Ranging from all genres be it action, romantic, comedy, thriller, or horror, Bollywood has several options within each of them. Unlike other film industries of the world, Bollywood has some unique things to offer the audiences which have helped it grow even more.
Began in 1913, with silent movies the Indian film Industry has now become a $3.7 billion industry, producing 1000 films per year on an average. It has made tremendous growth in almost a little more than a hundred years and is expected to perform even better in the coming years. Well, what makes it unique and one of its kind? Let’s dig in!
How did it get the name?
The term bollywood was derived taking inspiration from “Hollywood”, used for the American film industry and the initial letter “B” stands for Bombay (now Mumbai) as the Indian film industry is based there. But unlike the name, Bollywood is way different from Hollywood in terms of the movie’s characteristics.
Origin
In 1913 The first-ever Indian film was Raja Harishchandra, a black and white silent movie based on mythology was made by Dada Saheb Phalke. India only produced silent movies until the movie Alam Ara came out in 1931 with all the musical and dance elements. A few years later in 1937, the first Indian colour movie ‘Kisan Kanya’ came out. Since those times the industry growth has been massive. Let’s look into how Bollywood evolved through the years…
The Golden Era( 1940’s – 1960’s)
The 1940’s- 1960’s era was said to be the Golden Era of Bollywood. Movies around this time were mostly about revolution, highlighting social issues, struggles and wonders of urban life. The era gave out some evergreen movies like Mother India(1957) and Mughal-e-Azam(1960). Some of the actors who ruled during this era include Dev Anand, Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Guru Dutt and actresses like Nargis, Vyjayanthimala, Meena Kumari, Nutan, Madhubala, and others.
Classic Bollywood (1970’s -1980’s)
Movies during this period had shifted to the mix of romance and action. They generally included a villian involved in some crime, and the protagonist mainly acting as a savior for the public like Sholay (1975). Most of the movies also had a female lead who would act as the reason behind all the fights!
This era experienced some of the most legendary actors like Rajesh Khanna being the first actor to be given the tag “superstar”. Amitabh Bachhan, Rishi Kapoor, Dharmedra were also some of them. Not only actors but actresses like
Hema Malini, Jaya Bachchan, Rekha, Dimple Kapadia did some great work.
New Bollywood (1990’s – Present)
Around the late 80’s when the industry growth started becoming stagnant due to the excessive violence, crime and decline in quality of music, a new set of actors entered Bollywood. One such movie was “Qayamat se Qayamat tak”(1988) starring Aamir Khan which proved to be a turning point. During the 1990’s – 2000’s Bollywood produced some really great romantic movies like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), Hum Aapke Hain Kaun(1994), Kuch Kuch Hota hai (1998) and comedy movies like Biwi No. 1 and Raja Babu. These movies not only had a great storyline but also backed by rich music and dance.
This era gave rise to ‘The Three Khans’ of bollywood namely Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, and Aamir Khan. Not only these but many other stars like Govinda and Akshay Kumar became prominent during these times.
A list of Bollywood beauties ruled hearts during this era, like Aishwarya Rai, Priyanka Chopra, Priety Zinta, Rani Mukherjee and many more.
During the early 2000’s movies generally featured NRI communities as this was the period India started to witness globalization. Hence, most of them were shot overseas. The present time movies are a mix of everything-romance, drama, thriller, action, and science fiction. Now-a-days movies that break societal stereotypes are also coming up like Thappad(2020) and Pink(2016). This is a huge upgrade for the industry and hopefully much more is going to be achieved in the coming years.
What things will you experience on a Bollywood tour?
Your Bollywood expert guide will take you on a story-telling walk to the celebrity neighborhood of some of the biggest Bollywood stars. After the induction walk, we will use the world-famous Mumbai local train to reach the premier Bollywood studio. We walk you through some elaborate film sets like the hospital, courtroom, Police station and see how these structures are built and taken down overnight. If you’re lucky, you’ll be able to witness a live shoot, see a film crew at work, and perhaps even meet celebrities.
The highlight of the visit is the recording room; where you will learn how dubbing takes place, as well as how special effects are used in Bollywood films. Over here you would also have a chance to record a Karaoke song of your choice. Last but not least we will be a part of a live dance show and you’ll even get to dance with them! This tour is highly recommended if you are a Bollywood fan or simply want to learn about Indian cinema in detail.
Hope to meet you soon on the tour!