Alam Ara (عالم آرا)

Ardeshir Irani’s Alam Ara is not just a movie — it is a legend. Movie history records it as the first Indian talkie.
Irani, the head of Imperial Film Company and maker of silent films like Navalsha Hirji (1925), Mumbai Ni Sethani (1924), Paap No Fej (1924) and Shahjehan (1924), was a visionary who saw that the film industry was about to be revolutionized by sound and beat several others to get Alam Ara to the theatre first.

This does not mean that the Parsis do not have a presence in the cinema of the present times. Even though, there physical strength may be small, they still have a yeomen contribution to make. Take for example Shiamak Davar who has given a new idiom to the way the dance is composed in the industry. When he made his presence in Dil to Paagal Hai, from that time the metamorphosis that industry has undergone can be considered to be a watershed when the fault lines of dance of Hindi film industry is chronicled. Before Shiamak western dance was hardly grace personified as it became after Shiamak and he created continuous new frontiers since then.

Bomman Irani is another actor who has given a new dimension to character acting, be it in Munnabhai series, or Don. Interestingly enough, Bomman has not taken the route of a Parsi character to make his presence felt, but seems to be following unconsciously, the path which was laid by undoubtedly one of the biggest Parsi actors to grace the silver screen, David. The towering presence that David commandeered holding himself firmly against the likes of Raj Kapoor to Amitabh Bachchan from Jagte Raho to Abhimaan and Chupke Chupke. David was nearly a regular fixture in all the films of consequences, and he also occasionally played a Parsi character in his long tenure.

While Ardesh Irani is regarded as the father of the Indian cinema, it was way back in 1853 that Parsis made their first mark in the Indian entertainment industry. Illustrious follower of Ardesh Irani was Sohrab Modi who’s picturisation of historic characters created a spirit of national favour which still remains unparalleled. They were followed by the Wadia brothers. It was this community which owing to the progressive image it had, and the other Indian communities still dogged by the dogma of participating in cinema, that gave various heroines in the initial stages, like fearless Nadia, Saraswati Devi (first woman music director) etc. The stunts that Nadia performed in those days without any technology to support still enthrall the audience.

There have been quite a lot of films that have been made providing a show case to the Parsi Culture and the first film Khatta Meetha was a landmark as it tried to unravel the existentialist dilemma of the Parsi community caught in the throes of development, and the sheer fact that of the delightful faces of Indian film Pearl Padmasee played an important role in it, still amuses and entertains. It was followed by Baton Baton Mein which again was in the genre of light films probing into the dilemma of the Parsis in a very subtle manner. It was followed by other such films which essentially probed the dilemmas of the Parsis like Pestonjee, Percy, Such a Long Journey, 1947: Earth, Being Cyrus, etc.

The numbers may be diminishing but the contribution cannot be wished away and swept under the carpet. It is the community which gave the platform for the Indian cinema to attain the world class status that it has acquired today. They are the real persons and the spirit is epitomized in the voice of one more successful Parsi Alisha Chenai in her song… Made In India.