Mana Cinema…First Reel : A Timeless Tribute to Indian and South Indian Film History written by Rentala Jayadeva and published by EMESCO
Review by Rajeshwari Kalyanam
With more than a bunch of OTTs that offer unlimited movie time at the click of a button, and numerous theatres where you can still buy a ticket and enjoy the whole experience of watching a movie – there is so much content that we watch today. And movie-making has been undergoing massive changes with new technologies being invented and used at a mind-boggling speed – not to mention the craft itself, which is being subjected to unhindered creativity.
It all started over 100 years ago
To imagine it all started more than 100 years ago when people shot a live play on film to show it to the audience minus the dialogues is mind boggling. That was perhaps one of the foremost forms of cinema that we know of today. Or even a bunch of years earlier, when glass slides with pictures were shown through what was called a magic lantern (which can be termed as a predecessor to the movie projector of later years), as the stories were narrated with musical instruments on the side. The pictures on the slides would sometimes be shown at a speed in order to create an illusion of movement.
All this was before a movie closest to what we know today, with proper cast and crew, was shot by the legendary Dadasaheb Phalke in the year 1913 – ‘Raja Harishchandra’. This is considered the first Indian silent feature film, where cards in English and Hindi would be placed in between scenes for comprehension.
Rentala Jayadeva’s Mana Cinema…First Reel
In fact, film making in India too started around the same time as the rest of the world, writes senior award-winning film journalist and writer Rentala Jayadeva in his new book – a comprehensive 566-page non-fiction Telugu book on the history of Indian cinema – Mana Cinema…First Reel, published by EMESCO.
History is a strange being in today’s day and time when we are overloaded with information. Yet we aren’t quite sure which information to trust or how to make sense of the excessiveness of it all. Amidst all this, if one thing has not changed, it is the love for cinema. And Mana Cinema…First Reel by Rentala Jayadeva is a book that has been conceptualised for the love of cinema.
Rentala Jayadeva with Director Sukumar
Years of Research and Passion for Films
It is the result of extensive research, bringing together massive amounts of information – decoding, validating, authenticating, and streamlining it all – before pouring it out in the form of excellently engaging prose. Storytelling has always been the strong side of Rentala Jayadeva – regular readers of his newspaper features would vouch for it. Succeeding in telling the story of Indian cinema in an interesting way, from what otherwise is a bunch of dry information, facts, and figures, says a lot about him as a writer of history.
Amply illustrated (a little less than 2000 pictures), Mana Cinema…First Reel starts from the start – from the first silent film, to how the talkies happened, and the subject of the foremost films and how that transformed over the years.The book looks at popularly available facts on Indian cinema, fact checks them in order to bring to light the right information. It talks of the legends through the years who made Indian cinema what it is today. But what stands out of it all is the focus on South Indian cinema – which has always been glorious, but in recent years has made cinema lovers from across India and the world stand up and notice.
Mana Cinema…First Reel on South Indian Cinema:
Mana Cinema…First Reel discusses South Indian cinema at length – from the first South Indian talkie Kalidas, to the Telugu film that was made first, the advent of film reviews, a profile of H.M. Reddy, who was considered the Father of South Indian Talkie Films, the first full-length Telugu talkie film Bhakta Prahlada, the rise of the Kannada industry, and the might of the Malayalam film industry. And along the story, several legends come and go – many of them we remember, some we may have forgotten or may not have had the opportunity to know. The story of Indian cinema in general and south Indian cinema in particular would be incomplete without the films themselves. And the has enriched his story with many wonderful stories of memorable films and the actors.
What makes Mana Cinema…First Reel one of the best things that happened to Telugu literature and Indian movie history is that, while it may have a few things that we already know; the book manages to surprise you with exciting facts and factoids most of the time.
For example the writer refers to Kalidas that was released on October 31, 1931 as the first Telugu talkie based on his findings. He opines that because the length of the film was just 4 reels and it was a collection of short films it could not qualify as first Telugu talkie. The fame instead went to yet another full length Telugu feature film Bhakta Prahala that was released in 1932.
The passion with which the writer has addressed the book is evident on every page. Most importantly, the book makes sense to a regular reader, as it would to a scholar.
Rentala Jayadeva’s Mana Cinema…First Reel is indeed a must-read and must-be-preserved Telugu book on film history.
Book Details
Mana Cinema…First Reel
Author: Rentala Jayadeva
Publishers: EMESCO Vijayawada (Ph 0866 – 2436643)
Cost: Rs 750
Available on Amazon
