Remember the hit song Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya from Asif’s magnum opus film Mughal-E-Azam (1960) or Chaudhvin Ka Chand Ho Ya Aftab Ho… from Guru Dutt’s Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1960) or the super hit song Hasta Hua Noorani Chehra from the film Parasmani (1963)? Guess! What is common in these songs? Well, all these films were black and white, and these songs and some spectacular scenes were in color. Even Dev Anand’s film Teen Devian (1965) had some color sequences. These films were labeled partly as color films.
The Arrival Of Colors In Cinema
Since Technicolor was expensive, most filmmakers could not afford it; hence started the trend of partly color, which lasted till the early ’70s. However, to counter Technicolor, an American company, Eastman Kodak, launched Eastmancolor, a less expensive and equally magnificent color technology that proved a boon for the film industry. Unlike Technicolor, whose prints were sent to London for processing, Eastmancolor films could be processed in India. Hence the production cost was almost slashed to almost half of Technicolor.
Movie legend S. Mukherjee used Eastmancolor for the first time for his film Hum Hindustani (1960), but the film was a flop. Interestingly, the same year, S. Mukherjee’s Junglee (1961), starring Shammi Kapoor, was released.
Inspired by the success of Junglee, Nasir Hussain used used Eastmancolor in his Shammi Kapoor-starring film Teesri Manzil (1966). The hit film gave a major boost to Eastmancolor films. Soon followed a chain of color films like Dev Anand’s Guide, Pradeep Kumar’s Taj Mahal, Rajendra Kumar’s Mere Mehboob, Dharmendra’s Phool Aur Pathar, Jeetendra’s Farz, Sunil Dutt’s Waqt, Raaj Kumar’s Hamraaz, Shashi Kapoor’s Jab Jab Phool Khile, etc.
In the ’60s, there was a huge demand for fantasy, adventure, and mythological films. Producers of B-grade and C-grade films couldn’t afford Eastmancolor, so they introduced cheaper alternatives like Gevacolor fit their budgets. It was used in the fantasy films produced in the ’50s like Devta (1956), Maya Bazaar (1958), Zimbo (1958), Hatimtai (1956), etc.
Black And White Films’ Continuation
Black and white films persisted until the early ’70s, even with affordable Eastmancolor available. Even top star films like Shammi Kapoor’s Budtameez (1966), Manoj Kumar’s Shaheed (1965), Dharmendra’s Haqeeqat (1964), Sanjay Khan’s Dosti (1964), and Nutan’s Saraswatichandra (1968). Interestingly, despite Rajesh Khanna becoming a superstar with his color film Aradhana (1969), he did a few black and white films post-Aradhana, like Khamoshi (1970).
Fuji Color’s Arrival
Rajesh Khanna’s hit film Souten (1983) introduced Fujicolor in the ’80s. Unlike Eastman Color, Fuji Color was less expensive and a good bet for film producers with limited budgets. Color TV’s arrival in India in the early ’80s, during the Asian Games, challenged the film industry.
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