101-594: Gyan Mukherjee (30 September 1909 – 13 November 1956) was an Indian film director and screenwriter, who worked in Hindi cinema , best known for the hits Jhoola (1941) and Kismet (1943). Mukherjee was born on 30 September 1909 in Benares , United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh ), British India . Mukherjee started his career with New Theatres in Calcutta (now Kolkata), and subsequently joined Bombay Talkies as
202-573: A parallel cinema movement. Although the movement (emphasising social realism ) was led by Bengali cinema , it also began gaining prominence in Hindi cinema. Early examples of parallel cinema include Dharti Ke Lal (1946), directed by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas and based on the Bengal famine of 1943 , Neecha Nagar (1946) directed by Chetan Anand and written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, and Bimal Roy's Do Bigha Zamin (1953). Their critical acclaim and
303-956: A town or village to screen the films. The first of its kind was established in Madras , called "Edison's Grand Cinemamegaphone". This was due to the fact that electric carbons were used for motion picture projectors. Most of the films screened then were shorts made in the United States and Britain . In 1909, an Englishman, T. H. Huffton, founded Peninsular Film Services in Madras and produced some short films for local audiences. But soon, hour-long films, which narrated dramatic stories, then known as " drama films ", were imported. From 1912 onwards, feature films made in Bombay (now Mumbai ) were also screened in Madras. The era of short films had ended. The arrival of drama films firmly established cinema as
404-537: A vigilante or anti-hero whose suppressed rage voiced the anguish of the urban poor. Hindi films have been a significant form of soft power for India, increasing its influence and changing overseas perceptions of India. In Germany , Indian stereotypes included bullock carts , beggars, sacred cows, corrupt politicians, and catastrophes before Bollywood and the IT industry transformed global perceptions of India. According to author Roopa Swaminathan, "Bollywood cinema
505-523: A Hong Kong remake, The Brothers (1979), which inspired John Woo 's internationally acclaimed breakthrough A Better Tomorrow (1986); the latter was a template for Hong Kong action cinema 's heroic bloodshed genre. "Angry young man" 1970s epics such as Deewaar and Amar Akbar Anthony (1977) also resemble the heroic-bloodshed genre of 1980s Hong Kong action cinema. The influence of filmi may be seen in popular music worldwide. Technopop pioneers Haruomi Hosono and Ryuichi Sakamoto of
606-442: A colour version of Mother India . However, colour did not become a popular feature until the late 1950s. At this time, lavish romantic musicals and melodramas were cinematic staples. The decade of the 1940s saw an expansion of Bombay cinema's commercial market and its presence in the national consciousness. The year 1943 saw the arrival of Indian cinema's first 'blockbuster' offering, the movie Kismet , which grossed in excess of
707-501: A contemporary urban context and anguished urban poor. By the mid-1970s, romantic confections had given way to gritty, violent crime films and action films about gangsters (the Bombay underworld ) and bandits ( dacoits ). Salim-Javed's writing and Amitabh Bachchan's acting popularised the trend with films such as Zanjeer and (particularly) Deewaar , a crime film inspired by Gunga Jumna which pitted "a policeman against his brother,
808-596: A decent market. Tamil films have enjoyed consistent popularity among populations in South East Asia . Since Chandralekha , Muthu was the second Tamil film to be dubbed into Japanese (as Mutu: Odoru Maharaja ) and grossed a record $ 1.6 million in 1998. In 2010, Enthiran grossed a record $ 4 million in North America. Many Tamil-language films have premiered or have been selected as special presentations at various film festivals across
909-531: A few months. Once it was demonstrated as a commercial proposition, a Western entrepreneur, Warwick Major, built the first cinema theatre , the Electric Theatre, which still stands. It was a favourite haunt of the British community in Madras. The theatre was shut down after a few years. This building is now part of a post office complex on Anna Salai ( Mount Road ). The Lyric Theatre was also built in
1010-590: A film of scenes from that show, The Flower of Persia (1898). The Wrestlers (1899) by H. S. Bhatavdekar showed a wrestling match at the Hanging Gardens in Bombay . Dadasaheb Phalke 's silent film Raja Harishchandra (1913) is the first feature-length film made in India. The film, being silent, had English , Marathi , and Hindi -language intertitles . By the 1930s, the Indian film industry as
1111-497: A gang leader based on real-life smuggler Haji Mastan " (Bachchan); according to Danny Boyle , Deewaar was "absolutely key to Indian cinema". In addition to Bachchan, several other actors followed by riding the crest of the trend (which lasted into the early 1990s). Actresses from the era include Hema Malini , Jaya Bachchan , Raakhee , Shabana Azmi , Zeenat Aman , Parveen Babi , Rekha , Dimple Kapadia , Smita Patil , Jaya Prada and Padmini Kolhapure . The name "Bollywood"
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#17327915181331212-546: A genre of dacoit films , in turn defined by Gunga Jumna (1961). Written and produced by Dilip Kumar, Gunga Jumna was a dacoit crime drama about two brothers on opposite sides of the law (a theme which became common in Indian films during the 1970s). Some of the best-known epic films of Hindi cinema were also produced at this time, such as K. Asif 's Mughal-e-Azam (1960). Other acclaimed mainstream Hindi filmmakers during this period included Kamal Amrohi and Vijay Bhatt . The three most popular male Indian actors of
1313-530: A global presence". Scholar Brigitte Schulze has written that Indian films, most notably Mehboob Khan 's Mother India (1957), played a key role in shaping the Republic of India 's national identity in the early years after independence from the British Raj ; the film conveyed a sense of Indian nationalism to urban and rural citizens alike. Bollywood has long influenced Indian society and culture as
1414-783: A good film is generally referred to as paisa vasool , (literally "money's worth"). Songs, dances, love triangles, comedy and dare-devil thrills are combined in a three-hour show (with an intermission). These are called masala films , after the Hindi word for a spice mixture. Like masalas , they are a mixture of action, comedy and romance; most have heroes who can fight off villains single-handedly. Bollywood plots have tended to be melodramatic , frequently using formulaic ingredients such as star-crossed lovers, angry parents, love triangles, family ties, sacrifice, political corruption, kidnapping, villains, kind-hearted courtesans , long-lost relatives and siblings, reversals of fortune and serendipity . Parallel cinema films tended to be less popular at
1515-420: A grand exhibition was organised in Madras . Its major attraction was the screening of short films accompanied by sound. A British company imported a Crone megaphone , made up of a film projector to which a gramophone with a disc containing prerecorded sound was linked, and both were run in unison, producing picture and sound simultaneously. However, there was no synched dialogue . Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu ,
1616-464: A major influence. During the early 20th century, Urdu was the lingua franca of popular cultural performance across northern India and established in popular performance art traditions such as nautch dancing, Urdu poetry , and Parsi theater. Urdu and related Hindi dialects were the most widely understood across northern India, and Hindustani became the standard language of early Indian talkies. Films based on " Persianate adventure-romances" led to
1717-402: A new generation of popular actors, including the three Khans : Aamir Khan , Shah Rukh Khan , and Salman Khan , who have starred in most of the top ten highest-grossing Bollywood films . The Khans and have had successful careers since the late 1980s and early 1990s, and have dominated the Indian box office for three decades. Shah Rukh Khan was the most successful Indian actor for most of
1818-638: A permanent cinema house in Madras—Gaiety, in 1914, the first cinema house in Madras to be built by an Indian. He soon added two more, Crown Theatre in Mint and Globe (later called Roxy) in Purasawalkam . Swamikannu Vincent, who had built one of the first cinema halls of South India in Coimbatore , introduced the concept of "Tent Cinema" in which a tent was erected on a stretch of open land close to
1919-566: A popular entertainment form. More cinema houses came up in the city. Fascinated by this new entertainment form, an automobile dealer in the Thousand Lights area of Madras, R. Nataraja Mudaliyar , decided to venture into film production. After a few days' training in Pune with the cinematographer Stewart Smith, the official cinematographer of Lord Curzon 's 1903 Durbar, he started a film production concern in 1916. The man who truly laid
2020-746: A popular genre of " Arabian Nights cinema". Scholars Chaudhuri Diptakirti and Rachel Dwyer and screenwriter Javed Akhtar identify Urdu literature as a major influence on Hindi cinema. Most of the screenwriters and scriptwriters of classic Hindi cinema came from Urdu literary backgrounds, from Khwaja Ahmad Abbas and Akhtar ul Iman to Salim–Javed and Rahi Masoom Raza ; a handful came from other Indian literary traditions, such as Bengali and Hindi literature . Most of Hindi cinema's classic scriptwriters wrote primarily in Urdu, including Salim-Javed, Gulzar , Rajinder Singh Bedi , Inder Raj Anand , Rahi Masoom Raza and Wajahat Mirza . Urdu poetry and
2121-641: A renaissance of Western musical films such as Chicago , Rent , and Dreamgirls . Indian film composer A. R. Rahman wrote the music for Andrew Lloyd Webber 's Bombay Dreams , and a musical version of Hum Aapke Hain Koun was staged in London's West End. The sports film Lagaan (2001) was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film , and two other Hindi films (2002's Devdas and 2006's Rang De Basanti ) were nominated for
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#17327915181332222-740: A secondary hub for Hindi cinema , other South Indian film industries, as well as for Sri Lankan cinema . Over the last quarter of the 20th century, Tamil films established a global presence, enjoying strong box office collections among Tamil-speaking audiences in Sri Lanka , Malaysia , and Singapore . Tamil films are also distributed throughout the Middle East , Oceania , Europe , North America , parts of Africa , and Japan . The industry also inspired independent filmmaking among Tamil diaspora populations in Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, and
2323-513: A similar influence on Amitabh Bachchan , Naseeruddin Shah , Shah Rukh Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui . Veteran actresses such as Suraiya , Nargis , Sumitra Devi , Madhubala , Meena Kumari , Waheeda Rehman , Nutan , Sadhana , Mala Sinha and Vyjayanthimala have had their share of influence on Hindi cinema. While commercial Hindi cinema was thriving, the 1950s also saw the emergence of
2424-511: A standard deviation of ±10 lakh tickets during 2011–16. The Chennai film industry produced the first nationally distributed film across India in 1948 with Chandralekha . They have one of the widest overseas distribution, with large audience turnout from the Tamil diaspora . They are distributed to various parts of Asia, Africa, Western Europe, North America and Oceania. Many successful Tamil films have been remade by other film industries. It
2525-586: A studio, the first in south India, was set up in Madras at 10 Millers Road, Kilpauk. He called it the India Film Company. Rangavadivelu, an actor from Suguna Vilasa Sabha, a theatre company then, was hired to train the actors. Thirty-five days later, the first feature film made in south India, The Extermination of Keechakan / Keechakavatham , based on an episode from the Mahabharata , was released produced and directed by R. Nataraja, who established
2626-704: A successful photographer , took over the equipment after the exhibition and set up a tent cinema near the Madras High Court . With this equipment, he screened the short films Pearl Fish and Raja's Casket in the Victoria Public Hall. When this proved successful, he screened the films in a tent set up in Esplanade. These tent events were the true precursors of the cinema shows. Naidu travelled with this unit to Burma (now Myanmar ) and Sri Lanka , and when he had gathered enough money, he put up
2727-508: A supervising technician. Soon became a trendsetter of "formula film" starting with first directorial venture Geeta (1940) based on the theme, "Crime-doesn't-pay", "Boy meets girl" was used in Jhoola (1941). In 1943, he reused the formula of Geeta to direct the biggest hit of his career, Kismet (1943), which also add another formula of "lost-and-found", which remained popular for several decades in Hindi films. The film had Ashok Kumar ,
2828-459: A whole was producing over 200 films per year. The first Indian sound film, Ardeshir Irani 's Alam Ara (1931), made in Hindustani language, was commercially successful. With a great demand for talkies and musicals, Hindustani cinema (as Hindi cinema was then known as) and the other language film industries quickly switched to sound films. The 1930s and 1940s were tumultuous times; India
2929-413: Is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and " Hollywood ". The industry is a part of the larger Indian cinema , which also includes South Indian cinema and other smaller film industries . The term 'Bollywood', often mistakenly used to refer to Indian cinema as a whole, only refers to Hindi-language films, with Indian cinema being an umbrella term that includes all the film industries in
3030-767: Is estimated by the Manorama Yearbook 2000 (a popular almanac) that over 5,000 Tamil films were produced in the 20th century. Tamil films have also been dubbed into other languages, thus reaching a much wider audience. There has been a growing presence of English in dialogue and songs in Chennai films. It is not uncommon to see movies that feature dialogue studded with English words and phrases, or even whole sentences. Some movies are also simultaneously made in two or three languages (either using subtitles or several soundtracks). Chennai's film composers have popularised their highly unique, syncretic style of film music across
3131-482: Is linked to economic liberalization in India during the early 1990s. Early in the decade, the pendulum swung back toward family-centered romantic musicals. Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988) was followed by blockbusters such as Maine Pyar Kiya (1989), Hum Aapke Hain Kaun (1994), Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), Raja Hindustani (1996), Dil To Pagal Hai (1997) and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), introducing
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3232-467: Is one of the strongest global cultural ambassadors of a new India." Its role in expanding India's global influence is comparable to Hollywood's similar role with American influence. Monroe Township , Middlesex County , New Jersey , in the New York metropolitan area , has been profoundly impacted by Bollywood; this U.S. township has displayed one of the fastest growth rates of its Indian population in
3333-559: The BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language . Danny Boyle 's Slumdog Millionaire (2008), which won four Golden Globes and eight Academy Awards , was inspired by mainstream Hindi films and is considered an "homage to Hindi commercial cinema". It was also inspired by Mumbai-underworld crime films, such as Deewaar (1975), Satya (1998), Company (2002) and Black Friday (2007). Deewaar had
3434-797: The Central Board of Film Certification alone were eligible for tax exemption and those with an "A" certificate could not fit into this category. There are three major roles in the Tamil film value chain viz producer, distributor and exhibitor. The distributor purchases theatrical distribution rights from the producer for exhibiting the film in a defined territory. The distributor performs enhanced functions such as: There are three popular approaches to transfer of distribution rights via distribution contracts: There are four popular approaches to transfer of exhibition rights via exhibition contracts: Film studios in Chennai are bound by legislation, such as
3535-412: The Madras audience. The legendary Otraivadai drama theatre had been built in 1872 itself in Mint. Many drama halls had come up in the city where short silent films were screened in the afternoon and plays were enacted in the night. The scene changed in 1934 when Madras got its first sound studio. By this time, all the cinema houses in Madras had been wired for sound. Narayanan, who had been active during
3636-403: The Tamil -language only. This is in accordance with Government Order 72 passed on 22 July 2006. The first film to be released after the new Order was Unakkum Enakkum . The original title had been Something Something Unakkum Ennakkum , a half-English and a half-Tamil title. In July 2011, strict norms on entertainment tax were passed which stated that films which were given a "U" certificate by
3737-631: The West . M. Edwards first screened a selection of silent films at the Victoria Public Hall in Madras in 1897 during the British Raj . The selected films all featured non-fictional subjects; they were mostly photographed records of day-to-day events. The film scholar Stephen Hughes points out that within a few years there were regular ticketed shows in a hall in Pophams Broadway, started by one Mrs. Klug, but this lasted only for
3838-556: The Western Hemisphere , increasing from 256 (0.9%) as of the 2000 Census to an estimated 5,943 (13.6%) as of 2017, representing a 2,221.5% (a multiple of 23) numerical increase over that period, including many affluent professionals and senior citizens as well as charitable benefactors to the COVID-19 relief efforts in India in official coordination with Monroe Township, as well as actors with second homes. During
3939-594: The Yellow Magic Orchestra produced a 1978 electronic album, Cochin Moon , based on an experimental fusion of electronic music and Bollywood-inspired Indian music. Truth Hurts ' 2002 song " Addictive ", produced by DJ Quik and Dr. Dre , was lifted from Lata Mangeshkar 's "Thoda Resham Lagta Hai" in Jyoti (1981). The Black Eyed Peas ' Grammy Award winning 2005 song " Don't Phunk with My Heart "
4040-491: The film projector and silent films from the Frenchman Du Pont and set up a business as film exhibitor . Soon, he tied up with Pathé , a well-known pioneering film-producing company, and imported projectors . This helped new cinema houses to sprout across the presidency . In later years, he produced talkies and also built a cinema in Coimbatore . To celebrate the event of King George V 's visit in 1909,
4141-736: The ghazal tradition strongly influenced filmi ( Bollywood lyrics ). Javed Akhtar was also greatly influenced by Urdu novels by Pakistani author Ibn-e-Safi , such as the Jasoosi Dunya and Imran series of detective novels; they inspired, for example, famous Bollywood characters such as Gabbar Singh in Sholay (1975) and Mogambo in Mr. India (1987). Todd Stadtman identifies several foreign influences on 1970s commercial Bollywood masala films , including New Hollywood , Italian exploitation films , and Hong Kong martial arts cinema . After
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4242-461: The overseas Indian diaspora , have also been inspired by Bollywood music. Hindi films are primarily musicals, and are expected to have catchy song-and-dance numbers woven into the script. A film's success often depends on the quality of such musical numbers. A film's music and song and dance portions are usually produced first and these are often released before the film itself, increasing its audience. Indian audiences expect value for money, and
4343-531: The socio-economic and socio-political realities of contemporary India. They channeled growing popular discontent and disillusionment and state failure to ensure welfare and well-being at a time of inflation, shortages, loss of confidence in public institutions, increasing crime and the unprecedented growth of slums . Salim-Javed and Bachchan's films dealt with urban poverty, corruption and organised crime; they were perceived by audiences as anti-establishment , often with an "angry young man" protagonist presented as
4444-547: The 1950s and 1960s were Dilip Kumar , Raj Kapoor , and Dev Anand , each with a unique acting style. Kapoor adopted Charlie Chaplin 's tramp persona; Anand modeled himself on suave Hollywood stars like Gregory Peck and Cary Grant , and Kumar pioneered a form of method acting which predated Hollywood method actors such as Marlon Brando . Kumar, who was described as "the ultimate method actor" by Satyajit Ray , inspired future generations of Indian actors. Much like Brando's influence on Robert De Niro and Al Pacino , Kumar had
4545-415: The 1950s and early 1960s and some won major prizes at the festival. Guru Dutt , overlooked during his lifetime, received belated international recognition during the 1980s. Film critics polled by the British magazine Sight & Sound included several of Dutt's films in a 2002 list of greatest films , and Time's All-Time 100 Movies lists Pyaasa as one of the greatest films of all time. During
4646-563: The 1970s has been the masala film , which freely mixes different genres including action , comedy , romance , drama and melodrama along with musical numbers . Masala films generally fall under the musical film genre, of which Indian cinema has been the largest producer since the 1960s when it exceeded the American film industry's total musical output after musical films declined in the West. The first Indian talkie , Alam Ara (1931),
4747-493: The 1970s. Although the art film bent of the Film Finance Corporation was criticised during a 1976 Committee on Public Undertakings investigation which accused the corporation of not doing enough to encourage commercial cinema, the decade saw the rise of commercial cinema with films such as Sholay (1975) which consolidated Amitabh Bachchan 's position as a star. The devotional classic Jai Santoshi Ma
4848-457: The 1980s was Mira Nair 's Salaam Bombay! (1988), which won the Camera d'Or at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film . Hindi cinema experienced another period of box-office decline during the late 1980s with due to concerns by audiences over increasing violence and a decline in musical quality, and a rise in video piracy. One of
4949-467: The 1990s and 2000s, and Aamir Khan has been the most successful Indian actor since the mid 2000s. Action and comedy films, starring such actors as Akshay Kumar and Govinda . The decade marked the entrance of new performers in art and independent films, some of which were commercially successful. The most influential example was Satya (1998), directed by Ram Gopal Varma and written by Anurag Kashyap . Its critical and commercial success led to
5050-560: The 1990s and early 2000s cutting across ethnic and linguistic barriers. Such films include Roja (1992), Indian (1996), Pokkiri (2007), Enthiran (2010). Tamil cinema has since produced some of the most commercially successful actors, directors and films of Indian cinema. By the end of the 1930s, the legislature of the State of Madras passed the Entertainment Tax Act of 1939. Madras (now Chennai), then became
5151-510: The 2000s, Hindi cinema began influencing musical films in the Western world and was instrumental role in reviving the American musical film. Baz Luhrmann said that his musical film, Moulin Rouge! (2001), was inspired by Bollywood musicals; the film incorporated a Bollywood-style dance scene with a song from the film China Gate . The critical and financial success of Moulin Rouge! began
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#17327915181335252-411: The 2010s, the industry saw established stars such as making big-budget masala films like Dabangg (2010), Singham (2011) , Ek Tha Tiger (2012), Son of Sardaar (2012), Rowdy Rathore (2012), Chennai Express (2013), Kick (2014) and Happy New Year (2014) with much-younger actresses. Although the films were often not praised by critics, they were commercially successful. Some of
5353-638: The Bombay film industry was closely linked to the Lahore film industry (known as "Lollywood"; now part of the Pakistani film industry ); both produced films in Hindustani (also known as Hindi-Urdu), the lingua franca of northern and central India. Another centre of Hindustani-language film production was the Bengal film industry in Calcutta , Bengal Presidency (now Kolkata, West Bengal ), which produced Hindustani-language films and local Bengali language films. Many actors, filmmakers and musicians from
5454-810: The Bombay film industry's position as the preeminent center for film production in India. The period from the late 1940s to the early 1960s, after India's independence , is regarded by film historians as the Golden Age of Hindi cinema. Some of the most critically acclaimed Hindi films of all time were produced during this time. Examples include Pyaasa (1957) and Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959), directed by Guru Dutt and written by Abrar Alvi ; Awaara (1951) and Shree 420 (1955), directed by Raj Kapoor and written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas , and Aan (1952), directed by Mehboob Khan and starring Dilip Kumar . The films explored social themes, primarily dealing with working-class life in India (particularly urban life) in
5555-514: The India Film Company Limited. Despite a century of increasing box office takings, Tamil cinema remains informal. Nevertheless, there are few exceptions like Modern Theatres, Gemini Studios , AVM and Sri Thenandal Films that survived beyond 100 productions. In 2017, opposing the dual taxation of GST (28%) and entertainment tax (30%), Tamilnadu Theatre Owners Association announced indefinite closure of all cinemas in
5656-405: The Indian economy and a demand for quality entertainment in this era led the country's film industry to new heights in production values, cinematography and screenwriting as well as technical advances in areas such as special effects and animation. Some of the largest production houses, among them Yash Raj Films and Dharma Productions were the producers of new modern films. Some popular films of
5757-561: The Lahore industry migrated to the Bombay industry during the 1940s, including actors K. L. Saigal , Prithviraj Kapoor , Dilip Kumar and Dev Anand as well as playback singers Mohammed Rafi , Noorjahan and Shamshad Begum . Around the same time, filmmakers and actors from the Calcutta film industry began migrating to Bombay; as a result, Bombay became the center of Hindustani-language film production. The 1947 partition of India divided
5858-617: The Mount Road area. This venue boasted a variety of events, including plays in English, Western classical music concerts, and ballroom dances . Silent films were also screened as an additional attraction. Swamikannu Vincent , a railway draftsman from Tiruchirapalli , became a travelling exhibitor in 1905. He showed short movies in a tent in Esplanade , near the present Parry's Corner, using carbide jet-burners for projection. He bought
5959-686: The biggest entertainment industry; many of the country's musical, dancing, wedding and fashion trends are Bollywood-inspired. Bollywood fashion trendsetters have included Madhubala in Mughal-e-Azam (1960) and Madhuri Dixit in Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (1994). Hindi films have also had a socio-political impact on Indian society, reflecting Indian politics . In classic 1970s Bollywood films, Bombay underworld crime films written by Salim–Javed and starring Amitabh Bachchan such as Zanjeer (1973) and Deewaar (1975) reflected
6060-552: The blockbuster Sholay (1975), written by Salim-Javed and starring Amitabh Bachchan. It combined the dacoit film conventions of Mother India and Gunga Jumna with spaghetti Westerns , spawning the Dacoit Western (also known as the curry Western ) which was popular during the 1970s. Some Hindi filmmakers, such as Shyam Benegal , Mani Kaul , Kumar Shahani , Ketan Mehta , Govind Nihalani and Vijaya Mehta , continued to produce realistic parallel cinema throughout
6161-482: The box office. A large Indian diaspora in English-speaking countries and increased Western influence in India have nudged Bollywood films closer to Hollywood. Tamil cinema Tamil cinema is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Tamil language , the main spoken language in the state of Tamil Nadu . It is nicknamed Kollywood , a portmanteau of
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#17327915181336262-516: The concept of anti-hero in Sangram (1950), today his works are seen as early depictions of the underworld and the anti-hero in Indian cinema. While working at Bombay Talkies, auteur Guru Dutt trained under him, though he also assisted Amiya Chakravarty , Dutt emulated Mukherjee's formula-based film style in his early films and eventually dedicated his classic, Pyaasa (1957) to Mukherjee, Another noted director, who assisted him at Bombay Talkies,
6363-556: The constructed nature of their work so that the realistic narrative was wholly dominant, Indian filmmakers made no attempt to conceal the fact that what was shown on the screen was a creation, an illusion, a fiction. However, they demonstrated how this creation intersected with people's day-to-day lives in complex ways. By the end of the 1930s, the State of Madras legislature passed the Entertainment Tax Act 1939 . In 1916,
6464-663: The conventions which were once strictly associated with parallel cinema. "Bollywood" is a portmanteau derived from Bombay (the former name of Mumbai ) and "Hollywood", a shorthand reference for the American film industry which is based in Hollywood , California . The term "Tollywood", for the Tollygunge -based cinema of West Bengal , predated "Bollywood". It was used in a 1932 American Cinematographer article by Wilford E. Deming, an American engineer who helped produce
6565-535: The country into the Republic of India and Pakistan , which precipitated the migration of filmmaking talent from film production centres like Lahore and Calcutta , which bore the brunt of the partition violence. This included actors, filmmakers and musicians from Bengal , Punjab (particularly the present-day Pakistani Punjab ), and the North-West Frontier Province (present-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ). These events further consolidated
6666-730: The country, each offering films in diverse languages and styles. In 2017, Indian cinema produced 1,986 feature films, of which the largest number, 364 have been in Hindi. In 2022, Hindi cinema represented 33% of box office revenue, followed by Telugu and Tamil representing representing 20% and 16% respectively. Hindi cinema is one of the largest centres for film production in the world. Hindi films sold an estimated 341 million tickets in India in 2019. Earlier Hindi films tended to use vernacular Hindustani , mutually intelligible by speakers of either Hindi or Urdu , while modern Hindi productions increasingly incorporate elements of Hinglish . The most popular commercial genre in Hindi cinema since
6767-542: The creation of a national movement against colonial rule in India, while simultaneously leveraging the popular political movement to increase their own visibility and popularity. Themes from the Independence Movement deeply influenced Bombay film directors, screen-play writers, and lyricists, who saw their films in the context of social reform and the problems of the common people. Before the Partition,
6868-405: The decade were Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai (2000), Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (2001), Gadar: Ek Prem Katha (2001), Lagaan (2001), Koi... Mil Gaya (2003), Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), Veer-Zaara (2004), Rang De Basanti (2006), Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006), Dhoom 2 (2006), Krrish (2006), and Jab We Met (2007), among others, showing the rise of new movie stars. During
6969-678: The decade with films such as Zanjeer (1973) and Deewaar (1975). Salim-Javed reinterpreted the rural themes of Mehboob Khan 's Mother India (1957) and Dilip Kumar 's Gunga Jumna (1961) in a contemporary urban context, reflecting the socio-economic and socio-political climate of 1970s India and channeling mass discontent, disillusionment and the unprecedented growth of slums with anti-establishment themes and those involving urban poverty, corruption and crime. Their "angry young man", personified by Amitabh Bachchan , reinterpreted Dilip Kumar's performance in Gunga Jumna in
7070-576: The early cinema were the cultural influences of the country. The Tamil -language was the medium in which many plays and stories were written since the ages as early as the Cholas . They were highly stylised and nature of the spectacle was one which could attract the people. Along with this, music and dance were one of the main entertainment sources. There is a strong Indian tradition of narrating mythology, history, fairy tales and so on through song and dance. Whereas Hollywood filmmakers strove to conceal
7171-409: The emergence of a genre known as Mumbai noir: urban films reflecting the city's social problems. This led to a resurgence of parallel cinema by the end of the decade. The films featured actors whose performances were often praised by critics. The 2000s saw increased Bollywood recognition worldwide due to growing (and prospering) NRI and South Asian diaspora communities overseas. The growth of
7272-829: The films starring Aamir Khan, from Taare Zameen Par (2007) and 3 Idiots (2009) to Dangal (2016) and Secret Superstar (2018), have been credited with redefining and modernising the masala film with a distinct brand of socially conscious cinema. Most stars from the 2000s continued successful careers into the next decade, and the 2010s saw a new generation of popular actors in different films. Among new conventions, female-centred films such as The Dirty Picture (2011), Kahaani (2012), and Queen (2014), Pink (2016), Raazi (2018), Gangubai Kathiawadi (2022) started gaining wide financial success. Moti Gokulsing and Wimal Dissanayake identify six major influences which have shaped Indian popular cinema: Sharmistha Gooptu identifies Indo-Persian - Islamic culture as
7373-619: The first Indian sound picture. "Bollywood" was probably invented in Bombay-based film trade journals in the 1960s or 1970s, though the exact inventor varies by account. Film journalist Bevinda Collaco claims she coined the term for the title of her column in Screen magazine. Her column entitled "On the Bollywood Beat" covered studio news and celebrity gossip. Other sources state that lyricist, filmmaker and scholar Amit Khanna
7474-567: The first Tamil film to win the National Film Award for Best Feature Film , the feat was repeated by Kanchivaram in 2007. Tamil films enjoy significant patronage in neighbouring Indian states like Kerala , Karnataka , Andhra Pradesh , Maharashtra , Gujarat and New Delhi . In Kerala and Karnataka the films are directly released in Tamil but in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh they are generally dubbed into Telugu where they have
7575-455: The first masala film and the first quintessentially "Bollywood" film. Salim-Javed wrote more successful masala films during the 1970s and 1980s. Masala films made Amitabh Bachchan the biggest star of the period. A landmark of the genre was Amar Akbar Anthony (1977), directed by Manmohan Desai and written by Kader Khan , and Desai continued successfully exploiting the genre. Both genres (masala and violent-crime films) are represented by
7676-414: The first two examples. Awaara presented the city as both nightmare and dream, and Pyaasa critiqued the unreality of urban life. Mehboob Khan 's Mother India (1957), a remake of his earlier Aurat (1940), was the first Indian film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film ; it lost by a single vote. Mother India defined conventional Hindi cinema for decades. It spawned
7777-492: The foundations of Tamil cinema was A. Narayanan. After a few years in film distribution, he set up a production company in Madras, the General Pictures Corporation, popularly known as GPC. Beginning with The Faithful Wife / Dharmapathini (1929), GPC made about 24 feature films. GPC functioned as a film school and its alumni included names such as Sundara Rao Nadkarni and Jiten Banerji. The studio of GPC
7878-521: The globe, such as Mani Ratnam 's Kannathil Muthamittal (2002), Vasanthabalan 's Veyyil (2006) and Ameer Sultan 's Paruthiveeran (2007). Kanchivaram (2009) was selected to be premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival . Tamil films have been a part of films submitted by India for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language on eight occasions, next only to Hindi. Mani Ratnam's Nayakan (1987)
7979-473: The important barrier of one crore (10 million) rupees, made on a budget of only two lakh (200,000) rupees. The film tackled contemporary issues, especially those arising from the Indian Independence movement, and went on to become "the longest running hit of Indian cinema", a title it held till the 1970s. Film personalities like Bimal Roy, Sahir Ludhianvi and Prithviraj Kapoor participated in
8080-419: The late 1960s and early 1970s, the industry was dominated by musical romance films with romantic-hero leads. By 1970, Hindi cinema was thematically stagnant and dominated by musical romance films . The arrival of screenwriting duo Salim–Javed ( Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar ) was a paradigm shift, revitalising the industry. They began the genre of gritty, violent, Bombay underworld crime films early in
8181-619: The latter's commercial success paved the way for Indian neorealism and the Indian New Wave (synonymous with parallel cinema). Internationally acclaimed Hindi filmmakers involved in the movement included Mani Kaul , Kumar Shahani , Ketan Mehta , Govind Nihalani , Shyam Benegal , and Vijaya Mehta . After the social-realist film Neecha Nagar received the Palme d'Or at the inaugural 1946 Cannes Film Festival , Hindi films were frequently in competition for Cannes' top prize during
8282-405: The leading star of the era, playing an anti-hero and also appearing in a double role. The film had a strong-anti British sentiment and also featured the noted patriotic song, "Door hato O Duniya walon, Hindustan Hamara Hai" (Leave People of World, India is Ours) by Kavi Pradeep , and went on to run at Roxy Cinema in Calcutta for 3 years and 8 months. Subhash K. Jha has called Kismet as one of
8383-634: The most influential films of all times" in Indian cinema . After death of Himanshu Rai , founder of Bombay Talkies Studio in 1940, a group led by producer Sashadhar Mukherjee along with production controller Rai Bahadur Chunilal, actor Ashok Kumar and Mukherjee, broke away to establish the Filmistan studio in March 1943 at the premises of old Sharada Movietone studios in Goregaon , Mumbai. He retouched
8484-542: The names Kodambakkam , a neighbourhood in Chennai , and Hollywood . The first Tamil silent film , Keechaka Vadham , was directed by R. Nataraja Mudaliar in 1918. The first Tamil talking feature film , Kalidas , a multilingual directed by H. M. Reddy was released on 31 October 1931, less than seven months after India's first talking motion picture Alam Ara . Tamil cinema has been noted for its advanced narratives and diverse films, with several productions in
8585-404: The rest of Indian cinema) it has become part of the "Indian story". In India, Bollywood is often associated with India's national identity. According to economist and Bollywood biographer Meghnad Desai , "Cinema actually has been the most vibrant medium for telling India its own story, the story of its struggle for independence, its constant struggle to achieve national integration and to emerge as
8686-583: The silent era, founded Srinivasa Cinetone in which his wife worked as the sound recordist. Srinivasa Kalyanam (1934), directed by Narayanan, was the first sound film (talkie) produced in Madras. The second sound studio to come up in Madras was Vel Pictures, started by M. D. Rajan on Eldams Road in the Dunmore bungalow, which belonged to the Raja of Pithapuram . Before long, more sound studios came up. Thirty-six talkies were made in Madras in 1935. The main impacts of
8787-418: The state from 3 July 2017. The strike has been called off and the cinemas will be playing the movies starting Friday 7 July 2017. Government has formed a committee to decide on the existence of state's 30% entertainment tax. It was reported that, per day business loss during the strike was around ₹ 20 crores. Annual admissions in Chennai multiplexes and single screens averaged 1.1 crore tickets with
8888-574: The success of Bruce Lee films (such as Enter the Dragon ) in India, Deewaar (1975) and other Bollywood films incorporated fight scenes inspired by 1970s martial arts films from Hong Kong cinema until the 1990s. Bollywood action scenes emulated Hong Kong rather than Hollywood, emphasising acrobatics and stunts and combining kung fu (as perceived by Indians) with Indian martial arts such as pehlwani . Perhaps Hindi cinema's greatest influence has been on India's national identity, where (with
8989-414: The turning points came with such films as Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988), presenting a blend of youthfulness, family entertainment, emotional intelligence and strong melodies, all of which lured audiences back to the big screen. It brought back the template for Bollywood musical romance films which went on to define 1990s Hindi cinema. Known since the 1990s as "New Bollywood", contemporary Bollywood
9090-515: The world. Quite often, Tamil movies feature Madras Tamil , a colloquial version of Tamil spoken in Chennai . Keechaka Vadham (1918) was the first silent film made in South India . Kalidas (1931) was the first Tamil talkie film made in 1931. Kalava (1932) was the first full-length talkie made entirely in Tamil. Nandanar (1935) was the first film for American film director Ellis R. Dungan . Balayogini released in 1937
9191-544: Was Shakti Samanta , who later made Aradhana (1969) and Amar Prem (1972). Mujherjee died on 13 November 1956 in Calcutta (now Kolkata), at the age of 47. Guru Dutt's Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959) is considered to be an homage to Mukherjee. Hindi cinema Hindi cinema , popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema , refers to the film industry based in Mumbai , engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood
9292-465: Was also released that year. By 1983, the Bombay film industry was generating an estimated annual revenue of ₹700 crore ( ₹ 7 billion, $ 693.14 million ), equivalent to $ 2.12 billion ( ₹12,667 crore , ₹ 111.33 billion) when adjusted for inflation. By 1986, India's annual film output had increased from 741 films produced annually to 833 films annually, making India the world's largest film producer. The most internationally acclaimed Hindi film of
9393-536: Was buffeted by the Great Depression , World War II , the Indian independence movement , and the violence of the Partition . Although most early Bombay films were unabashedly escapist , a number of filmmakers tackled tough social issues or used the struggle for Indian independence as a backdrop for their films. Irani made the first Hindi colour film, Kisan Kanya , in 1937. The following year, he made
9494-617: Was coined during the 1970s, when the conventions of commercial Hindi films were defined. Key to this was the masala film , which combines a number of genres ( action , comedy , romance , drama , melodrama , and musical ). The masala film was pioneered early in the decade by filmmaker Nasir Hussain , and the Salim-Javed screenwriting duo, pioneering the Bollywood- blockbuster format. Yaadon Ki Baarat (1973), directed by Hussain and written by Salim-Javed, has been identified as
9595-436: Was considered to be first children's film of South India. It is estimated by the Manorama Yearbook 2000 (a popular almanac) that over 5,000 Tamil films were produced in the 20th century. Tamil films have also been dubbed into other languages, thus reaching a much wider audience. There has been a growing presence of English in dialogue and songs in Chennai films. In 1991, Marupakkam directed by K.S. Sethu Madhavan , became
9696-699: Was housed in the Chellapalli bungalow on Thiruvottiyur High Road in Madras. This company, which produced the most Tamil silent films, had branches in Colombo , Rangoon and Singapore . The Ways of Vishnu / Vishnu Leela , which R. Prakasa made in 1932, was the last silent film produced in Madras. The silent era of south Indian cinema has not been documented well. When the talkies appeared, film producers had to travel to Bombay or Calcutta to make films. Most films of this early period were celluloid versions of well-known stage plays. Company dramas were popular among
9797-549: Was included in Time magazine's "All-TIME" 100 best movies list. Average annual film output in Tamil film industry peaked in 1985. The Tamil film market accounts for approximately 0.1% of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the state of Tamil Nadu . For the purpose of entertainment taxes, returns have to be filed by the exhibitors weekly (usually each Tuesday). The Government of Tamil Nadu made provisions for an entertainment tax exemption for Tamil films having titles in words from
9898-433: Was inspired by two 1970s Bollywood songs : "Ye Mera Dil Yaar Ka Diwana" from Don (1978) and "Ae Nujawan Hai Sub" from Apradh (1972). Both songs were composed by Kalyanji Anandji , sung by Asha Bhosle , and featured the dancer Helen . The Kronos Quartet re-recorded several R. D. Burman compositions sung by Asha Bhosle for their 2005 album, You've Stolen My Heart: Songs from R.D. Burman's Bollywood , which
9999-464: Was its creator. It is unknown if it was derived from "Hollywood" through "Tollywood", or was inspired directly by "Hollywood". The term has been criticised by some film journalists and critics, who believe it implies that the industry is a poor cousin of Hollywood. In 1897, a film presentation by Professor Stevenson featured a stage show at Calcutta 's Star Theatre. With Stevenson's encouragement and camera, Hiralal Sen , an Indian photographer, made
10100-603: Was nominated for Best Contemporary World Music Album at the 2006 Grammy Awards. Filmi music composed by A. R. Rahman (who received two Academy Awards for the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack ) has frequently been sampled by other musicians, including the Singaporean artist Kelly Poon , the French rap group La Caution and the American artist Ciara . Many Asian Underground artists, particularly those among
10201-465: Was produced in the Hindustani language, four years after Hollywood's first sound film, The Jazz Singer (1927). Alongside commercial masala films, a distinctive genre of art films known as parallel cinema has also existed, presenting realistic content and avoidance of musical numbers. In more recent years, the distinction between commercial masala and parallel cinema has been gradually blurring, with an increasing number of mainstream films adopting
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