Page 6 - Seniorstoday April 2022 Issue
P. 6
Cover Story
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That 70s Cinema
The Dawn of a New Era in Bollywood
Deepa Gahlot takes us down memory lane when scintillating movies
were the norm and diversity was the defining change
This year would mark the 50th anniversary The Seventies decade was an
of some memorable Hindi films, like Seeta extraordinarily rich decade for Hindi
Aur Geeta, Pakeezah, Dushman, Apna cinema, a time when several genres co-
Desh, Bawarchi, Victoria No 203, Jawaani existed happily.
Diwani, Amar Prem, Bombay To Goa, The Fifties are known as the Golden Age,
Koshish, Parichay, Piya Ka Ghar, Rampur when in a post-Independence euphoria, a
Ka Laxman, Samaadhi. talent pool of writers, poets, filmmakers
The previous year had such landmarks and actors created aesthetically evolved,
as Anand, Mera Gaon Mera Desh, Hare socially-conscious cinema. By the time
Rama Hare Krishna, Sharmilee. The the Sixties rolled around, Westernisation,
Seventies had started with genre-defining Elvis Presley the start of the Flower Power
or breaking films like Johny Mera Naam, generation showed up in Hindi films in the
Sacha Jhootha, Purab Aur Paschim, form of lightweight romantic entertainers.
Chetna, Mera Naam Joker, and it only When the Sixties ended, Hindi films
got better. The all-time hits like Zanjeer, became increasingly entertainment-
Bobby, Deewar, Trishul, Sholay were still oriented and so full of mindless masala,
to come, and Ankur had yet to smash the that the Seventies saw a whole movement
mainstream Bollywood window. coming up in rebellion—what is now
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