ABSTRACT
Lawrence Liang argues that there cannot be a ‘distinct account of cinema or cinematic spaces, which is not at the same time an account of the history of the city, of the experiences of modernity and of the conflicts that define the very occupation of these spaces’ (2005: 366). S. V. Srinivas (2000a, 2000b) also seeks to illustrate how the interior space of the cinema hall in India has historically been the site of political contest. This awareness of the contestation of space therefore becomes essential for understanding the social dynamics of the cinema in India. Building upon these insights, this chapter provides a brief account of the public history of cinema as it has unfolded within the context of urban India. As it is presented here, this history broadly corresponds to the typical periodisation of Indian film history, and of modern India itself, that has emerged through the films histories written by Barnouw and Krishnaswamy (1963, 1980), Chakravarty (1993), Prasad (1998), Mishra (2002) and others.
