Bollywood is the name for the motion-picture industry in India. The term is also used to describe a certain type of film associated with that industry. Bollywood is one of the largest film industries in the world, releasing thousands of movies each year. The industry is based in Mumbai. The term Bollywood is a combination of the words Bombay (a former name for Mumbai) and Hollywood, California, the motion-picture capital of the world. The name Bollywood became popular beginning in the 1990’s.
Bollywood films are made in the Hindi language. Most Bollywood movies are musicals, featuring singing and dancing. But some are action and adventure films. The plots emphasize romance, comedy, and melodrama. The dancing is typically based on traditional Indian classical dance and folk dances. The songs are usually prerecorded by professional singers known as playback singers. The actors lip sync the songs on the screen—that is, they move their lips as though they are singing the songs.
India’s first experience of motion pictures came in 1896, when the French brothers Auguste and Louis Lumière screened six soundless short films in Bombay. In 1899, photographer Harishchandra Bhatavdekar became the first Indian to shoot and exhibit a film in India. The first Indian silent feature film was Raja Harishchandra, released in Bombay in 1913. It was directed by Dadasaheb Phalke. The film was based on a story from the Indian epic poem the “Mahabharata” about a ruler named Harishchandra. The first Indian sound film, the fantasy Alam Ara, was released in 1931 in Bombay. It was produced by the Imperial Film Company and directed by Ardeshir Irani.
Notable Bollywood films—most of them made before the name Bollywood came into common use—include the dramas Awaara (1951) and Do Bigha Zamin (1953); the epic dramas Mother India (1957) and Mughal-E-Azam (1960); the musical drama Guide (1965); the comedy Padosan (1968); the musical romance Bobby (1973); the action dramas Sholay and Deewaar (both 1975); the romantic drama Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988); the romantic comedies Hum Aapke Hain Kaun. . . ! (1994) and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995); the historical drama Lagaan (2001); and the comedy Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006).
Popular Bollywood stars include Dev Anand, Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Madhuri Dixit, Sunil Dutt, Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Shahrukh Khan, Rajesh Khanna, Dilip Kumar, Raaj Kumar, and Nargis. Lata Mangeshkar became one of Bollywood’s leading playback singers. There are a number of leading Bollywood families that have had several generations of members in the industry. One notable family group includes the acting and directing pioneer Prithviraj Kapoor, his sons, Raj, Shammi, and Shashi Kapoor; Raj Kapoor’s sons Randhir, Rishi, and Rajiv Kapoor; Randhir’s daughters Karisma and Kareena Kapoor; and Rishi’s son, Ranbir Kapoor.
Filmfare Awards—Bollywood’s version of the Academy Awards—are presented annually for artistic and technical excellence in filmmaking in the Hindi language. The Indian screen magazine Filmfare presents the awards in more than 30 categories. Magazine readers submit their votes, and the awards are presented at a ceremony in Mumbai. Filmfare Awards were first presented in 1954. The government of India has also presented its own motion-picture awards, the National Film Awards, since 1954.
