Chhollywood refers to the film industry of Chhattisgarh state, central India, or to the cinema in the Chhattisgarhi language. It was established in 1965 with the release of first Chhattisgarhi film Kahi Debe Sandesh.
History
In 1965 the first Chhattisgarhi film directed and produced by Manu Nayak was released. It was a story of intercaste love and it is said that former Indian Prime ministerIndira Gandhi watched the movie. Dr Hanumant Naidu wrote the lyrics for the film, and two songs of the movie were sung by Indian singer Mohammad Rafi. Then came the next, Niranjan Tiwari's directed Ghar Dwar in 1971, produced by Vijay Kumar Pandey. However, both movies did not do well at the box office, and disappointed the producers. No Chhattisgarhi movie was produced for nearly 30 years thereafter.
Interesting Fact
The first Chhattisgarhi film, Kahi Debe Sandesh was an inter-caste love story. Conservatives were appalled at the idea. They wanted to burn the theatres and ban the movie. "But help came from two progressive Congress politicians: Mini Mata and Bhushan Keyur. Both spoke in favour of the movie. I was told Indira Gandhi also saw portions of the film and said the film promotes national integration. The protests died down after that," recalls producer-director-writer Manu Nayak.
Modern cinema
In 2000, the Chhattisgarhi film industry was reborn with Satish Jain's produced and directed Mor Chhainha Bhuinya, released on October 27, 2000. Three days later, Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee announced the creation of Chhattisgarh state. It is said that film was a mega-blockbuster as the film was produced at just Rs 20-30 lakh but earned back over Rs 2 crore. In 2005, Lata Mangeshkar sung a song for a Chhattisgarhi movie called Bhakla, which was composed by the Music director Kalyan Sen. All this progress revived the producers' interest in Chhattisgarhi cinema. Then came the next film "Bair" the film in digital format after seeing this movie Satish Jain decided to make the Superhit film "Mayaa", after Mayaa, Manoj Verma produced and directed the Superhit film "Mahun Deewana Tahun Deewani" later Satish Jain made two more hit movies Tura Rikshawala, and Laila Tip Top Chhaila Angutha Chhap, produced by and directed by .2011 director Manoj Verma made 'Mr. Tetkuram" produced by Anuj Sharma Abhyuday films and Du-Laffadu in 2012. A film "Bhulan The Maze" produced and directed by Manoj Verma under Swapnil Film Productions has won awards internationally. Accolade film Festival 2017 award of recognition, INDIE FEST Film Awards 2017 Award of recognition, Official Selection in MEDFF2017, NEZ INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL KOLKATA Showcase World Cinema,, Lakecity International Film Festival Gwalior "Best Director", and many awards This film is ready for release pan India. Today Chhattisgarhi films are released even outside Chhattisgarh, especially in cities like Nagpur.
Future
There used to be a time when a movie with a budget of 20-30 lakhs used to earn over a crore. Movies like Maya De De Maya Le Le, Pardeshi Ke Maya, Jhan Bhulao Maa Baap Laa and many more did very well at the box office. Today almost the complete film work is done in Chhattisgarh; film is sent to Mumbai only for the censor certificate. Digitization of Cinema benefited local cinema by cutting the film cost in terms of shooting and distribution of films. UFO Moviez was given as "Best Digital Cinema Solution Award" in Award Ceremony held in Raipur on 20 January 2013.
