Written By Rebecca Kuhlman
What is Bollywood? Bollywood is the name given to the popular Hindi language-based film industry in India. The name originates from the words “Bombay” and “Hollywood”. Bollywood movies are usually musical and contain big song and dance numbers which are very catchy in nature. There is a variety of styles that Bollywood encompasses, blending traditional, folk and modern Indian dance and music. Bollywood progressed from silent films to focusing more on the actors which pushed the Indian film industry forward. Bollywood films are expected to have catchy song and dance numbers. Many companies release the songs before the film’s release as well. The Indian market generally defines a good film as having songs, dances, love triangles, comedy and dare-devil thrills (all within about three hours).
Image By BBC
Bollywood films have a great influence on India’s national identity and culture. Much of India’s music, dancing, wedding trends and fashion trends are directly influenced by Bollywood films. Bollywood even has an impact on India’s politics. One notable example of this was Zanjeer (1973) which reflected the socioeconomic and sociopolitical realities in India. This created discontentment with the government’s failures to ensure welfare and well-being at a time of need. Bollywood began to spread its influence outside of India as well.
After the movie Slumdog Millionaire, Bollywood began making its way into the American mainstream. This influenced aspects of other popular movies and songs such as Moulin Rouge and music by the Black Eyed Peas. Bollywood is even influencing platforms such as YouTube. Channel T-series, an India-based record label and film company, is currently the most subscribed channel on that platform. In particular, this channel showcases Bollywood songs and movie trailers released under this company. Furthermore, the growth that this channel has had (hitting 50 million subscribers within 8 years and earning about one million new subscribers every ten days) shows the ever growing influence Bollywood continues to make in the world.
Image By T-Series
Bollywood has even influenced other growing markets, such as metal Japanese pop group BABYMETAL. One of their newer songs Shanti Shanti Shanti shows a heavy influence from Bollywood music.
Popular recommendations for Bollywood movies would be Dilwale Dulhania Le Jaenge (1995) a classic “golden standard” Bollywood movie; Lust Stories (2018) a Netflix exclusive anthology film; and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001) featuring many popular Bollywood actors. Popular recommendations for Bollywood songs would be Chaar Bottle Vodka from the movie Ragini MMS 2; Badtameese Dil from the movie Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani; and Kal Ho Naa Ho from the movie of the same name.
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