Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

, engaged in production of motion pictures in

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

language. The popular term Bollywood, is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsHollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

". The industry is a part of the larger Indian cinema, which also includes South Cinema and other smaller film industries. In 2017, Indian cinema produced 1,986 feature films, of which the largest number, 364 have been from Hindi. , Hindi cinema represented 43 percent of Indian net box-office revenue;

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

and

Telugu cinema Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Telugu cinema is based in Film Nagar, Hy ...

represented 36 percent, and the remaining regional cinema constituted 21 percent. Hindi cinema has overtaken the U.S. film industry to become the largest centre for film production in the world. In 2001 ticket sales, Indian cinema (including Hindi films) reportedly sold an estimated 3.6 billion tickets worldwide, compared to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

's 2.6 billion tickets sold. Earlier Hindi films tended to use vernacular

Hindustani Hindustani may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Hindustan (another name of India) * Hindustani language, an Indo-Aryan language, whose two official norms are Hindi and Urdu * Fiji Hindi, a variety of Eastern Hindi spoken in Fiji, and ...

, mutually intelligible by speakers of either Hindi or

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Hinglish Hinglish, a portmanteau of Hindi and English, is the macaronic hybrid use of English and languages of the Indian subcontinent, and especially Hindi. It involves code-switching or translanguaging between these languages whereby they are freely i ...

. * * * * * The most popular commercial genre in Hindi cinema since the 1970s has been the masala film, which freely mixes different genres including action,

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

, romance,

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

and

melodrama A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exces ...

along with

musical numbers In music, number refers to an individual song, dance, or instrumental piece which is part of a larger work of musical theatre, opera, or oratorio. It can also refer either to an individual song in a published collection or an individual song or d ...

. Masala films generally fall under the

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...

genre, of which Indian cinema has been the largest producer since the 1960s when it exceeded the American film industry's total musical output after musical films declined in the West; the first Indian musical talkie was ''

Alam Ara ''Alam Ara'' () is a 1931 Indian Hindustani-language historical fantasy film directed and produced by Ardeshir Irani. It revolves on a king and his two wives, Navbahaar and Dilbahaar, who are childless; soon, a '' fakir'' (Muhammad Wazir Khan) ...

'' (1931), several years after the first Hollywood musical talkie '' The Jazz Singer'' (1927). Alongside commercial masala films, a distinctive genre of

art film An art film (or arthouse film) is typically an independent film, aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made primarily f ...

s known as parallel cinema has also existed, presenting realistic content and avoidance of musical numbers. In more recent years, the distinction between commercial masala and parallel cinema has been gradually blurring, with an increasing number of mainstream films adopting the conventions which were once strictly associated with parallel cinema.

The term Bollywood

"Bollywood" is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsMumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

) and "Hollywood", a shorthand reference for the American film industry which is based in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. The term "Tollywood", for the

Tollygunge Tollygunge (Bengali: টালিগঞ্জ; nicknamed 'Mini Mumbai' or 'Mini Bombay') is a locality of South Kolkata, in West Bengal, India. It is famed as the centre of the Indian film industry, known as Tollywood, Marathi Cinema, South Indi ...

-based

cinema of West Bengal Tollywood, also known as Cinema of West Bengal, is an Cinema of India, Indian film industry of Bengali language, Bengali-language motion pictures. It is based in the Tollygunge region of Kolkata, West Bengal, India. The origins of the nicknam ...

, predated "Bollywood". It was used in a 1932 '' American Cinematographer'' article by Wilford E. Deming, an American engineer who helped produce the first Indian sound picture. "Bollywood" was probably invented in Bombay-based film trade journals in the 1960s or 1970s, though the exact inventor varies by account. Film journalist Bevinda Collaco claims she coined the term for the title of her column in '' Screen'' magazine. Her column entitled "On the Bollywood Beat" covered studio news and celebrity gossip. Other sources state that lyricist, filmmaker and scholar Amit Khanna was its creator. It's unknown if it was derived from "Hollywood" through "Tollywood", or was inspired directly by "Hollywood". The term has been criticised by some film journalists and critics, who believe it implies that the industry is a poor cousin of Hollywood. "Bollywood" has since inspired a long list of Hollywood-inspired nicknames.

History

Early history (1890s–1930s)

In 1897, a film presentation by Professor Stevenson featured a stage show at

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

's Star Theatre. With Stevenson's encouragement and camera,

Hiralal Sen Hiralal Sen ( bn, হীরালাল সেন, ''Hiralal Shen''; 2 August 1868 – 26 October 1917) is generally considered one of India's first filmmakers. In 1903, he filmed the popular Alibaba and Forty Thieves, the first full-length In ...

, an Indian photographer, made a film of scenes from that show, ''The Flower of Persia'' (1898). ''The Wrestlers'' (1899) by

H. S. Bhatavdekar Harishchandra Sakharam Bhatavdekar (15 March 1868 – 20 February 1958), also known as Save dada, was the first Indian to make a film ( motion picture) in India. Biography H. S. Bhatavdekar was a resident of Mumbai (Bombay). A Maharashtrian por ...

showed a

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

match at the Hanging Gardens in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

Dadasaheb Phalke's silent '' Raja Harishchandra'' (1913) is the first feature film made in India. By the 1930s, the industry was producing over 200 films per year. The first Indian sound film,

Ardeshir Irani Khan Bahadur Ardeshir Irani (5 December 1886 – 14 October 1969) was a writer, director, producer, actor, film distributor, film showman and cinematographer in the silent and sound eras of early Indian cinema. He was the one of the greatest l ...

's ''

'' (1931), was commercially successful. With a great demand for talkies and musicals,

cinema (as Hindi cinema was then known as) and the other regional film industries quickly switched to sound films.

Challenges and market expansion (1930s–1940s)

The 1930s and 1940s were tumultuous times; India was buffeted by the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...

, and the violence of the

Partition Partition may refer to: Computing Hardware * Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive * Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job Software * Partition (database), the division of a ...

. Although most early Bombay films were unabashedly escapist, a number of filmmakers tackled tough social issues or used the struggle for Indian independence as a backdrop for their films. Irani made the first

colour film, ''

Kisan Kanya ''Kisan Kanya'' was a 1937 in film, 1937 Bollywood, Hindi Cinecolor feature film which was directed by Moti Gidwani and produced by Ardeshir Irani of Imperial Pictures. It is largely remembered by the Indian public on account of it being India's ...

'', in 1937. The following year, he made a colour version of '' Mother India''. However, colour did not become a popular feature until the late 1950s. At this time, lavish romantic musicals and melodramas were cinematic staples. The decade of the 1940s saw an expansion of Bombay cinema's commercial market and its presence in the national consciousness. The year 1943 saw the arrival of Indian cinema's first 'blockbuster' offering, the movie '' Kismet'', which grossed in excess of the important barrier of one

crore A crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes ten million (10,000,000 or 107 in scientific notation) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. It is written as 1,00,00,000 with the local 2,2,3 style of digit group separators (one lakh is e ...

(10 million) rupees, made on a budget of only two

lakh A lakh (; abbreviated L; sometimes written lac) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; scientific notation: 105). In the Indian 2,2,3 convention of digit grouping, it is written as 1,00,000. For ex ...

(200,000) rupees. Kismet tackled contemporary issues, especially those arising from the Indian Independence movement, and went on to become "the longest running hit of Indian cinema", a title it held till the 1970s. Film personalities like Bimal Roy, Sahir Ludhianvi and Prithviraj Kapoor participated in the creation of a national movement against colonial rule in India, while simultaneously leveraging the popular political movement to increase their own visibility and popularity. Themes from the Independence Movement deeply influenced Bombay film directors, screen-play writers, and lyricists, who saw their films in the context of social reform and the problems of the common people. Before the Partition, the Bombay film industry was closely linked to the Lahore film industry (now the

Pakistani film industry Cinema of Pakistan, popularly known as Lollywood ( ur, ), refers to the filmmaking industry in Pakistan. Pakistan is home to several film studios centres, primarily located in its three largest cities – Karachi, Lahore, and Faisalabad. ...

also known as "Lollywood"); both produced films in

(also known as Hindi-Urdu), the ''

lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...

'' of northern and central India. Another centre of Hindustani-language film production was the Bengal film industry in

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...

(now Kolkata,

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

), which produced Hindustani-language films and local

Bengali language Bengali ( ), generally known by its endonym Bangla (, ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language native to the Bengal region of South Asia. It is the official, national, and most widely spoken language of Bangladesh and the second m ...

films. Many actors, filmmakers and musicians from the Lahore industry migrated to the Bombay industry during the 1940s, including actors

K. L. Saigal Kundan Lal Saigal, often abbreviated as K. L. Saigal (11 April 1904 – 18 January 1947), was an Indian singer and actor who is considered the first superstar of the Hindi film industry, which was centred in Kolkata during Saigal's time, but is ...

Prithviraj Kapoor Prithviraj Kapoor (born Prithvinath Kapoor; 3 November 1906 – 29 May 1972) was an Indian actor who is also considered to be one of the founding figures of Hindi cinema. He was associated with IPTA as one of its founding members and establish ...

Dilip Kumar Mohammed Yusuf Khan (; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021), better known by his stage name Dilip Kumar, was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, he dominated the Indian movie scene from lat ...

and

Dev Anand Dharamdev Pishorimal Anand (26 September 1923 – 3 December 2011), better known as Dev Anand, was an Indian actor, writer, director and producer known for his work in Hindi cinema, through a career that spanned over six decades. He was ...

as well as playback singers

Mohammed Rafi Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer and musician. He is considered to have been one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. Rafi was notable for his versatility and ...

Noorjahan Noor Jehan ( Punjabi: ) (born () Allah Rakhi Wasai ; 23 September 1926 – 23 December 2000; sometimes spelled Noorjehan),Ashish Rajadhyaksha and Paul Willemen, ''Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema,'' British Film Institute, Oxford University Pres ...

and Shamshad Begum. Around the same time, filmmakers and actors from the Calcutta film industry began migrating to Bombay; as a result, Bombay became the center of Hindustani-language film production. The 1947 partition of India divided the country into the

Republic of India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, which precipitated the migration of filmmaking talent from film production centres like

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

and

, which bore the brunt of the partition violence. This included actors, filmmakers and musicians from

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

(particularly the present-day

Pakistani Punjab Punjab (; , ) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in central-eastern region of the country, Punjab is the second-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the largest province by population. It shares land borders with the ...

), and the

North-West Frontier Province The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ps, شمال لویدیځ سرحدي ولایت, ) was a Chief Commissioner's Province of British India, established on 9 November 1901 from the north-western districts of the Punjab Province. Followin ...

(present-day

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...

). These events further consolidated the Bombay film industry's position as the preeminent center for film production in India.

Golden age (late 1940s–1960s)

The period from the late 1940s to the early 1960s, after

India's independence The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged from Bengal. ...

, is regarded by film historians as the Golden Age of Hindi cinema. Some of the most critically acclaimed Hindi films of all time were produced during this time. Examples include ''

Pyaasa ''Pyaasa'' (; ) is a 1957 Indian Hindi drama film directed and produced by Guru Dutt, who stars alongside Mala Sinha, Waheeda Rehman, Rehman, and Johnny Walker. Set in Calcutta, it focuses on the disillusioned Urdu poet Vijay (Dutt), whose ...

'' (1957) and ''

Kaagaz Ke Phool ''Kaagaz Ke Phool'' () is a 1959 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film produced and directed by Guru Dutt, who also played the lead role in the film along with Waheeda Rehman. It is the first Indian film in CinemaScope and the last film off ...

'' (1959), directed by

Guru Dutt Vasanth Kumar Shivashankar Padukone (9 July 1925 – 10 October 1964), better known as Guru Dutt, was an Indian film director, producer, actor, choreographer, and writer.Rajadhyaksha, Ashish, and Paul Willemen. 9941998''Encyclopedia of Indian ...

and written by

Abrar Alvi Abrar Alvi (1 July 1927 – 18 November 2009) was an Indian film writer, director and actor. Most of his notable work was done in the 1950s and 1960s with Guru Dutt. He wrote some of the most respected works of Indian cinema, including ''Sahib ...

; '' Awaara'' (1951) and ''

Shree 420 ''Shree 420'' (also spelled as ''Shri 420''; ) is a 1955 Indian Hindi comedy-drama film directed and produced by Raj Kapoor from a story written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas whose use of Shree with the negative connotations of 420 caused controversy. ...

'' (1955), directed by Raj Kapoor and written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, and ''

Aan ''Aan'' (Hindi: आन, Urdu: آن, translation: ''Pride''), released as ''The Savage Princess'' in the United Kingdom and United States, is a 1952 Indian Bollywood adventure film, produced and directed by Mehboob Khan. It was India's first t ...

'' (1952), directed by

Mehboob Khan Mehboob Khan (born Mehboob Khan Ramzan Khan; 9 September 1907
at filmreference.com. – 28 ...

and starring

. The films explored social themes, primarily dealing with working-class life in India (particularly urban life) in the first two examples. ''Awaara'' presented the city as both nightmare and dream, and ''Pyaasa'' critiqued the unreality of urban life.

Mehboob Khan Mehboob Khan (born Mehboob Khan Ramzan Khan; 9 September 1907
at filmreference.com. – 28 ...

's '' Mother India'' (1957), a remake of his earlier '' Aurat'' (1940), was the first Indian film nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

; it lost by a single vote. ''Mother India'' defined conventional Hindi cinema for decades. It spawned a genre of

dacoit film Dacoity is a term used for "banditry" in the Indian subcontinent. The spelling is the anglicised version of the Hindi word ''daaku''; "dacoit" is a colloquial Indian English word with this meaning and it appears in the ''Glossary of Colloquial ...

s, in turn defined by '' Gunga Jumna'' (1961). Written and produced by Dilip Kumar, ''Gunga Jumna'' was a dacoit

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

about two brothers on opposite sides of the law (a theme which became common in Indian films during the 1970s).Tejaswini Ganti
''Bollywood: A Guidebook to Popular Hindi Cinema'', page 153
/ref> Some of the best-known

epic film Epic films are a style of filmmaking with large-scale, sweeping scope, and spectacle. The usage of the term has shifted over time, sometimes designating a film genre and at other times simply synonymous with big-budget filmmaking. Like epics in ...

s of Hindi cinema were also produced at this time, such as

K. Asif K. Asif (born Asif Karim; 14 June 1922 – 9 March 1971) was an Indian film director, film producer and screenwriter who is known for his epic film, ''Mughal-e-Azam'' (1960). Early life Asif was born in Etawah, Uttar Pradesh, India to paren ...

's '' Mughal-e-Azam'' (1960). Other acclaimed mainstream Hindi filmmakers during this period included Kamal Amrohi and

Vijay Bhatt Vijay Bhatt (born Vrajlal Jagneshwar Bhatt; 12 May 1907 – 17 October 1993) was a producer-director-screenwriter of Hindi cinema, who made such films as '' Ram Rajya'' (1943), ''Baiju Bawra'' (1952), ''Goonj Uthi Shehnai'' (1959) and ''Himalay ...

The three most popular male Indian actors of the 1950s and 1960s were

, Raj Kapoor, and

, each with a unique acting style. Kapoor adopted

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...

's tramp persona; Anand modeled himself on suave Hollywood stars like

Gregory Peck Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood ...

and

Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor. He was known for his Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing. He was one o ...

, and Kumar pioneered a form of method acting which predated Hollywood method actors such as

Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he received numerous accolades throughout his career, which spanned six decades, including two Academ ...

. Kumar, who was described as "the ultimate method actor" by

Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian director, screenwriter, documentary filmmaker, author, essayist, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligrapher, and music composer. One of the greatest auteurs of fil ...

, inspired future generations of Indian actors. Much like Brando's influence on

Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor. Known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, he is considered to be one of the best actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades ...

and

Al Pacino Alfredo James Pacino (; ; born April 25, 1940) is an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he has received numerous accolades: including an Academy Award, two Tony Awards, and two Primetime Emmy ...

, Kumar had a similar influence on

Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most succe ...

Naseeruddin Shah Naseeruddin Shah (born 20 July 1950) is an Indian actor. He is notable in Indian parallel cinema. He has also starred in international productions. He has won numerous awards in his career, including three National Film Awards, three Filmfare A ...

Shah Rukh Khan Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. Referred to in the media as the " Baadshah of Bollywood", "King of Bollywood" ...

and Nawazuddin Siddiqui.Before Brando, There Was Dilip Kumar
The Quint, 11 December 2015 Veteran actresses such as Suraiya, Nargis, Sumitra Devi,

Madhubala Madhubala (born Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi; 14 February 1933 – 23 February 1969) was an Indian actress and producer who worked in Hindi-language films. She ranked as one of the highest-paid entertainers in India in the post-independence era, ...

, Meena Kumari, Waheeda Rehman, Nutan, Sadhana,

Mala Sinha Alda Sinha (born 11 November 1936), better known by her stage name Mala Sinha is a former Indian actress who has worked in Hindi, Bengali and Nepali films. Initially starting her career with regional cinema, she went on to become a top leading ...

and

Vyjayanthimala Vyjayanthimala (born 13 August 1936) is a former Indian actress, dancer and parliamentarian. She is the recipient of several accolades, including two BFJA Awards and five Filmfare Awards. She made her screen debut at the age of thirteen with ...

have had their share of influence on Hindi cinema. While commercial Hindi cinema was thriving, the 1950s also saw the emergence of a parallel cinema movement. Although the movement (emphasising social realism) was led by Bengali cinema, it also began gaining prominence in Hindi cinema. Early examples of parallel cinema include '' Dharti Ke Lal'' (1946), directed by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas and based on the

Bengal famine of 1943 The Bengal famine of 1943 was a famine in the Bengal province of British India (present-day Bangladesh, West Bengal and eastern India) during World War II. An estimated 0.8 to 3.8 million Bengalis perished, out of a population of 60.3 millio ...

,; '' Neecha Nagar'' (1946) directed by Chetan Anand and written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas,Maker of innovative, meaningful movies
''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

'', 15 June 2007 and Bimal Roy's '' Do Bigha Zamin'' (1953). Their critical acclaim and the latter's commercial success paved the way for Indian neorealism and the Indian New Wave (synonymous with parallel cinema). Internationally acclaimed Hindi filmmakers involved in the movement included

Mani Kaul Mani Kaul (25 December 1944 – 6 July 2011) was an Indian director of Hindi films and a reputed figure in Indian parallel cinema. He graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) where he was a student of Ritwik Ghatak and ...

Kumar Shahani Kumar Shahani (born 7 December 1940) is an Indian film director and screenwriter, best known for his parallel cinema films '' Maya Darpan'' (1972), ''Tarang'' (1984), ''Khayal Gatha'' (1989) and '' Kasba'' (1990). Due to his dedication to forma ...

, Ketan Mehta,

Govind Nihalani Govind Nihalani (born 19 December 1940) is an Indian film director, cinematographer, screenwriter and producer, known for his works in Hindi cinema. He has been the recipient of six National Film Awards, and five Bollywood Filmfare Awards. In 1 ...

Shyam Benegal Shyam Benegal (born 14 December 1934) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and documentary filmmaker. Often regarded as the pioneer of parallel cinema, he is widely considered as one of the greatest filmmakers post 1970s. He has received ...

, and

Vijaya Mehta Vijaya Mehta (born 4 November 1934), is a noted Indian Marathi film and theatre director and also an actor in many films from the Parallel Cinema. She is a founder member of Mumbai-based theatre group, Rangayan with playwright Vijay Tendulkar, ...

After the social-realist film ''Neecha Nagar'' received the Palme d'Or at the inaugural

1946 Cannes Film Festival The 1st annual Cannes Film Festival was held from 20 September to 5 October 1946. Twenty-one countries presented their films at the "First Cannes International Film Festival", which took place at the former Casino of Cannes. Only one year after t ...

, Hindi films were frequently in competition for Cannes' top prize during the 1950s and early 1960s and some won major prizes at the festival.

, overlooked during his lifetime, received belated international recognition during the 1980s. Film critics polled by the British magazine '' Sight & Sound'' included several of Dutt's films in a 2002 list of greatest films, and

Time's All-Time 100 Movies All-TIME 100 Movies is a list compiled by ''TIME'' magazine of the 100 "greatest" films that were released between March 3, 1923—when the first issue of ''TIME'' was published—and early 2005, when the list was compiled. Compiled by critics R ...

lists ''

'' as one of the greatest films of all time. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, the industry was dominated by musical

romance film Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...

s with romantic-hero leads.

Classic Hindi cinema (1970s–1980s)

By 1970, Hindi cinema was thematically stagnant and dominated by musical

s. The arrival of screenwriting duo

Salim–Javed Salim–Javed were an Indian screenwriting duo, composed of Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, working in Bollywood. They are noted for being the first Indian screenwriters to achieve star status, becoming the most successful Indian screenwriters o ...

( Salim Khan and

Javed Akhtar Javed Akhtar (born 17 January 1945) is an Indian poet, lyricist, screenwriter and political activist. Known for his work in Hindi cinema, he has won five National Film Awards, and received the Padma Shri in 1999 and the Padma Bhushan in 200 ...

) was a paradigm shift, revitalising the industry. They began the genre of gritty, violent, Bombay underworld crime films early in the decade with films such as '' Zanjeer'' (1973) and '' Deewaar'' (1975). Salim-Javed reinterpreted the rural themes of

Mehboob Khan Mehboob Khan (born Mehboob Khan Ramzan Khan; 9 September 1907
at filmreference.com. – 28 ...

's '' Mother India'' (1957) and

's '' Gunga Jumna'' (1961) in a contemporary urban context, reflecting the

socio-economic Socioeconomics (also known as social economics) is the social science that studies how economic activity affects and is shaped by social processes. In general it analyzes how modern societies progress, stagnate, or regress because of their local ...

and socio-political climate of 1970s India and channeling mass discontent, disillusionment and the unprecedented growth of

slum A slum is a highly populated urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are primarily inh ...

s with

anti-establishment An anti-establishment view or belief is one which stands in opposition to the conventional social, political, and economic principles of a society. The term was first used in the modern sense in 1958, by the British magazine ''New Statesman'' ...

themes and those involving urban poverty, corruption and crime. Their "angry young man", personified by

, reinterpreted Dilip Kumar's performance in ''Gunga Jumna'' in a contemporary urban context and anguished urban poor. By the mid-1970s, romantic confections had given way to gritty, violent crime films and

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

s about gangsters (the

Bombay underworld Organised crime in India refers to organised crime elements originating in India and active in many parts of the world. The purpose of organised crime in India, as elsewhere in the world, is monetary gain. Its virulent form in modern times is d ...

) and bandits (

dacoits Dacoity is a term used for "banditry" in the Indian subcontinent. The spelling is the anglicised version of the Hindi word ''daaku''; "dacoit" is a colloquial Indian English word with this meaning and it appears in the ''Glossary of Colloquial ...

). Salim-Javed's writing and Amitabh Bachchan's acting popularised the trend with films such as ''Zanjeer'' and (particularly) ''Deewaar'', a crime film inspired by ''Gunga Jumna'' which pitted "a policeman against his brother, a gang leader based on real-life smuggler Haji Mastan" (Bachchan); according to Danny Boyle, ''Deewaar'' was "absolutely key to Indian cinema". In addition to Bachchan, several other actors followed by riding the crest of the trend (which lasted into the early 1990s). Actresses from the era include

Hema Malini Hema Malini (born 16 October 1948) is an Indian actress, director, producer, and politician. She is primarily known for her work in Hindi films. Known for starring in both comic and dramatic roles, she is one of the most popular and successful ...

, Jaya Bachchan, Raakhee, Shabana Azmi, Zeenat Aman, Parveen Babi, Rekha,

Dimple Kapadia Dimple Kapadia (born 8 June 1957) is an Indian actress predominantly appearing in Hindi films. Born and raised in Mumbai by wealthy parents, she aspired to become an actress from a young age and received her first opportunity through her father ...

Smita Patil Smita Patil (17 October 1955 – 13 December 1986) was an Indian actress who worked in films, television series and theatres. She appeared in over 80 Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Malayalam and Kannada films in a career that spanned just o ...

Jaya Prada Jaya Prada Nahata (born Lalitha Rani; 3 April 1962) is an Indian actress and politician. She is hailed as one of the most iconic and influential actresses in both Telugu and Hindi film industries in late '70s, '80s and early '90s. Jayaprada i ...

and Padmini Kolhapure. Amitabh

The name "Bollywood" was coined during the 1970s, when the conventions of commercial Hindi films were defined. Key to this was the masala film, which combines a number of genres ( action,

, romance,

, and

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

). The masala film was pioneered early in the decade by filmmaker

Nasir Hussain Mohammad Nasir Hussain Khan (16 November 1926 — 13 March 2002), better known as Nasir Hussain, was an Indian film producer, director, and screenwriter. With a career spanning decades, Hussain has been credited as a major trendsetter in the ...

, and the Salim-Javed screenwriting duo, pioneering the Bollywood-

blockbuster Blockbuster or Block Buster may refer to: *Blockbuster (entertainment) a term coined for an extremely successful movie, from which most other uses are derived. Corporations * Blockbuster (retailer), a defunct video and game rental chain ** Blo ...

format. ''

Yaadon Ki Baarat ''Yaadon Ki Baaraat'' () is a 1973 Indian Hindi-language masala film, directed by Nasir Hussain and written by Salim–Javed (Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar). It featured an ensemble cast, starring Dharmendra, Vijay Arora, Tariq, Zeenat Aman, Ne ...

'' (1973), directed by Hussain and written by Salim-Javed, has been identified as the first masala film and the first quintessentially "Bollywood" film.Kaushik Bhaumik
An Insightful Reading of Our Many Indian Identities
The Wire, 12 March 2016 Salim-Javed wrote more successful masala films during the 1970s and 1980s. Masala films made Amitabh Bachchan the biggest star of the period. A landmark of the genre was '' Amar Akbar Anthony'' (1977), directed by

Manmohan Desai Manmohan Desai (26 February 1937 – 1 March 1994) was an Indian film producer and director. He was one of the most successful filmmaker of the 70s and 80s. Desai is now considered one of most influential film director of Bollywood and a pionee ...

and written by

Kader Khan Kader Khan (22 October 1937 – 31 December 2018) was an Indian actor, screenwriter and film director. As an actor, he appeared in over 300 Bollywood films after his debut film in the 1973 film '' Daag'', starring Rajesh Khanna, in which he ...

, and Desai continued successfully exploiting the genre. Both genres (masala and violent-crime films) are represented by the blockbuster '' Sholay'' (1975), written by Salim-Javed and starring Amitabh Bachchan. It combined the

conventions of ''Mother India'' and ''Gunga Jumna'' with

spaghetti Western The Spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's film-making style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most o ...

s, spawning the

Dacoit Western Dacoity is a term used for "banditry" in the Indian subcontinent. The spelling is the anglicised version of the Hindi word ''daaku''; "dacoit" is a colloquial Indian English word with this meaning and it appears in the ''Glossary of Colloquial ...

(also known as the

curry Western Dacoity is a term used for "banditry" in the Indian subcontinent. The spelling is the anglicised version of the Hindi word ''daaku''; "dacoit" is a colloquial Indian English word with this meaning and it appears in the ''Glossary of Colloquial ...

) which was popular during the 1970s. Some Hindi filmmakers, such as

, Ketan Mehta,

and

, continued to produce realistic parallel cinema throughout the 1970s.Rajadhyaksa, 685 Although the

bent of the Film Finance Corporation was criticised during a 1976 Committee on Public Undertakings investigation which accused the corporation of not doing enough to encourage commercial cinema, the decade saw the rise of commercial cinema with films such as '' Sholay'' (1975) which consolidated

's position as a star. The devotional classic ''

Jai Santoshi Ma ''Jai Santoshi Maa'' is a 1975 Indian Hindi-language devotional film directed by Vijay Sharma and written R. Priyadarshi. Santoshī Mā (also called Santoshi Mata) is the goddess of satisfaction. Usha Mangeshkar, sang the devotional songs for t ...

'' was also released that year.Rajadhyaksa, 688 By 1983, the Bombay film industry was generating an estimated annual revenue of ( 7 billion, ), equivalent to (, 111.33 billion) when adjusted for inflation. By 1986, India's annual film output had increased from 741 films produced annually to 833 films annually, making India the world's largest film producer. The most internationally acclaimed Hindi film of the 1980s was Mira Nair's '' Salaam Bombay!'' (1988), which won the Camera d'Or at the

1988 Cannes Film Festival The 41st Cannes Film Festival was held from 11 to 23 May 1988. The Palme d'Or went to the '' Pelle erobreren'' by Bille August. The festival opened with ''Le Grand Bleu'', directed by Luc Besson and closed with ''Willow'', directed by Ron Howard. ...

and was nominated for the

New Hindi cinema (1990s–2000s)

Hindi cinema experienced another period of stagnation during the late 1980s with a box-office decline due to increasing violence, a decline in musical quality, and a rise in video piracy. One of the turning points came with such films as ''

Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak ''Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak'' (), also known by the initialism ''QSQT'', is a 1988 Indian Hindi-language romantic musical film, directed by Mansoor Khan, written and produced by Nasir Hussain, and starring Aamir Khan (in his leading film debut) a ...

'' (1988), presenting a blend of youthfulness, family entertainment,

emotional intelligence Emotional intelligence (EI) is most often defined as the ability to perceive, use, understand, manage, and handle emotions. People with high emotional intelligence can recognize their own emotions and those of others, use emotional information ...

and strong melodies, all of which lured audiences back to the big screen. It brought back the template for Bollywood musical romance films which went on to define 1990s Hindi cinema. Known since the 1990s as "New Bollywood", contemporary Bollywood is linked to

economic liberalization in India The economic liberalisation in India refers to the opening of the country's economy to the world with the goal of making the economy more market and service-oriented, thus expanding the role of private and foreign investment. Indian economi ...

during the early 1990s. Early in the decade, the pendulum swung back toward family-centered romantic musicals. ''Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak'' (1988) was followed by blockbusters such as '' Maine Pyar Kiya'' (1989), ''

Hum Aapke Hain Kaun ''Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!'' () also known by the initialism ''HAHK'', is a 1994 Indian Hindi-language musical romantic drama film written and directed by Sooraj Barjatya and produced by Rajshri Productions. The film stars Madhuri Dixit and Salman ...

'' (1994), ''

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge ''Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge'' (), also known by the initialism ''DDLJ'', is a 1995 Indian Hindi-language musical romance film written and directed by Aditya Chopra in his directorial debut and produced by his father Yash Chopra. Released on ...

'' (1995), ''

Raja Hindustani ''Raja Hindustani/Prema Bandham''(/ప్రేమ బంధం) is a 1996 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by Dharmesh Darshan. It tells the story of a cab driver from a small town who falls in love with a rich young woman. ...

'' (1996), ''

Dil To Pagal Hai ''Dil To Pagal Hai'' (; ), is a 1997 Indian Hindi-language musical romance film directed by Yash Chopra. The film follows the love lives of the members of a musical troupe, in which two dancers played by Madhuri Dixit and Karisma Kapoor get ent ...

'' (1997) and ''

Kuch Kuch Hota Hai ''Kuch Kuch Hota Hai'' () also known as ''KKHH'' or ''K2H2'', is a 1998 Indian Hindi-language musical romance film written and directed by Karan Johar and produced under Dharma Productions. It stars the popular on-screen pair of Shah Rukh Kh ...

'' (1998), introducing a new generation of popular actors, including the three Khans: Aamir Khan,

, and

Salman Khan Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan (; 27 December 1965) is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. In a film career spanning over thirty years, Khan has received numerous awards, including two Nation ...

, who have starred in most of the top ten

highest-grossing Bollywood films This is a ranking of the highest grossing Indian films which includes films from various languages based on the conservative global box office estimates as reported by reputable sources. There is no official tracking of domestic box office f ...

. The Khans and have had successful careers since the late 1980s and early 1990s, and have dominated the Indian box office for three decades. Shah Rukh Khan was the most successful Indian actor for most of the 1990s and 2000s, and Aamir Khan has been the most successful Indian actor since the mid 2000s. Action and comedy films, starring such actors as

Akshay Kumar Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia (born 9 September 1967), known professionally as Akshay Kumar (), is an Indian-born naturalised Canadian Quote: "(Former prime minister Stephen) Harper campaigned in 2011 alongside one of Modi's biggest celebrity backer ...

and Govinda. The decade marked the entrance of new performers in

art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

and independent films, some of which were commercially successful. The most influential example was ''

Satya ''Satya'' (Sanskrit: सत्य; IAST: ''satya)'' is a Sanskrit word loosely translated as truth, essence. A. A. Macdonell, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Asian Educational Services, , pp. 330–331 It also refers to a virtue in Indian relig ...

'' (1998), directed by

Ram Gopal Varma Penmetsa Ram Gopal Varma (born 7 April 1962), often referred to by his initials RGV, is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer, known for his works in Telugu cinema in addition to Bollywood, Hindi, Kannada cinema, Kannada language ...

and written by

Anurag Kashyap Anurag Kashyap (born 10 September 1972) is an Indian filmmaker and actor known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is the recipient of several accolades, including four Filmfare Awards. For his contributions to film, the Government of France a ...

. Its critical and commercial success led to the emergence of a genre known as

noir: urban films reflecting the city's social problems. This led to a resurgence of parallel cinema by the end of the decade. The films featured actors whose performances were often praised by critics. Salman's Being Human show at HDIL India Couture Week 2010 (1)

Salman's Being Human show at HDIL India Couture Week 2010 (1)

The 2000s saw increased Bollywood recognition worldwide due to growing (and prospering)

NRI NRI or Nri may refer to : * Kingdom of Nri, an Igbo kingdom that flourished between the 10th century and early 20th century * National Radio Institute, a now defunct post-secondary vocational correspondence school * National Resources Inventory * N ...

and Desi communities overseas. The growth of the Indian economy and a demand for quality entertainment in this era led the country's film industry to new heights in production values, cinematography and screenwriting as well as technical advances in areas such as special effects and animation.Anita N. Wadhwani
"Bollywood Mania" Rising in United States
. US State Department. (9 August 2006). Retrieved 29 July 2010. Some of the largest production houses, among them Yash Raj Films and Dharma Productions were the producers of new modern films. Some popular films of the decade were '' Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai'' (2000), '' Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham...'' (2001), '' Gadar: Ek Prem Katha'' (2001), '' Lagaan'' (2001), '' Koi... Mil Gaya'' (2003), ''

Kal Ho Naa Ho ''Kal Ho Naa Ho'' (, ), also abbreviated as ''KHNH'', is a 2003 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy drama film directed by Nikhil Advani, written by Karan Johar with dialogue by Niranjan Iyengar, and produced by Yash Johar. The film stars Ja ...

'' (2003), ''

Veer-Zaara ''Veer-Zaara'' () is a 2004 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by Yash Chopra, who co-produced it with his son Aditya Chopra. It stars Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta as the eponymous star-crossed lovers: Veer Pratap Singh (Kha ...

'' (2004), '' Rang De Basanti'' (2006), ''

Lage Raho Munna Bhai ''Lage Raho Munna Bhai'' (; ) is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language satirical comedy drama film written, edited and directed by Rajkumar Hirani, who co-wrote the screenplay with Abhijat Joshi and produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. It is the follow-up t ...

'' (2006), '' Dhoom 2'' (2006), '' Krrish'' (2006), and '' Jab We Met'' (2007), among others, showing the rise of new movie stars. During the 2010s, the industry saw established stars such as making big-budget masala films like ''

Dabangg ''Dabangg'' () is a 2010 Indian Hindi-language action comedy film directed by Abhinav Singh Kashyap and produced by Malaika Arora Khan and Arbaaz Khan under Arbaaz Khan Productions with Dhilin Mehta under Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision. Khan ...

'' (2010), ''

Singham ''Singham'' is a 2011 Indian Hindi-language action film directed by Rohit Shetty and produced by Reliance Entertainment, based on a script by writers Yunus Sajawal and Farhad-Sajid. It serves as first installment of Shetty's Cop Universe. A r ...

'' (2011)'','' '' Ek Tha Tiger'' (2012), ''

Son of Sardaar ''Son of Sardaar'' is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language action comedy film directed by Ashwni Dhir. A remake of 2010 Telugu film ''Maryada Ramanna'' directed by S. S. Rajamouli, it featured Ajay Devgn, Sanjay Dutt, Sonakshi Sinha and Juhi Chawla ...

'' (2012), '' Rowdy Rathore'' (2012), ''

Chennai Express ''Chennai Express'' () is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language action comedy film directed by Rohit Shetty and produced by Ronnie Screwvala, Siddharth Roy Kapur, Gauri Khan and Karim Morani, based on a story by K. Subash, with a screenplay written by ...

'' (2013), '' Kick'' (2014) and ''

Happy New Year The Christmas season or the festive season (also known in some countries as the holiday season or the holidays) is an annually recurring period recognized in many Western and other countries that is generally considered to run from late November ...

'' (2014) with much-younger actresses. Although the films were often not praised by critics, they were commercially successful. Some of the films starring Aamir Khan, from '' Taare Zameen Par'' (2007) and ''

3 Idiots ''3 Idiots'' (stylized as ''3 idiots'') is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language coming-of-age comedy-drama film written, edited and directed by Rajkumar Hirani, co-written by Abhijat Joshi and produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. Adapted loosely from Cheta ...

'' (2009) to '' Dangal'' (2016) and ''

Secret Superstar ''Secret Superstar'' is a 2017 Indian Hindi-language musical drama film written and directed by Advait Chandan, and produced by Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao under the studio Aamir Khan Productions. for The film stars Zaira Wasim, Aamir Khan, Meher ...

'' (2018), have been credited with redefining and modernising the masala film with a distinct brand of socially conscious cinema. Most stars from the 2000s continued successful careers into the next decade, and the 2010s saw a new generation of popular actors in different films. Among new conventions, female-centred films such as ''

The Dirty Picture ''The Dirty Picture'' is a 2011 Indian Hindi-language biographical musical drama film inspired by the life of Silk Smitha, an Indian actress noted for her erotic roles. The filmmakers have clarified that the story is not officially or literall ...

'' (2011), '' Kahaani'' (2012), and ''

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

'' (2014), ''

Parched ''Parched'' is a 2015 Indian drama film written and directed by Leena Yadav and produced by Ajay Devgan under his banner Ajay Devgn FFilms. It premiered at the Special Presentations section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. In In ...

'' (2015),

Pink Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...

(2016) started gaining wide financial success. Akshay Kumar

Ajay Devgn, Rohit Shetty on the sets of 'Jhalak Dikhhlaa Jaa 5'

Influences on Hindi cinema

Moti Gokulsing and Wimal Dissanayake identify six major influences which have shaped Indian popular cinema: * The branching structures of ancient Indian epics, like the ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

'' and ''

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

''. Indian popular films often have plots which branch off into sub-plots. * Ancient Sanskrit drama, with its stylised nature and emphasis on spectacle in which

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

and gesture combine "to create a vibrant artistic unit with dance and mime being central to the dramatic experience." Matthew Jones of De Montfort University also identifies the Sanskrit concept of '' rasa'', or "the emotions felt by the audience as a result of the actor’s presentation", as crucial to Bollywood films. * Traditional folk theater, which became popular around the 10th century with the decline of Sanskrit theater. Its regional traditions include the Jatra of

, the Ramlila of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

, and the

Terukkuttu Terukkuttu is a Tamil language, Tamil street theatre form practised in Tamil Nadu state of India and Tamil-speaking regions of Sri Lanka. Terukuttu is a form of entertainment, a ritual, and a medium of social instruction. The terukkuttu plays va ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

. * Parsi theatre, which "blended realism and fantasy, music and dance, narrative and spectacle, earthy dialogue and ingenuity of stage presentation, integrating them into a dramatic discourse of

. The Parsi plays contained crude humour, melodious songs and music, sensationalism and dazzling stagecraft." *

, where musicals were popular from the 1920s to the 1950s. * Western musical television (particularly

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

), which has had an increasing influence since the 1990s. Its pace, camera angles, dance sequences and music may be seen in 2000s Indian films. An early example of this approach was

Mani Ratnam Gopala Ratnam Subramaniam (born 2 June 1956), known professionally as Mani Ratnam, is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema and few Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films. Ratnam has won six Nat ...

's ''

'' (1995). Sharmistha Gooptu identifies

Indo-Persian Indo-Persian culture refers to a cultural synthesis present in the Indian subcontinent. It is characterised by the absorption or integration of Persian aspects into the various cultures of Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. The earliest introductio ...

Islamic culture Islamic culture and Muslim culture refer to cultural practices which are common to historically Islamic people. The early forms of Muslim culture, from the Rashidun Caliphate to the early Umayyad period and the early Abbasid period, were predomi ...

as a major influence. During the early 20th century,

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

of popular cultural performance across northern India and established in popular

performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

traditions such as

nautch The nautch (; meaning "dance" or "dancing")Scott A. Kugle, 2016When Sun Meets Moon: Gender, Eros, and Ecstasy in Urdu Poetry p.230. was a popular court dance performed by girls (known as "nautch girls") in India. The culture of the performing ...

dancing,

Urdu poetry Urdu poetry ( ur, ) is a tradition of poetry and has many different forms. Today, it is an important part of the cultures of South Asia. According to Naseer Turabi there are five major poets of Urdu which are Mir Taqi Mir (d.1810), Mirza Ghalib ...

, and Parsi theater. Urdu and related

Hindi dialects The Hindi Belt, also known as the Hindi Heartland, is a linguistic region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern and western India where various Central Indo-Aryan languages subsumed under the term 'Hindi' (for example, by the I ...

were the most widely understood across northern India, and Hindustani became the standard language of early Indian talkies. Films based on " Persianate adventure-romances" led to a popular genre of "''

Arabian Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...

'' cinema". Scholars Chaudhuri Diptakirti and

Rachel Dwyer Rachel Dwyer is a professor of Indian Cultures and Cinema at SOAS, University of London. Life Dwyer took her BA in Sanskrit at SOAS, followed by an MPhil in General Linguistics and Comparative Philology at the University of Oxford. Her PhD resear ...

and screenwriter

identify

Urdu literature Urdu literature ( ur, , ) is literature in the Urdu language. While it tends to be dominated by poetry, especially the verse forms of the ''ghazal '' غزل and ''nazm '' نظم, it has expanded into other styles of writing, including that of t ...

as a major influence on Hindi cinema. Most of the screenwriters and scriptwriters of classic Hindi cinema came from Urdu literary backgrounds, from Khwaja Ahmad Abbas and

Akhtar ul Iman Akhtar ul Iman (12 November 1915 9 March 1996) was a noted Urdu poet and screenwriter in Hindi cinema, who had a major influence on modern Urdu nazm. He won the Filmfare Award for Best Dialogue in 1963 for ''Dharmputra'' and 1966 for '' W ...

and Rahi Masoom Raza; a handful came from other Indian literary traditions, such as

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

and Hindi literature. Most of Hindi cinema's classic scriptwriters wrote primarily in Urdu, including Salim-Javed, Gulzar, Rajinder Singh Bedi,

Inder Raj Anand Inder Raj Anand (died 6 March 1987) was an Indian film dialogue and screenwriter in Hindi cinema, who worked on many Raj Kapoor films, starting with ''Aag (1948 film), Aag'' (1948), ''Aah (film), Aah'' (1953), ''Anari (1959 film), Anari'' (1959) ...

, Rahi Masoom Raza and

Wajahat Mirza Wajahat Hussain Mirza Changezi ( hi, वजाहत मिर्ज़ा; 20 April 1908 – 4 August 1990) was an Indian screenwriter and film director who penned the dialogues of some of the most successful films in India during the 1950s ...

. Urdu poetry and the

ghazal The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a ...

tradition strongly influenced filmi ( Bollywood lyrics). Javed Akhtar was also greatly influenced by Urdu novels by Pakistani author

Ibn-e-Safi Ibn-e-Safi (26 July 1928 – 26 July 1980) (also spelled as Ibne Safi) ( ur, ) was the pen name of Asrar Ahmad ( ur, ), a fiction writer, novelist and poet of Urdu from Pakistan. The word Ibn-e-Safi is an Persian expression which litera ...

, such as the ''

Jasoosi Dunya Jasoosi Dunya (Urdu: جاسوسى دنيا) is a popular series of Urdu detective stories created by Ibne-Safi. Its first novel, ''Dilaer Mujrim'' (دلير مجرم) was published in March 1952. In the following 27 years, Ibn-e-Safi wrote 127 bo ...

'' and ''Imran'' series of detective novels; they inspired, for example, famous Bollywood characters such as Gabbar Singh in '' Sholay'' (1975) and Mogambo in ''

Mr. India Mr. or Mister India may refer to: Pageants * Rubaru Mister India, a national Indian beauty pageant in India that sends its winners to Mister International, Mister Global, Mister Model International and other international competitions * Mister Indi ...

'' (1987). Todd Stadtman identifies several foreign influences on 1970s commercial Bollywood masala films, including New Hollywood, Italian exploitation films, and

Hong Kong martial arts cinema Hong Kong action cinema is the principal source of the Hong Kong film industry's global fame. Action films from Hong Kong have roots in Chinese and Hong Kong cultures including Chinese opera, storytelling and aesthetic traditions, which Hong Ko ...

. After the success of

Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (; born Lee Jun-fan, ; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong and American martial artist and actor. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines that ...

films (such as '' Enter the Dragon'') in India, '' Deewaar'' (1975) and other Bollywood films incorporated fight scenes inspired by 1970s martial arts films from Hong Kong cinema until the 1990s. Bollywood action scenes emulated Hong Kong rather than Hollywood, emphasising acrobatics and

stunts A stunt is an unusual and difficult physical feat or an act requiring a special skill, performed for artistic purposes usually on television, theaters, or cinema. Stunts are a feature of many action films. Before computer generated imagery spec ...

and combining kung fu (as perceived by Indians) with

Indian martial arts Indian martial arts refers to the fighting systems of the Indian subcontinent. A variety of terms are used for the English phrases “Indian martial arts”, deriving from ancient sources. While they may seem to imply specific disciplines (e.g. ...

such as

pehlwani Pehlwani, (पहलवानी) also known as Kushti, is a form of wrestling contested in South Asia. It was developed in the Mughal Empire by combining Persian Koshti pahlevani with influences from native Indian Malla-yuddha. The words ''pe ...

Influence of Hindi cinema

India

Perhaps Hindi cinema's greatest influence has been on India's national identity, where (with the rest of Indian cinema) it has become part of the "Indian story". In India, Bollywood is often associated with India's national identity. According to economist and Bollywood biographer Meghnad Desai, "Cinema actually has been the most vibrant medium for telling India its own story, the story of its struggle for independence, its constant struggle to achieve national integration and to emerge as a global presence". Scholar Brigitte Schulze has written that Indian films, most notably

Mehboob Khan Mehboob Khan (born Mehboob Khan Ramzan Khan; 9 September 1907
at filmreference.com. – 28 ...

's '' Mother India'' (1957), played a key role in shaping the

's national identity in the early years after

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

from the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

; the film conveyed a sense of

Indian nationalism Indian nationalism is an instance of territorial nationalism, which is inclusive of all of the people of India, despite their diverse ethnic, linguistic and religious backgrounds. Indian nationalism can trace roots to pre-colonial India, b ...

to urban and rural citizens alike. Bollywood has long influenced Indian society and culture as the biggest entertainment industry; many of the country's musical, dancing, wedding and fashion trends are Bollywood-inspired. Bollywood fashion trendsetters have included

in '' Mughal-e-Azam'' (1960) and Madhuri Dixit in '' Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!'' (1994). Hindi films have also had a socio-political impact on Indian society, reflecting Indian politics. In classic 1970s Bollywood films, Bombay underworld crime films written by

and starring

such as '' Zanjeer'' (1973) and '' Deewaar'' (1975) reflected the

and socio-political realities of contemporary India. They channeled growing popular discontent and disillusionment and state failure to ensure welfare and well-being at a time of inflation, shortages, loss of confidence in public institutions, increasing crime and the unprecedented growth of

s. Salim-Javed and Bachchan's films dealt with urban poverty, corruption and organised crime; they were perceived by audiences as

, often with an "angry young man" protagonist presented as a

vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without Right, legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a pers ...

anti-hero An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero) or antiheroine is a main character in a story who may lack conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism, courage, and morality. Although antiheroes may sometimes perform actions ...

whose suppressed rage voiced the anguish of the urban poor.

Overseas

Hindi films have been a significant form of

soft power In politics (and particularly in international politics), soft power is the ability to co-opt rather than coerce (contrast hard power). In other words, soft power involves shaping the preferences of others through appeal and attraction. A defin ...

for India, increasing its influence and changing overseas perceptions of India. In

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Indian stereotypes Stereotypes of South Asians are broadly believed impressions about individuals of South Asian origin that are often inconsistent with reality. While the impressions are wrongly presumed to be universally true for all people of South Asian origin ...

included bullock carts, beggars, sacred cows, corrupt politicians, and catastrophes before Bollywood and the

IT industry Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information technology system ( ...

transformed global perceptions of India. According to author Roopa Swaminathan, "Bollywood cinema is one of the strongest global cultural ambassadors of a new India." Its role in expanding India's global influence is comparable to Hollywood's similar role with American influence. Monroe Township, Middlesex County,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, in the New York metropolitan area, has been profoundly impacted by Bollywood; this U.S. township has displayed one of the fastest growth rates of its Indian population in the

Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the antimeridian. The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Politically, the term We ...

, increasing from 256 (0.9%) as of the 2000 Census to an estimated 5,943 (13.6%) as of 2017, representing a 2,221.5% (a multiple of 23) numerical increase over that period, including many affluent

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

s and senior citizens as well as charitable benefactors to the COVID-19 relief efforts in India in official coordination with Monroe Township, as well as actors with second homes. During the 2000s, Hindi cinema began influencing

s in the Western world and was instrumental role in reviving the American musical film.

Baz Luhrmann Mark Anthony Luhrmann (born 17 September 1962), known professionally as Baz Luhrmann, is an Australian film director, producer, writer and actor. With projects spanning film, television, opera, theatre, music and recording industries, he is re ...

said that his musical film, ''

Moulin Rouge! ''Moulin Rouge!'' (, ) is a 2001 jukebox musical romantic drama film directed, co-produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. It follows a young English poet, Christian, who falls in love with the star of the Moulin Rouge, cabaret actress and cour ...

'' (2001), was inspired by Bollywood musicals; the film incorporated a Bollywood-style dance scene with a song from the film '' China Gate''. The critical and financial success of ''Moulin Rouge!'' began a renaissance of Western musical films such as ''

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

'', ''

Rent Rent may refer to: Economics *Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property *Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production *Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...

'', and '' Dreamgirls''. Indian film composer

A. R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in int ...

wrote the music for

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...

's ''

Bombay Dreams ''Bombay Dreams'' is a Bollywood-themed musical, with music by A. R. Rahman, lyrics by Don Black and the book by Meera Syal and Thomas Meehan, originally produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The London production opened in 2002 and ran for two ...

'', and a musical version of ''

Hum Aapke Hain Koun ''Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!'' () also known by the initialism ''HAHK'', is a 1994 Indian Hindi-language musical romantic drama film written and directed by Sooraj Barjatya and produced by Rajshri Productions. The film stars Madhuri Dixit and Salman ...

'' was staged in London's West End. The sports film '' Lagaan'' (2001) was nominated for the

, and two other Hindi films (2002's '' Devdas'' and 2006's '' Rang De Basanti'') were nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language. Danny Boyle's '' Slumdog Millionaire'' (2008), which won four

Golden Globes The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

and eight Academy Awards, was inspired by mainstream Hindi films and is considered an "homage to Hindi commercial cinema". It was also inspired by Mumbai-underworld crime films, such as '' Deewaar'' (1975), ''

'' (1998), ''

Company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...

'' (2002) and '' Black Friday'' (2007). ''Deewaar'' had a Hong Kong remake, '' The Brothers'' (1979), which inspired John Woo's internationally acclaimed breakthrough '' A Better Tomorrow'' (1986); the latter was a template for

Hong Kong action cinema Hong Kong action cinema is the principal source of the Hong Kong film industry's global fame. Action films from Hong Kong have roots in Chinese and Hong Kong cultures including Chinese opera, storytelling and aesthetic traditions, which Hong Ko ...

's heroic bloodshed genre. "Angry young man" 1970s epics such as ''Deewaar'' and '' Amar Akbar Anthony'' (1977) also resemble the heroic-bloodshed genre of 1980s Hong Kong action cinema. The influence of '' filmi'' may be seen in

popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...

worldwide.

Technopop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...

pioneers Haruomi Hosono and Ryuichi Sakamoto of the

Yellow Magic Orchestra Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO for short) is a Japanese electronic music band formed in Tokyo in 1978 by Haruomi Hosono (bass, keyboards, vocals), Yukihiro Takahashi (drums, lead vocals) and Ryuichi Sakamoto (keyboards, vocals). The group is conside ...

produced a 1978 electronic album, ''Cochin Moon'', based on an experimental fusion of electronic music and Bollywood-inspired Indian music. Truth Hurts' 2002 song "

Addictive Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use oft ...

", produced by DJ Quik and

Dr. Dre Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and ...

, was lifted from

Lata Mangeshkar Lata Mangeshkar () (born as Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 06 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is widely considered to have been the greatest and most influential singers in India. Her cont ...

's "Thoda Resham Lagta Hai" in ''Jyoti'' (1981).

The Black Eyed Peas Black Eyed Peas (also known as The Black Eyed Peas) is an American musical group consisting of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo. The group's line-up during the height of their popularity in the 2000s featured Fergie, who replaced Kim Hil ...

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

winning 2005 song "

Don't Phunk with My Heart "Don't Phunk with My Heart" (censored as "Don't Mess with My Heart") is a song recorded by American group the Black Eyed Peas for their fourth studio album '' Monkey Business'' (2005). It was written by band members will.i.am and Fergie with Pri ...

" was inspired by two 1970s

Bollywood songs Hindi film songs, more formally known as Hindi Geet or filmi songs and informally known as Bollywood music, are songs featured in Hindi films. Derived from the song-and-dance routines common in Indian films, Bollywood songs, along with dance ...

: "Ye Mera Dil Yaar Ka Diwana" from ''

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'' (1978) and "Ae Nujawan Hai Sub" from ''

Apradh ''Apradh'' () is a 1972 action thriller romance Hindi film produced and directed by Feroz Khan. It was Feroz Khan's debut as a producer and a director. The film stars Feroz Khan, Mumtaz, Prem Chopra, Iftekhar, Helen, Faryal and Madan Puri. ...

'' (1972). Both songs were composed by

Kalyanji Anandji Kalyanji Virji Shah (30 June 1928 – 24 August 2000) was the ''Kalyanji'' of the Kalyanji-Anandji duo. He and his brother Anandji Virji Shah have been famous Indian film musicians, and won the 1975 Filmfare Award for Best Music Director, f ...

, sung by

Asha Bhosle Asha Bhosle (; Mangeshkar; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian playback singer, entrepreneur and occasional actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian Cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in the ...

, and featured the dancer

Helen Helen may refer to: People * Helen of Troy, in Greek mythology, the most beautiful woman in the world * Helen (actress) (born 1938), Indian actress * Helen (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) Places * Helen, ...

. The Kronos Quartet re-recorded several R. D. Burman compositions sung by

for their 2005 album, '' You've Stolen My Heart: Songs from R.D. Burman's Bollywood'', which was nominated for Best Contemporary World Music Album at the 2006 Grammy Awards. ''Filmi'' music composed by

(who received two

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for the ''Slumdog Millionaire'' soundtrack) has frequently been sampled by other musicians, including the Singaporean artist

Kelly Poon Kelly Poon (; born 11 July 1983) is a Singaporean singer who emerged from one of the Project SuperStar singing competition held in Singapore. Early life Kelly Poon graduated from Huamin Primary School and Yishun Town Secondary School. She late ...

, the French rap group

La Caution La Caution is a French hip hop duo consisting of Hi-Tekk and Nikkfurie, both of Moroccan descent. They are notable for creating the song "Thé à la Menthe" which is known for appearing (in instrumental form) in the 2004 American film ''Ocean' ...

and the American artist

Ciara Ciara Princess Wilson ( ; Harris; born October 25, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, model and entrepreneur. She released her debut studio album, '' Goodies'' in 2004, which spawned four singles: " Goodies" (featuring Petey Pa ...

. Many

Asian Underground Asian underground is a term associated with various British Asian and South Asian Canadian musicians (mostly Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan) who blend elements of Western underground dance music and the traditional Asian music of thei ...

artists, particularly those among the overseas Indian diaspora, have also been inspired by Bollywood music.

Genres

Hindi films are primarily musicals, and are expected to have catchy song-and-dance numbers woven into the script. A film's success often depends on the quality of such musical numbers. A film's music and song and dance portions are usually produced first and these are often released before the film itself, increasing its audience. Indian audiences expect value for money, and a good film is generally referred to as ''

paisa Paisa (also transliterated as ''pice'', ''pesa'', ''poysha'', ''poisha'' and ''baisa'') is a monetary unit in several countries. The word is also a generalised idiom for money and wealth. In India, Nepal, and Pakistan, the ''Paisa'' currently equa ...

vasool'', (literally "money's worth"). Songs, dances, love triangles, comedy and dare-devil thrills are combined in a three-hour show (with an intermission). These are called '' masala films'', after the Hindi word for a spice mixture. Like ''masalas'', they are a mixture of action, comedy and romance; most have heroes who can fight off villains single-handedly. Bollywood plots have tended to be melodramatic, frequently using formulaic ingredients such as star-crossed lovers, angry parents, love triangles, family ties, sacrifice, political corruption, kidnapping, villains, kind-hearted courtesans, long-lost relatives and siblings, reversals of fortune and

serendipity Serendipity is an unplanned fortunate discovery. Serendipity is a common occurrence throughout the history of product invention and scientific discovery. Etymology The first noted use of "serendipity" was by Horace Walpole on 28 January 1754. I ...

. Parallel cinema films tended to be less popular at the box office. A large Indian diaspora in English-speaking countries and increased Western influence in India have nudged Bollywood films closer to Hollywood. According to film critic Lata Khubchandani, "Our earliest films ... had liberal doses of sex and kissing scenes in them. Strangely, it was after Independence the censor board came into being and so did all the strictures." Although Bollywood plots feature Westernised urbanites dating and dancing in clubs rather than pre-arranged marriages, traditional Indian culture continues to exist outside the industry and is an element of resistance by some to Western influences. Bollywood plays a major role, however, in Indian fashion. Studies have indicated that some people, unaware that changing fashion in Bollywood films is often influenced by globalisation, consider the clothes worn by Bollywood actors as authentically Indian.

Casts and crews

Bollywood employs people from throughout India. It attracts thousands of aspiring actors hoping for a break in the industry. Models and beauty contestants, television actors, stage actors and ordinary people come to Mumbai with the hope of becoming a star. As in Hollywood, very few succeed. Since many Bollywood films are shot abroad, many foreign extras are employed. Very few non-Indian actors are able to make a mark in Bollywood, although many have tried. Hindi cinema can be insular, and relatives of film-industry figures have an edge in obtaining coveted roles in films or being part of a film crew. However, industry connections are no guarantee of a long career: competition is fierce, and film-industry scions will falter if they do not succeed at the box office. Stars such as

Dharmendra Dharam Singh Deol (born 8 December 1935), also known mononymously as Dharmendra, is an Indian actor, producer and politician who is known for his work in Hindi films. Known as the first " He-Man" of Bollywood, Dharmendra has worked in over 301 ...

Rajesh Khanna Rajesh Khanna () (; born Jatin Khanna; 29 December 1942 – 18 July 2012) was an Indian actor, film producer and politician who worked in Hindi films. He is called as the "First Superstar of Hindi cinema", he consecutively starred in a record ...

Anil Kapoor Anil Kapoor (born 24 December 1956) is an Indian actor and producer who works primarily in Hindi films, besides television and international films and television. In a career spanning over 40 years as an actor and since 2005 as a producer, Kapo ...

Sridevi Shree Amma Yanger Ayyappan (13 August 1963 – 24 February 2018), professionally credited with her stage name Sridevi, was an Indian actress who worked in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, and Kannada language films. Cited as the "First Female ...

, Madhuri Dixit, Aishwarya Rai and

lacked show-business connections.

Dialogues and lyrics

Film scripts (known as dialogues in

Indian English Indian English (IE) is a group of English dialects spoken in the republic of India and among the Indian diaspora. English is used by the Indian government for communication, along with Hindi, as enshrined in the Constitution of India. E ...

) and their song lyrics are often written by different people. Earlier, scripts were usually written in an unadorned

, which would be understood by the largest possible audience. Post-Independence, Hindi films tended to use a

colloquial Colloquialism (), also called colloquial language, everyday language or general parlance, is the linguistic style used for casual (informal) communication. It is the most common functional style of speech, the idiom normally employed in conver ...

and

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Some films have used regional dialects to evoke a village setting, or archaic Urdu in

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

historical films A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and sw ...

. A number of the dominant early scriptwriters of Hindi cinema primarily wrote in Urdu; Salim-Javed wrote in Urdu script, which was then transcribed by an assistant into

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental Writing systems#Segmental syste ...

script so Hindi readers could read them. During the 1970s, Urdu writers

Krishan Chander Krishan Chander (23 November 1914 – 8 March 1977) was an Indian Urdu and Hindi writer of short stories and novels. Some of his works have also been translated in English. He was a prolific writer, penning over 20 novels, 30 collections o ...

and Ismat Chughtai said that "more than seventy-five per cent of films are made in Urdu" but were categorised as Hindi films by the government. ''Encyclopedia of Hindi Cinema'' noted a number of top Urdu writers for preserving the language through film.

has strongly influenced Hindi film songs, whose lyrics also draw from the

tradition (

filmi-ghazal The filmi-ghazal is a genre of filmi music based on ghazal poetry in Hindustani (Hindi-Urdu), used in Indian films, especially the music of Bollywood (Hindi cinema). The filmi-ghazals retain the couplet format and rhyme scheme similar to that i ...

). According to Javed Akhtar in 1996, despite the loss of Urdu in Indian society, Urdu

diction Diction ( la, dictionem (nom. ), "a saying, expression, word"), in its original meaning, is a writer's or speaker's distinctive vocabulary choices and style of expression in a poem or story.Crannell (1997) ''Glossary'', p. 406 In its common meanin ...

dominated Hindi film dialogue and lyrics. In her book, ''The Cinematic ImagiNation'', Jyotika Virdi wrote about the presence and decline of Urdu in Hindi films. Virdi notes that although Urdu was widely used in classic Hindi cinema decades after partition because it was widely taught in pre-

partition Partition may refer to: Computing Hardware * Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive * Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job Software * Partition (database), the division of a ...

India, its use has declined in modern Hindi cinema: "The extent of Urdu used in commercial Hindi cinema has not been stable ... the ultimate victory of Hindi in the official sphere has been more or less complete. This decline of Urdu is mirrored in Hindi films ... It is true that many Urdu words have survived and have become part of Hindi cinema's popular vocabulary. But that is as far as it goes. The fact is, for the most part, popular Hindi cinema has forsaken the florid Urdu that was part of its extravagance and retained a 'residual' Urdu", affected by an aggressive state policy that promoted a Sanskritized version of Hindi as the national language." Contemporary mainstream films also use English; according to the article "Bollywood Audiences Editorial", "English has begun to challenge the ideological work done by Urdu." Some film scripts are first written in

Latin script The Latin script, also known as Roman script, is an alphabetic writing system based on the letters of the classical Latin alphabet, derived from a form of the Greek alphabet which was in use in the ancient Greek city of Cumae, in southern Italy ...

. Characters may shift from one language to the other to evoke a particular atmosphere (for example, English in a business setting and Hindi in an informal one). The blend of Hindi and English sometimes heard in modern Hindi films, known as

, has become increasingly common. For years before the turn of the millennium and even after, cinematic language (in dialogues or lyrics) would often be melodramatic, invoking God, family, mother, duty, and self-sacrifice. Song lyrics are often about love and, especially in older films, frequently used the poetic vocabulary of court Urdu, with a number of

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

loanwords. Another source for love lyrics in films such as '' Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje'' and '' Lagaan'' is the long

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

tradition of poetry about the loves of

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

Radha Radha ( sa, राधा, ), also called Radhika, is a Hindu goddess and the chief consort of the god Krishna. She is worshiped as the goddess of love, tenderness, compassion, and devotion. She is the avatar of goddess Lakshmi and is also de ...

, and the

gopi Gopi ( sa, गोपी, ) or Gopika in Hinduism are worshipped as the consorts and devotees of Krishna within the Vaishnavism and Krishnaism traditions for their unconditional love and devotion ('' Bhakti'') to god Krishna as described in the ...

s. Music directors often prefer working with certain lyricists, and the lyricist and composer may be seen as a team. This phenomenon has been compared to the pairs of American composers and songwriters who created classic Broadway musicals.

Sound

Sound in early Bollywood films was usually not recorded on location ( sync sound). It was usually created (or re-created) in the studio, with the actors speaking their lines in the studio and

sound effects A sound effect (or audio effect) is an artificially created or enhanced sound, or sound process used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media. Traditi ...

added later; this created synchronisation problems. Commercial Indian films are known for their lack of ambient sound, and the Arriflex 3 camera necessitated dubbing. '' Lagaan'' (2001) was filmed with sync sound, and several Bollywood films have recorded on-location sound since then.

Female makeup artists

In 1955, the Bollywood Cine Costume Make-Up Artist & Hair Dressers' Association (CCMAA) ruled that female makeup artists were barred from membership. The

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...

ruled in 2014 that the ban violated Indian constitutional guarantees under Article 14 (right to equality), 19(1)(g) (freedom to work) and Article 21 (right to liberty). According to the court, the ban had no "rationale nexus" to the cause sought to be achieved and was "unacceptable, impermissible and inconsistent" with the constitutional rights guaranteed to India's citizens. The court also found illegal the rule which mandated that for any artist to work in the industry, they must have lived for five years in the state where they intend to work. In 2015, it was announced that Charu Khurana was the first woman registered by the Cine Costume Make-Up Artist & Hair Dressers' Association.

Song and dance

Bollywood film music is called '' filmi'' (from the Hindi "of films"). Bollywood songs were introduced with Ardeshir Irani's ''Alam Ara'' (1931) song, "De De Khuda Ke Naam pay pyaare". Bollywood songs are generally pre-recorded by professional playback singers, with the actors then lip syncing the words to the song on-screen (often while dancing). Although most actors are good dancers, few are also singers; a notable exception was

Kishore Kumar Kishore Kumar (born as Abhas Kumar Ganguly (); 4 August 1929 – 13 October 1987) was an Indian playback singer and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest, most influential and dynamic singers in the history of Indian music. He ...

, who starred in several major films during the 1950s while having a rewarding career as a playback singer.

, Suraiyya, and

Noor Jehan Noor Jehan ( Punjabi: ) (born () Allah Rakhi Wasai ; 23 September 1926 – 23 December 2000; sometimes spelled Noorjehan),Ashish Rajadhyaksha and Paul Willemen, ''Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema,'' British Film Institute, Oxford University Pres ...

were known as singers and actors, and some actors in the last thirty years have sung one or more songs themselves. Songs can make and break a film, determining whether it will be a flop or a hit: "Few films without successful musical tracks, and even fewer without any songs and dances, succeed". Globalization has changed Bollywood music, with lyrics an increasing mix of Hindi and English. Global trends such as salsa, pop and hip hop have influenced the music heard in Bollywood films. Playback singers are featured in the opening credits, and have fans who will see an otherwise-lackluster film to hear their favourites. Notable singers are

, Geeta Dutt, Shamshad Begum,

Kavita Krishnamurthy Sharada Krishnamurthy, popularly known as Kavita Krishnamurthy or Kavita Subramaniam, is an Indian playback and classical singer. She has recorded 50,000 songs in 45 various Indian languages including Hindi, Bengali, Kannada, Rajasthani, Bhojp ...

Sadhana Sargam Sadhana Sargam (née Ghanekar, born 7 March 1969) is an Indian singer known for her playback career in Indian cinema predominantly in Hindi, Bengali, Telugu and Tamil language films. She is a recipient of the National Film Award and Filmfare Awa ...

Alka Yagnik Alka, AlkA or ALKA may refer to: People * Alka Ajith (born c. 1997), Indian multilingual playback singer * Alka Amin (active from 2011), Indian television actress * Alka Balram Kshatriya, Indian politician, Member of the Parliament of India repr ...

and

Shreya Goshal Shreya Ghoshal (born 12 March 1984) is an Indian singer and television personality. One of the highest-paid and most well-established playback singers of Indian cinema, she has received four National Film Awards, four Kerala State Film Awar ...

(female), and K. L. Saigal,

, Talat Mahmood,

Mukesh Mukesh is an epithet for the Hindu god Shiva, and literally means "conqueror of the Muka demon". It also means god of 3 worlds, heaven, hell & earth, which in turn represents Hindu god Shiva. It is commonly used as a male given name in India. Peopl ...

Manna Dey Prabodh Chandra Dey (May 1, 1919 − October 24, 2013), known by his stage name Manna Dey, was an internationally acclaimed and celebrated Indian playback singer, music director, and a musician. As a classical vocalist, he belonged to the Bhen ...

, Hemant Kumar,

Kumar Sanu Kedarnath Bhattacharya (born 20 October 1957), better known as Kumar Sanu, is an Indian playback singer. He is known as the King of Melody in Bollywood. He is famous for singing thousands of Bollywood Hindi songs. Apart from Hindi, he has al ...

Udit Narayan Udit is an Indian masculine given name that may refer to: *Udit Narayan, Bollywood playback singer *Udit Narayan (politician) (born 1960), Fijian politician of Indian descent *Udit Narayan Singh (1770–1835), Indian monarch *Udit Patel (born 1984 ...

and Sonu Nigam (male). Composers of film music, known as music directors, are also well-known.

Remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

ing of film songs with modern rhythms is common, and producers may release remixed versions of some of their films' songs with the films' soundtrack albums. Dancing in Bollywood films, especially older films, is modeled on Indian dance: classical dance, dances of north-Indian courtesans ( tawaif) or folk dances. In modern films, Indian dance blends with Western dance styles as seen on MTV or in Broadway musicals; Western pop and classical-dance numbers are commonly seen side-by-side in the same film. The hero (or heroine) often performs with a troupe of supporting dancers. Many song-and-dance routines in Indian films contain unrealistically-quick shifts of location or changes of costume between verses of a song. If the hero and heroine dance and sing a duet, it is often staged in natural surroundings or architecturally-grand settings. Songs typically comment on the action taking place in the film. A song may be worked into the plot, so a character has a reason to sing. It may externalise a character's thoughts, or presage an event in the film (such as two characters falling in love). The songs are often referred to as a "dream sequence", with things happening which would not normally happen in the real world. Song and dance scenes were often filmed in

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

but, due to political unrest in Kashmir since the end of the 1980s, they have been shot in western Europe (particularly

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

). Contemporary movie stars attracted popularity as dancers, including Madhuri Dixit, Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan,

Meenakshi Seshadri Meenakshi Seshadri (; born 16 November 1963) is a former Indian actress, model and dancer who worked primarily in Hindi films, with a few films in Telugu and Tamil. She made her debut with the film ''Painter Babu'' (1983) produced by Manoj Kuma ...

, Malaika Arora Khan, Shahid Kapoor, Katrina Kaif and

Tiger Shroff Jai Hemant "Tiger" Shroff (born 2 March 1990) is an Indian actor and martial artist known for his work in the Indian cinema. He is best known for his Baaghi action franchise, ''Heropanti'' (2014) and ''War'' (''2019''). He has featured in Forb ...

. Older dancers include

(known for her cabaret numbers),

Vyjanthimala Vyjayanthimala (born 13 August 1936) is a former Indian actress, dancer and parliamentarian. She is the recipient of several accolades, including two BFJA Awards and five Filmfare Awards. She made her screen debut at the age of thirteen with ...

, Padmini,

, Mumtaz,

Cuckoo Moray Cuckoo Moray, also credited as Cuckoo or Cukoo (1928 – 30 September 1981), was an Anglo-Indian dancer and actress in Indian cinema. Cuckoo was the queen of film dancing in Hindi cinema of the 1940s and 1950s. Though unfamiliar in name, she wa ...

, Parveen Babi , Waheeda Rahman, Meena Kumari, and Shammi Kapoor. Film producers have been releasing soundtracks (as tapes or CDs) before a film's release, hoping that the music will attract audiences; a soundtrack is often more popular than its film. Some producers also release music videos, usually (but not always) with a song from the film.

Finances

Bollywood films are multi-million dollar productions, with the most expensive productions costing up to 1 billion (about US$20 million). The science-fiction film ''

Ra.One ''Ra.One'' is a 2011 Indian Hindi-language superhero film directed by Anubhav Sinha. The film stars Shah Rukh Khan in double roles and Arjun Rampal as the titular antagonist, with Kareena Kapoor, Armaan Verma, Shahana Goswami, Tom Wu, Da ...

'' was made on a budget of 1.35 billion (about $27 million), making it the most expensive Bollywood film of all time. Sets, costumes, special effects and

cinematography Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens to focu ...

were less than world-class, with some notable exceptions, until the mid-to-late 1990s. As Western films and television are more widely distributed in India, there is increased pressure for Bollywood films to reach the same production levels (particularly in action and special effects). Recent Bollywood films, like '' Krrish'' (2006), have employed international technicians such as Hong Kong-based action choreographer

Tony Ching Ching Siu-tung (Chinese: 程小東, born October 31st, 1953), also known as Tony Ching, is a Hong Kong action choreographer, actor, film director and producer, who has directed over 20 films, including the critically acclaimed supernatural fantas ...

. The increasing accessibility of professional action and special effects, coupled with rising film budgets, have seen an increase in action and science-fiction films. Since overseas scenes are attractive at the box office, Mumbai film crews are filming in Australia, Canada,

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, the United Kingdom, the United States,

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and elsewhere. Indian producers have also obtained funding for big-budget films shot in India, such as '' Lagaan'' and '' Devdas''. Funding for Bollywood films often comes from private distributors and a few large studios. Although Indian banks and financial institutions had been forbidden from lending to film studios, the ban has been lifted. Finances are not regulated; some funding comes from illegitimate sources such as the Mumbai underworld, which is known to influence several prominent film personalities. Mumbai organised-crime hitmen shot Rakesh Roshan, a film director and father of star Hrithik Roshan, in January 2000. In 2001, the

Central Bureau of Investigation The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the premier investigating agency of India. It operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. Originally set up to investigate bribery and governmen ...

seized all prints of '' Chori Chori Chupke Chupke'' after the film was found to be funded by members of the Mumbai underworld. Another problem facing Bollywood is widespread

copyright infringement Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, s ...

of its films. Often, bootleg

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

copies of movies are available before they are released in cinemas. Manufacturing of bootleg DVD, VCD, and VHS copies of the latest movie titles is an established small-scale industry in parts of south and

southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

. The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) estimates that the Bollywood industry loses $100 million annually from unlicensed home videos and DVDs. In addition to the homegrown market, demand for these copies is large amongst portions of the Indian diaspora. Bootleg copies are the only way people in Pakistan can watch Bollywood movies, since the Pakistani government has banned their sale, distribution and telecast. Films are frequently broadcast without compensation by small cable-TV companies in India and other parts of South Asia. Small convenience stores, run by members of the Indian diaspora in the US and the UK, regularly stock tapes and DVDs of dubious provenance; consumer copying adds to the problem. The availability of illegal copies of movies on the Internet also contributes to industry losses. Satellite TV, television and imported foreign films are making inroads into the domestic Indian entertainment market. In the past, most Bollywood films could make money; now, fewer do. Most Bollywood producers make money, however, recouping their investments from many sources of revenue (including the sale of ancillary rights). There are increasing returns from theatres in Western countries like the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States, where Bollywood is slowly being noticed. As more Indians migrate to these countries, they form a growing market for upscale Indian films. In 2002, Bollywood sold 3.6 billion tickets and had a total revenue (including theatre tickets, DVDs and television) of $1.3 billion; Hollywood films sold 2.6 billion tickets, and had a total revenue of $51 billion.

Advertising

A number of Indian artists hand-painted movie billboards and posters.

M. F. Husain Maqbool Fida Husain (17 September 1915 – 9 June 2011) was an Indian artist known for executing bold, vibrantly coloured narrative paintings in a modified Cubist style. He was one of the most celebrated and internationally recognised Ind ...

painted film posters early in his career; human labour was found to be cheaper than printing and distributing publicity material. Most of the large, ubiquitous billboards in India's major cities are now created with computer-printed vinyl. Old hand-painted posters, once considered

ephemera Ephemera are transitory creations which are not meant to be retained or preserved. Its etymological origins extends to Ancient Greece, with the common definition of the word being: "the minor transient documents of everyday life". Ambiguous in ...

, are collectible folk art. Releasing film music, or music videos, before a film's release may be considered a form of advertising. A popular tune is believed to help attract audiences. Bollywood publicists use the Internet as a venue for advertising. Most bigger-budget films have a websites on which audiences can view trailers, stills and information on the story, cast, and crew. Bollywood is also used to advertise other products.

Product placement Product placement, also known as embedded marketing, is a marketing technique where references to specific brands or products are incorporated into another work, such as a film or television program, with specific promotional intent. Much of th ...

, used in Hollywood, is also common in Bollywood.

International filming

Bollywood's increasing use of international settings such as Switzerland, London, Paris, New York, Mexico, Brazil and Singapore does not necessarily represent the people and cultures of those locales. Contrary to these spaces and geographies being filmed as they are, they are actually Indianised by adding Bollywood actors and Hindi speaking extras to them. While immersing in Bollywood films, viewers get to see their local experiences duplicated in different locations around the world. According to Shakuntala Rao, "Media representation can depict India's shifting relation with the world economy, but must retain its 'Indianness' in moments of dynamic hybridity"; "Indianness" (cultural identity) poses a problem with Bollywood's popularity among varied diaspora audiences, but gives its domestic audience a sense of uniqueness from other immigrant groups.

Awards

The

Filmfare Awards The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by th ...

are some of the most prominent awards given to Hindi films in India. The Indian screen magazine ''

Filmfare ''Filmfare'' is an Indian English language, English-language fortnightly magazine published by Worldwide Media. Acknowledged as one of Indian most popular entertainment magazines, it publishes pieces involving news, interviews, photos, videos, r ...

'' began the awards in 1954 (recognising the best films of 1953), and they were originally known as the Clare Awards after the magazine's editor. Modeled on the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motio ...

' poll-based merit format, individuals may vote in separate categories. A dual voting system was developed in 1956. The

National Film Awards The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorat ...

were also introduced in 1954. The Indian government has sponsored the awards, given by its Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF), since 1973. The DFF screens Bollywood films, films from the other regional movie industries, and independent/art films. The awards are made at an annual ceremony presided over by the president of India. Unlike the Filmfare Awards, which are chosen by the public and a committee of experts, the National Film Awards are decided by a government panel. Other awards ceremonies for Hindi films in India are the Screen Awards (begun in 1995) and the Stardust Awards, which began in 2003. The International Indian Film Academy Awards (begun in 2000) and the Zee Cine Awards, begun in 1998, are held abroad in a different country each year.

Global markets

In addition to their popularity among the Indian diaspora from

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

and

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, generations of non-Indians have grown up with Bollywood. Indian cinema's early contacts with other regions made inroads into the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

,Desai, 38 and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. Bollywood entered the consciousness of Western audiences and producers during the late 20th century,Can new money create a world-class film industry in India?
Business Week. and Western actors now seek roles in Bollywood films.

Asia-Pacific

South Asia

Bollywood films are also popular in

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

, and

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

, where Hindustani is widely understood. Many Pakistanis understand Hindi, due to its linguistic similarity to

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Although Pakistan banned the import of Bollywood films in 1965, trade in unlicensed DVDs and illegal cable broadcasts ensured their continued popularity. Exceptions to the ban were made for a few films, such as the colourised re-release of '' Mughal-e-Azam'' and ''

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mu ...

'' in 2006. Early in 2008, the Pakistani government permitted the import of 16 films. More easing followed in 2009 and 2010. Although it is opposed by nationalists and representatives of Pakistan's small film industry, it is embraced by cinema owners who are making a profit after years of low receipts. The most popular actors in Pakistan are the three

Khans of Bollywood The term Khans of Bollywood refers to several actors of Bollywood, the Mumbai-based Hindi language Cinema of India, Indian film industry, whose surnames are Khan (surname), Khan. Most commonly, this involves the Three Khans: Aamir Khan , Shah R ...

Salman Salman may refer to: People * Salman (name), people with the name Places in Iran * Salman, Khuzestan, a village in Khuzestan Province * Salman, alternate name of Deh-e Salman, Lorestan, a village in Lorestan Province * Salman, Razavi Khorasan, a ...

, Shah Rukh, and Aamir. The most popular actress is Madhuri Dixit; at India-Pakistan cricket matches during the 1990s, Pakistani fans chanted "''Madhuri dedo, Kashmir lelo!''" ("Give Madhuri, take

!") Bollywood films in Nepal earn more than Nepali films, and Salman Khan,

and Shah Rukh Khan are popular in the country. The films are also popular in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

due to its proximity to the Indian subcontinent and their cultural similarities, particularly in music. Popular actors include Shah Rukh Khan,

Ajay Devgan Vishal Veeru Devgan (born 2 April 1969), known professionally as Ajay Devgn, is an Indian actor, film director and producer who works in Hindi cinema. Devgn has appeared in over a hundred films and has won numerous accolades, including four ...

Sunny Deol Ajay Singh Deol (born 19 October 1956), better known by his stage name Sunny Deol, is an Indian actor, film director, producer, politician and current Member of Parliament from Gurdaspur (Lok Sabha constituency) of Punjab, India. As an actor, ...

, Aishwarya Rai, Preity Zinta, and Madhuri Dixit. A number of Bollywood films were filmed in Afghanistan and some dealt with the country, including ''

Dharmatma ''Dharmatma'' () is a 1975 Hindi thriller movie and the first Bollywood film to be shot in Afghanistan. It was produced and directed by Feroz Khan. The movie is the first attempt in India to localise ''The Godfather''. The cast includes Feroz ...

'', ''

Kabul Express ''Kabul Express'' is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language adventure film written and directed by documentary film maker Kabir Khan and produced by Aditya Chopra under Yash Raj Films was released on 15 December 2006. The film stars John Abraham, Arsha ...

'', '' Khuda Gawah'' and ''

Escape From Taliban ''Escape from Taliban'' is a 2003 Indian film directed by Ujjwal Chatterjee. The film is based on the story ''A Kabuliwala's Bengali Wife'' by Sushmita Banerjee, who fled Afghanistan in 1995 after six years of living there with her Afghan husba ...

''.

Southeast Asia

Bollywood films are popular in

, particularly in maritime Southeast Asia. The three Khans are very popular in the

Malay world The Malay world or Malay realm (Indonesian/Malay: or ; Jawi: ), is a concept or an expression that has been used by different authors and groups over time to denote several different notions, derived from varied interpretations of Malayness ...

, including

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, and

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

. The films are also fairly popular in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. India has cultural ties with Indonesia, and Bollywood films were introduced to the country at the end of

in 1945. The "angry young man" films of

and

were popular during the 1970s and 1980s before Bollywood's popularity began gradually declining in the 1980s and 1990s. It experienced an Indonesian revival with the release of Shah Rukh Khan's ''

'' (1998) in 2001, which was a bigger box-office success in the country than ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...

'' (1997). Bollywood has had a strong presence in Indonesia since then, particularly Shah Rukh Khan films such as ''

Mohabbatein ''Mohabbatein'' () is a 2000 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film that was written and directed by Aditya Chopra and produced by Yash Chopra of Yash Raj Films. The film stars Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, and Aishwarya Rai, and newcom ...

'' (2000), '' Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham...'' (2001), ''

'', '' Chalte Chalte'' and '' Koi... Mil Gaya'' (all 2003), and ''

'' (2004).

East Asia

Some Bollywood films have been widely appreciated in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. Several Hindi films have been commercially successful in Japan, including

Mehboob Khan Mehboob Khan (born Mehboob Khan Ramzan Khan; 9 September 1907
at filmreference.com. – 28 ...

's ''

'' (1952, starring

) and Aziz Mirza's ''

Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman ''Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman'' () is a List of Bollywood films of 1992, 1992 Cinema of India, Indian Bollywood, Hindi-Hindi, language romantic comedy film directed by Aziz Mirza starring Nana Patekar, Amrita Singh, Shahrukh Khan and Juhi Chawla. K ...

'' (1992, starring

). The latter sparked a two-year boom in Indian films after its 1997 release, with '' Dil Se..'' (1998) a beneficiary of the boom. The highest-grossing Hindi film in Japan is ''

'' (2009), starring Aamir Khan, which received a

Japanese Academy Award The , often called the Japan Academy Prize, the Japan Academy Awards, and the Japanese Academy Awards, is a series of awards given annually since 1978 by the Japan Academy Film Prize Association (日本アカデミー賞協会, ''Nippon Akademii- ...

nomination. The film was also a critical and commercial success in South Korea. '' Dr. Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani'', '' Awaara'', and '' Do Bigha Zamin'' were successful in China during the 1940s and 1950s, and remain popular with their original audience. Few Indian films were commercially successful in the country during the 1970s and 1980s, among them

Tahir Hussain Mohammad Tahir Hussain Khan (19 September 1938 – 2 February 2010), better known as Tahir Hussain, was an Indian film producer, screenwriter, actor and film director known for his works in Hindi cinema. Personal life Tahir Hussain ...

's ''

Caravan Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop *Camel train, a convoy using camels as pack animals *Convoy, a group of veh ...

'', ''

Noorie ''Noorie'' is a 1979 Indian romance film produced by Yash Chopra, and directed by Manmohan Krishna; this is his only film as director. The film stars Farooq Shaikh, Poonam Dhillon, Madan Puri and Iftekhar. The film's music is by Khayyam and the ...

'' and '' Disco Dancer''. Indian film stars popular in China included Raj Kapoor, Nargis, and

Mithun Chakraborty Mithun Chakraborty (born Gouranga Chakraborty; 16 June 1950) is an Indian actor, producer and politician who predominantly worked in Hindi and Bengali language films. He is a former Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament. He is the recipient of three ...

. Hindi films declined significantly in popularity in China during the 1980s. Films by Aamir Khan have recently been successful, and '' Lagaan'' was the first Indian film with a nationwide Chinese release in 2011.

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

filmmaker He Ping was impressed by ''Lagaan'' (particularly its soundtrack), and hired its composer

to score his ''

Warriors of Heaven and Earth ''Warriors of Heaven and Earth'' () is a 2003 Chinese action adventure film directed by He Ping. The film's notable cinematography captures a wide range of landscapes across China's Xinjiang province. It was China's official entry for the Academy ...

'' (2003). When ''3 Idiots'' was released in China, China was the world's 15th-largest film market (partly due to its widespread pirate

distribution at the time). The pirate market introduced the film to Chinese audiences, however, and it became a

cult hit A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

. According to the

Douban Douban.com (), launched on 6 March 2005, is a Chinese online database and social networking service that allows registered users to record information and create content related to film, books, music, recent events, and activities in Chinese c ...

film-review site, ''3 Idiots'' is China's 12th-most-popular film of all time; only one domestic Chinese film ('' Farewell My Concubine'') ranks higher, and Aamir Khan acquired a large Chinese fan base as a result. After ''3 Idiots'', several of Khan's other films (including 2007's '' Taare Zameen Par'' and 2008's '' Ghajini'') also developed cult followings. China became the world's second-largest film market (after the United States) by 2013, paving the way for Khan's box-office success with '' Dhoom 3'' (2013), '' PK'' (2014), and '' Dangal'' (2016). The latter is the 16th-highest-grossing film in China, the fifth-highest-grossing non-

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...

film worldwide, and the highest-grossing non-English foreign film in any market. Several Khan films, including ''Taare Zameen Par'', ''3 Idiots'', and ''Dangal'', are highly rated on Douban. His next film, ''

'' (2017, starring

Zaira Wasim Zaira Wasim (born 23 October 2000) is an Indian former actress who worked in Hindi films. The recipient of numerous accolades, including a Filmfare Award and a National Film Award, Wasim was honoured with the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puras ...

), broke ''Dangal''s record for the highest-grossing opening weekend by an Indian film and cemented Khan's status as "a king of the Chinese box office"; ''Secret Superstar'' was China's highest-grossing foreign film of 2018 to date. Khan has become a household name in China, with his success described as a form of Indian

improving

China–India relations China–India relations ( zh, 中国－印度关系; hi, भारत-चीन संबंध), also called Sino-Indian relations or Indo–Chinese relations, are the bilateral relations between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the ...

despite political tensions. With Bollywood competing with Hollywood in the Chinese market, the success of Khan's films has driven up the price for Chinese distributors of Indian film imports.

's ''

Bajrangi Bhaijaan ''Bajrangi Bhaijaan'' () is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language comedy-drama film co-written and directed by Kabir Khan, based on an original story by screenwriter V. Vijayendra Prasad, and produced by Salman Khan, Rockline Venkatesh and Kabir Khan. ...

'' and Irrfan Khan's '' Hindi Medium'' were also Chinese hits in early 2018.

Oceania

Although Bollywood is less successful on some Pacific islands such as

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

, it ranks second to Hollywood in

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

(with its large Indian minority),

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

. Australia also has a large South Asian diaspora, and Bollywood is popular amongst non-Asians in the country as well. Since 1997, the country has been a backdrop for an increasing number of Bollywood films. Indian filmmakers, attracted to Australia's diverse locations and landscapes, initially used the country as a setting for song-and-dance scenes; however, Australian locations now figure in Bollywood film plots. Hindi films shot in Australia usually incorporate Australian culture. Yash Raj Films' '' Salaam Namaste'' (2005), the first Indian film shot entirely in Australia, was the most successful Bollywood film of 2005 in that country. It was followed by the box-office successes ''

Heyy Babyy ''Heyy Babyy'' is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language comedy film produced by Sajid Nadiadwala and directed by Sajid Khan. It stars Akshay Kumar, Fardeen Khan, Riteish Deshmukh, Vidya Balan, Juanna Sanghvi and Boman Irani. The core storyline of t ...

'', (2007) ''

Chak De! India ''Chak De! India'' () is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language sports drama film directed by Shimit Amin and produced by Aditya Chopra under the banner of Yash Raj Films, with a script written by Jaideep Sahni. The film stars Shah Rukh Khan as Kabir Kh ...

'' (2007), and '' Singh Is Kinng'' (2008). Prime Minister

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the s ...

said during a visit to India after the release of ''Salaam Namaste'' that he wanted to encourage Indian filmmaking in Australia to increase tourism, and he appointed Steve Waugh as tourism ambassador to India. Australian actress Tania Zaetta, who appeared in ''Salaam Namaste'' and several other Bollywood films, was eager to expand her career in Bollywood.

Eastern Europe and Central Asia

Bollywood films are popular in the former

(

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...

, and

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

), and have been dubbed into Russian. Indian films were more popular in the Soviet Union than Hollywood films''Moscow Prime Time: How the Soviet Union Built the Media Empire that Lost the Cultural Cold War'', page 44

Cornell University Press The Cornell University Press is the university press of Cornell University; currently housed in Sage House, the former residence of Henry William Sage. It was first established in 1869, making it the first university publishing enterprise in th ...

, 2011 and, sometimes, domestic

Soviet films The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. The first Indian film released in the Soviet Union was '' Dharti Ke Lal'' (1946), directed by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas and based on the

, in 1949. Three hundred Indian films were released in the Soviet Union after that; most were Bollywood films with higher average audience figures than domestic Soviet productions. Fifty Indian films had over 20 million viewers, compared to 41 Hollywood films. Some, such as '' Awaara'' (1951) and '' Disco Dancer'' (1982), had more than 60 million viewers and established actors Raj Kapoor, Nargis,

Rishi Kapoor Rishi Raj Kapoor (4 September 1952 — 30 April 2020) was an Indian actor, film director and producer who worked in Hindi films Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry base ...

''Moscow Prime Time: How the Soviet Union Built the Media Empire that Lost the Cultural Cold War'', page 43

, 2011 and

in the country.Do you remember Jimmy Jimmy?
SBS, 18 March 2017 According to diplomat Ashok Sharma, who served in the

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. ...

, After the collapse of the Soviet film-distribution system, Hollywood filled the void in the Russian film market and Bollywood's market share shrank. A 2007

Russia Today RT (formerly Russia Today or Rossiya Segodnya (russian: Россия Сегодня) is a Russian state-controlled international news television network funded by the Russian government. It operates pay television and free-to-air channels ...

report noted a renewed interest in Bollywood by young Russians. In

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

has a large following. He was introduced to Polish audiences with the 2005 release of '' Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham...'' (2001) and his other films, including '' Dil Se..'' (1998), ''Main Hoon Na'' (2004) and ''Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna'' (2006), became hits in the country. Bollywood films are often covered in ''Gazeta Wyborcza'', formerly Poland's largest newspaper. The upcoming movie ''Squad (2021 film), Squad'', is the first Indian film to be shot in Belarus. A majority of the film was shot at Belarusfilm studios, in Minsk.

Middle East and North Africa

Hindi films have become popular in Arab world, Arab countries, and imported Indian films are usually subtitled in Arabic when they are released. Bollywood has progressed in Israel since the early 2000s, with channels dedicated to Indian films on cable television; MBC Bollywood and Zee Aflam show Hindi movies and serials. In Egypt, Bollywood films were popular during the 1970s and 1980s. In 1987, however, they were restricted to a handful of films by the Egyptian government.

has remained popular in the country and Indian tourists visiting Egypt are asked, "Do you know Amitabh Bachchan?" Bollywood movies are regularly screened in Dubai cinemas, and Bollywood is becoming popular in Turkey; ''Barfi!'' was the first Hindi film to have a wide theatrical release in that country. Bollywood also has viewers in Central Asia (particularly Uzbekistan and Tajikistan).

South America

Bollywood films are not influential in most of South America, although its culture and dance is recognised. Due to significant South Asian diaspora communities in Suriname and Guyana, however, Hindi-language movies are popular. In 2006, '' Dhoom 2'' became the first Bollywood film to be shot in Rio de Janeiro. In January 2012, it was announced that UTV Motion Pictures would begin releasing films in Peru with ''Guzaarish (film), Guzaarish''.

Africa

Hindi films were originally distributed to some parts of Africa by Lebanese people, Lebanese businessmen. In the 1950s, Hindi and Egyptian films were generally more popular than Hollywood films in East Africa. By the 1960s, East Africa was one of the largest overseas export markets for Indian films, accounting for about 20-50% of global earnings for many Indian films. '' Mother India'' (1957) continued to be screened in

decades after its release. Indian movies have influenced Hausa people, Hausa clothing, songs have been covered by Hausa singers, and stories have influenced Nigerian novelists. Stickers of Indian films and stars decorate taxis and buses in Nigeria's Northern Region, Nigeria, Northern Region, and posters of Indian films hang on the walls of tailoring shops and mechanics' garages. Unlike Europe and North America, where Indian films cater to the expatriate marke, Bollywood films became popular in West Africa despite the lack of a significant Indian audience. One possible explanation is cultural similarity: the wearing of turbans, animals in markets; porters carrying large bundles, and traditional wedding celebrations. Within Muslim culture, Indian movies were said to show "respect" toward women; Hollywood movies were seen as having "no shame". In Indian movies, women are modestly dressed; men and women rarely kiss and there is no nudity, so the films are said to "have culture" which Hollywood lacks. The latter "don't base themselves on the problems of the people"; Indian films are based on socialist values and the reality of developing countries emerging from years of colonialism. Indian movies permitted a new youth culture without "becoming Western." The first Indian film shot in Mauritius was ''Souten'', starring

, in 1983. In South Africa, film imports from India were watched by black and Indian South Africans, Indian audiences. Several Bollywood figures have travelled to Africa for films and off-camera projects. ''Padmashree Laloo Prasad Yadav'' (2005) was filmed in South Africa. ''Dil Jo Bhi Kahey...'' (2005) was also filmed almost entirely in Mauritius, which has a large ethnic-Indian population. Bollywood, however, seems to be diminishing in popularity in Africa. New Bollywood films are more sexually explicit and violent. Nigerian viewers observed that older films (from the 1950s and 1960s) had more culture and were less Westernised. The old days of India avidly "advocating decolonization ... and India's policy was wholly influenced by his missionary zeal to end racial domination and discrimination in the African territories" were replaced. The emergence of Nollywood (West Africa's film industry) has also contributed to the declining popularity of Bollywood films, as sexualised Indian films became more like American films.

and

have been popular in

and Somalia. In Ethiopia, Bollywood movies are shown with Hollywood productions in town square theatres such as the Cinema Ethiopia in Addis Ababa. Less-commercial Bollywood films are also screened elsewhere in North Africa.

Western Europe and North America

The first Indian film to be released in the Western world and receive mainstream attention was ''

'' (1952), directed by

Mehboob Khan Mehboob Khan (born Mehboob Khan Ramzan Khan; 9 September 1907
at filmreference.com. – 28 ...

and starring

and Nimmi. It was subtitled in 17 languages and released in 28 countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, and France. ''Aan'' received significant praise from British critics, and ''The Times'' compared it favourably to Hollywood productions. Mehboob Khan's later Academy Awards, Academy Award-nominated '' Mother India'' (1957) was a success in overseas markets, including

, Russia, the Eastern Bloc, French colonial empire, French territories, and Latin America. Many Bollywood films have been commercially successful in the United Kingdom. The most successful Indian actor at the British box office has been

, whose popularity in British Asian communities played a key role in introducing Bollywood to the UK with films such as ''Darr'' (1993), ''Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge'' (1995), and ''

'' (1998). ''Dil Se'' (1998) was the first Indian film to enter the UK top ten. A number of Indian films, such as ''Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge'' and ''Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham'' (2001), have been set in London. Bollywood is also appreciated in France,

, the Netherlands, and Scandinavia. Bollywood films are dubbed in German language, German and shown regularly on the German television channel RTL II. Germany is the second-largest European market for Indian films, after the United Kingdom. The most recognised Indian actor in Germany is Shah Rukh Khan, who has had box-office success in the country with films such as ''Don 2'' (2011) and ''Om Shanti Om'' (2007). He has a large German fan base, particularly in Berlin (where the tabloid ''Die Tageszeitung'' compared his popularity to that of the pope). Michelle Obama joins students for a Bollywood Dance Clinic in White House

Michelle Obama joins students for a Bollywood Dance Clinic in White House

Bollywood has experienced revenue growth in Canada and the United States, particularly in the South Asian communities of large cities such as Toronto, Chicago, and New York City. Yash Raj Films, one of India's largest production houses and distributors, reported in September 2005 that Bollywood films in the United States earned about $100 million per year in theatre screenings, video sales and the sale of movie soundtracks; Indian films earn more money in the United States than films from any other non-English speaking country. Since the mid-1990s, a number of Indian films have been largely (or entirely) shot in New York, Los Angeles, Vancouver or Toronto. Films such as ''The Guru (2002 film), The Guru'' (2002) and ''Marigold: An Adventure in India'' (2007) attempted to popularise Bollywood for Hollywood.

Plagiarism

Pressured by rushed production schedules and small budgets, some writers and musicians in Hindi cinema have been known to plagiarism, plagiarise. Ideas, plot lines, tunes or riffs have been copied from other Indian film industries (including

, Tamil cinema, Malayalam cinema and others) or foreign films (including Hollywood and other Asian cinema, Asian films) without acknowledging the source. Before the 1990s, plagiarism occurred with impunity. Copyright enforcement was lax in India, and few actors or directors saw an official contract. The Hindi film industry was not widely known in the Global North (except in the Soviet states), who would be unaware that their material had been copied. Audiences may not have been aware of plagiarism, since many in India were unfamiliar with foreign films and music. Although copyright enforcement in India is still somewhat lenient, Bollywood and other film industries are more aware of each other and Indian audiences are more familiar with foreign films and music. Organisations such as the India EU Film Initiative seek to foster a community between filmmakers and industry professionals in India and the European Union. A commonly-reported justification for plagiarism in Bollywood is that cautious producers want to remake popular Hollywood films in an Indian context. Although screenwriters generally produce original scripts, many are rejected due to uncertainty about whether a film will be successful. Poorly-paid screenwriters have also been criticised for a lack of creativity. Some filmmakers see plagiarism in Bollywood as an integral part of globalisation, with which Western (particularly American) culture is embedding itself into Indian culture. Vikram Bhatt, director of ''Raaz (2002 film), Raaz'' (a remake of ''What Lies Beneath'') and ''Kasoor'' (a remake of ''Jagged Edge (film), Jagged Edge''), has spoken about the influence of American culture and Bollywood's desire to produce box-office hits based along the same lines: "Financially, I would be more secure knowing that a particular piece of work has already done well at the box office. Copying is endemic everywhere in India. Our TV shows are adaptations of American programmes. We want their films, their cars, their planes, their Diet Cokes and also their attitude. The American way of life is creeping into our culture." According to Mahesh Bhatt, "If you hide the source, you're a genius. There's no such thing as originality in the creative sphere". Although very few cases of film-copyright violations have been taken to court because of a slow legal process, the makers of ''Partner (2007 film), Partner'' (2007) and ''Zinda (film), Zinda'' (2005) were targeted by the owners and distributors of the original films: ''Hitch (film), Hitch'' and ''Oldboy (2003 film), Oldboy''. The American studio 20th Century Fox brought Mumbai-based B. R. Films to court over the latter's forthcoming ''Banda Yeh Bindaas Hai'', which Fox alleged was an illegal remake of ''My Cousin Vinny''. B. R. Films eventually settled out of court for about $200,000, paving the way for its film's release. Some studios comply with copyright law; in 2008, Orion Pictures secured the rights to remake Hollywood's ''Wedding Crashers''.

Music

The Pakistani Qawwali musician Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan had a big impact on Hindi film music, inspiring numerous Indian musicians working in Bollywood, especially during the 1990s. However, there were many instances of Indian music directors plagiarising Khan's music to produce hit filmi songs. Several popular examples include Viju Shah's hit song "Tu Cheez Badi Hai Mast Mast" in ''Mohra'' (1994) being plagiarised from Khan's popular Qawwali song "Dam Mast Qalandar", "Mera Piya Ghar Aya" used in ''Yaraana (1995 film), Yaarana'' (1995), and "Sanoo Ek Pal Chain Na Aaye" in ''Judaai (1997 film), Judaai'' (1997). Despite the significant number of hit Bollywood songs plagiarised from his music, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was reportedly tolerant towards the plagiarism. One of the Bollywood music directors who frequently plagiarised him, Anu Malik, claimed that he loved Khan's music and was actually showing admiration by using his tunes. However, Khan was reportedly aggrieved when Malik turned his spiritual "Allah Hoo, Allah Hoo" into "I Love You, I Love You" in ''Auzaar'' (1997). Khan said "he has taken my devotional song ''Allahu'' and converted it into ''I love you''. He should at least respect my religious songs." Bollywood soundtracks also plagiarised Guinean singer Mory Kanté, particularly his 1987 album ''Akwaba Beach''. His song, "Tama", inspired two

: Bappi Lahiri's "Tamma Tamma" in ''Thanedaar'' (1990) and "Jumma Chumma" in Laxmikant–Pyarelal's soundtrack for ''Hum (film), Hum'' (1991). The latter also featured "Ek Doosre Se", which copied Kanté's "Inch Allah". His song "Yé ké yé ké" was used as background music in the 1990 Bollywood film ''Agneepath (1990 film), Agneepath'', inspired the Music of Bollywood, Bollywood song "Tamma Tamma" in ''Thanedaar''.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

''National Geographic Magazine'': "Welcome to Bollywood"

National Institute Of Film and Fine Arts
{{Subject bar , commons = yes , q = yes , voy = yes , d = yes , portal1 = Bollywood , portal2 = Films Hindi cinema, Economy of Mumbai Hindustani language

The term Bollywood

History

Early history (1890s–1930s)

Challenges and market expansion (1930s–1940s)

Golden age (late 1940s–1960s)

Classic Hindi cinema (1970s–1980s)

New Hindi cinema (1990s–2000s)

Influences on Hindi cinema

Influence of Hindi cinema

India

Overseas

Genres

Casts and crews

Dialogues and lyrics

Sound

Female makeup artists

Song and dance

Finances

Advertising

International filming

Awards

Global markets

Asia-Pacific

South Asia

Southeast Asia

East Asia

Oceania

Eastern Europe and Central Asia

Middle East and North Africa

South America

Africa

Western Europe and North America

Plagiarism

Music

See also

References

Bibliography

Further reading

External links