Bollywood

The industry is related to Cinema of South India and other Indian film industries, making up Indian Cinema – the world's largest by number of feature films produced.

The Hindi language film industry is known as Bollywood, the largest sector, representing 43% of box office revenue.

The most popular commercial genre in Bollywood since the 1970s has been the masala film, which freely mixes different genres including action, comedy, romance, drama and melodrama along with musical numbers.

Masala films have origins in 1970s Bollywood (Hindi) films, and are most common in Bollywood and South Indian films.

According to Madhava Prasad, author of Surviving Bollywood, the term "Bollywood" was preceded by "Tollywood", which then referred to the cinema of West Bengal.

Since the late 20th century, the Bengali film industry has become smaller, overtaken by other regional industries such as Bollywood and South Indian cinema.

Many actors, filmmakers and musicians from the Lahore industry migrated to the Bombay industry during the 1940s, including actors K. L. Saigal, Prithviraj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Dev Anand; playback singers Mohammed Rafi, Noorjahan, and Shamshad Begum.

Shamshad Begum (Śamśād Bēgam; 14 April 1919 – 23 April 2013) was an Indian singer who was one of the first playback singers in the Hindi film industry.

Many actors, filmmakers and musicians from the Lahore industry migrated to the Bombay industry during the 1940s, including actors K. L. Saigal, Prithviraj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Dev Anand; playback singers Mohammed Rafi, Noorjahan, and Shamshad Begum.

Dharamdev Pishorimal Anand (26 September 1923 – 3 December 2011), known as Dev Anand, was a noted Hindi film actor, writer, director and producer known for his work in Hindi films, through a career that spanned over six decades.

Hindi cinema, often known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is the Indian Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai (formerly Bombay).

The city also houses India's Hindi (Bollywood) and Marathi cinema industries.

Many actors, filmmakers and musicians from the Lahore industry migrated to the Bombay industry during the 1940s, including actors K. L. Saigal, Prithviraj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Dev Anand; playback singers Mohammed Rafi, Noorjahan, and Shamshad Begum.

Prithviraj Kapoor (3 November 1901 – 29 May 1972) born Prithvinath Kapoor, was a pioneer of Indian theatre and of the Hindi film industry, who started his career as an actor in the silent era of Hindi cinema, associated with IPTA as one of its founding members and who founded the Prithvi Theatres, a travelling theatre company based in Mumbai, in 1944.

During this time period, actors such as Shantaram, Paidi Jairaj, and Motilal have made their mark.

Paidi Jairaj (Telugu: పైడి జయరాజ్) (born Paidipati Jayarajulu Naidu - 28 September 1909 – 11 August 2000) was an Indian film actor, director and producer known for his works primarily in Hindi cinema, Marathi and Gujarati language films, and Telugu theatre.

Examples include Pyaasa (1957) and Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959), directed by Guru Dutt and written by Abrar Alvi; Awaara (1951) and Shree 420 (1955), directed by Raj Kapoor and written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, and Aan (1952), directed by Mehboob Khan and starring Dilip Kumar.

Kapoor is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential actors and filmmakers in the history of Hindi cinema.

Irani made the first Hindi colour film, Kisan Kanya, in 1937.

Kisan Kanya was a 1937 Hindi Cinecolor feature film which was directed by Moti B. Gidwani and produced by Ardeshir Irani of Imperial Pictures.

Examples include Pyaasa (1957) and Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959), directed by Guru Dutt and written by Abrar Alvi; Awaara (1951) and Shree 420 (1955), directed by Raj Kapoor and written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, and Aan (1952), directed by Mehboob Khan and starring Dilip Kumar.

Aan (Hindi: आन, Urdu: آن, translation: Pride), released as The Savage Princess in the United Kingdom and United States, is a 1952 Indian Bollywood film, produced and directed by Mehboob Khan.

Examples include Pyaasa (1957) and Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959), directed by Guru Dutt and written by Abrar Alvi; Awaara (1951) and Shree 420 (1955), directed by Raj Kapoor and written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, and Aan (1952), directed by Mehboob Khan and starring Dilip Kumar.

Kaagaz Ke Phool (Kāgaz kē Phūl, ) is a 1959 Hindi film produced and directed by Guru Dutt, who also played the lead role in the film.

Other acclaimed mainstream Hindi filmmakers during this period included Kamal Amrohi and Vijay Bhatt.

Vijay Bhatt (born Vrajlal Jagneshwar Bhatt; 12 May 1907 – 17 October 1993) was a noted producer-director-screenwriter of Hindi cinema, who made such films as Ram Rajya (1943), Baiju Bawra (1952), Goonj Uthi Shehnai (1959) and Himalaya Ki God Mein (1965).

Examples include Pyaasa (1957) and Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959), directed by Guru Dutt and written by Abrar Alvi; Awaara (1951) and Shree 420 (1955), directed by Raj Kapoor and written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, and Aan (1952), directed by Mehboob Khan and starring Dilip Kumar.

Shree 420 (Hindi: श्री ४२०; translation: Sri 420, also transliterated as Shri 420) is a 1955 Hindi film, directed and produced by Raj Kapoor, written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, and starring Raj Kapoor and Nargis.

Much like Brando's influence on Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, Kumar had a similar influence on Amitabh Bachchan, Naseeruddin Shah, Shah Rukh Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui.

Referred to in the media as the "Badshah of Bollywood", "King of Bollywood" and "King Khan", he has appeared in more than 80 Bollywood films, and earned numerous accolades, including 14 Filmfare Awards.

Veteran actresses such as Suraiya, Nargis, Sumitra Devi, Madhubala, Meena Kumari, Waheeda Rehman, Nutan, Sadhana, Mala Sinha and Vyjayanthimala have had their share of influence on Hindi cinema.

Meena Kumari (born Mahjabeen Bano, 1 August 1933 – 31 March 1972) was an Indian film actress, singer and poet under the pseudonym Naaz, who starred in classic films of Hindi Cinema.

Much like Brando's influence on Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, Kumar had a similar influence on Amitabh Bachchan, Naseeruddin Shah, Shah Rukh Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui (born 19 May 1974) is an Indian actor, known for his works in Hindi cinema.

Veteran actresses such as Suraiya, Nargis, Sumitra Devi, Madhubala, Meena Kumari, Waheeda Rehman, Nutan, Sadhana, Mala Sinha and Vyjayanthimala have had their share of influence on Hindi cinema.

Waheeda Rehman (born 3 February 1938 ) is an Indian actress and dancer who has appeared in mainly Hindi films, as well as Telugu, Tamil, Bengali and Malayalam films.

Veteran actresses such as Suraiya, Nargis, Sumitra Devi, Madhubala, Meena Kumari, Waheeda Rehman, Nutan, Sadhana, Mala Sinha and Vyjayanthimala have had their share of influence on Hindi cinema.

Nargis Dutt (Born Fatima Rashid; 1 June 1929 – 3 May 1981), also known by her stage name Nargis, was an Indian film actress, who starred in classic films of Bollywood.

Veteran actresses such as Suraiya, Nargis, Sumitra Devi, Madhubala, Meena Kumari, Waheeda Rehman, Nutan, Sadhana, Mala Sinha and Vyjayanthimala have had their share of influence on Hindi cinema.

In a career spanning nearly four decades, she appeared in more than 70 Hindi films, many in starring roles.

Veteran actresses such as Suraiya, Nargis, Sumitra Devi, Madhubala, Meena Kumari, Waheeda Rehman, Nutan, Sadhana, Mala Sinha and Vyjayanthimala have had their share of influence on Hindi cinema.

Regarded as one of the finest and iconic film actresses in the history of Hindi cinema, Sadhana was the highest-paid actress of her time from early 1960s to late 1970s.

Veteran actresses such as Suraiya, Nargis, Sumitra Devi, Madhubala, Meena Kumari, Waheeda Rehman, Nutan, Sadhana, Mala Sinha and Vyjayanthimala have had their share of influence on Hindi cinema.

Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi (born 14 February 1933 – 23 February 1969), better known by her stage name Madhubala, was an Indian film actress who appeared in Hindi films.

Mehboob Khan's Mother India (1957), a remake of his earlier Aurat (1940), was the first Indian film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film; it lost by a single vote.

The film was among the most expensive Hindi cinema (Bollywood) productions and earned the highest revenue for any Indian film at that time.

Alongside commercial masala films, a distinctive genre of art films known as parallel cinema has also existed, presenting realistic content and avoidance of musical numbers.

During the 1970s and the 1980s, parallel cinema entered into the limelight of Hindi cinema to a much wider extent.

Some of the best-known epic films of Hindi cinema were also produced at this time, such as K. Asif's Mughal-e-Azam (1960).

The soundtrack, inspired by Indian classical and folk music, comprises 12 songs voiced by playback singer Lata Mangeshkar along with Mohammed Rafi, Shamshad Begum and classical singer Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, and is often cited among the finest in Bollywood cinematic history.