ABSTRACT
This chapter situates the desire for a New Cinema in India from the late 1940s. It traces those discourses and “fertile” debates (Guha) which reflect the longing and need for such a cinema. It was this desire, on the part of the filmmaker, which ultimately led to the formation of the FFC in 1960. The chapter discusses four official and non-official texts and events in detail, namely Satyajit Ray's essay (1948), the Report of the Film Enquiry Committee (1951), the first IFFI (1951), and the film Seminar held by the Sangeet Natak Akademi (1955). These texts and events provide a complete view of the condition of the industry, point out the elements ruining Indian cinema, suggest ways to take it to global standards of excellence, and describe the state's perception towards cinema. They show that the passion to make and appreciate realist cinema away from the dominance of Hollywood existed both in filmmakers and the common film lover. These texts and events set a fundamental tone for an alternative cinema and the need for a state intervention through the FFC.
