Golden Age of Indian cinema

A scene from Ritwik Ghatak's Nagarik (1952), considered Bengali cinema's earliest art film.

Wide open eyes, a continual motif in Satyajit Ray's The Apu Trilogy (1955–1959).

Guru Dutt in Pyaasa (1957), for which he was the director, producer and leading actor.

Following India's independence, the period from the late 1940s to the 1960s is regarded by film historians as the 'Golden Age' of Indian cinema. Some of the most critically acclaimed Indian films of all time were produced during this period. In commercial Hindi cinema, examples of famous films at the time include the Guru Dutt films Pyaasa (1957) and Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959) and the Raj Kapoor films Awaara (1951) and Shree 420 (1955). These films expressed social themes mainly dealing with working-class urban life in India; Awaara presented the city as both a nightmare and a dream, while Pyaasa critiqued the unreality of city life. Some of the most famous epic films of Hindi cinema were also produced at the time, including Mehboob Khan's Mother India (1957), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and K. Asif's Mughal-e-Azam (1960). V. Shantaram's Do Aankhen Barah Haath (1957) is believed to have inspired the Hollywood film The Dirty Dozen (1967). Madhumati (1958), directed by Bimal Roy and written by Ritwik Ghatak, popularized the theme of reincarnation in Western popular culture. Other mainstream Hindi filmmakers at the time included Kamal Amrohi and Vijay Bhatt.

While commercial Indian cinema was thriving, the period also saw the emergence of a new Parallel Cinema movement, mainly led by Bengali cinema. Early examples of films in this movement include Chetan Anand's Neecha Nagar (1946), Ritwik Ghatak's Nagarik (1952), and Bimal Roy's Two Acres of Land (1953), laying the foundations for Indian neorealism and the "Indian New Wave". Pather Panchali (1955), the first part of the The Apu Trilogy (1955–1959) by Satyajit Ray, marked his entry in Indian cinema. The Apu Trilogy won major prizes at all the major international film festivals and led to the 'Parallel Cinema' movement being firmly established in Indian cinema. Its influence on world cinema can also be felt in the "youthful coming-of-age dramas that have flooded art houses since the mid-fifties" which "owe a tremendous debt to the Apu trilogy". Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak went on to direct many more critically-acclaimed 'art films', and they were followed by other acclaimed Indian independent filmmakers such as Mrinal Sen, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Mani Kaul and Buddhadeb Dasgupta. During the 1960s, Indira Gandhi's intervention during her reign as the Information and Broadcasting Minister of India further led to production of off-beat cinematic expression being supported by the official Film Finance Corporation.

The cinematographer Subrata Mitra, who made his debut with Satyajit Ray's The Apu Trilogy, also had an importance influence on cinematography across the world. One of his most important techniques was bounce lighting, to recreate the effect of daylight on sets. He pioneered the technique while filming Aparajito (1956), the second part of The Apu Trilogy. Some of the experimental techniques which Satyajit Ray pioneered include photo-negative flashbacks and X-ray digressions while filming Pratidwandi (1972). Ray's 1967 script for a film to be called The Alien, which was eventually cancelled, is also widely believed to have been the inspiration for Steven Spielberg's E.T. (1982). Some of Ritwik Ghatak's films also have strong similarities to later famous international films, such as Bari Theke Paliye (1958) resembling François Truffaut's The 400 Blows (1959) and Ajantrik (1958) having elements that resemble Taxi Driver (1976) and the Herbie films (1967–2005).

Other regional industries also had their 'Golden Age' during this period. Commercial Tamil cinema experienced a growth in the number of commercially successful films produced. Some of the most famous Tamil film personalities at the time included M. G. Ramachandran, Sivaji Ganesan, M. N. Nambiyar, Asokan and Nagesh. Marathi cinema also ushered in a 'Golden Age' at this time, with some of its directors such as V. Shantaram later playing in instrumental role in mainstream Hindi cinema's 'Golden Age'.

Ever since Chetan Anand's social realist film Neecha Nagar won the Grand Prize at the first Cannes Film Festival, Indian films were frequently in competition for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival for nearly every year in the 1950s and early 1960s, with a number of them winning major prizes at the festival. Satyajit Ray also won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival for Aparajito (1956), the second part of The Apu Trilogy, and the Golden Bear and two Silver Bears for Best Director at the Berlin International Film Festival.Ray's contemporaries, Ritwik Ghatak and Guru Dutt, were overlooked in their own lifetimes but had belatedly generated international recognition much later in the 1980s and 1990s. Ray is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema, while Dutt and Ghatak are also among the greatest filmmakers of all time. In 1992, the Sight & Sound Critics' Poll ranked Ray at #7 in its list of "Top 10 Directors" of all time,while Dutt was ranked #73 in the 2002 Sight & Sound greatest directors poll.

A number of Indian films from this era are often included among the greatest films of all time in various critics' and directors' polls. A number of Satyajit Ray films appeared in the Sight & Sound Critics' Poll, including The Apu Trilogy (ranked #4 in 1992 if votes are combined), The Music Room (ranked #27 in 1992), Charulata (ranked #41 in 1992) and Days and Nights in the Forest (ranked #81 in 1982). The 2002 Sight & Sound critics' and directors' poll also included the Guru Dutt films Pyaasa and Kaagaz Ke Phool (both tied at #160), the Ritwik Ghatak films Meghe Dhaka Tara (ranked #231) and Komal Gandhar (ranked #346), and Raj Kapoor's Awaara, Vijay Bhatt's Baiju Bawra, Mehboob Khan's Mother India and K. Asif's Mughal-e-Azam all tied at #346. In 1998, the critics' poll conducted by the Asian film magazine Cinemaya included The Apu Trilogy (ranked #1 if votes are combined), Ray's Charulata and The Music Room (both tied at #11), and Ghatak's Subarnarekha (also tied at #11). In 1999, The Village Voice top 250 "Best Film of the Century" critics' poll also included The Apu Trilogy (ranked #5 if votes are combined). In 2005, The Apu Trilogy and Pyaasa were also featured in Time magazine's "All-TIME" 100 best movies list.