What is Bollywood?
Bollywood is the nickname for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai, India. It is famous for colorful musicals with song-and-dance numbers, romance and drama.
The name combines Bombay, Mumbai's former name, with Hollywood. India produces more films than any other country, often well over 1,500 a year in many languages, and Bollywood is its best-known part. Other major film industries include Tollywood, for Telugu films, and Kollywood, for Tamil films.
Bollywood films often blend several genres in one story, combining action, comedy, romance and family drama, with elaborate musical sequences. Songs are usually prerecorded by playback singers while actors lip-sync on screen. Famous films include Mother India, Sholay, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and 3 Idiots.
Stars and global reach
Actors like Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan and Deepika Padukone are huge stars with fans worldwide. Indian films are popular across South Asia, the Middle East, Africa and among diaspora communities. The Telugu film RRR's song Naatu Naatu won the Oscar for Best Original Song in 2023.
Did You Know?
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, released in 1995, has played at Mumbai's Maratha Mandir cinema for decades, making it one of the longest-running films in cinema history.