History writing and Cinema

Abstract

Cinema and history are two different subjects, but there has been a thin line between them and sometimes they even become synonymous with each other. This' sometimes' situation has, at times, given rise to several academic discussions, mostly centred around historical and documentary films. But cinema (apart from any category) is or can be quite useful for history in its own right. Unfortunately, Indian cinema is yet to achieve that position in this direction. There are also some biases of history behind it. However, the very nature of history itself encourages the historical use of cinema. We have seen that since Herodotus, history as a field of study, or as a means of narration, or as a subject of records, has been ever-changing and rapidly moving in today's pandemic (COVID-19) -ridden world. Even when it was not part of the academic curriculum in the very beginning, it was at the centre of political desires and scholarly meetings. And, from time immemorial, questions relating to the nature and nature of history were asked and answered. Prior to the 19th century, history was sometimes part of knowledge, sometimes of preaching, sometimes of fiction, and after Ranke, it also became formally involved in today's academia.