Erra Cinema (
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
...
: ఎర్ర) refers to a collection of films in Telugu attributed to various left oriented political ideologies. Although it cannot be understood as a genre, it owes its nomenclature to the popular coinage and reference. The
Communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...
parties in
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
are popularly referred to as the 'Erra partilu' (Red Parties) or 'Erra jenda partilu' (Red Flag Parties). This reference is extended to films which portray the struggles of the oppressed and the downtrodden often banded under the aegis of a 'Red flag' party. Significant here is the ambiguity in the affiliation to the ideologies of specific political parties who commonly use red flags as symbols. This cinema is not always of an art-house variety.
As with other cinemas in India, Telugu cinema attracted the cultural workers of the left and the left leaning intellectuals. Erra Cinema regularly uses their literature and particularly songs penned or performed by them.
Due to the portrayal of the triumph of the proletarian collective over the hegemonic order these films are considered to be anti-establishment. This view may have strengthened with the portrayal of
Naxalites or
Maoists
Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Chi ...
in these films. These films are also referred to as Naxalite films.
,
Dhavala Satyam
Davala Satyam is an Indian film director, producer and screenplay writer. He has worked predominantly in Telugu cinema since the early 1980s.
Satyam is known for his revolutionary movies known as Erra Cinema in Telugu. His film Yuvatharam Kad ...
, Vejjella Satyanarayana,
Madala Ranga Rao
Madala Rangarao (25 May 1948 – 27 May 2018) was an Indian actor and producer primarily active in Telugu cinema. He was born in Mynampadu of Prakasam district. He is noted for Erra Cinema or revolutionary movies in Telugu film industry. He is ...
,
T. Krishna,
R. Narayana Murthy,
Dasari Narayana Rao
Dasari Narayana Rao (4 May 1947 – 30 May 2017) was an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, lyricist, and politician known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema, in addition to Hindi cinema. He has directed more than 150 ...
,
N. Shankar are some of the directors who have produced films categorised under Erra Cinema.
References
Telugu-language films
Film genres
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