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History of Bollywood

By Glen Cohen

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 16Nov2011 Word count: 456 Viewed: 320 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

Bollywood is the name given to the film industry of Mumbai, India. Mumbai was formerly known as Bombay, and Bombay and Hollywood were combined to create the term Bollywood. You can find a large number of Bollywood movies online, ranging from older Bollywood films to new Bollywood movies. The term Bollywood was first coined in the 1970s when India surpasses the United States as the world's top producer of films.

Bollywood first began producing films in 1913 with a silent movie, and by the 1930s were churning out over 200 films a year. Bollywood really hit its stride between 1940 and 1960, after India's independence, and produced some of the most critically acclaimed Hindi films ever. There are many Bollywood movies online from this time period, including "Pyaasa" in 1957 and "Shree 420" in 1955. During the early 1960s, Bollywood films became major contenders at the Cannes Film Festival, with some winning important awards.

In more modern times, new Bollywood movies began to reflect a change in society and went from a focus on romance to more violent subject matter, including the Indian mafia. However, these new Bollywood movies were popular mainly from 1970 to 1990, and the '90s saw a shift back to romantic musicals directed toward the family. In the 2000s, Bollywood popularity soared throughout the world, accounting for the number of Bollywood movies online for download.

Bollywood films are typically musicals, and the films' musical numbers are often released before the movie in order to generate hype about the picture. A good entertainer in India is called "paisa vasool," which means "money's worth," and Indians expect a high level of entertainment when going to the cinema. Both old and new Bollywood movies are an amalgam of song, dance, comedy, love triangles and wild stunts within a long, three hour time frame.

When you find Bollywood movies online or at your local cinema you're likely to be in store for a rather melodramatic plot. Typical plot constructs include secret lovers and their angry parents, compassionate courtesans, kidnappers, separated siblings and dramatic changes in fortune, for better or for worse. Bollywood films greatly influence fashion in India, and also the American film industry. This was seen most prominently with the movie "Moulin Rouge!" from 2001, which was directly modeled after Bollywood musicals. Another popular award-winning film inspired by the Bollywood industry is 2008's "Slumdog Millionaire."

Bollywood films are million dollar affairs, with some movies costing over $20 million to produce. Not only popular in India, these movies have reached audiences in Africa, Europe, South Asia and Fiji. Hindi films are meant to appeal to large audiences, so directors tend to shy away from catering to niche markets when it comes to subject matter, though changes are beginning to be seen in regards to this matter.

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