History Of Indian Parallel Cinema
Bottom Line
Indian parallel cinema is a state-backed, art-house film movement that told realistic stories about caste, gender, labour and rural life. The history of Indian parallel cinema runs from the early 1950s to today: the movement peaked between the late 1960s and late 1980s, faded in the 1990s, and has returned through festival-driven independent films.
According to MUBI Notebook (2024), parallel cinema produced more than 200 feature films over almost three decades. The modern revival is often foreign co-produced. Payal Kapadia's All We Imagine as Light (2024), for example, won the Grand Prix at Cannes (SCMP, 2025).
Key Takeaways
- Parallel Cinema produced over 200 features, more than the French New Wave.
- State funding through the Film Finance Corporation launched the movement's 1969 breakthrough.
- Historians disagree on dates: 1952–1992 versus Omar Ahmed's 1968–1995.
- Malayalam, Kannada and Assamese filmmakers shaped the movement alongside Bengali and Hindi directors.
- Restorations like Manthan at Cannes 2024 are bringing classics back to audiences.
In 1976, a dairy farmer in Gujarat's Kheda district handed over two rupees to his milk cooperative. He wasn't buying milk or feed. He was paying for a film about farmers like himself. Half a million farmers did the same, and the result was Shyam Benegal's Manthan, which DT Next (2024) describes as the first crowdfunded Indian film.
That small payment captures the central tension in this movement. Serious Indian cinema needed money from outside the box office to survive. It found that money from the state, from cooperatives, and later from foreign partners. When the money dried up, so did the films.
What is Indian parallel cinema and when did it begin?
Indian parallel cinema is a realist, low-budget film movement that ran "parallel" to mainstream Hindi entertainment. It rejected song-and-dance formulas and focused on everyday social truths. Its roots go back to the late 1940s and 1950s, but most historians treat 1969 as the year it became a defined movement.
The early roots: 1946 to 1960
The movement didn't appear overnight. Chetan Anand's Neecha Nagar (1946) shared the Grand Prix at the first Cannes Film Festival. Bimal Roy's Do Bigha Zamin (1953) followed a poor farmer who loses his land to debt.
Then came Satyajit Ray's Pather Panchali in 1955. Ray shot on real locations with mostly non-professional actors. Ritwik Ghatak made Meghe Dhaka Tara in 1960, a raw portrait of a refugee family after Partition. These Bengali films proved that Indian cinema could be personal, political and global at once.
The BFI (2023) calls Parallel Cinema South Asia's first post-colonial art film movement, one that told new truths about women, caste and religion.
The 1969 breakthrough
Three films released in 1969 are usually named as the movement's starting point:
- Mrinal Sen's Bhuvan Shome: a comedy about a strict railway officer softened by a village girl
- Mani Kaul's Uski Roti: a slow, formal study of a woman waiting for her bus-driver husband
- Basu Chatterjee's Sara Akash: a quiet drama about a strained arranged marriage
All three shared one cinematographer. According to ASAP Art (2025), KK Mahajan photographed each of them, and Bhuvan Shome was backed by the Film Finance Corporation.
Why the dates are disputed
Historians don't agree on when the movement started or ended. Wikipedia gives 1952–1992 for the first wave and 1998 to the present for a resurgence. Film historian Omar Ahmed dates it to 1968–1995 in his January 2025 Bloomsbury book, The Revolution of Indian Parallel Cinema in the Global South (1968–1995).
The difference comes down to definition. The longer timeline counts Ray and Ghatak as founders. Ahmed's tighter frame tracks the period when state policy actively funded experimental films as a group. For students, Ahmed's dates are more useful when studying the movement as an organised wave. The broader dates work better for tracing its artistic ancestry.
How did state funding shape the history of Indian parallel cinema?
State funding is the main reason Indian parallel cinema existed at scale. The Film Finance Corporation (FFC), set up in 1960, began backing unconventional films in the late 1960s, and the FFC's policy made the 1969 breakthrough of Bhuvan Shome possible. Later, the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) took over the FFC's role, and NFDC's shrinking budget helps explain the decline.
The FFC's turn toward risky projects came under chairman B.K. Karanjia, who, according to MUBI Notebook (2024), made a radical shift in the FFC's film policy. Low-interest state loans let directors pursue ideas that commercial producers avoided. Meanwhile, the Film Institute of India in Pune, also founded in 1960, trained directors such as Mani Kaul and Kumar Shahani. Over almost three decades, the movement produced more than 200 feature films (MUBI Notebook, 2024). The weakness of the state model was distribution: FFC loans built the movement but rarely got its films into cinemas.
The Karanjia shift at the FFC
The FFC first lent money to safe, mid-budget projects. The FFC's lending changed under chairman B.K. Karanjia. MUBI Notebook (2024) reports that Karanjia made a radical shift in the FFC's film policy, which let more unusual projects attract state financing.
The results were fast. Over almost three decades, Parallel Cinema produced more than 200 feature films, according to MUBI Notebook (2024). That total outnumbers the French New Wave and the New German Cinema combined.
Training at the Pune film institute
The Film Institute of India in Pune (now FTII) is the state film school, founded in 1960, that trained key directors of Indian parallel cinema, including Mani Kaul and Kumar Shahani. State money alone wasn't enough to build the movement. Parallel cinema also needed filmmakers trained in approaches beyond commercial Bombay formulas.
Ritwik Ghatak taught at the Pune institute in the mid-1960s. Ghatak's students included Mani Kaul and Kumar Shahani, whose Maya Darpan (1972) became a key experimental work.
A suggested next read for students: our planned piece on the history of FTII Pune and its film graduates.
Funding models compared
Not every parallel film relied on the same source. The table below shows the main routes filmmakers used.
| Funding route | Example film | Year | Strength | Limitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State loan (FFC) | Bhuvan Shome | 1969 | Low-interest money for risky ideas | Films often lacked distribution |
| Cooperative crowdfunding | Manthan | 1976 | Audience owned the project | Hard to repeat at scale |
| Film society cooperative | Swayamvaram | 1972 | Local control in Kerala | Small budgets |
| Foreign co-production | All We Imagine as Light | 2024 | Access to global festivals | Domestic release can be limited |
The pattern in the table is clear. State loans built the movement, but FFC loans rarely solved distribution. FFC-backed films could win National Awards and then barely reach cinemas.
Which filmmakers and regional cinemas defined the movement?
The movement's best-known names are Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen, Shyam Benegal and Adoor Gopalakrishnan. But it was never only a Bengali or Hindi story. Malayalam, Kannada and Assamese directors made some of its strongest work, often with smaller budgets and less national attention.
Benegal and the Hindi new wave
Shyam Benegal brought parallel cinema closer to mainstream audiences. His rural trilogy began with Ankur (The Seedling) in 1974. Nishant (The Night's End) followed and was presented in Competition at Cannes in 1976, according to the Festival de Cannes (2024). Manthan completed the set.
Benegal's films introduced a new generation of actors:
- Smita Patil, who starred in Nishant, Manthan and Bhumika (1977)
- Shabana Azmi, who debuted in Ankur
- Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri, who became the movement's leading men
Govind Nihalani, Benegal's cinematographer, later directed Aakrosh (1980) and Ardh Satya (1983). Saeed Mirza and Kundan Shah also worked in this space. Many of these films put women's lives at the centre, a theme that connects to our chronological guide to milestones in Indian women's history.
Benegal died at 90 on December 23, 2024, after battling chronic kidney disease, as reported by The Week and Digital Studio India (2024).
South Indian and Assamese voices
Regional filmmakers often worked further from Bombay's influence. Three examples stand out:
- Malayalam: Adoor Gopalakrishnan's Swayamvaram (1972) was made through Chitralekha, a Kerala film cooperative. His Elippathayam (1981) studied a decaying feudal household.
- Kannada: Pattabhirama Reddy's Samskara (1970), based on U.R. Ananthamurthy's novel, challenged Brahmin orthodoxy. Girish Kasaravalli's Ghatashraddha (1977) followed.
- Assamese: Jahnu Barua's Halodhia Choraye Baodhan Khai (1987) dealt with a farmer losing his land.
Many top-ranked articles skip these films entirely. That's a real gap. A student who knows only Ray and Benegal misses half the movement. For context on how regional films have performed over time, see our guide to historic dates in Indian regional cinema.
Ahmed's high point: 1978 to 1989
The "High Point" of Indian parallel cinema is the 1978–89 period, according to Omar Ahmed, who curated HOME Manchester's "Not Just Bollywood" season. MUBI (2024) reports that Ahmed splits the movement into four phases and calls 1978–89, the years after the Emergency, its most productive stretch.
Ahmed also pushes back on a common idea. He argues that treating popular and arthouse cinema as separate tiers is misleading, because the two regularly shared ideas, people and methods (ASAP Art, 2025). Naseeruddin Shah and Smita Patil, for instance, worked in both worlds. We agree with Ahmed here. The "two cinemas" model is a teaching shortcut, not an accurate map.
Why did parallel cinema decline, and did it ever come back?
Parallel cinema declined in the early 1990s as state funding shrank, production costs rose and satellite television changed viewing habits. It never fully disappeared. A resurgence began in the late 1990s, and today's version is driven by film festivals, streaming platforms and foreign co-producers rather than state loans.
What changed in the 1990s
Several pressures hit at once:
- Economic liberalisation after 1991 pushed public bodies toward commercial returns
- Satellite TV channels drew audiences away from small single-screen theatres
- NFDC backed fewer experimental projects
- Theatrical distribution for low-budget films stayed weak
The decline fits within the broader economic story covered in our timeline of economic milestones in Indian history from 1947.
NFDC's changing role
The National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) is the state body that carried on the FFC's film-funding role, and NFDC's job has since shifted from backing individual films to running a merged public media organisation. In 2022, the government merged Films Division, the Directorate of Film Festivals, the National Film Archive of India and the Children's Film Society into NFDC.
PTI/India TV (2022) reported that Rs 1304.52 crore was set aside up to 2026 for these merged bodies. Rs 1304.52 crore sounds large. But the allocation covers archives, festivals, documentaries and children's films together. Few analysts connect the 2022 merger to the old FFC model, where a single loan could launch a first-time director's career.
The new indie wave and foreign partners
The modern revival looks different. Filmmakers now raise money from abroad. Outlook (2025) notes that France has emerged as an important partner for Indian independent cinema.
Recent landmarks include:
- Rima Das's Village Rockstars (2017): an Assamese film often paired with Ray as present-day parallel cinema (SDAFF, 2025)
- Payal Kapadia's All We Imagine as Light (2024): the first Indian drama in Cannes' main competition in 30 years, and winner of the Grand Prix (SCMP, 2025). It earned $1,089,678 at the US box office (The Numbers, 2025).
- Neeraj Ghaywan's Homebound: India's submission for Best International Feature at the 98th Academy Awards (Variety, 2025)
There's a tradeoff in this model. Foreign money opens festival doors, but it doesn't guarantee Indian audiences. Many of these films get wider releases abroad than at home. For more on India's festival history, read our list of Indian cinema milestones on the global stage.
How is the history of Indian parallel cinema being preserved today?
Preservation now depends on restoration labs, private foundations and international festivals. Groups like the Film Heritage Foundation work with labs such as Italy's L'Immagine Ritrovata and Prasad to rescue damaged prints. Restored films then premiere at Cannes Classics, which brings them to new audiences worldwide.
Restorations at Cannes
Two recent restorations show how this works:
- Manthan (1976): restored and selected for a world premiere in the Cannes Classics strand in 2024 (Wikipedia, 2024)
- Aranyer Din Ratri (1970): Ray's film reached Cannes Classics in 2025 after a six-year restoration effort spearheaded by Wes Anderson (Variety, 2025)
A six-year timeline tells you how fragile these prints are. Many 1970s films were shot on cheap stock and stored in hot, humid conditions. Some originals are already lost.
Anniversaries keep the canon alive
Dates matter in film memory. Ritwik Ghatak's birth centenary fell on November 4, 2025. The Week and DT Next (2025) report that tributes included a special programme at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM).
Anniversaries like these are useful hooks for teachers. A centenary gives a reason to screen Meghe Dhaka Tara in class. Our method for learning Indian history through chronological timelines works well for film history too.
What students can watch and read
Access has improved, but it's uneven. Some restored classics stream on MUBI or the Criterion Channel. Others appear only at festivals or archive screenings. Two reading starting points:
- Omar Ahmed's 2025 Bloomsbury book, for a phase-by-phase history
- MUBI Notebook's 2024 essays, for funding and policy context
A limitation worth knowing: subtitled, legal copies of many regional films remain hard to find. Kannada and Assamese titles are often the hardest. A planned future piece on where to watch restored Indian classics will track this.
Related Reading
- Historic Milestones of Indian Cinema on the Global Stage
- Record-Breaking Runs: Historic Dates in Indian Regional Cinema
- Milestones in Indian Women's History: A Chronological Guide
- 1,000 Years of Indian Medical History: A Chronological Guide
FAQ
Q: What is the difference between parallel cinema and mainstream Bollywood? Parallel cinema used realism, real locations and social themes like caste and land rights. Mainstream Bollywood focused on stars, songs and entertainment formulas. The two often shared actors and crew, so the line was never fully fixed.
Q: Which film started Indian parallel cinema? Most historians point to 1969, when Bhuvan Shome, Uski Roti and Sara Akash released. Others trace the roots back to Pather Panchali (1955) or Neecha Nagar (1946). The answer depends on whether you define the movement by style or by state funding.
Q: Is parallel cinema still made in India today? Yes, though it's now usually called independent or indie cinema. Films like Village Rockstars (2017) and All We Imagine as Light (2024) carry the tradition forward. Most rely on festivals and foreign co-producers rather than state loans.
Q: Who were the main actors of Indian parallel cinema? Smita Patil, Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri are the best-known names. Many of them started in Shyam Benegal's films in the 1970s. Several also worked in commercial Hindi films.
Your next move
Pick one decade and watch three films from it this month. If you want the movement's origins, choose the 1969 trio. If you want its peak, choose 1978–89 titles like Aakrosh, Elippathayam and Ardh Satya. Note each film's year, language and funding source in a simple timeline, and you'll understand the movement better than any summary can teach you.
Sources
- Never to Meet: Indian Parallel Cinema — MUBI Notebook, 2024. Supports: Over almost three decades, parallel cinema produced more than 200 feature films, more than the French New Wave and New German Cinema combined.
- Benegal's Manthan, restored in Prasad Lab's unit in Chennai, to be showcased at Cannes Classics — DT Next, 2024. Supports: 500,000 farmers paid Rs 2 each to fund Manthan, making it the first crowdfunded Indian film, and it was restored for Cannes Classics.
- Manthan, the power of the collective — Festival de Cannes, 2024. Supports: Benegal's rural trilogy was Ankur (1974), Nishant (in Competition at Cannes in 1976) and then Manthan.
- Indian Parallel Cinema: 5 essential filmmakers from a seismic Indian cinema revolution — BFI, 2023. Supports: The BFI calls Parallel Cinema South Asia's first post-colonial art film movement.
- All We Imagine as Light, this year's Cannes Grand Prix winner, to be released by BFI Distribution — BFI, 2024. Supports: All We Imagine as Light was the first Indian film in Cannes' Official Competition in 30 years, and it won the Grand Prix.
- Legendary Indian filmmaker Shyam Benegal dies at age 90 — VOA News, 2024. Supports: Shyam Benegal died at 90 on December 23, 2024, after chronic kidney disease.
- Wes Anderson Powers Satyajit Ray's 'Aranyer Din Ratri' Rescue for Cannes Classics — Variety, 2025. Supports: A six-year restoration led by Wes Anderson brought Aranyer Din Ratri (1970) to Cannes Classics.
- India's Oscar Entry Is Neeraj Ghaywan's Cannes Title 'Homebound' — Variety, 2025. Supports: Homebound was India's submission for Best International Feature at the 98th Academy Awards.
- Govt merges Films Division, DFF, NFAI, CFSI with NFDC — India TV News (PTI), 2022. Supports: In 2022, Films Division, the Directorate of Film Festivals, the National Film Archive of India and the Children's Film Society were merged into NFDC, with Rs 1304.52 crore set aside up to 2026.
- The Revolution of Indian Parallel Cinema in the Global South (1968–1995) — Bloomsbury (via Google Books), 2025. Supports: Omar Ahmed's Bloomsbury book dates the movement to 1968–1995.