English-language Indian films go back to the days of

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

. After the coming of

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by ...

, feature films in English almost disappeared.

History

Silent era

In the 1920s, films directed by

Franz Osten Franz Osten (23 December 1876 in Munich – 2 December 1956) was a Bavarian filmmaker who along with Himansu Rai was among the first retainers of Bombay Talkies. Osten partnered with Rai on a number of India's earliest blockbuster films like ' ...

and Himansu Rai, including '' The Light of Asia'' and '' A Throw of Dice'', could be considered as English-language films because the titles were in English. With the coming of sound, directors such as Osten and Rai chose Hindi as the language, thus effectively bringing to a close this phase of English-language films made in India.

Crossover films

An attempt to make English talkies in India named ''Karma'' failed domestically in 1933. Indian crossover films appeared in

Indian cinema The Cinema of India consists of motion pictures produced in India, which had a large effect on world cinema since the late 20th century. Major centers of film production across the country include Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, K ...

with international productions with Indian themes, starting with

Merchant Ivory Productions Merchant Ivory Productions is a film company founded in 1961 by producer Ismail Merchant (1936–2005) and director James Ivory (b. 1928). Merchant and Ivory were life and business partners from 1961 until Merchant's death in 2005. During their ...

' first venture, ''

The Householder ''The Householder'' (Hindi title: ''Gharbar'') is a 1963 film by Merchant Ivory Productions, with a screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala and James Ivory, and direction of James Ivory. It is based upon the 1960 novel of the same name by Jhabval ...

'' (1963), which has an India story, setting with an Indian cast, and included

Shashi Kapoor Shashi Kapoor (pronounced �əʃi kəpuːɾ (born Balbir Raj Kapoor; 18 March 1938 – 4 December 2017) was an Indian actor and film producer who is best known for his work in Hindi films. A recipient of several accolades, including four Natio ...

Leela Naidu Leela Naidu (1940 – 28 July 2009) was an Indian actress who starred in a small number of Hindi and English films, including ''Yeh Raste Hain Pyar Ke'' (1963), based on the real-life Nanavati case, and ''The Householder'', Merchant Ivory Pr ...

, and

Durga Khote Durga Khote (14 January 1905 − 22 September 1991) was an Indian actress, beginning as one of the foremost leading ladies of her times, she remained active in Hindi and Marathi cinema, as well as theatre, for over 50 years, starring in around ...

. This was followed by a number of India-themed films largely propelled by Indian-born producer,

Ismail Merchant Ismail Merchant (born Ismail Noor Muhammad Abdul Rahman (25 December 1936 – 25 May 2005)) was an Indian film producer, director and screenwriter. He worked for many years in collaboration with Merchant Ivory Productions which included Direc ...

. However, it took a while before an Indian director would commercially take up making films in the English language.

Indian productions

The first such film came at the peak of the

Parallel cinema Parallel cinema, or New Indian Cinema, is a film movement in Indian cinema that originated in the state of West Bengal in the 1950s as an alternative to the mainstream commercial Indian cinema. Inspired by Italian Neorealism, Parallel Cinema ...

movement, when

Aparna Sen Aparna Sen (, ''Ôporna Shen'') is an Indian film director, screenwriter and actress who is known for her work in Bengali cinema. She has received several accolades as an actress and filmmaker, including nine National Film Awards, five Film ...

directed ''

36 Chowringhee Lane ''36 Chowringhee Lane'' is a 1981 film written and directed by Aparna Sen and produced by Shashi Kapoor. It marked the directorial debut of Sen, who had until then been known as a leading actress of Bengali cinema. The film was very well receive ...

'' (1981) to critical acclaim. Its lead actress, Jennifer Kendal was even nominated for a

BAFTA Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...

. The genre was able to stand on its own with

Dev Benegal Dev Benegal is an Indian filmmaker and screenwriter, most known for his debut film ''English, August'' (1994), which won the Best Feature Film in English at the 42nd National Film Awards. Early life and education Dev was born in New Delhi to ...

's ''

English, August ''English, August: An Indian Story'' is a novel by Indian author Upamanyu Chatterjee written in English, first published in 1988. It was adapted into a film of the same name in 1994. The novel portrays the struggle of a civil servant who is po ...

'' (1994) which was widely accepted by urban audiences and became its first hit, drawing an audience of 20 million. This paved the way for other directors to look at using English language as a viable medium, like

Nagesh Kukunoor Nagesh Kukunoor (born 30 March 1967) is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter and actor known for his works predominantly in Hindi cinema, and few Telugu language films. He is known for his works in parallel cinema, such as '' Hyder ...

who made '' Hyderabad Blues'' (1998);

Kaizad Gustad Kaizad Gustad (born 1968) is an Indian film director and author based in Mumbai, India. He is best known for his 1998 comedy ''Bombay Boys.'' In his career as an author, he has written three books, ''Of No Fixed Address'' published in 1998 by Ha ...

, ''

Bombay Boys ''Bombay Boys'' is a 1998 Indian cult comedy film written and directed by the Indian director Kaizad Gustad. It follows the adventures of three young men in modern-day Mumbai (or Bombay). The boys are of Indian origin, but were all raised in the ...

'' (1998); Homi Adajania, '' Being Cyrus'' (2006); and Rituporno Ghosh, whose ''

The Last Lear ''The Last Lear'' is a 2007 Indian drama film directed by Rituparno Ghosh. The film won the National Award of India for Best Feature Film in English in 2007. The film stars Amitabh Bachchan, Preity Zinta, Arjun Rampal, Divya Dutta, Shefali Sha ...

'' (2008), starring

Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most succe ...

as the lead, won the Best English Feature Award at National Film Award.English is recast in Indian films

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

, 24 October 2008. In the 2000s, Aparna Sen visited the genre again, and made two successive English features in '' Mr. and Mrs. Iyer'' (2002) and ''

15, Park Avenue ''15 Park Avenue'' is a 2005 English-language Indian film directed by Aparna Sen. It stars Shabana Azmi, Konkona Sen Sharma, Soumitra Chatterjee, Waheeda Rehman, Dhritiman Chatterjee, Rahul Bose and Kanwaljeet Singh.It won the National ...

'' (2005), which won a string of National Film Awards. Meanwhile, film directors of Indian descent, such as

Mira Nair Mira Nair (born 15 October 1957) is an Indian-American filmmaker based in New York City. Her production company, Mirabai Films, specializes in films for international audiences on Indian society, whether in the economic, social or cultural sphe ...

, Deepa Mehta, and Gurinder Chadha, continued to make English-language films on Indian themes to international acclaim; this has opened up the genre further both creatively and commercially.New Wave Cinema
''Beyond Bollywood: the cultural politics of South Asian diasporic film'' by Jigna Desai. Routledge, 2004. . ''195-6''.

List of films (partial)

References