Archive for category Bollywood
Oscar Nominated Movies in Bollywood
Posted by in Bollywood on July 18, 2011
Bollywood refers to one of the film industries of India, where many movies in Hindi are made. The fame of producing the highest number of films in India goes to Bollywood. Among the most popular movies in Bollywood, some are so rich in their content that they have competed with other foreign language films in the category of Best Foreign language Film in Academy Awards.
Mother India is considered to be one of the most admired movies in Bollywood. The story of this film is penned by Mehboob Khan and is a remake of his 1940 film Aurat. The film depicting the social set up of old India has Nargis Dutt and Sunil Dutt, playing the main characters in the film. A poor woman in rural India, in spite of all the hardships in life, holds on to good principles and values. Even then she murders her own son, at the end, in order to keep her promise given to the landlord. The film was chosen as one of the five Best Foreign language films at Oscars in the year 1958. Mother India is the representation of India after Independence and became the first Indian film to compete at the Oscars.
Salaam Bombay! became the second film to be chosen from India at the Oscars among other movies in Bollywood. Released in the year 1988, this film depicted the lives of many street children living in Bombay (now Mumbai). The movie has received numerous awards in many national and international film festivals. Some of the most revered awards, received by this Mira Nair film are Golden Camera Award at the Cannes Film Festival, National Film Award for Best Feature Film and Montreal World Film Festival.
Lagaan, starring Amir Khan, India’s one of the most leading actors, became the third entry into Oscars. Released in the year 2001, the film is set up in the background of Victorian era, where British ruled the Indian subcontinent. Lagaan tells the story of a village, which unites to fight against the increase in taxation by the British Government. The film directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, with a budget of 250 million, also had some of the British actors. Read the rest of this entry »
Facts About Bollywood
Posted by in Bollywood on July 18, 2011
Bollywood is the informal word that is used to describe the Hindi language films and film industry. Although it has been used incorrectly to describe Indian cinema, it is actually based in Mumbai and is the largest film producer in India and one of the largest in the world. The name Bollywood is obtained from the combination of the words Bombay, the previous name for Mumbai, and Hollywood, the American film production center.
The name dates back in the 1970s when India was the leading film producer in the world, ahead of America. The name was inspired by the term ‘Tollywood’ which referred to the Bengali Film Industry that was based in Tollygunge. When Bombay film industry overtook Tollygunge, the word Bollywood was coined. The seventies saw the new wave cinema with the entry of new film makers from different areas and so it continued to the eighties and nineties.
This film industry has a lot of inspirations from various sources. One of them is the ancient Indian epics which brought about the use of various techniques like side- and back-story as well as stories within stories. The other is the Ancient Sanskrit drama which features a highly stylized nature and an emphasis on spectacle. The main features of this drama include dance, gesture and music to create a dramatic effect. The other major influence is the traditional folk theatre, which was very popular in the 10th century. The influence of Parsi theatre is also seen in this film production industry. It features the combination of fantasy and realism, music and dance, spectacle and narrative and stage presentation to create melodrama. The other major influence is Hollywood, especially the musicals. The only difference is that the Indian film producers used songs and dance to enhance fantasy and also give articulation to their movies. In the 1990s the western musical television has been seen to influence the music and dance of a lot of Indian films.
These film productions are recognized and awarded through various film events, with the major one being the Filmfare Awards, which was started in 1954 by Filmfare Magazine. During the same year the National Film Awards was introduced and was sponsored by the Indian government via the Directorate of Film Festivals. The DFF screens films from regional movie industries as well as independent or art films. Others within the region include Stardust and Star Screen Awards.
Bollywood has been producing different types of films that have been recognized not only within the Bollywood film industry but also other industries in the world.
By Ali_Raza