10 fun facts about Indian film industry Bollywood

Indian Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

Bollywood is the name of the Indian film industry, which is based in Mumbai. It produces the largest number of movies in the Hindi language.

The name Bollywood is a mixture of the names Bombay and Hollywood. Since most of the movies were shot in the commercial hub of India, Mumbai, people came up with this name which became popular.

After Bollywood, many south Indian states named their movies Tollywood, Kollywood, Sandalwood, etc.

Here are the ten fun facts on Bollywood:

1. Hindi Movie “Alam Ara,” produced by Ardeshir Irani in 1931, is Bollywood’s first Indian sound film, a major commercial success. The Indian film industry was making over 200 films in a year in the 30s.

2. Shahrukh Khan’s science fiction Hindi movie “Ra. One,” made at a massive budget of Rs 135 crores (roughly USD 24 million), is the most expensive film ever produced in Bollywood.

3. Bollywood movies, particularly starring the Khans, Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan, and Aamir Khan, are the most sought-after movies in Muslim countries like Pakistan, U.A.E., Bangladesh, Afghanistan etc.

4. Aamir Khan’s blockbuster movie “Lagaan” became the first Bollywood movie to have a nationwide release in China in decades.

5. Late actor Rajesh Khanna was the first Superstar of Bollywood after a string of hits in the 1970s like “Amar Deep”, “Phir Wohi Raat”, “Bandish”, “Thodisi Bewafaii”, “Dard,” “Kudrat”, “Ashanti”, “Avtaar”, “Agar Tum Na Hote”, “Souten”, “Jaanwar”, “Aaj Ka M.L.A.”, “Ram Avtar,” “Insaaf Main Karoonga”, etc.

6. To recognize the performance of actors and artists in Bollywood, the Indian screen magazine Filmfare started the first Filmfare Awards in 1954, and the awards were given.

7. Bollywood movies are the only films globally consisting of 4-5 musical songs in each film.

8. Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential actors in Bollywood and Indian cinema history.

9. Bollywood’s top two highest-earning movies at the box-office are Aamir Khan’s “3-Idiots” with total worldwide revenue of Rs 360 crores and Shahrukh Khan’s latest “Chennai Express” directed by Rohit Shetty with total revenue of close to Rs 300 crores.

10. The period from the late 1940s to the 1960s, film analysts and pundits regarded the period as the “Golden Age” of Bollywood.

If I have missed out anything, pls free to point them out in the comments section.