South Asian cinema refers to the cinema of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The terms Asian cinema, Eastern cinema and Oriental cinema in common usage often encompass South Asia as well as East Asia and South East Asia. See also Asian cinema, East Asian cinema and Southeast Asian cinema.
Styles and genres
The scope of South Asian cinema is huge and takes in a wide array of different film styles, linguistic regions and genres. South Asian cinema is particularly famous in the West for:
Melodramatic filmsAction filmsCurry WesternsEscapismMusicalsRomance filmsMasala filmsParallel CinemaDrama filmsThriller filmsArt filmsIndian neo-noirNeorealismHeroic bloodshedHistorical dramaBangladeshi film industry, is the Bengali language film industry based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The industry often generally referred to as Dhallywood, has been a significant film industry since the early 1970s. The 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and the first half of the 1990s were the golden years for Bangladeshi films as the industry produced many successful films. The industry has recently begun receiving international acclaim and many Bangladeshi movies are getting international release.Dhallywood, is a portmanteau of the words Dhaka and Hollywood.India contains many state languages which have film industries centered on them. Although Hindi is the official language of government business of northern regions of India, its often-used dialect Hindustani is the most widespread language but covering only 40% of the total population, and English is widely understood irrespective of region, the state languages are preserved for official use by different states in India, and many have as many speakers as an average European nation. Regional industries have also tended to produce a higher percentage of serious art film and political film. Bangladeshi cinema is filmed in Bengali and Sri Lankan cinema is filmed in Sinhala and Tamil. Last but not least is Indonesian cinema. In the beginning the Indonesian cinema grew after World War I, rooted from the Folk Theater Drama called Dardanela. Under Usmar Ismail, Indonesian cinema became the new entertainment in 1950 to 1980. Hundred of film stars were born, such as: Citra Dewi (1960), Tanty Yosepha (1970). Yenny Rachman and Christine Hakim (1980) and Dian Sastro (late 1990s). Teguh Karya was one of the leading Film Director in Indonesia after the era of Usmar Ismail. Now, by the popularity of television, film is replaced with electronic cinema which is popular as sinetron. This industry has made the Indian born producer, Raam Punjabi, a tycon of sinetron in Indonesia.
Hindi Cinema, popularly known as Bollywood, is based in Mumbai. This film industry is the most prolific and popular in South Asia.Telugu film industry, sometimes known as Tollywood, which comes from the mixture of Hollywood and Telugu, based in Hyderabad, Telangana. It is one of the three popular branches of Indian Cinema. It was formerly located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.Tamil Cinema, the Tamil film industry based in the Kodambakkam area of Chennai (formerly Madras). It is one of the three popular branches of Indian Cinema. Tamil films are also produced in Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore and Canada.Chhollywood, the Chhattisgarhi language based film industry based in the state of Chhattisgarh.Dogri cinema, Dogri Language cinema of Jammu region.Malayalam Cinema, Malayalam film industry, sometimes known as Mollywood, based in Kochi and Trivandrum in Kerala. Several of its directors such as Shaji N. Karun have also received international acclaim.Kannada film industry, based in Bangalore, Karnataka.Bengali film industry, long centered in the Tollygunge district of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta). This film industry is known for producing many internationally acclaimed films by directors such as Satyajit Ray, Budhhadeb Dasgupta, Mrinal Sen and Ritwik Ghatak.Gujarati cinema, based in Gujarat.Haryanvi cinema, Haryanvi language cinema, based in HaryanaKashmiri cinema, Kashmiri Language cinema of Kashmir valley.Cinema of Rajasthan, Based in RajasthanCinema of Odisha, the Odia language film industry based in Bhubaneshwar and Cuttack.Marathi film industry, based in Mumbai and Pune.Punjabi film industry, based in Punjab, India.Assamese film industry, based in Assam. This is the only major film industry in North-East India.Tulu cinema Tulu language speaking regions of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.Santali cinema Santali speaking regions on Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha & Assam.Nepali film industry, the Nepali film industry based in Kathmandu, has recently begun receiving international acclaim with films such as The Black Hen (2015), Kagbeni (2006) and others.Tharu Cinema based in Terai,Tharuhat is the home of the Tharu languages cinema.Balochi cinema, based in Quetta, Balochistan is the home of Balochi language film productions.Lollywood, based in Lahore, Punjab is the home of Punjabi cinema.Kariwood, based in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan is the home of the Urdu cinema.Pashto cinema, based in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the home of Pashto language film productions.Sindhi cinema, based in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan is the home of the Sindhi language film productions.Afghan film industrySri Lankan film industrySri Lankan Tamil film industryBhutanese film industrySatyajit Ray – Bengali film director, widely regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema (Apu trilogy).Ritwik Ghatak – Bengali film director, (Nagarik, Meghe Dhaka Tara).Mrinal Sen – Bengali film director, has won awards at major film festivals (Baishey Shravan, Bhuvan Shome).K. Balachander – Tamil director.Bimal Roy – Hindi film director (Devdas (1955 film), Do Bigha Zameen.Mani Ratnam – Generally works in Tamil films but has worked in Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada industries. (Kannathil Muthamittal, Guru).Apichatpong Weerasethakul = Thai director, winner of Palme d'Or in 2010.Guru Dutt – Hindi actor, director and producer of the 1950s and '60s (Mr. & Mrs. '55, Kaagaz Ke Phool, Pyaasa).V. Shantaram – Hindi director and actor (Do Aankhen Barah Haath).Ashutosh Gowariker – Contemporary Hindi actor, director and producer (Lagaan).Budhhadeb Dasgupta - Uttara, internationally acclaimed filmmaker known for Surreal and Magical Realism.Vijay Anand – Bollywood actor, director and producer mainly during the 1960s and '70s. (Johnny Mera Naam, Jewel Thief)Hrishikesh Mukherjee – Hindi film director known for (Anand, Abhimaan).K. Asif - Mughal-e-AzamMahboobFateh LohaniKhan Ataur RahmanZahir RaihanSubhash DuttaEhteshamChashi Nazrul IslamAlamgir KabirNarayan Ghosh MitaTareque MasudTanvir MokammelMorshedul IslamHumayun Ahmed - One of the most successful writer and director of Bangladesh.Mostofa Sarwar FarookiKamar Ahmed SaimonAmitabh Reza ChowdhuryAbu Shahed EmonPuttanna Kanagal - (Belli moda).K. Viswanath - Telugu director known for films like Swathi Muthyam, Swayam Krushi.Kamal Amrohi - Mahal Pakeeza Razia SultanSonali Gulati – contemporary independent filmmaker, activist, and feminist who has made award-winning documentary and experimental films.Nasir Hussain - (Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak)Sudhir Mishra – Contemporary director and screenwriter (Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, Chameli (Movie)).Bharathiraja – Tamil director who captured village life (Muthal Mariyathai, Vedham Pudhithu).Saawan KumarBalu Mahendra – Sri Lanka-born Tamil and Malayalam director (Sandhya Raagam, Veedu).Prakash Jha – Contemporary Hindi director (Gangaajal, Apaharan).S.S. Rajamouli - A highly successful commercial Telugu director.Cheran – Award-winning Tamil director and actor (Autograph, Thavamai Thavamirundhu)Adoor Gopalakrishnan – Malayalam director (Elippathayam, Swayamvaram).Mani Shankar – Director of Bollywood action thrillers (16 December, Tango Charlie)S. Shankar – Tamil director and producer (Mudhalvan, Indian, Anniyan, Sivaji: The Boss)A. R. Murugadoss – Kollywood and Tollywood director (Ramana, Ghajini, Thuppakki, Stalin)Ram Gopal Varma – Tollywood and Bollywood director known for his gritty films. (Shiva, Rangeela).Shekhar Kapur – British India-born director and producer (Elizabeth, Bandit Queen).Shyam Benegal – Important part of the New India Cinema movement (Ankur, Bhumika).Upendra - (A, Om).K. S. Ravikumar - Tamil commercial film director (Muthu, Padayappa, Dasavathaaram)Madhur Bhandarkar – Director and screenwriter Page 3, Chandni Bar).Deepa Mehta – Indian-born Canadian director best known for her "elements trilogy". Fire, Earth, Water).Aparna Sen – Bengali Indian actress and director (36 Chowringhee Lane, Mr. and Mrs. Iyer).Ketan Mehta – (Bhavni Bhavai, Maya Memsaab).Rakesh Roshan – (Karan Arjun, Krrish).Mira Nair – (Monsoon Wedding, Salaam Bombay!).Girish Karnad - (Anand Bhairavi).Govind Nihalani – Cinematographer and director.Santosh Sivan – Award-winning cinematographer and director (The Terrorist, Asoka).Gurinder Chadha – British director (Bend It Like Beckham, Bride and Prejudice).Karan Johar – Actor, screenwriter and director; hosts TV chat show, Koffee with Karan (Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna).Prakash Mehra – (Zanjeer, Hera Pheri).Manmohan Desai – (Parvarish, Amar Akbar Anthony).Basu Chatterjee – (Chitchor).Rajkumar Santoshi – (Ghayal, Andaz apna apna).Partho Sen-Gupta – Avant-garde independent director (Hava Aney Dey).Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra – Director and screenwriter (Aks, Rang De Basanti).Sanjay Leela Bhansali – Devdas, Black)Vikram Bhatt – (Inteha, Deewane Huye Pagal).Sanjay Gupta – (Zinda)Yash Chopra – Veteran producer and director (Waqt, Deewaar).Ramesh Sippy – (Sholay, Andaz)Vidhu Vinod Chopra – (An Encounter with Faces, 1942: A Love Story).Nagathihalli Chandrashekhar - (America! America!!, Amruthadhaare).Yograj Bhat - (Mungaru Male).Prashanta Nanda - Oriya film director who won most of the National Awards for his contribution for Oriya Film Industry.Chhabi BiswasRabi GhoshTapen ChatterjeeUttam KumarSoumitra ChatterjeeTulsi ChakrabortySubhash DuttaAnwar HossainAbdur RazzakAlamgirAaryan SigdelAamir KhanAbhishek BachchanAjay DevganAjith KumarAkkineni NagarjunaAkkineni Nageswara RaoAkshay KumarAmbareeshAmrish PuriAmitabh BachchanAnil ChatterjeeAnil KapoorAnubhav MohantyAshok KumarAllu ArjunArshad WarsiArifin ShuvooATM ShamsuzzamanBappy ChowdhuryBalakrishnaBalraj SahniBulbul AhmedChiranjeeviDeepak Adhikari DevDharmendraDilip KumarFaisal RehmanFeroz KhanHumayun FaridiHamza Ali AbbasiHumayun SaeedHrithik RoshanJagathi SreekumarJayanJackie ShroffJeetendraKamal HassanMohib MirzaMoammar RanaMadavanMahesh BabuManoj KumarMehmoodM.G. RamachandranMithun ChakrabortyMammootyMohammad AliMohanlalMukeshNadeemNana PatekarN. T. Rama RaoPranPrithviraj SukumaranRaj KapoorRajesh HamalRishi KapoorRajkumarRajinikanthRajesh KhannaRamesh AravindShammi KapoorRaaj KumarShamoon AbbasiSanjeev KumarSurya SivakumarDev AnandOm PuriNaseeruddin ShahAnant NagKishore KumarManoj BajpaiSaif Ali KhanSalman KhanSanjay DuttShakib KhanShaanShahrukh KhanSiddhanta MahapatraSymon SadikShankar NagSunil DuttSunny DeolSuresh GopiThilakanSivaji GaneshanUpendraWaheed MuradRitesh DeshmukhVijayVenkateshVinod KhannaVinod MehraVishnuvardhanVidyut JamwalRanjit MallickRiazSalman ShahAnanta JalilPahari SanyalProsenjit ChatterjeeJeet (actor)ChiranjeetTapas PaulMannaIlias KanchanSohel Rana (actor)DipjolRahsaan IslamRaisul Islam AsadMamnun Hasan EmonKazi MarufFerdous AhmedOmar SaniChunky PandeyWasimZafar IqbalUttam MohantyVikramAnmol K.C.Aishwarya Rai - Miss World 1994Amrita Acharia - (Game Of Thrones) Nepali ActressAsin ThottumkalApu BiswasAparajita MohantyArchita SahuBarsha PriyadarshiniZeenat Aman - Miss Asia Pacific 1970Mahiya MahiShabana ( Dhallywood Actress )Bobita ( Dhallywood Actress )B. Saroja DeviLara Dutta - Miss Universe 2000, Miss Intercontinental 1997PadminiDiana Hayden - Miss World 1997MadhubalaMadhuri DixitNutanRekhaNicole Faria - Miss Earth 2010Dia Mirza - Miss Asia Pacific 2000Meena KumariNoor JehanTrisha KrishnanDivya Spandana (Ramya)Devika RaniCelina Jaitly - Miss India 2001Neha Dhupia - Miss India 2002VyjayanthimalaHema MaliniSmita PatilSoundaryaSrideviRani MukerjiYukta Mookhey - Miss World 1999Manisha KoiralaPremaSharmila TagoreShabana AzmiBipasha BasuJaya BachchanJayanthiNargisKajolNandita DasTabuDimple KapadiaSushmita Sen - Miss Universe 1994Juhi Chawala - Miss India 1984Karishma KapoorSoha Ali KhanSonali BendrePriyanka Karki - Miss TeenPriyanka Chopra - Miss World 2000Urmila MatondkarPreity ZintaKareena KapoorAmrita RaoAyesha TakiaShriya SaranPopyMoushumiAcholPurnimaShabnurBobbyRituparna SenguptaKoel MallickDebashree RoyRachana BanerjeeAnju GhoshSuchitra SenBidya Sinha Saha MimAlisha Pradhan