Santali cinema, also known as Sollywood, has its presence in the Indian states of

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...

and

Orissa Odisha (), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is a state located in Eastern India. It is the eighth-largest state by area, and the eleventh-largest by population, with over 41 million inhabitants. The state also has the thir ...

, and parts of

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

(especially

Jhapa District Jhapa District (; ) is a district of Koshi Province in eastern Nepal named after a Rajbanshi Surjapuri language word "Jhapa", meaning "to cover" (verb). The 2021 Nepal Census, puts the total population of the district at 994,090. The total ar ...

and Morang District), where

Santals The Santal (or Santhal) are an Austroasiatic-speaking Munda ethnic group of the Indian subcontinent. Santals are the largest tribe in the Jharkhand and West Bengal in terms of population and are also found in the states of Odisha, Bihar, Assam ...

live. Santali films are made in the

Santali language Santali (, , , , ) is a Kherwarian languages, Kherwarian Munda languages, Munda language spoken natively by the Santals, Santal people of South Asia. It is the most widely-spoken language of the Munda subfamily of the Austroasiatic languages, ...

History

The history of Santali cinema seems to be little unknown or disputed. Before 2000, most of the Santali films were simultaneously or partially re-shot with Bengali films. Or many Bengali films were dubbed and released in Santali, which continue to this day. The chapter of Santali cinema began in the 1980s, when few Santali films were commercially successful at regional level. While Santali cinema may not have gained mainstream popularity compared to other regional film industries in India, it plays a significant role in representing and preserving the cultural diversity of the Santali community. The industry continues to evolve, and with increasing access to technology and platforms, Santali filmmakers have more opportunities to reach a wider audience and promote their unique stories and perspectives. Santali cinema has not been able to create an identity as a film industry like most other cinemas in India. Every year about 8 to 10 films are made and released directly, on CDs only. None of them are released in cinema halls, due to low budget and minimal support from state government in development of the cinema. Music albums are preferred over video films, as the budget is very low and production cost is easily recovered. The number of these ranges from 10 to 20. Santali cinema has a good scope in the states of Jharkhand and Odisha the majority of its viewers reside in these regions. Although some initiatives have been taken to support Santali cinema, allowing it to prosper, only three films managed to make it to the big screen : '' Chando Likhon'', which was released in 2001, was the first film to be made on

35 mm movie film 35 mm film is a film gauge used in filmmaking, and the film standard. In motion pictures that record on film, 35 mm is the most commonly used gauge. The name of the gauge is not a direct measurement, and refers to the nominal width of the ...

; second in this series was ''Sagun Ena Sohag Dular'' (2003), which was loosely based on the 1982

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

film '' Nadiya Ke Paar''; ''Jewee Jurie (Life Partner)'' (2009) was produced by SBT Movie Craft and released widely in the states of Jharkhand, Odisha, and others. ''Bonodal (The Change)'' (2016), Nepal's first historic Santali feature film, was produced and directed by Kiran Khatiwada. In 2008, first international platform for Santali films was launched in Jamshedpur by Dashrath Hansda. On the same year, RASCA launched a website. As there is no film development corporation in

, the Santali film industry is in an unremarkable position, and due to this, films and music albums are made less in number and distributed inefficiently, due to cost and other reasons. In Jharkhand,

Dhanbad Dhanbad is the second-most populated city in the Indian state of Jharkhand after Jamshedpur and a major financial hub of Jharkhand. In terms of economy, Dhanbad has the largest economy in the state of Jharkhand and it is often referred to as th ...

Jamshedpur Jamshedpur (; ), also known as Tatanagar, is a major industrial city in eastern India. It is the List of cities in Jharkhand by population, largest city in the state of Jharkhand. With a population of 629,658 in the city limits and 1.3 million ...

and their surroundings, don't have proper cinema halls and ticket prices are very low compared to

multiplexes In telecommunications and computer networking, multiplexing (sometimes contracted to muxing) is a method by which multiple analog or digital signals are combined into one signal over a shared medium. The aim is to share a scarce resource—a ...

all over India. So releasing a film in cinema halls is not very profitable.

Notable people

Actors

* Ravi Hansda (Known as 'Prem da') * Dasharath Hansda * Prem Mardi * Surendra Tudu * Babun Mandi * Lakhan Soren * Rajuraj Biruli * Somra Soren (Hero, Villain & Comedian. Known as 'Shankar Dada') * Bikram Marandi ( Comedy king of Santali film industry. Known as 'Thopong Tudu') * Karunakar Soren * Umesh Mardi * Raj Dada * Vimal Kumar Saha * Lakhan Murmu * Satyam Hansda * Romeo Baskey * Priyo Hembram * Deepak Kumar Hembram * Pankaj Murmu * Rakesh * Rajendra Soren * Deepak Singh Bari * Fulchand Baskey * Sagun Singal Hansda * Birsa Hansda * Ramraj Hansda

Actress

* Dagar Tudu * Preeti Bala Soren * Mariyam Hembram * Malho Mardi * Birbaha Hansda

Directors

* Dashrath Hansda * Seral Murmu * Mansingh Baskey

Singers

* Rathin Kisku * Monika Mundu

Films

*''Godom Hadam Cycle '' (2019) *''Dare oka ko seno kan? ( Where do the trees go? '' (2025)

Santali films

* ''Sondhayni'' (2019) directed by Seral Murmu * ''Raawah'' (2017) directed by Seral Murmu * ''Godom Hadam Cycle '' (2019) directed by Mansingh Baskey *'' Dare oka ko seno kan? '' (where do the trees go? ) (2025) directed by Mansingh Baskey * '' Chando Likhon (The Script Of God)'' (2001) first film to be made on 35 mm film * ''Hai Re Aree Chali (Alas! Our Customs)'' (2004) * ''Jewee Jurie'' (2009) * ''Sita Nala Re Sagun Supari'' screened at the second edition of Nepal International Indigenous Film Festival, 2008 * ''Poran Porayni'' * ''Bir Manani'' * ''Sabarnaka Surubali'' (2018) * ''Karo Kuili'' (2018) * ''Mogod Dulaar'' (Love Unexpressed) (2009) * ''Aamge Sari Dulariya'' (2012) * ''Bardu'' (2014) * ''Sagai'' (2014) directed by Raj Lakhan * ''Suluk'' (2013) * ''Arjun'' (2019) directed by Reema Noopur * ''Sona Miru'' (2022) * ''Bonodal (The Change)'' (2016) directed and produced by Kiran Khatiwada; Nepal's first historic Santali feature film *''Kiryo'' (2012) directed by Sibaji Baskey

References

{{Cinema of India Cinema of Jharkhand Cinema by language of India Culture of Jharkhand