Bollywood Raj- The History Of Bollywood

Bollywood seems to be one of the reasons why India is so prominent on the global map.

True, there are other reasons for it but none of them are as glamorous as the world of Lights, Camera, Action! Bollywood has nowadays become synonymous with instant celebrityhood.

Bollywood has witnessed a lot of progress from its nascent years. It has been continuously evolving, at times for the better and at times just to deteriorate. Such is the power of Bollywood that it can make or break a man in a matter of days. Bollywood fascinates one and all; it has captivated the hearts of millions of viewers in India and abroad.

Talk of Bollywood and you get to hear of nepotism, the ill famed casting couch, fickle arrogant actors and et cetera. But all this still fails to take away the sheen from the lustrous Bollywood.

Bollywood had humble beginnings. Raja Hrishchandra was the first silent feature film made way back in 1913. Ardeshir Irani’s Alam Ara (1931) was the first sound film. This was just the beginning of what would later become revered as Bollywood. It has seen a monstrous growth ever since.

Almost every child has nurtured dreams of becoming a Shah Rukh Khan or an Aishwarya Rai. Hundreds make their annual pilgrimage to Bollywood with dreams of achieving stardom. Hundreds come and hundreds go, and a select few stay. The great Indian Bollywood saga is more enchanting than a fairy tale, spicier than Indian food.

Think Bollywood and what first comes to mind is the good Samaritan hero, the poor damsel in distress, unending song and dance routines, slapstick comedies, the bad villain who will be slaughtered by the good hero, the mad in love couple and there stern unreasonable parents and the rich boy poor girl in love story.

But like everything else in the cosmos, Bollywood too refuses to be categorized into a tight genre and often, a brave man willing to take a few risks ventures out into unsheltered territory to make a masterpiece. In the recent past, we have seen incredible movies like Lagaan, Taare Zameen Par, Chak De! India, Rang De Basanti which went on a path less travelled.

Bollywood’s evolution with time can provide enough fodder for a million books to be written, odes to be sung or dung bombs to be hurled.

Till 1960, most of the Bollywood movies were black and white.

Melodramas and over the top musicals were the order of the day. In 1930s, movies like Toofan Mail, Devdas, Pukar set the bandwagon rolling.

1940s saw movies like Shaheed, Barsaat, Mahal, Andaaz etc shine at the box office. At that time, stars like Ashok Kumar, Nargis, Dilip Kumar, Nimmi, and Madhubala ruled the roost. In the beginning, women from “good families” did not dare venture into the labyrinths of Bollywood. Actresses were generally those women who were going through hard times and had to support their families.

Come1950s and movies like Mother India, Aan, Chalti ka Naam Gaadi, Baazi, Awara, Sujata, Do Aankhen Barah Haath, Kagaz Ke Phool, Chori Chori, and Shree 420 saw the light of the day. All these movies were dramas which threw light on the vulnerability of humans and the trials, tribulations and subsequent rise of the underdog. Nargis and Raj Kapoor and their alleged affair provided a lot of fuel to the gossip mongers and their firehouse chemistry also set the screens on fire.

1960s ushered in movies like Mughal-E-Azam,Guide, Aradhana, Sahib Bibi aur Gulaam, An evening in Paris etc. Mughal-e-Azam broke box office records for the highest grossing film till 1975. It played upon the conscience of the Indian cinema lover. The love story of the demure Aanarkali and Jahangir and fate’s cruelty to them had everyone mesmerized. In fact, even today, we can sometimes hear people sing “Jab Pyaar Kiya Toh Darna Kya”.The song almost became an alternative anthem for Indians.