Chhattisgarhi Cinema also known as Chhollywood refers to the film industry of

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (; ) is a landlocked States and union territories of India, state in Central India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the List ...

state, Central India, or to films created in the Chhattisgarhi language. It was established in 1965 with the release of the first Chhattisgarhi-language film, '' Kahi Debe Sandesh''.

History

'' Kahi Debe Sandesh'' was released in 1965. Directed and produced by Manu Nayak, it was a story of intercaste love; its release caused controversy, with Brahmins calling for a ban. The next Chhattisgarhi film to be released was ''Ghar Dwar'' in 1971, produced by Vijay Kumar Pandey. However, both performed poorly at the box office. On October 27, 2000, '' Mor Chhainha Bhuinya'' was released, the first Chhattisgarhi film since ''Ghar Dwar''. The film was a major success, grossing over ₹20,000,000, recouping its budget of around ₹2,000,000. Interest in the genre would further increase in 2005 when '' Bhakla'' was released, featuring a song composed by Kalyan Sen and sung by

Lata Mangeshkar Lata Mangeshkar (; born Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 6 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. He ...

. Later, the film ''Bar''. Satish Jain, having watched the film produced ''Mayaa'', Films such as ''Mahun Deewana Tahun Deewani'' (Swapnil Film Productions) ''Tura Rikshawala'', and ''Laila Tip Top Chhaila Angutha Chhap'' were released soon after. '' Bhulan The Maze'' opened to international praise and won several awards. It become first Chhattisgarhi movie to win a

National Film Awards The National Film Awards are awards for artistic and technical merit given for "Excellence within the Cinema of India, Indian film industry". Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India ...

, winning in category of Best Film in Chhattisgarhi at 67th National Film Awards. Today Chhattisgarhi films often play in theatres outside of

, especially in cities like

Nagpur Nagpur (; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Nāgapura'') is the second capital and third-largest city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is called the heart of India because of its central geographical location. It is the largest and most populated city i ...

. Today Government of Chhattisgarh made film policy for supporting Chhattisgarhi cinema.

Notable people

* Anuj Sharma (actor) * Nitin Dubey

References

{{Cinema of India Cinema of India by state or union territory Culture of Chhattisgarh