Parallel Cinema: Everything you need to know about the art form

Parallel cinema is the term given to certain kinds of films made in India that are different from conventional and mainstream cinema. Parallel cinema cannot be considered a film movement as a whole, although it consists of various smaller movements in itself. The film and filmmakers associated with this often have very little in common with each other ideologically or stylistically. Parallel cinema is known for its serious content and symbolic elements with a keen eye on the sociopolitical climate of the times and no insertion of songs and dances, unlike mainstream cinema.

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Pioneers of parallel cinema

Parallel cinema in India has donned various forms over the years. It started from the films produced during the Nehruvian age to the political films during the 1970s and also consists of the liberal films called independent cinema. Parallel cinema gave India acclaimed filmmakers like Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen, Shyam Benegal, M. S. Sathyu, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Girish Kasaravalli, and G. Aravindan. Later, it also gained prominence in Bangladesh.

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Why is parallel cinema important?

Today, the line between parallel cinema and mainstream cinema is blurring since various filmmakers are seen experimenting with their craft. There has been more cinema focused on socially engaging topics. But the footprints left by parallel cinema never seem to leave us. Parallel cinema highlights socially and politically relevant issues to the larger audience.

What sets parallel cinema different from mainstream cinema?

One of the major characteristics of such films that are a part of parallel cinema is their rejection of any mainstream cinema styles. One may not find engaging tactics used in mainstream cinema like songs, dance, and fight sequences in any parallel films. Parallel films majorly use rural settings, method actors, close-up shots, and barely any musical score in the background.

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The rise and fall of parallel cinema

The 1970s and 1980s saw the peak of parallel cinema in India. Parallel cinema gave careers to a whole new breed of young actors at the time including Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil, Amol Palekar, Om Puri, Naseeruddin Shah, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Pankaj Kapoor, Deepti Naval, Farooq Shaikh, and even actors from commercial cinema like Hema Malini, Raakhee, and Rekha who ventured into art cinema. However, due to the commercialisation of films in the early 1990s, parallel cinema saw a fall. Parallel cinema films are primarily made using funds and the rising costs involved in film production made it difficult to make parallel films. However, it can be seen that there is a resurgence in the parallel cinema once again.

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