Bollywood: Birth and Evolution

Indian Hindi Film Industry, popularly known as Bollywood, is one of the strongest global cultural ambassadors of a new India. It has derived its name from the term Hollywood, which was given to the American Film Industry.

Indian Cinema is one of the richest industry which produces the maximum number of movies in the world at around 1,500 to 2,000 every year in over 20 languages. Indian Cinema has evolved over a period of time. In the year 1931, the first silent feature film of India titled Raja Harishchandra produced and directed by Dadasaheb Phalke was released. This is the reason he is considered as the father of the Indian film industry and the most coveted award of Indian Cinema is named after him as Dadasaheb Phalke Award.

In 1831, first Indian sound film titled Alam Ara was released. It was the directorial venture of Ardeshir Irani. It became so popular among the audience that Police had to be called in few theatres to control the crowd. In 1937, the first colour film Kisan Kanya directed by Moti B. Gidwani was released. The 1950's era of Bollywood was dominated by veteran actor and actresses like Dilip Kumar, Madhubala, Raj Kapoor, Nargis, Guru Dutt, Devanand and many more. This era also saw the emergence of a new Parallel Cinema movement emphasising social realism.

The 1960-70s era was all about romantic musical films and was ruled by superstars like Rajesh Khanna, Dharmendra, Jeetendra, Shammi Kapoor till the time "Angry Young Man" of Bollywood, Amitabh Bachchan entered the scenario and completely changed it. In the Bachchan era, stories about Bombay underworld and dacoits started gaining popularity. Amitabh is one of the most successful actor of Bollywood who is still considered as the most bankable actor among all.

The 1970s also saw the emergence of the first female superstar of Bollywood: Sridevi. She

did 300 films and delivered blockbuster hits like Sadma, Chandni, Mr India, English Vinglish and many more. In 2013, she was awarded Padam Shri, the fourth highest civilian accolade for her contributions to the entertainment industry. In Feb 2018, she passed away and was cremated with full state honours which are usually reserved only for current and former Prime Ministers, Union and State Ministers of India.

The late '80s and early '90s saw the introduction of three Khans of Bollywood: Shah Rukh, Salman and Aamir Khan. Shah Rukh, who started his career with TV industry delivered many super hits. One of his film, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge which was released in 1995 is still running in Maratha Mandir theatre of Mumbai. Aamir who started his career as a child artist is the most popular actor globally. Recently his film Dangal has earned Rs 1743 crore worldwide, making it Bollywood's highest grossing film till date. On the other hand, Salman has been the most successful domestically. In 2018, he is featured in the Forbes Magazine as the richest Indian celebrity.

Eventually, when the world moved from 20th to the 21st century, Bollywood saw a storm of many new-age actor and actresses who have given the Indian Film Industry a whole new direction. This current generation likes to experiment with every possible genre to make Bollywood the best place to work in.