The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Casper Libero chapter.

Have you heard about Bollywood movies? Despite the name referring to the famous American film industry, the term refers to Indian productions in the city of Mumbai. Bollywood’s history begins in the 19th century and moves towards a consolidated present, reaching more than a thousand films a year.

crowded movie theatre — Photo by Erik Witsoe from Unsplash

What is Bollywood?

The name Bollywood is a reference to the famous Hollywood film industry, being a combination with “Bombay”, the old name of Mumbai, the largest metropolis in India.

Like the luxurious productions and events in Los Angeles, Indian cinema is also known for its extravagance in dances, music, plots and costumes.

The History of Bollywood

Its history begins in the 19th century, more precisely in 1896, when the Lumière brothers introduced cinema to India. Shortly thereafter, in 1913, the Indian Dadasaheb Phalke produced the first silent short film in the country, called Raja Harishchandra. After 20 years, in 1931, the first talking film, Alam Ara, directed by Ardeshir Irani, was released.

Over the years, Indian cinema has developed and gained more prominence. From the 1950s, after independence from Britain, the Golden Age of Bollywood began. Among the most popular productions of the time are: Pyaasa (1957) and Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959), directed by Guru Dutt; Awaara (1951) and Shree 420 (1955), by Raj Kapoor; and Aan (1952), directed by Mehboob Khan.

It didn’t take long for Indian films to take part in major award shows. The first feature to be nominated for an Academy Award – the Oscar – for Best Foreign Language Film was Mother India (1957). Despite not winning, the production was a milestone for Hindu cinema.

Novels with the ideal of “romantic hero” began to emerge between the 1960s and 1970s. The actor Rajesh Khanna was the most popular protagonist of the time, being considered as the first Indian “superstar” of cinema, there were 15 consecutive great successes, from 1969 to 1971.

The Classic Era began in 1970 and the term “Bollywood” was created to mark the moment when the Asian country overtook the United States as the largest film industry in the world. During the heyday of Bollywood cinema, the writing duo known as Salim-Javed (Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar) brought change by introducing stories that portray the violence and urban precariousness of the country. The consolidation of this market established conventions, such as the masala film, a genre which mixes romance, melodrama, comedy, and musical, and the violent crime film, that explores the seedy underbelly of Indian society.

In the 1980s, Bollywood produced around 800 films a year. Currently, that mark exceeds 1.500.

Bollywood’s style

Although the term Bollywood refers to the American market, the Indian style in film productions is unique. One of the pillars is the relationship with music and dance, as both are essential in the country’s history, being a form of communication even in religious rituals.

In addition, Franthiesco Ballerini – Doctor in Media Communication and author of the book Diário de Bollywood: curiosidades e segredos da maior indústria de cinema do mundo – points out that “they are escapist films, which show an India of dance, music, love stories, of conflicts that are also overcome with a happy ending”.

Thus, the productions have many musicals, melodrama, romance, music and dance. A curiosity is that the dialogues and lyrics of the songs are written in different languages. Actors often use the colloquial Hindustani dialect, a mixture of Hindi and Urdu languages, in order to be understood by more people. The songs are influenced by Urdu poetry, considered the language of “love, war and martyrdom” in the country. Furthermore, in more current productions, there is “Indian English” or “Hinglish”, in which the characters change from one language to another depending on the context.

The importance and legacy of Bollywood

The importance and legacy of Bollywood lies in the size and power of productions. According to Franthiesco, it was only in the 2000s that the government recognized it as a strategic industry, being fundamental for Indians, mainly, as the greatest soft power in the country. Thus, through films, culture is exported to different countries.

“It is a very powerful industry, which moves a lot of money and which must be taken seriously, in addition to the entertainment it produces.”