Bollywood
Wednesday 4 March 2009
Bollywood films are becoming more popular. What are they all about and who are the stars?
What is Bollywood?
Bollywood is the term used to identify the Hindi film industry in Mumbai, India. The title is a combination of Bombay, the previous name for Mumbai, and Hollywood – as if you didn’t already know.
The Bollywood film industry produces almost 1000 films a year, compared to 500 films made in Hollywood, and has a worldwide audience of three billion.
Take a look at Eklavya The Royal Guard and Bewafaa to get an idea of what some Bollywood films are like.
The term became so popular that it made it into the Oxford Dictionary in 2003.
Influences
Bollywood films are usually very colourful and lively productions. Along with a melodramatic storyline, there is also lots of singing and dancing.
Bollywood storylines, which usually involve daredevil thrills and comedy, are influenced by Sanskrit plays. Sanskrit is a sacred Hindi language, and plays were usually filled with loads of twists and turns.
Love stories are a common theme in Bollywood movies. To show respect to women, couples hardly ever kiss but you might see suggestive behaviour through close body and eye contact.
Music
Songs in Bollywood films sound very much like poems. This is because they are influenced by The Mahabharata, one of the largest poetic works in the world which features Hindu mythology and philosophy.
Music is a big part of Bollywood. Often soundtracks are released before the film comes out to give the audience a glimpse of what’s to come. If the soundtrack tanks, the film probably will too.
People
Some people believe that the blend of colourful and vibrant images aims to give people in poverty the chance to escape their daily routine.
Meet some of the stars
Some of the rising stars of Bollywood are:-
Sonam Kapoor
Sonam began her career in Bollywood as an assistant to Sanjay Leela Bhansali, an acclaimed director. Her first film was Sony’s 'Saawariya' in 2007, which was the first collaboration between Bollywood and a major film company. Though the film wasn’t a hit, Sonam received rave reviews.
Adhyayan Suman
Adhyayan is one of Bollywood’s newest stars. He's been training to be an actor since he was 13 years old and even spent two years at The New York Film Academy in London. His most recent flick was 'Raaz - The Mystery Continues'.
Shilpa Shetty
Shilpa has starred in almost 40 films since her career began. In 2007, she took part in Celebrity Big Brother UK and won with 63 per cent of the final vote. Whilst in the house she was at the centre of a race row that involved Jade Goody. After the Celeb BB fiasco she was offered a part in Eastenders but turned it down due to other plans.
Branching out
Bollywood has really made its mark across the world.
Slumdog Millionaire
'Slumdog' tells the story of a young boy called Jamal who is accused of cheating on the Indian version of ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?’ It become a worldwide hit and has won a whole string of awards including eight Oscars, four Golden Globes and seven BAFTAs.
Even though 'Slumdog' is a British film, it incorporates many Bollywood themes including a back story and lots of action and emotion. The theme of romance runs all the way through 'Slumdog' as Jamal searches for Latika from the moment they are separated, and though none of the actors burst in to song or dance, music undoubtedly helps to create the scene and portray emotions.
Bhangra beats
The UK chart has had its fair share of Bhangra music over the years from artists like Punjabi MC, Rishi Rich and Jay Sean. Even rap star Snoop Dogg swapped his bling for some Bhangra action by recording the title track for the film Singh Is Kinng.
Kylie Minogue will be making her Bollywood debut in the film Blue. Not only is she recording two songs with Oscar winner A.R Rahman for the soundtrack, she’ll also be filming a music video with the lead actor Akshay Kumar and will appear in one of the scenes.
