History MediaNotes / Bollywood

This is the informal name for the vast Hindi-language film industry (one of the world's largest film industries) in the world's largest democracy (India, for those of you playing along at home). The name is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (the former name of UsefulNotes/{{Mumbai}}, where it is based) and "UsefulNotes/{{Hollywood}}" created by white people, notably a Variety journalist but wholeheartedly embraced by the local film industry and the Indian public. There are also [[TheOtherwoods non-Hindi film industries]] based on other Indian languages such as Telugu ("Tollywood") and Tamil ("Kollywood"). Although these industries are huge, they don't receive much press and are not well known outside of India. The one exception of course is the Bengali film industry, whose independent film-makers, Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak went on to be influential across the world, with Creator/SatyajitRay being the first Indian (until music composer A. R. Rahman [[note]]Albeit not for an Indian film[[/note]]) to win an Oscar for Lifetime Achievement.

* ThickerThanWater: many a Bollywood villain reforms, pulls a DeathEqualsRedemption maneuver, or turns himself into the police after discovering he is related to the good guys.

* ArrangedMarriage: One curious irony is the fact that most marriages in India, especially among middle-class families, tend to be arranged marriages but almost every Bollywood movie is about couples who MarryForLove and have a HappyEnding. Most films about arranged marriaged tend to never portray it positively, so much so, that the film ''Hum Dil De Chukhe Sanam'' [[spoiler:was shocking in its time for showing the heroine settle for her arranged spouse, simply because it didn't do the cliche HappyEnding thing again]].

This is the informal name for the vast Hindi-language film industry (one of the world's largest film industries) in the world's largest democracy (India, for those of you playing along at home). The name is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (the former name of Mumbai, where it is based) and "UsefulNotes/{{Hollywood}}" created by white people, notably a Variety journalist but wholeheartedly embraced by the local film industry and the Indian public. There are also [[TheOtherwoods non-Hindi film industries]] based on other Indian languages such as Telugu ("Tollywood") and Tamil ("Kollywood"). Although these industries are huge, they don't receive much press and are not well known outside of India. The one exception of course is the Bengali film industry, whose independent film-makers, Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak went on to be influential across the world, with Creator/SatyajitRay being the first Indian (until music composer A. R. Rahman [[note]]Albeit not for an Indian film[[/note]]) to win an Oscar for Lifetime Achievement.

This is the informal name for the vast Hindi-language film industry (one of the world's largest film industries) in the world's largest democracy (India, for those of you playing along at home). The name is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (the former name of Mumbai, where it is based) and "UsefulNotes/{{Hollywood}}" created by white people, notably a Variety journalist but wholeheartedly embraced by the local film industry and the Indian public. There are also [[TheOtherwoods non-Hindi film industries]] based on other Indian languages such as Telugu ("Tollywood") and Tamil ("Kollywood"). Although these industries are huge, they don't receive much press and are not well known outside of India. The one exception of course is the Bengali film industry, whose independent film-makers, Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak went on to be influential across the world, with Satyajit Ray being the first Indian (until music composer A. R. Rahman [[note]]Albeit not for an Indian film[[/note]]) to win an Oscar for Lifetime Achievement.

%%* {{Badass}}

* MyGirlIsNotASlut: There has been a progression (or regression) in morality in Bollywood movies that reflects Indian culture. Older movies(pre 80s) usually showed both male and female leads as virgins until marriage. 80s-00s movies usually had male-slut-female-virgin leads. This has carried over into the 21st century, although it is more common that movies that are targeted towards the middle-to-upper-class/younger/NRI crowd show the female lead character is not a virgin.

* GunsDontWorkThatWay: Most of the time.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment - Almost every Hindi film has a big musical number (sometimes more than one), and often doesn't even feature the stars of the film. For an exhaustive list, see on the other wiki.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar - Due to [[ValuesDissonance India's censor policy]], Indian filmakers use rather... imaginative ways of getting their point across. This is the reason for the use of the AlmostKiss and KissingDiscretionShot tropes, as noted elsewhere. Bollywood films adopt Hollywood's fair acceptance of violence (in age-appropriate contexts) and fair taboo against sexuality and magnify both conditions.

* GratuitousEnglish - Often used to signify a certain character is pretentious/snobbish/rich or that a certain character is trying to be cool and [[GetALoadOfThatSquare fit in]]. NRI heroes who want to show they have "street cred" will often do the reverse, [[PrettyFlyForAWhiteGuy speak Gratuitous Hindi and other local languages]]. The ones who want to prove to the heroines they have HiddenDepths will do the real thing.

* MyGirlIsNotASlut - There has been a progression (or regression) in morality in Bollywood movies that reflects Indian culture. Older movies(pre 80s) usually showed both male and female leads as virgins until marriage. 80s-00s movies usually had male-slut-female-virgin leads. This has carried over into the 21st century, although it is more common that movies that are targeted towards the middle-to-upper-class/younger/NRI crowd show the female lead character is not a virgin.
* PimpedOutDress - Many movies have at least one scene where the female lead is wearing a ridiculously awesome sari.
* {{Reincarnation}} - This is actually a DeadHorseTrope these days and only used in movies in an "ironic" fashion as in "Om Shanti Om" but it used to be quite common in the older titles.
* ReincarnationRomance - In some of the older Bollywood movies, a variation is "Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai" where the heroine meets a DoppelgangerReplacementLoveInterest instead and has her HappyEnding.

* RuleOfCool - How else would the hero's ability to OHKO any {{Mook}} in his way be explained?

** ChildMarriageVeto

* {{Badass}}
* BashBrothers
* BeYourself

* CantLiveWithThemCantLiveWithoutThem
* ChorusGirls
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}
* CrowdSong
* DanceSensation

* DramaticThunder
* DrunkenSong
* EpicMovie
* {{Fanservice}}
** BareYourMidriff
** BellyDancer
** TheItemNumber
** WetSariScene

* ForeignRemake
* {{Forgiveness}}
* FriendToAllChildren

* GorgeousPeriodDress

* HowWeGotHere
* IdenticalStranger
* IHaveNoSon
* ImpracticallyFancyOutfit
* IncendiaryExponent
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy
* IWantSong
* KickTheDog
* KissingDiscretionShot
* LongLostSibling
* LostInTranslation
* MeetCute
* {{Melodrama}}
* MistakenIdentity

* {{Plagiarism}} - Bollywood films are famous for being "inspired by" American movies, Chinese and Korean movies, European movies, movies from other Indian industries, and even older Bollywood movies (see ''{{Bawarchi}}'' inside ''{{Hero No 1}}'', for instance).

* SadBollywoodWedding
* SeparatedAtBirth
* SiblingTeam

* TheGenerationGap
* TheMusical
* ThePowerOfFriendship
* ThePowerOfLove

----

The main feature that ties Indian audiences however is the music and songs from popular Hindi movies, often [[CultureChopSuey in highly incongruous styles]] bind Indians the world over, and also some Hollywood movies (such as the opening of Creator/SpikeLee's ''Film/InsideOut''[[note]]It has A. R. Rahman's Chaiya Chaiya from ''Dil Se'', way before Rahman, the Mozart of Madras, became cool for ''Film/SlumdogMillionaire''[[/note]]). Where the music industry in America, England and France is essentially independent from the movies, in India they are practically the same thing and the music composer, singer and dance choreographer is as much a part of the film as the director and producer (and sometimes more). Indian musicals also differ from American ones in that they mainly feature non-specialist singers and dancers as compared to the classic musicals which had Broadway dancers and singers act before the camera. Playback singers are highly sought after, singers who sing for an actor in the soundstage while actors and actresses lip-synch before the camera (much like Nina Lamont insisted in ''Film/SinginInTheRain'' [[note]]In a bit of ValuesDissonance, Lamont insisting that Kathy Selden sing permanently, rather than perform as a movie star in her own right, is perfectly ''normal'' in India, differing only in that the industry and the public know that the actors and actresses don't do their own singing and "playback singers" are highly respected/coveted in their own right[[/note]]).

* ValuesDissonance: For Western and international audiences, Bollywood movies, on the rare instance they are seen (most usually [[JustHereForGodzilla are there for the song-and-dance number]]), will strike them oddly for its class biases, religious stereotypes, pre-First Wave Feminist sexism, questionable look at minorities and foreign stereotypes, of the kind that no film and TV producer would get away with for its TransAtlanticEquivalent in America and Europe. Commentators who are familiar with this aspect often note with irony that the same film producers who criticize Westerners for portraying Indians in a stereotyped way, do the same in their own films.

* ValuesDissonance: For Western and international audiences, Bollywood movies, on the rare instance they are seen (most usually [[JustHereForGodzilla are there for the song-and-dance number]]), will strike them oddly for its class biases, religious stereotypes, pre-First Wave Feminist sexism, questionable look at minorities and foreign stereotypes, of the kind that no film and TV producer would get away with for its TransAtlanticEquivalent in America and Europe. Commentators who are familiar with this aspect often note with irony that the same film producers who criticize Americans for portraying Indians in a stereotyped way, do the same in their own films.

* ValuesDissonance: For Western and international audiences, Bollywood movies, on the rare instance they are seen (most usually [[JustHereForGodzilla are there for the song-and-dance number]]), will strike them oddly for its class biases, religious stereotypes, pre-First Wave Feminist sexism, questionable look at minorities of the kind that no film and TV producer would get away with for its TransAtlanticEquivalent in America and Europe.

* GratuitousEnglish - Often used to signify a certain character is pretentious/snobbish/rich or that a certain character is trying to be cool and [[GetALoadOfThatSquare fit in]]. NRI heroes who want to show they have "street cred" will often do the reverse, speak Gratuitous Hindi and other local languages. The ones who want to prove to the heroines they have HiddenDepths will do the real thing.

* GratuitousEnglish

* {{Reincarnation}}
* ReincarnationRomance

* AlmostKiss
* {{Anvilicious}}
* ArrangedMarriage
** ParentalMarriageVeto

** PerfectlyArrangedMarriage

* DancingOnABus

This is one reason for the widespread market of piracy in India for international films since this is often the main way Indians get to see the uncut versions and in many cases films that don't come to India because producers and directors for smaller films don't see a market made for films with more ambitious content. In a roundabout way this pretty much ensures why, in contrast to Europe and other nations where local film industries compete, poorly, against Hollywood, Hollywood movies with select exceptions rarely outperform Bollywood movies at the local box-office though its influence is keenly felt, as can be seen in the many local remakes (often plagiarised without credit) of popular American films into Bollywood films.

The main feature that ties Indian audiences however is the music and songs from popular Hindi movies, often [[CultureChopSuey in highly incongruous styles]] bind Indians the world over, and also some Hollywood movies (such as the opening of Creator/SpikeLee's ''Film/InsideOut''[[note]]It has A. R. Rahman's Chaiya Chaiya from ''Dil Se'', way before Rahman, the Mozart of Madras, became cool for ''Film/SlumdogMillionaire'')[[/note]]. Where the music industry in America, England and France is essentially independent from the movies, in India they are practically the same thing and the music composer, singer and dance choreographer is as much a part of the film as the director and producer (and sometimes more). Indian musicals also differ from American ones in that they mainly feature non-specialist singers and dancers as compared to the classic musicals which had Broadway dancers and singers act before the camera. Playback singers are highly sought after, singers who sing for an actor in the soundstage while actors and actresses lip-synch before the camera (much like Nina Lamont insisted in ''Film/SinginInTheRain'' [[note]]In a bit of ValuesDissonance, Lamont insisting that Kathy Selden sing permanently, rather than perform as a movie star in her own right, is perfectly ''normal'' in India, differing only in that the industry and the public know that the actors and actresses don't do their own singing and "playback singers" are highly respected/coveted in their own right[[/note]]).

This is one reason for the widespread market of piracy in India for international films since this is often the main way Indians get to see the uncut versions. In a roundabout way this pretty much ensures why, in contrast to Europe and other nations where local film industries compete, poorly, against Hollywood, Hollywood movies with select exceptions rarely outperform Bollywood movies at the local box-office though its influence is keenly felt, as can be seen in the many local remakes (often plagiarised without credit) of popular American films into Bollywood films.

Unlike other 21st century democratic nations, India is bound by a censorship system that is comparable with UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode. The Censor Board of Film Certification ([=CBFC=]) tends to dictate changes and order cuts rather than merely provide moviegoers a general rating (like the [=MPAA=] after the Hays Code died). It also takes a major hands-on role on films with political content, sexual imagery and other films with subversive content. Unlike the Hays Code, formed by Hollywood itself as a self-policing venture to forestall government interference, the [=CBFC=] is an Indian government office, and likewise all predecessor organisations before that were on the state level. The heavy government and state influence on censorship, with isolated exceptions, often goes unchallenged by civil society and industry professionals. This censorship also extends to American films for local releases, i.e., not just on television (which is common for American networks as well) but even for theatrical releases, ''even for films given an adult certificate''. Nude scenes and violent scenes are censored in equal measure with the exceptions of big subject films like ''Film/SchindlersList'' and ''Film/SavingPrivateRyan''.

This is the informal name for the vast Hindi-language film industry (one of the world's largest film industries) in the world's largest democracy (India, for those of you playing along at home). The name is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (the former name of Mumbai, where it is based) and "UsefulNotes/{{Hollywood}}" created by white people, notably a Variety journalist. There are also [[TheOtherwoods non-Hindi film industries]] based on other Indian languages such as Telugu ("Tollywood") and Tamil ("Kollywood"). Although these industries are huge, they don't receive much press and are not well known outside of India.

Hindi films tend to be [[TheMusical musicals]]. The average Hindi movie is three hours long (some are much longer) because most of them draw inspiration from [[EpicMovie old-school Hollywood epics]] as well as the narrative epics of Hinduism. Many movies will incorporate themes from India's major religions (such as Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, and Sikhism) as well as values common to Indian society to illustrate how they might clash with individualism or Western values. Many of the Hindi films are a form of escapist entertainment.

* SurprisinglyGoodEnglish: A little something the English left behind from colonial times. [[AsianSpeekeeEngrish Sometimes]] [[TotallyRadical averted]] [[Narm hilariously.]]

* SurprisinglyGoodEnglish: A little something the English left behind from colonial times. [[AsianSpeekeeEngrish Sometimes]] [[TotallyRadical averted]] [[Narm hilariously.]]]

* SurprisinglyGoodEnglish: A little something the English left behind from colonial times.

* RelationshipUpgrade