What are the functions of colour in Cinema?

Noted Film analyst RN Dash writes about  

Functions of colour in cinema :

(1)Colour is considered a necessity for certain categories of films : those on Arts and Artists and those depicting splendour and glamour, such as the glory of the Mughal palaces, the grandeur of Royal courts and house-holds, or the world of Fashion. Costume oriented films require a variety of shades of colour appropriate to their textures. Art oriented films (Gaja Gamini, 2000 and Meenaxi, 2004 of M F Hussain, Holi, 1984 and Mirch Masala, 1987 of Ketan Mehta) display a variety of colours in brilliant shades.

(2) Colour enhances grandeur of palatial structures, as of Moghul palaces, and costumes of the royalty, danseuses and models.

(3) Colour has become an essential requirement for presentation of spectacular dance performances and fashion shows.

(4) Colour is often used to indicate the period to which the story of a film relates. Lagaan (2001) was filmed in sepia colour to indicate that it was a period film, relating to the old days of the British Raj.

(5) Colour defines the moods of characters. Facial expressions are often shown in blue, green or reddish colour to represent the state of mind of an actor.

(6) Colour adds to the visual effects of any presentation; the intensity and shades of different colours are manipulated in a film to create desired effects. Colour defines the moods of characters and also the ambience of a situation. Different colour schemes and shades are designed by the film makers to depict different type of activities, to set the tone and mood of the film and to match the contents of the scenes. The battle scenes in Birth Of A Nation (1915, D W Griffith) were tainted red, while the other outdoor scenes were greenish and domestic scenes were yellowish. In Agent Vinod (2012), scenes of Afghanistan were yellowish, whereas scenes of Pakistan were greenish. Romantic activities are shown in soft colours whereas scenes presenting fear, horror or terror are shown in deep colour. Deep and bright colours are used to present flamboyant activities and glamour; sober colour scheme is used to present restrained activities.

(7) Colour in cinema is also used as an editing device, to present past or future, as discussed earlier.

(8) Colour is also being used as a narrative technique to enhance the dramatic effects of the visuals, and occasionally to add meanings to the portrayals.