Contemporary Indian Parallel Cinema: A Lens on Cultural Shift and Societal Transformation

Abstract

Indian Parallel Cinema, emerging in the 1950s and gaining prominence in the 1960s–80s, represents a deliberate departure from mainstream Bollywood’s formulaic narratives, melodrama, and escapist tendencies. Rooted in realism, sociopolitical critique, and regional specificity, parallel cinema functioned as both a cinematic and cultural counter-discourse, reflecting the aspirations, anxieties, and transformations within Indian society. This paper explores the evolution of Indian Parallel Cinema as a marker of cultural shift, examining how its narrative strategies, aesthetics, and thematic preoccupations articulate changing social realities, urbanrural tensions, and postcolonial identities. By focusing on representative films acrosdecades, the study traces the ways in which parallel cinema has influenced contemporary Indian filmmaking and audience sensibilities, highlighting its role in negotiating tradition and modernity. Ultimately, the paper positions Indian Parallel Cinema not only as an alternative cinematic form but also as a lens through which cultural change and emerging societal consciousness can be understood.