What is Bollywood?

Bollywood: The informal name given to the Indian film industry. The term is a blend of Bombay (Mumbai) and Hollywood.

Bollywood movies are gaining in popularity in the western world, particularly in Australia where there is a large South Asian population. Since 1997 Australian locations and landscapes have been used, and usually incorporates aspects of the Australian lifestyle. Salaam Namaste (2005) was the first Indian film to be shot entirely in Australia.

The Bollywood movie:
Regardless of the film genre, Bollywood films contain song-and-dance numbers woven into the script. A film's success often depends on the quality of the musical content.

The movies frequently make use of star-crossed lovers and angry parents, love triangles, family ties, sacrifice, villains, long-lost relatives and siblings separated by fate, dramatic reversals of fortune, and convenient coincidences in their plots.

If you go to see a Bollywood movie or stage show, don’t be surprised if the people around you get up out of their seats and start dancing.

Bollywood Dancing:
At best Bollywood dance can be described as a mix of semi-classical Indian, Arabic, Jazz, Disco and Hip-Hop.

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