A.K. Ramakrishnan

2 weeks ago | frontline.thehindu.com | M.K. Raghavendra |Vaishna Roy |A.K. Ramakrishnan |Vivek Katju

The standard approach among film critics to classical Hindi cinema of the 1940s and 1950s is to treat these films as aesthetic objects shaped by auteurs who also gave expression to social concerns. However, Hindi films made after 1947 may be more valuable as documents of their times—even if they are not as transparent or straightforward as historical records. As we move from pre-Independence cinema to cinema after 1947, one of the first noticeable shifts is the emergence of a new kind of hero.