Gone are the days when movie making was a lottery in India. Today, 60 per cent of income is guaranteed even before a film is released thanks to pre-selling of music, satellite TV, radio and in-flight entertainment rights, as well as marketing of mobile phone ringtones. Bollywood has surpassed Hollywood in the number of tickets sold annually. But it still lags far behind in total revenue gathered because of the much lower prices of tickets in India. Revenue from overseas is a big reason why Bollywood movies are becoming much more successful of late.
In fact, industry pundits say a cinema theatre in west London is the highest earning screen in the world for Bollywood films. The growing reach and influence of Indian movies has had a major impact on foreign economies too. Foreign locations compete with each other to host Bollywood roadshows and movie award ceremonies as these events give a big boost to the local economy. Though the Indian economy may be tanking, Bollywood continues to rule the roost with increasing film budgets and the construction of more multiplexes around the country.
The reason is movies have become an integral part of everyday life in India. Let the name roll off your tongue and slip into your mind, where you visualise the extravaganza of Indian film culture. A silent film, based on Sanskrit folktales which were picturised in A beautiful take on the mythological Indian culture where King Harsihandra is tested by Gods.
Western traditions influenced Bollywood, and films began exploring various genres and styles; something they had never done before. They took upon unique tales of Indians, which was relatable to all if not, most of the public. Films still incorporated cultural aspects but included westernisation too. Plots: A typical Bollywood plot consists of corruption, angry in-laws or parents, out of this world lovers, male winning over female, and devious villains.
Yet there is so much more to it than just this. The Indian audience value songs in films. These songs are not created as singles, or performed by bands but instead pre-recorded by professional singers and lip-synched by the actors in the film.
Through synchronisation and graceful choreography the song is created as part of the act. However, some experts say they simply depict people's desired version of reality. Everlasting love, exuberance, profound sadness and difficult challenges. The love of couples is always put to the test by Bollywood films, as is their readiness to sacrifice.
Bollywood films take the viewer on an emotional rollercoaster ride, but because they are essentially fairytales happy endings are always expected and granted. This is precisely what bothers M. Madhaya Prasad, a film professor in Hyderabad: "Our films influence people and society. But they depict a reality that has nothing to do with the viewers' reality. Indian society is very hierarchical and even though the caste system was officially abolished in the constitution, discrimination according to caste continues nationwide.
And even though society has become more open and tolerant since the beginning of the s, with economic progress and educational advancement, it is not so simple for barriers between people with different backgrounds who love each other to be overcome as in the movies.
Only a fraction of India's 1. The census found that two thirds of Indians lived in rural areas and earned their living directly or indirectly from agriculture. Although in cities many marriages are love-based, they are still arranged by a couple's family. It is still very rare for Hindus, who make up 80 percent of the population, to marry Muslims who comprise 16 percent of Indians.
The director Kunal Kohli, who has made a name for himself with the romance films "Hum Tum" You and me, or "Fanaa" Annihilation, , said film could not do that much. An India — which is technologically advanced. An India — which has an army unparalled, and which is eager to prove itself. An India — which will not keep quiet if attacked. An India — which has sportsmen that beat rivals on their home turf.
And an India which can produce cinematography on par with Hollywood. But it is also an India — as experienced through films such as Simmba, Mulk or Kedarnath, where division between people on religious lines is high as ever, where women safety is a constant issue.
And where nationalism runs high in veins. Bollywood especially has done a lot, to dispel the myth of India as a nation of snake charmers. On the screen — the protagonist portrayed by actor Ranveer Singh talks about the Nirbhaya ccase and the increase in rapes in India every year since , making the official cross , registered rapes in He mumbles out the statistics. This is another India — which people get to experience through Bollywood where corruption is high amongst the netas, where sanitation and women safety are perennial problems.
I see, that there are a few people of Chinese and Causcasian origin, also amongst the audience. This could well be their first Bollywood masala film, and they enjoy the Hindi films through their subtitles.
In the age of on-demand platforms, the first touch people have with India is through its films — now widely available at the click of a button on YouTube. Recently, I was pleasantly surprised to hear the titles of Dhoom 3, 3 Idiots, and Koi Mil Gaya, from a colleague from Tonga, an island — in the Pacific which has a population of just about , people. He enjoys Bollywood films, as passionately, as anyone in India would.
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