SEC ASSIGNMENT

NAME: Priyal Dewan

ROLL NO.: 2021/661

QUESTION – Difference between Parallel Cinema and

Commercial Cinema.

ANSWER –
Introduction
- Technically, the word cinema itself derives from
the ancient Greek, kinema, meaning movement.
Cinema enhances imagination, shows the world
multiple perspectives, and expands our thinking
and vision. It connects cultures, introduces us to
different art forms, and adds new information and
facts to our lives.

PARALLEL CINEMA

Parallel cinema presents an alternative to the

commercial or mainstream cinema. It is made with
an artistic purpose without much consideration for
the commerce of it which explains why it is an
alternative and also why it is also called art film. It
is typically a serious, independent film, aimed at
a niche market rather than a mass market
audience. It is “intended to be a serious, artistic
work, often experimental and not designed for
mass appeal”, “made primarily for aesthetic
reasons rather than commercial profit”, and
contains “unconventional or highly symbolic
content”. The qualities that typically mark them as
different from mainstream films include a sense
of social realism; an emphasis on the authorial
expressiveness of the director; and a focus on the
thoughts, dreams, or motivations of characters, as
opposed to the unfolding of a clear, goal-driven
story.
Parallel cinema producers usually present their
films at special theaters and at film festivals. Since
they are aimed at small, niche-market audiences,
such films rarely acquire the financial backing that
would permit large production budgets associated
with widely released blockbuster films. The
directors make up for these constraints by creating
a different type of film, one that typically uses
lesser-known film actors (or even amateur actors),
and modest sets to make films that focus much
 more on developing ideas, exploring new narrative
techniques, and attempting new film-making
conventions. Since art films have small initial
investment costs, they only need to appeal to a
small portion of mainstream audiences to become
financially viable.

Main characteristics of parallel cinema:

● Parallel cinema contrasts sharply with mainstream
blockbuster films, which are geared more towards
linear storytelling and entertainment.
● They are generally low budget films that are close
to reality
● Generally experimental in nature and not formula-
based
● The story in parallel cinema often has a secondary
role to character development and exploration of
ideas. If it has a story, it is usually a drifting
sequence of vaguely defined or ambiguous
episodes
● Their narratives are motivated by two
principles: realism and authorial expressiveness
● They are fiction presented in a real manner

● They provide the canvas for more ‘personal’ style

for the director
● Director's main concern is about expressing
himself without caring about how public likes it.
The director works on the understanding that it is
not made for general public
● They are difficult projects to attract financing due
to low or no possibility for return on investment
because they aim to mainly present director’s
vision without much concern for its reception by
the majority of people who may not want to
engage with serious ideas
● More importance given to cinematography being
realistic and less importance given to
cinematography being visually fantastic
● They are mostly subdued in nature

● They generally depict some contemporary social

political problem
● They throw light on the harsh reality of life and
society for example, Masaan, Dor
● They are intellectual in nature

● They are made for elite audience who are

expected to be so affected by the movie that it
makes a difference to their thought process
● The issues like moral dilemmas or identity crises
are probed and investigated in a pensive fashion,
but usually left without a clear resolution at the
end of the film
● There may be unexplained gaps in the film,
deliberately unclear sequences, or extraneous
sequences that are not related to previous scenes,
which force the viewer to subjectively make their
own interpretation of the film's message
● They are considered to be “largely a cerebral
experience” that one enjoys “because of what you
know about film”
● There are no idols or stars in the film. There are
only ideas that shake the mind of the viewer
● They portray political ideas, social realism and
ordinary heroes
● Many a times they engage new artists based on
their talent with a different approach to
performance
● There is no requirement for song/dance sequences

● They are not advertised on popular platforms as

they do not have large budgets
● For promotion, such films rely on the publicity
generated from film critics’ reviews; discussion of
the film by arts columnists, commentators, and
bloggers; and word-of-mouth promotion by
audience members and critical acclaim awarded by
juries at film festivals
● They have less dependence on popular genres

● They are usually commercially not viable

● They may not get commercial success but they get

critical acclaim and are appreciated at Film
Festivals
● Since they are made on low budget, without any
star power, for a niche audience and released in
limited theatres, it was found that they can be
commercially viable through strategic
management.
In the 1980s and 1990s, major motion-picture
studios noted the niche appeal of parallel cinema
and companies such as Miramax
Films distributed art films that were deemed
commercially viable.

COMMERCIAL CINEMA

A commercial film is a movie created with the

intent of making money. Commercial films are
therefore made for mass appeal and for all ages
for entertainment so that it has a wide appeal that
can be successfully converted into a large
viewership thereby generating profit for the film.
The films include comedy, dance, songs and grand
settings and are shot at different locations. In
these films the roles are played by popular actors
and actresses. There may be many lead artists or
popular star cast in the film depending on the
story line. Commercial film making crew also
includes singers, choreographers, musicians etc.
These films are produced with huge budgets and
may take longer period for the completion of the
film. To add special visual effects, hi-tech sets are
used and large number of extra artists are cast in
the films. Huge campaigns, advertisements and
star promotions of the films are held and
publicized for the release. These campaigns are
conducted for the success of the film, popularity
and for the revenue.
Commercial cinema is also referred to as
Mainstream cinema which includes all popular
culture, usually circulated by mass media. A
Mainstream film can best be defined as a
commercial film bound to producer, and the film
depends on the income from the cinema.
Mainstream is a term that usually means the
common current of thought held by the majority.
It is most often applied in the arts like music,
literature, performances and cinema. This
includes:
Something that is ordinary and usual;
Something that is familiar to most people;
Something that is available to the general public;
Something that has ties to corporate or
commercial entities
Mainstream movies can be defined as movies that
cost much to make and are created for profit. To
pay the cost and make the profit they are made so
very many people will want to pay to see them.
They have a wide release to first run theaters.
Those are movie theaters that run mostly new
mainstream movies from the major movie
companies. After their time in first-run theaters,
mainstream movies are sold at popular
stores. Typical Hollywood and Bollywood movies
are considered mainstream and may also be
blockbusters.

INDIAN PARALLEL CINEMA MOVEMENT

Parallel Cinema is a film movement in Indian
cinema that originated in the 1950s as an
alternative to the mainstream commercial Indian
cinema. It is known for its serious
content, realism and naturalism, symbolic
elements with a keen eye on the socio-
political climate of the times, and for the rejection
of inserted dance-and-song routines that are
typical of mainstream Indian films. This cinema
borrowed heavily from the Indian literature of the
times, hence became an important study of the
contemporary Indian society, and is now used by
scholars and historians alike to map the changing
demographics and socio-economic as well as
political temperament of the Indian populace.
Inspired by Italian Neorealism, Parallel Cinema
began just before the French New
Wave and Japanese New Wave, and was a
precursor to the Indian New Wave of the 1960s.
Though realism in Indian cinema dates back to the
1920s and 1930s, the Parallel Cinema movement
began to take shape from the late 1940s to the
1965 when the intellectual filmmakers and story
writers became frustrated with musical films. To
counter this, they created a genre of films which
depicted reality from an artful perspective. The
movement was initially led by Bengali cinema and
produced internationally acclaimed filmmakers
such as Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Ritwik
Ghatak, Tapan Sinha and others. It later gained
prominence in other film industries
of India and Bangladesh.
This period is considered part of the 'Golden Age'
of Indian cinema. Right from its inception, Indian
cinema has had people who wanted to and did use
the medium for more than entertainment. They
used it to highlight prevalent issues and
sometimes to throw open new issues for the
public. An early example was Chetan
Anand's Neecha Nagar (1946), a social realist film
that won the Grand Prize at the first Cannes Film
Festival. Certain art films have also garnered
commercial success, in an industry known for its
surrealism or 'fantastical' movies, and successfully
combined features of both art and commercial
cinema. An early example of this was Bimal Roy
's Do Bigha Zamin (1953), which was both a
commercial and critical success. The most famous
Indian “neo-realist” was the Bengali
film director Satyajit Ray, whose most famous
films were Pather
Panchali (1955), Aparajito (1956) and The World of
Apu (1959), which formed The Apu Trilogy.
Parallel cinema gave way to new wave movies in
the sixties which addressed genuine non-
glamorous middle-class issues. There is a whole
range of artistic films under both these genres
which are far too many to be enumerated here.
CINEMA AND INDIA
Movies have always been the most popular mode
of entertainment in India. Every Friday there is
buzz around cinema halls on a new release.
Cinema in India is in itself a diverse strand of
expression incorporating mainstream cinema
which holds popular appeal, art or parallel cinema
that engages with social issues, middle cinema
and regional language cinema. Mainstream or
popular Hindi cinema is also better known as
"Bollywood" because such cinema is seen to
exercise widespread influence over people and
enjoys mass appeal. Popular cinema and culture
derive from each other. Films are believed to be
the opium of the Indian masses as people rely on
this medium to help them escape to a world of
fantasy. In a bid to reach the masses, mainstream
cinema has become melodramatic and rhetorical.
The presentation of extremes has been common.

Examples of Mainstream Cinema in India are -

Sholay, Zanzeer, Don, Hum Aapke Hain Kaun,
Devdas, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Dil to Pagal
hain, Kuch Kuch Hota Hain, Kabhi Khusi Kabhi
Gham, Doom series, Krrish series, etc.
Examples of Parallel Cinema in India are - Do Bhiga
Zamin, Pather Panchali, Salam Bombay, Sati,
Welcome to Sajjanpur, Chandni Baar, Lakshmi,
Ishanou, Leibaklei etc. Although parallel cinema
has the power to drive change in society, throwing
light on the harsh reality of society has been the
main aim of this genre but as mentioned above,
the charm of drama, item numbers and fight
cannot be pulled out from Indian audiences and
thus it gave birth to new form of cinema which
included social issues with Bollywood masala.
Movies like Dor, Gulaal, Udaan, Gangs of
Wasseypur deal with some of the critical social
issues but they have also included the
entertainment factor which audiences demand.
Today there is a vast difference between old and
new parallel cinema. Directors Satyajt Ray, Bimal
Roy and Guru Dutt started together a wave in
Indian Cinema marked as the ‘Golden Period’. Now
there are a few Indian directors trying to make
impact. The current off-beat films, unlike the old
parallel cinema, are less political and have little
potential to create social impact. Due to more
emphasis on business, movies are getting
dominated by the commercial factor leading to
fading point of parallel cinema.
 While the Indian film industry has a powerful
presence in alternative or art cinema domain via
parallel films and new wave films that have deep
impact on the minds of the elite audience, the
hearts of the general public nevertheless has been
captured by the popular, mainstream or
commercial cinema. The cult status achieved by
veteran actors like Amitabh Bachchan and demi
god status granted to popular idols shows that the
public in India not just adores the stars but
venerates them as well. There are temples
dedicates to actors in South India. Need we say
more about the relation between India and
cinema?

Conclusion
- Parallel cinema was criticized for being too
pretentious and self-indulgent for mainstream
audiences. While analyzing the decline of parallel
cinema, Professor Camille Paglia argued in her
article that young people from the 2000s do not
have patience for the long, slow take that deep-
think European directors once specialized in, an
approach which gave “luxurious scrutiny of the
tiniest facial expressions or the chilly sweep of a
sterile room or bleak landscape”.
 The 1950s and 1960s was the time of the parallel
cinema’s greatest influence. After that, the
influence waned. Though the impact of the style
and method continues to be visible in bits and
pieces in contemporary movies, or a film or two
now and then, a section of audience is hoping for
resurgence of the genre.
- Having once realised the outreach and impact of
mainstream cinema on society and people, neither
the filmmakers nor the audience should turn away
from treating it as a medium which has the
potential to make all the difference. The relation
between the product (cinema) and its consumers
(audience) is a two-sided one, where each feeds
off the other. They create what we like and we like
what they create, and so goes on this vicious cycle.
As responsible members of a progressive society,
we must acknowledge that this cycle needs to
stop. We need to recognize the regressive ideas
being presented in cinema, or in any other
medium whatsoever, and shun them. As a society,
we need to move towards more wholesome
entertainment. Mainstream cinema can be healthy
and help develop a positive mindset while
entertaining.