First film screened in India
Cinema reached India for the first time in 1896 thanks to The Lumière brothers who were touring the world screening short silent films. They screened six films at the Watson Hotel in Bombay.
Art
Did you know?
The Alien and the Extraterrestrial
Satyajit Ray contended that Close Encounters of the Third Kind and ET, would not have been possible without his 1967 script of The Alien being available throughout America in mimeographed copies.
Painting the Black Hole of Calcutta
In 1936, Syrie Maugham, a leading interior decorator, left for India to, in her words, "paint the Black Hole of Calcutta white". She was famous for popularising rooms styled entirely in white and was nicknamed The Princess of Pale.
Alam Ara
India's first talkie was Alam Ara (1931) starring Zubeida, who, as the daughter of the Nawab of Sachin, was a princess in real life. The film is now lost.
India's tallest statue
India's tallest statue and the world's tallest Hanuman is the 41m Veera Abhaya Anjaneya Hanuman Swami statue at Paritala, Andhra Pradesh. It was completed in 2003.
Khaaaan!
The most insidious villain in Star Trek is an Indian named Khan whose full name is Khan Noonien Singh. He is a genetically engineered superhuman from the late 20th century.
- ‹ previous
- 2 of 2