subject: Bollywood Industry [print this page] Bollywood Industry Bollywood Industry
Bollywood is the term used to describe the Hindu cinema. The name is derived from the name of the city serving as its "capital" Mumbay previously called Bombay, and the American Mecca of film industry Hollywood. It spread in 1970 when Bollywood turned out to become the world's largest film producer. The credits for this title has been claimed by a number of people, including the lyricist, filmmaker and scholar Amit Khanna, and the journalist Bevinda Collaco. It is often used to refer to the whole Indian movie production, however it is only the major film producer in the country.
Actually the art of cinematography was first introduced to India in 1896 when the French Lumiere Brothers visited Bombay and screened six of their silent short films. For a first Indian attempt of shooting a motion picture is accepted the movie Wrestlers by Sakharam Bhatavdekar, which was actually a reality film of a wrestling match and was screened in 1899.
The first full length Indian movie was made by the pioneer Dadasaheb Phalke, who later was announced for the Father of Indian cinema. His production was called Raja Harishchandra, it had a mythological character and was released in 1913. He was deeply impressed by the American movie The Life of Christ and decided to devote his career to this fascinating art.
The first talking and singing film of India was called Alam Ara was screened in 1931. From them on the technology advanced faster and faster. There were more and more features to add up to the great cinema art, its fans grew quicker and its popularity hit unbelievable rates. The actors themselves became well known and revered.
During the 1950's India was striving for its Independence, thus many of the screenplays of the movies were reflecting the turmoil and the current social tension. The 50's and 60's were actually referred to as the Golden age of the Indian cinema. Many of the most popular movies and actors were seen at that period. For example in 1960 the movie Mughal-e-Azam kick-started a wave of romantic movies.
In the 80's several female directors became distinct with their work like Aparna Sen, Prema Karnath and Meera Nair. In the 90's the genres became quite diverse, from romance, thrillers, actions to comedy films even. In 21st century Indian cinema already wins world-wide audiences with its movies.
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