History of Indian Cinema English(PB) Renu Saran
Renu Saran's compact but surprisingly rich volume covers nearly a century of Indian filmmaking, tracing the arc from the very first flickering reels of 1913 right through to the early 2010s. It's a broad sweep, and Saran handles it with admirable organisation, sorting films, directors, and actors by region and industry rather than lumping everything under the familiar Bollywood umbrella. That structural choice alone makes this book worth picking up. Hindi cinema gets its fair share of attention, but it's the regional industries, Assamese, Punjabi, Tamil, and others, that arguably steal the show here. These are traditions with their own stars, their own milestones, and their own stories, and they're too often pushed to the margins when people write about Indian film. Saran gives them proper room to breathe. Beyond the listings and award tallies, the book weaves in some genuinely curious behind-the-scenes material. How were actors trained at different points in history? What criteria guided film certification? What equipment was actually in use on set? These details sit alongside the more familiar facts and give the whole thing an unexpected texture. For anyone who loves Indian cinema seriously, this kind of context adds a new layer to films they thought they already knew well. Published in 2012 by Diamond Books and available in paperback, it reads less like a dry reference work and more like a well-organised companion for the curious film lover.
- Author: Renu Saran
- Publisher: Diamond Books
- Genre: Film & Cinema
- ISBN: 978-8128837616
- Pages: 260 pages