"History of Bollywood Films"
The first films India watched were not made in Bollywood but cinema had indeed arrived on India’s shores. The year was 1896, and thanks to the country’s colonial rulers, it was the Lumiere Brothers who introduced the art of cinema to the sub-continent. Bombay, as it was then called, was the first Indian city to screen Cinematography, six short films by these cinematic pioneers.
But it was a portrait photographer called Harischandra Sakharam Bhatavdekar who made Indian ‘motion picture' history. His short ‘reality’ film screened in 1899 was called The Wrestlers and was a simple recording of a local wrestling match.
It was only after the turn of the century that Indian entertainment underwent a sea change when the Father of Indian Cinema, Dadasaheb Phalke, released his path breaking film of the Silent Era, Raja Harish Chandra. The film, based on a mythological character, was released in 1913 and was India’s first full-length feature film. Yes, Bollywood had finally arrived!
The growth of technology and the excitement it generated the world over eventually gave birth of India’s first ‘talking and singing’ film – Alam Ara made by Ardeshir Irani and screened in Bombay in 1931.
Finally, India’s actors had found a voice. They could talk, they could shout, they could even cry, and they could do one more thing – sing for their audiences! It was a gift that remains the signature of the quintessential Hindi film to date.
Developments in the world of Indian cinema were rapid and the 1930s and 1940s saw the rise of film personalities such as Debaki Bose, Chetan Anand, S S Vasan and Nitin Bose, among others.
In the meantime, the film industry had made rapid strides in the South, where Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films were taking South India by storm. By the late 1940s, films were being made in various Indian languages with religion being the dominant theme.
Golden Age
India’s struggle for independence in the 1950s finally parted the curtain on the Golden Age of Indian cinema. This historic period provided a strong impetus to the industry, with themes changing to social issues relevant at the time. Sure they were entertaining but the movies were now also a potent medium to educate the masses.
But it was the Golden Age – 1950s and 1960s – that produced some of India’s most critically acclaimed films and memorable actors of all time. Among those in Bollywood’s hall of fame are Guru Dutt, Mehboob Khan, Raj Kapoor, Balraj Sahani, Nargis, Bimal Roy, Meena Kumari, Madhubala and Dilip Kumar.
So while the Guru Dutts and Bimal Roys held audiences in a trance, Indian cinema moved one step further with the release of K Asif`s Mughal-e-Azam in 1960. The film kick started a trail of romantic movies all over India.
While Indian commercial cinema enjoyed popularity among movie-goers, Indian art cinema did not go unnoticed. Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Ritwik Ghatak, Aravindan, Satyajit Ray, Shaji Karun and several other art film directors were making movies that took India to international fame and glory.
The Masala Movie
The masala film – the quintessential Bollywood entertainer – burst onto the scene only in the 1970s. And audiences were enthralled by the histrionics of actors such as Rajesh Khanna, Sanjeev Kumar, Waheeda Rehman, Asha Parekh, Tanuja and others.
This was Bollywood’s heyday, a time when director Ramesh Sippy gave us his iconoclastic Sholay (1975). The film, which has been internationally acclaimed, also clinched the title of ‘superstar’ for Amitabh Bachchan, who already had well over 30 films under his belt by then.
The 1980s saw the rise of several woman directors such as Aparna Sen, Prema Karnath and Meera Nair. It was also the decade when sultry siren Rekha wooed audiences with her stunning performance in Umrao Jaan (1981).
Technology Rules
The 1990s ushered in a mixed genre of romantic films, thrillers, action movies and comedy films. Gradually, the face of Indian cinema was changing once again. Technology now gave us Dolby digital sound effects, advanced special effects, choreography and international appeal. This brought investments from the corporate sector along with finer scripts and performances.
It was time to shift focus to aesthetic appeal. And stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Rajnikanth, Madhuri Dixit, Aamir Khan, Chiranjeevi, Juhi Chawla and Hrithik Roshan began to explore ways to use new techniques to enrich Indian cinema with their performances.
Global Appeal
Indian cinema finally found global mass appeal at the turn of the 21st century. As the world became a global village, the industry reached out further to international audiences.
Apart from regular screenings at major international film festivals, the overseas market contributes a sizeable chunk to Bollywood’s box office collections. Investments made by major global studios such as 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures, and Warner Bros was confirmation that Bollywood had etched itself on the global psyche.
Prominent Indian corporate firms such as Zee, UTV and Adlabs also jumped onto the Bollywood bandwagon, to both produce and distribute films. This coupled with the multiplex boom across India made fame and fortune soar to new heights.
Such was the excitement in the industry that by 2003, as many as 30 film production companies had been listed on the National Stock Exchange.
Cinema in India remains the single largest entertainer to date. And despite technology such as Direct-to-Home TV bringing the movies straight into the living room, the marquee still rules.
Second only to cricket – or is it the other way around? – is the Indian obsession with Bollywood. The glitz, them glam, the masala movie, the melodrama. And the aspirational lifestyles portrayed on screen took the masses by storm several decades ago and the craze is only getting stronger.
Fuelled by the obsession to ‘reach for the stars’, it seems it’s almost every Indian’s ambition to take a Bollywood tour, even if it means only a peep at the actors’ homes from the outside.
Not surprisingly, the famous Mumbai Darshan tour run by the State Tourism Department and private tour operators in Mumbai have a mini Bollywood tour on their itinerary. This usually includes a drive-by the homes of the big stars, including the Bachchans in Juhu, and Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan in Bandra.
While Bollywood tours in Mumbai seem to satisfy some of this lust for our on-screen legends and newcomers alike, it’s not really enough. It only whets the appetite for more. What fans are really hankering after is a glimpse of their heroes and heroines in action. Oh, for a glimpse of the lovely Kareena Kapoor or action hero Akshay Kumar!
Well, much of the action takes place on the sets of studios, where a large percentage of films are shot. Unfortunately, there are no structured Bollywood tours in Mumbai except for one – Bollywood Tourism – that takes tourists on location.
Undoubtedly, the place to visit is Filmcity in Goregaon (East). Located in the lush green environs of Aarey Colony are more than 500 acres of land on which more than 40 film studios are located. However, Filmcity, which has hosted the sets and studios where mega-budget films such as Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas and prime-time soaps and serials have been shot, is out of bounds to the public. The entire area is owned by the government and rented out to film and TV serial production companies for shooting purposes.
This indeed is Bollywood’s dream factory and a drive-through Aarey Colony is on every Bollywood tour itinerary. Another popular Bollywood tour destination is R K Studios in Chembur, the historic studio owned by the first family of Bollywood – the Kapoors.
Opened by Raj Kapoor back in 1951 and bearing his initials, this is another must-see in any Bollywood tour package. It’s where Raj Kapoor shot some of his famous movies such as Awara and Shri 420, pioneering productions that have a special place in the annals of Indian cinematic history.
Another, more recent destination, is N D Studio in Karjat on the outskirts of Mumbai. Located just off the Mumbai-Pune highway, the studio is about five years old and is home to the sets of the Hrithik, Aishwarya starrer Jodhaa Akbar This is another must-see on any Bollywood tour package in Mumbai.
The property also has chalets where actors can live on location during extended shootings, a large storage facility for props that can be reused, and a workshop where the components of the sets are prefabricated.
Permanent sets at N D Studio include the Jodhaa Akbar set and another one called Bombay Street. The latter was created for a movie called Traffic Signal, whose storyline revolves around the micro-economy that thrives around, well, the Mumbai Traffic Signal.
But how do Indian studios and Filmcity compare to those in Hollywood, world-class facilities such as paramount Studio, Universal Studio and Sony Pictures (which bought the historic MGM studio).
Unlike in Hollywood, studios in Mumbai are not open to the public for a Bollywood tour and the most one can hope to see are the gates. It’s strictly No Entry! But there’s one Bollywood tour package launched as recently as 2010 that has secured permission to take NRI and foreign tourists inside. Finally!
So for the first time, tourists will get an exclusive look at the inside of the Bollywood dream factory – where those notoriously melodramatic dream sequences are shot, where those hip-swinging love songs are enacted, where crocodile tears are shed over imaginary tragedies, and where the gods decide the fate of mere celluloid mortals.
But why would a busload of American, Belgian, English and German tourists opt for a Bollywood tour in Mumbai? Well for one, Bollywood has been the staple of the Indian diaspora across continents for a long, long time. So if SRK and Deepika Padukone were shaking a leg together in Om Shanti Om back home, the movie was also making waves in countries where large swathes of the Indian population have settled.
But there’s another phenomenon fast unfolding – the globalization of Indian cinema, making it popular among other ethnic groups as well. Admittedly, it’s recent but films like the Shah Rukh Khan starrer My Name Is Khan, Aamir Khan Starrer 3 Idiots and the Hrithik Roshan-Barbara Mori starrer Kites are designed to connect with an international audience.
And if there’s one film that’s probably done more than any other to put Bollywood and Mumbai on the world map its Danny Boyle’s multiple Oscar-winning Slum dog Millionaire.
Moreover, many Hollywood studios have been producing and distributing Bollywood productions in India and abroad for a few years now, investing astronomical sums in desi fare. These include the big American studious such as Fox Searchlight, Sony Pictures and Disney.
With names like these muscling in on a slice of the massive Bollywood pie, there’s no looking back. If Indian tour operators were to tie up with these studios, it could bring in big business for Bollywood tours in Mumbai.
Finally, there’s the tried and tested outsourcing route. India is on the cutting edge of technology in various fiends and some of the film studios in Mumbai have the best to offer in terms of production and post-production facilities.
Some of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters have used studios in Mumbai and Bangalore for animation and special effects including one of the largest-grossing movies of all time – Avatar.
Also, studios like N D Studio are offering on-location space to Hollywood producers and studios to shoot here, which means bits and pieces of Hollywood productions, could be filmed in and on the outskirts of Mumbai. Using these opportunities as a calling card, the time is ripe for a structured Bollywood tour package that would take foreigners inside Mumbai’s fast globalizing dream factory.
They call it the ‘world’s largest dream’ factory, a reference to the 1,000-odd films literally churned out by the Hindi film industry every year. And though films are shot both on location and on indoor sets, it’s a visit to Bollywood studios in Mumbai that brings home the true essence of the typical Hindi film and television serial.
R K Studio: There are many state-of-the-art Bollywood production houses in Mumbai, most of them family-run businesses. One of the oldest is R K Studio in suburban Chembur, opened by the legendary Raj Kapoor in 1951, it was here that the iconic filmmaker and actor shot some of his landmark films and gave the Hindi film industry some of its pioneering techniques.
The studio, still owned by the Kapoors – also known as the first family of Bollywood – is a must-see on any Bollywood studio tour.
BIG N D Studio: Another must-do Bollywood studio visit is a halt at BIG N D Studio, by far the largest studio property in Mumbai. Opened in 2005 by art director Nitin Desai, this studio is arguably home to the “longest studio floor space in Asia”.
BIG N D Studio is located on the outskirts of Mumbai and makes for an excellent half-day outing. The drive to Karjat, where the property is situated, is a soothing 90 minutes away from the hustle and bustle of the metro, once you turn off the highway and leave the city.
Apart from its sheer size – 42 acres – what sets it apart from other Bollywood studios in Mumbai? Well, once dressed up by expert art and set designers, the property can masquerades as a wide range of locales, from India to Singapore, the Swiss Alps to the English countryside. Imagine the cost-savings for filmmakers!
BIG N D Studio is indeed an experience for the tourist keen to sample exactly how those dramatic sequences in a Hindi film are shot. Behold the Jodhaa Akbar set and be wowed. This once, like a few other ‘permanent’ sets here, was constructed for a movie by the same name and it recreates the grandeur of the Red Fort (Delhi), Agra Fort (Agra) and Amer Palace (Jaipur), all of them built to scale!
Enter ‘Bombay Street’ and you’re suddenly caught in a time warp. This is a typical street in the heart of Old Mumbai, where the houses are choc-a-bloc, tiny shops selling all sorts of goods and kitsch cram the streets, homely Irani-style cafes beckon, and a colonial-style traffic signal stops you dead in your tracks.
Like any premier Bollywood production house in Mumbai, BIG N D Studios offers the full range of post-production facilities, making it a one-stop shop for filmmakers. And with the property offering chalets to actors, the stars can live here during extended shoots rather than brave the daily commute from and back to Mumbai.
Some stars have found a way, albeit expensive, to beat the crowds. The studio has a helipad that is “frequently used” by the glitterati who need to jet set back to the city after the day is done.
Considering the size and range of facilities at BIG N D Studios, tourists get a panoramic view of how a typical Bollywood film is shot and processed under one roof. If you’re lucky, you might even catch some shooting action as well!
Filmcity: Shift venue to Filmcity in suburban Goregaon, Mumbai, and you’re transported to a very different world of film-making. Also called Filmstan, you’re in the middle of a green oasis – 1,287 hectares of forested land – also called Aarey Milk Colony after the government-owned dairy situated here.
Set up in 1949, Aarey is also a popular tourist spot and includes lakes, gardens, a nursery and an observation pavilion atop a small ‘hill’. The state government runs a school and a hospital on the property for the benefit of dairy workers. The government has also leased plots to various state and central government organizations and institutions in this no-development zone.
Balaji Telefilms: Among these leased plots are many film studios on the list of any Bollywood studio tour. So amid the mooing of cattle – there are 16,000 heads of cattle reared on 32 cattle farms at Aarey – step into the studios of Balaji Telefilms.
Affectionately dubbed Mumbai’s ‘largest soap factory’, Balaji Telefilms is a production house that churns out the largest number of TV serials, reality shows and, most importantly, TV soaps in the country.
Set up in 1994 by Jeetendra, Bollywood star of yesteryear, Balaji Telefilms is noted mainly for the creative talent of the actor’s daughter, Ekta Kapoor. The success of the production house lies in Kapoor’s uncanny ability to create serials that connect with the soul of various sections of the Great Indian Middle Class, whether mythological serials, cultural extravaganzas or sheer family and romantic dramas.
Yes, when you think of the quintessential melodramatic Indian TV soap, think Bajali Telefilms. Taking a Bollywood studio tour of one of the sets here is a precious experience. Sheer drama fills the air as the actors play their parts on sets of brocade, walls with loud colors and plush furniture meant to lend an aspirational touch.
Walk into another set and you’re in the living room of a feudal landlord, the mythological era of the Mahabharata or a 21st century love story of star-crossed lovers. When it comes to the Indian soap opera, Balaji Telefilms leads the way.
A household name for 16 years, Balaji Telefilms is known for its K-serials – yes, every serial began with the letter ‘K’, Though the management denies any numerological connection, the fact is that numerology and superstition play a significant role in Mumbai’s Tinsel Town – both film and television.
Whistling Woods: Also located at Aarey is Asia's largest film, television, animation and media arts institute or Whistling Woods International. Promoted by celebrated producer Subhash Ghai, also known as ‘The Showman’, Mukta Arts Ltd and Filmcity, Whistling Woods International is a premier film and television educational academy.
The institute, situated on a generous 20-acre campus, offers various courses for students looking to make a career in the highly technical and highly competitive world of film and television.
So if it’s a day of drama you’re looking for, a Bollywood studios visit is the perfect choice. We, at Bollywood Toursim, offer a guided tour and give you an exclusive peek into a fantasy world that 1.5 billion Indians and millions of fans overseas are crazy about. It’s easy. Just log in and sign up. Or call us for a day of excitement and fun!
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