Indian cinema or Bollywood has over the years played a major role in entertaining us with brilliant movies. From action, thriller, suspense, romance to comedy, Bollywood has given us a huge dose of entertainment! But do you know the history of this industry and how it has today become India’s most financially lucrative industries. Not just this, Bollywood today is the world leader in not just producing films but also has the maximum audience attention.

Today we would like to take you through the incredible journey of Indian cinema:

The origin

The world Bollywood was coined in the year 1970 by a writer of a magazine. Although the history of Indian cinema dates all the way back to 1913 when the first Indian movie made by Raja Harishchandra was released. The producer of the film, Dadasaheb Phalke, was Indian cinema’s first mogul. Although, unlike Hollywood, Bollywood had a slow growth as an industry in the initial stage.

1920–1945

From the early 1920s there was a rise in several new production companies. At that time most of the films made were based on mythological or historical stories. Then came Alam Ara, a film released in the year 1931. This film, the first talkie of Indian film industry was the changing point for Indian cinema and paved a way for the future of Bollywood. Soon after the number of production companies began to skyrocket and so did the number of films. Color films soon were made and so were animated films. A noticeable trend started to appear. With each film there was an increase in the number of audiences and the sales of movie tickets.

Birth of a new wave

The period after 1947 saw the birth of a modern Indian cinema. The historical and mythological films were now replaced with reformist movies that brought change in the society too. Films were now focused on old rudimentary rituals like dowry, polygamy and prostitution and created social awareness in the society. In 1950s came movies created by supremely talented directors like Bimal Roy and Satyajit Ray who focused on lives of the lower class people who were ignored by the society.

Then came the masala movies (The Bollywood we know)

The masala film era of Bollywood or the masala movies trend was started by director Manmohan Desai in the 1970s. His goal was to entertain people in a good way that they forget their misery and his films too conveyed the same. The hotchpotch of action, romance, funniness, and musical numbers is a model by him that still controls the Bollywood industry. Howeverbetter attention is now paid by the Indian film industry toplan and the plot and the character development.

With completion of over 100 years of Indian cinema & after receiving critical acclamation globally with films like Slumdog Millionaire, Bollywood has now entered a new chapter in its history with people and audiences from around the globe paying attention and appreciating the work done in the industry.