H.S. Bhatavdekar (Save Dada), Hiralal Sen, J.F. Madan and Abdulally Esoofally.

Harishchandra Sakharam Bhatavdekar (15 March 1868鈥�20 February 1958), also known as Saave Dada, was the first Indian to make a film (motion picture) in India.

Bhatavdekar was one of those who witnessed the Lumeire Brothers鈥� film show at the Watson Hotel on 7 July 1896. Being a photographer, Bhatavdekar might have been impressed by the entire technology, for which he had ordered a camera from Riley Brothers of England. The first film shot by him was that of a wrestling match at the Hanging Gardens in Bombay in November 1899. The film was sent to London for processing. Later Bhatavdekar went on to shoot several films on his camera, some being of great historical significance, like Sir Wrangler Mr. R.P. Paranjpe (1901) and Delhi Durbar of Lord Curzon (1903). After Bhatavdekar, F.B. Thanawala made his debut in 1900 with Splendid New View of Bombay that explored some outstanding landmarks in the city of Bombay. His second film Taboot Procession (1900) documented an annual Muslim procession (Gokulsing & Dissanayake: 1998: 12).

While Dadasaheb Phalke is remembered as India鈥檚 first feature film director, Hiralal Sen, the first Indian to make movies is a completely forgotten man. This was reported by The Hindustan Times on 19 November 2017. Hiralal Sen is that unsung hero in the history of Indian cinema who took pioneering initiatives in fields such as advertisement films and political films. During his initial days, he used to organize tent house Bioscope shows or travelling cinema, through importing short films for exhibition. Later he bought a camera and started making short reels on different occasions, such as at marriages of well-to-do families in Calcutta. A creative genius, Hiralal established the Royal Bioscope Company in 1898, probably the first of its kind in India. The initial productions of the company used an Urban Bioscope bought from Warwick Trading Company in London. He was also associated with the theatre houses of the city, especially with Amarendra Dutta鈥檚 Classic Theatre. Hiralal Sen made several films which depicted scenes from the plays being staged by Classic Theatre. Between 1901 and 1913, he produced more than forty short films for Classic Theatre including Bhramar, Hariraj, and Buddhadev. These were shown during the interval in plays staged by the Classic Theatre. Based on an original play which was staged by Classic Theatre, Hiralal produced his longest film Alibaba and Forty Thieves in 1903. However the film was made in several parts and was never screened (Gooptu: 2010: 30).

Hiralal had made two advertisement films featuring Jabakusum Hair Oil and Edwards Tonic. With this, he turned to be the first Indian who used films as a tool for advertisement. Later, he continued to produce more advertisement films and news films on commission basis. 鈥�In 1904 he (Hiralal Sen) captured on film a public rally opposing Lord Curzon鈥檚 plan to divide Bengal. To record the immensity of the rally, he placed the camera on top of the treasury building so that he could film the speakers including Surendranath Banerjee against the backdrop of a huge crowd that extended almost two miles,鈥� said Sanjoy Mukhopadhyay, film historian and former professor of film studies of Jadavpur University. The camera placement was novel in those days (Ghosal: 2017: 1). This 鈥楽wadeshi鈥� film made by Hiralal Sen, documenting the Anti-partition movement which was screened at the Town hall, Calcutta on 22 September 1905, has been termed as the first political film of India by several film writers and critics.

Gradually the business of bioscope was gaining momentum adding new players into the field. One among these was Jamshedji Framji Madan (J.F. Madan), who set up the Elphinstone Bioscope Company in Calcutta, touching new heights of success. This company soon surpassed Hiralal鈥檚 business resulting in economic hardship for the man.

Adding to this misery, his health deteriorated and Hiralal was diagnosed with cancer. In 1917, a fire broke out in the house where he had stored all his films and every bit of his creative imagination was destroyed in it. Just after two days of this incident, Hiralal breathed his last (Gooptu: 2010: 30-33).

The Deccan Herald website carried a news report on 9 December 2020, where journalist Mrityunjay Bose highlighted an initiative made by Mumbai-based researcher and writer Sharon Irani. As per the report, Irani had made a presentation on the topic鈥撯�淔rom Tent-shows in the Maidan to the Lost Cinemas of Lamington Road: The Story of Bombay鈥檚 Early Film Culture鈥� hosted by the Mumbai Research Centre of the Asiatic Society of Mumbai. During the presentation it was said that Harishchandra Bhatavdekar and J.F. Madan both imported short film reels and arranged for public shows in Bombay and Calcutta respectively. Irani also talked about Abdulally Esoofally, who was another early film entrepreneur to start the tent show cinemas all over British territories in East Asia. Esoofally eventually moved to buy Alexandra Theatre and Majestic Theatre. 鈥淭his started a cinema-viewing culture鈥�tent cinemas were set up in maidans, and then inside old theatre houses鈥�much before cinema halls and multiplexes came into existence. Before the 'tambu' talkies, 'lavani' and 'tamasha' had been the sources of entertainment鈥�but tent shows changed the way you entertained in those times,鈥� the news report quoted Irani (Bose: 2020: 1).

J.F. Madan, who is regarded as the 鈥楶ioneer of film production in India鈥�, was in its truest sense, a harbinger in the Indian cinema industry. Visiting Faculty of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune and himself a filmmaker, Karan Bali in his website upperstall.com has written a vivid note on the life and works of J.F. Madan. Bali writes that, 鈥榝rom exhibiting films in a bioscope tent to building the first permanent cinema theatre in India, from owning a chain of theaters to exhibition of foreign films, from producing films locally to creating the first Indian film star, Patience Cooper, Madan was an entrepreneur in the truest sense of the word鈥� (Bali, https://upperstall.com/profile/jf-madan/).

The fourth person who is credited to be a stalwart in the field of cinema in India was Abdulally Esoofally. He was among the finest film projectionists in the early Indian film scene. Being one of the pioneers of the travelling cinema industry, he traveled through the South Asian regions of Burma, Sumatra, Java, Singapore, Ceylon and India, making cinema available even in the remotest places. In 1914, Esoofally settled down in Bombay where he met Ardeshir Irani, paving the way for a financial partnership that lasted for more than forty years. This resulted in some of the finest cinema productions of the time. While Irani was involved in production of films, Esoofally exploited the commercial aspect of the industry. In entrepreneurial participation, both of them acquired the cinemas Alexandra Theatre and later the Majestic Theatre. Esoofally also backed Irani in founding the latter's film production company the Imperial Films in 1926. It is through the initiatives of Esoofally鈥檚 Majestic Theatre, that Ardeshir Irani executed the production of India鈥檚 first talkie Alam Ara (Thoraval: 2000: 3).

The state of Bengal has a significant history in regard to the origin and development of cinema in India. As has been mentioned earlier, tent house cinema, where the first bioscope shows were organized in the open fields of Bengal, dates back to as early as the 1920s. Later stalwarts of Victorian era cinema like Hiralal Sen took cinema among the theatre audience of the city of Calcutta, showing short films during the intervals of stage plays. Setting up the Royal Bioscope Company exclusively for film production was no less than a herculean task for Hiralal during those tumultuous times. Though film exhibitors like J.F. Madan continued with the bioscope shows in Bengal, yet after Hiralal Sen鈥檚 demise, production of short films in the region ceased for a considerable period. The first ever film production house owned by a Bengal-born was the Indo British Film Company, set up by Dhirendra Nath Ganguly only in 1918. However, the credit of producing the first ever Bengali silent feature film Bilwamangal goes to the Madan Theatres established by J.F. Madan. The film was released on 8 November 1919.