Films have influenced our lives in the way no other medium of entertainment has done. Even a small incident concerning the life of film stars becomes a big news. It is due to the importance attached to films and the persons concerned with them. Before the invasion of television in the Indian homes, cinema was the cheapest means of entertainment. Films have always occupied the centre stage on the television screen too. Even after the advent of round-the-clock satellite channels, it has continued to share the majority of air time. There are many channels fully devoted to cinema. Even newspapers have not remained aloof from it. They carry articles concerning films on weekly and daily basis. They gossip about film personalities, their affairs, and carry quizzes and blow-ups.
Cinema has dealt with most of the social problems India has faced in the past or is facing today. It can be described as the mirror image of what is happening in the country. It has reflected upon social issues and dealt with them showing which way to go. It has dealt with many orthodox problems like untouchability and slavery, and with present day situations of crime and criminals.
The awareness that cinema has brought in the drawing rooms of Indian masses is impressive. If we are aware of the latest styles and clothes in the international market, cinema has played a role in it. One fine gift the cinema has given to the masses is melodious music.
But cinema has contributed to the complex problems India is facing today. People try to imitate the standards of life shown on the screen. It is a fad for the films to show the hero in films growing rich quickly by following illegal means and staying out of the grip of the police. And to cap it all, he is not even convicted in the end.
Producers and directors of films regard the films as any other commodity which they make to get profits, forgetting at ease their social responsibility. So they include in their films the most beautiful women clad in hardly any clothes singing and dancing in the streets and flirting with the men openly. Above it, they put in violence, sex, romance, crimes and many more things to make their films attractive enough even to the detriment of the society at large. The people are made to enter a world of make-believe.
