Bollywood, is the nickname given to the "Mumbai" (Maharashtra)-based Hindi Film industry. When combined with other Indian film industries (Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Malayalam, Kannada), it is considered to be the largest in the world in terms of number of films produced, and maybe also the number of tickets sold.
The term Bollywood was created by conflating Bombay (the city now called Mumbai, Maharashtra).
Bollywood films are usually musicals. Few movies are made without at least one song-and-dance number. Indian audiences expect full value for their money; they want songs and dances, love interest, comedy and dare-devil thrills, all mixed up in a three hour long extravaganza with intermission. Such movies are called masala movies, after the spice mixture masala. Like masala, these movies have everything.
The plots are often melodramatic. They frequently employ formulaic ingredients such as star-crossed lovers, corrupt politicians, twins separated at birth, conniving villains, angry parents, courtesans with hearts of gold, dramatic reversals of fortune, and convenient coincidences.
The term "Bollywood" has origins in the 1970s, when India overtook America as the world's largest film producer. Credit for the term has been claimed by several different people, including the lyricist, filmmaker and scholar Amit Khanna, and the journalist Bevinda Collaco.
History
The history of Bollywood stretches as far back as film industries of the rest of the world—the first feature film was produced in 1913, and the first talkie in 1931. The history is varied and complex, with scholarship on the topic gaining more in-depth attention in recent years—ironically, when Bollywood as it has existed seems to have evolved into a caricature of itself. There are four main aspects that help the uninitiated Bollywood viewer approach with more understanding: nationalism, censorship, music, and the three eras of Bollywood. These topics are interrelated and don’t necessarily need to be treated separately.
Raja Harishchandra (1913), by Dadasaheb Phalke, was the first silent feature film made in India. The film was based on the legend of King Harishchandra, recounted in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.
Golden Age
But it was the Golden Age – 1950s and 1960s – that produced some of India’s most critically acclaimed films and memorable actors of all time. Among those in Bollywood’s hall of fame are Guru Dutt, Mehboob Khan, Raj Kapoor, Balraj Sahani, Nargis, Bimal Roy, Meena Kumari, Madhubala and Dilip Kumar.
So while the Guru Dutts and Bimal Roys held audiences in a trance, Indian cinema moved one step further with the release of K Asif`s Mughal-e-Azam in 1960. The film kickstarted a trail of romantic movies all over India.
While Indian commercial cinema enjoyed popularity among movie-goers, Indian art cinema did not go unnoticed. Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Ritwik Ghatak, Aravindan, Satyajit Ray, Shaji Karun and several other art film directors were making movies that took India to international fame and glory.
Modern Cinema
During the 1960s, popular cinema had shifted its social concerns towards more romantic genres, showcasing such new stars as Shammi Kapoor - a kind of Indian Elvis - and later, Rajesh Khanna, a soft, romantic hero. The period is also notable for a more assertive Indian nationalism. Following the Indo-Pakistan wars of 1962 and 1965, the Indian officer came to be a rallying point for the national imagination in films such as Sangam/Meeting of Hearts (Raj Kapoor, 1964) and Aradhana/Adoration (Shakti Samanta; 1969).
Amitabh BacchanHowever, the political and economic upheaval of the following decade saw a return to social questions across the board, in both the art and popular cinemas. The accepted turning point in the popular film was the angry, violent Zanjeer/The Chain (Prakash Mehra; 1973), which fed into the anxieties and frustrations generated by the quickening but lopsided pace of industrialization and urbanization. Establishing Amitabh Bachchan as the biggest star of the next decade, its policeman hero is ousted from service through a conspiracy, and takes the law into his own hands to render justice and to avenge his deceased parents.
Awards
List of Indian Hindi film awards
* Filmfare Awards
* Star Screen Awards
* IIFA (International Indian Film Academy) Awards
* Zee Cine Awards
* Stardust Awards
* National Film Awards
The term Bollywood was created by conflating Bombay (the city now called Mumbai, Maharashtra).
Bollywood films are usually musicals. Few movies are made without at least one song-and-dance number. Indian audiences expect full value for their money; they want songs and dances, love interest, comedy and dare-devil thrills, all mixed up in a three hour long extravaganza with intermission. Such movies are called masala movies, after the spice mixture masala. Like masala, these movies have everything.
The plots are often melodramatic. They frequently employ formulaic ingredients such as star-crossed lovers, corrupt politicians, twins separated at birth, conniving villains, angry parents, courtesans with hearts of gold, dramatic reversals of fortune, and convenient coincidences.
The term "Bollywood" has origins in the 1970s, when India overtook America as the world's largest film producer. Credit for the term has been claimed by several different people, including the lyricist, filmmaker and scholar Amit Khanna, and the journalist Bevinda Collaco.
History
| Raja Harishchandra |
The history of Bollywood stretches as far back as film industries of the rest of the world—the first feature film was produced in 1913, and the first talkie in 1931. The history is varied and complex, with scholarship on the topic gaining more in-depth attention in recent years—ironically, when Bollywood as it has existed seems to have evolved into a caricature of itself. There are four main aspects that help the uninitiated Bollywood viewer approach with more understanding: nationalism, censorship, music, and the three eras of Bollywood. These topics are interrelated and don’t necessarily need to be treated separately.
Raja Harishchandra (1913), by Dadasaheb Phalke, was the first silent feature film made in India. The film was based on the legend of King Harishchandra, recounted in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.
Golden Age
| Golden Age |
So while the Guru Dutts and Bimal Roys held audiences in a trance, Indian cinema moved one step further with the release of K Asif`s Mughal-e-Azam in 1960. The film kickstarted a trail of romantic movies all over India.
While Indian commercial cinema enjoyed popularity among movie-goers, Indian art cinema did not go unnoticed. Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Ritwik Ghatak, Aravindan, Satyajit Ray, Shaji Karun and several other art film directors were making movies that took India to international fame and glory.
Modern Cinema
| Modern Cinema |
Amitabh BacchanHowever, the political and economic upheaval of the following decade saw a return to social questions across the board, in both the art and popular cinemas. The accepted turning point in the popular film was the angry, violent Zanjeer/The Chain (Prakash Mehra; 1973), which fed into the anxieties and frustrations generated by the quickening but lopsided pace of industrialization and urbanization. Establishing Amitabh Bachchan as the biggest star of the next decade, its policeman hero is ousted from service through a conspiracy, and takes the law into his own hands to render justice and to avenge his deceased parents.
Awards
List of Indian Hindi film awards
* Filmfare Awards
* Star Screen Awards
* IIFA (International Indian Film Academy) Awards
* Zee Cine Awards
* Stardust Awards
* National Film Awards
Indians Bollywood - You can find full information of bollywood history here.
