Reception of Bollywood Films

Bollywood films have quite a reputation that is something that most people know, even those with little or no knowledge about the world's leading producer of movies. These bollywood movies are often rented instead of watched in the theaters in the Western world. But what most do not know is that Bollywood has a long rich cinematography history that is worth looking at a little more closely so as to be able to fully appreciate the current situation and level of reception by the public of these unique films.

Bollywood is in Mumbai (formerly Bombay) and this is basically a Hindi Language film industry. Too many folks make the mistake of using the term Bollywood to refer to the entire movie industry in India which is incorrect. There are other production centers for films in India, although admittedly Bollywood is by far the largest. One of the reasons for the size and success of this movie producing industry is the fact that the films have not only been just accepted in many Non-Hindi speaking countries, but they have also proved to be immensely popular in those other countries. One of the reasons for this is of course the English sub titles found in most Bollywood productions which give them a much wider audience than only Hindi speakers. In recent years there has also been a growing presence of Indian English in dialogue and even the songs in the movies. This is no doubt a reflection of the kind of worldwide audience many of these productions have found.

Historically the name Bollywood came from the old name of Mumbai, (which was Bombay) and of course Hollywood the epicenter of the American movie industry. There is of course one major difference in that Hollywood is a physical place while Bollywood is not. On the ground movie producing companies, distributors and support services are scattered all over Mumbai.

The origins of the name Bollywood to describe the movie industry in Mumbai can be traced back to as far as the 1970s and around the time when the Indian movie industry in Mumbai became the largest film producer in the world, overtaking Hollywood.

But even more fascinating is the fact that Bollywood is almost as old as Hollywood (is actually only less than a decade younger) and dates back to the days of silent films. The first full length silent film, Raja Harishchandra was released in 1913. As early as the 1930s Bollywoood was churning out well over 200 films a year, a remarkable achievement considering the great odds that were facing the infant industry then.

Many analysts agree that the golden age of Bollywood came after India's independence in the period stretching from the late 1940s to the 1960s.

And so the immense growth experienced by the Indian movie industry in the 2000s must be looked at from this perspective of a rich historical past.

Although one can say that Hollywood has inspired Bollywood in many ways the truth is that Indian filmmakers have found their own style which is so distinctively different. The style involves enhancement of the elements of fantasy while using song and dance extensively to portray various stages of a film.

Another fascinating difference is that the Hindi film industry has strongly resisted making films that target narrow audiences and have instead always insisted on aiming for a very broad spectrum. This has become very much a part of the identity of the Bollywood movie which the world has grown to love and expect.