Bollywood film industry is famous worldwide for its dance and musical numbers. Today, the commercial Hindi film industry has evolved to a level that we are garnering accolades from all over the globe.
With many films crossing the gigantic 500 crore mark at the worldwide box office collections, Bollywood film industry is definitely writing a new chapter in the global entertainment industry.
However, in the quest to be recognized and acknowledged globally, Bollywood has definitely forgotten the golden era of Hindi cinema. This golden era of Hindi cinema is defined as the emergence of parallel cinema in India.
Parallel cinema made way for new filmmakers and actors who dedicated their profession to the art of filmmaking rather than focusing on the box office success.
Some of the renowned gifts from Parallel cinema include filmmakers like Satyajit Ray, Shyam Benegal, Bimal Roy, Govind Nihalani, Basu Chatterjee and several others. This cinematic trend also paved way for a new breed of actors like Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil, Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Deepti Naval, Farooq Sheikh, Amol Palekar, Pankaj Kapur, and many others.
Today, we are offering a tribute to the parallel cinema and remembering the lost trend by sharing some of the best Hindi films from Parallel Cinema.
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Best Hindi Movies in Parallel Cinema
Parallel Cinema began spreading its wings in the early 1950s through Bengali Cinema. Basically, parallel cinema is the alternative version of commercial cinema where the focus is on the art and reality rather fantasy or popular trends.
Let’s check out some of the best output from the parallel cinema.
Do Bigha Zamin (1953)
Do Bigha Zamin is the plight of a family who are exploited by the village Zamindar. To get back their piece of land, the family goes through many different atrocities and their quest to make enough money is described brilliantly narrated in the film by Bimal Roy.
Garm Hawa (1973)
Garm Hawa portrays the life of a Muslim businessman and the troubles he faces because of his religion in the post-partition India. Director M.S. Sathyu tries to draw our attention to the treatment of Muslim families in India after the partition. Garam Hawa is one of the Best Movies of Balraj Sahni.
27 Down (1974)
27 Down reflects at the past of a middle-aged man while his journey to Varanasi or Banaras. The flashback takes us to his young days and mainly focuses on the two sacrifices he made in his life; his dreams and his love.
Ankur (1974)
Hells break loose when a Dalit woman has an illicit affair with the village landlord’s son. Based on a true story, Shyam Benegal tries to educate us about the human behavior as he narrates a story involving religious beliefs, caste discrimination, adultery, and child marriage. Ankur is credited as Shabana Azmi’s debut film.
Arvind Desai Ki Ajeeb Dastaan (1978)
Arvind Desai Ki Ajeeb Dastaan is all about what the title of the film suggests. It tells the interesting and weird story of Arvind Desai. Son of a rich businessman, Arvind Desai has different shades to his character. He begins an affair with his dad’s secretary, supports a Marxist ideology, visits a prostitute, and later dies accidentally. It’s the kind of film that raises so many questions by the end of the film.
Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai (1980)
Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyun Aata Hai portrays the angst of the main protagonist of the film played by Naseeruddin Shah. Directed by Saeed Akhtar Mirza, the film draws our attention towards the plight of laborers in Mumbai during the 80s at the hands of the capitalists and industrialists. The film also stars Smita Patil, Shabana Azmi, Dilip Dhawan, and others.
