What is Bollywood?

even the name "Bollywood" is a copy of Hollywood so what you expect of the films. Indian movies are for those with lots of free time on their hands.

First of all I would like to congratulate you for putting this well thought and designed site. Now let’s look at some evidence for the claims you make.

According to you, bollywood makes 800 movies per year. Bollywood is doing so for at least 50 years that means there are at least 40000 movies produced so far. Now as per common knowledge, there are only 7 original plots means you can have 5040 combinations of it. So mathematically speaking you can only have 5040 movies using these plots. So it is highly likely that you will have to get inspired by some movie.

Secondly, all culture influences each other. For e.g. language Urdu which is widely spoken in Pakistan and India was actually created in India by synthesizing Hindi, Arabic and Farsi. So does that mean Urdu is plagiarized language? I don’t think so but if you say so then some bollywood movies are plagiarized.

Thirdly, we live in world of popular culture where lines are very blurry between original and copy. It is accepted and enjoyed by millions of people which give it legitimacy. There are cultures, religions, plays, poems etc… Which get inspiration from other similar ideas. It is absolutely human to learn and copy from success.

I would love to hear back from you and see this posting come online.

People sometimes try to keep themselves busy, atleast they pretend so, as you must have heard "Khaali dimaag shaitan ka ghar!" (I hope you understand other than English). In no way am I trying to defend Bollywood, but I am having a grievance against Pakistan too. Well what about the legendary band "Junoon" ? No plagiarism I believe, superb performers, but Pakistan went after their asses for quite a while (it chases its own people down the gutter), precisely to the point of no return; and yes, it is always said that "Plagiarism also needs brains." - "Nakal ke liye bhee akal chahiye!" and WITHOUT this plagiarism only Bollywood has given some better(and to your sheer horror--ORIGINAL) films, some superb plots that even Hollywood cannot dream of--well, how's this? Can Hollywood recreate the anguish of "Deewar"(Amitabh Bacchan, Shashi Kapoor, Nirupa Rai)? The Modus Vivendi of "Anand"? What about the frolic of "Chupke Chupke" and "Golmaal"? (Have you watched all this? I bet you don't do things right!) Well, thanks but no thanks, because we do not need your enlightenment! In due course of time, we will discover it all for ourselves. And if you are so desperate, please do not trouble others for their research work on movies (ISN'T IT A SHAME THAT YOU ARE ASKING THEM TO WATCH MORE HINDI MOVIES? WHAT AN IRONY?), you may hire plenty of men in your country(all free) and sit to do the job, do not spread the crap all over, it will only backfire, Right? And yes, one last word. When what I want is sheer(you may call it cheap or whatever but that does mean that you have watched it yourself) entertainment, I will prefer a decent Bollywood flick(copy is no problem) over seriously genuine but absolutely rotten and bullcrap movies like Terminator3, Jeepers Creepers or Matrix Revolutions.....(the list is endless)!!!

I rather watch a Indian Film anyday. It is entertaining and better than american movies. Indian movies are decent compared to American films. A family can sit down and watch a movie. Even American's are watching it and enjoy it very much. My mom's friend is white and she gave her sister the movie. Now her sister is showing all her friends. When you don't know about someones culture and ways of life, you should not even talk.
Anyways you have nothing better to do than make a stupid website criticing Bollywood movies. By the way Bollywood came before Hollywood and make much more movies than american movies.

AMAZING SITE. GREAT... AWESOME... TRUTH ALWAYS WINS.. AND INDIA ALWAYS LOSES. TRUTH MATTERS FOLKS.. KEEP IT UP.. GREAT WORK AGAIN!

BOLLYWOOD AND INDIA IS A THIEF.

I find it amusing that people point out to the 'unoriginal' name of Bollywood not knowing [or atleast acting like they're as idiotic as that] that this isn't an official term and that this was coined by the media not the film industry itself. Infact many celebrities and noted actors from yesteryears such as Amitabh Bachan and Dilip Kumar have voiced their resentment of this term.

All those cracking up on the 'unoriginal name' the joke is now on you :P !

I think they should replace the name from bollywood to copywood. It would make more sense almost all indian movies are copy of Hollywood.

look i'm not critising bollywood but it would be nice if more original stuff came out and that goes for the pakistani industry aswell. i hate both pak and indian films. and megadeath it was the pak goverment who was after junoon and the radicals but that encouraged the ordinary pakis to go and watch them even more. ordinary pakis esp the younger generation liked their music

Copycats in Bollywood? The Cat’s out of the Bag

Source: http://indiaenews.com/2006-06/12827-krrish-copycats-bollywood.htm

-Rudroneel Ghosh, India eNews

With the release of ‘Krrish’ in theatres last week the age old debate about copycats in Bollywood has once again been thrown open. It doesn’t take much to realize that the Hritik Roshan starrer is essentially a ‘Superman’ copy with a desi twist.

The story is about a superman like character (‘Krrish’) who falls in love with a girl named Priya whom he saves from an accident (played by our very own sex siren Priyanka Chopra). His love takes him to Singapore. In Singapore he finds his nemesis Dr.Siddhant Arya (a.k.a Dr. Evil) who is all set to change the future forever. The only one who stands in his way is our very own Krrish. The movie reaches its climax with the fight between good and evil which has been done with all the special effects that modern techno wizardry has to offer. The movie sees our hero flying over rivers, jumping over buildings, running faster than the wind, and well you get the picture. Krrish is nothing but a desi avatar of Superman and it doesn’t take a Steven Spielberg to know that. But what is interesting to note is that inspite of being a blatant copy and an unoriginal theme in itself it is still pulling decent sized crowds to the theatres. It is almost as if the people don’t mind watching a recycled, regurgitated version of an 80’s Hollywood blockbuster. But then again ‘Krrish’ is definitely not the first-of-its-kind film which has worked on the copycat formula. Infact the entire concept of the copycat has long been exploited by our very own Bollywood directors and with a certain degree of success as well. So much so that it wouldn’t be a surprise if they apply for a patent for this particular movie making technique.

The truth is that when it comes to movies, songs, scores etc. our directors and singers/composers have always looked towards the west. It is a very common thing. Some of our biggest Bollywood blockbusters such as ‘Sholay’, ‘Baadshah’, ‘Koi Mil Gaya’ (which by the way is the movie to which Krrish is a sequel to) etc. have all borrowed something or the other from Hollywood, perhaps a scene here and a shot there or perhaps the entire general theme. This is infact a tried and tested formula and is extremely scientific, after all it has been years in practice. And believe it or not it actually works and ‘Krrish ‘ is testimony to that.

This is however not to suggest that the moviegoers are brain dead or that our desi directors are the most unimaginative, hackneyed people on earth but the truth is that they have actually stumbled upon a formula, which if used correctly, can surely pay dividends.

Now from a director/producer’s point of view, at the end of the day, that is all you care about. The only thing that matters is whether your film is a hit or a flop and how big a paycheck one is carrying home. At least that is what the trend seems to be in Bollywood.

Again, this is not to say that there are no intelligent, original movies being made in India but they are somehow restricted to the regional movie industries such as in West Bengal, Kerala or Andhra Pradesh. And let us not mince words here, even though these are intelligent, high quality movies and usually are the ones that end up getting national awards, they are nowhere near in terms of grossing the same numbers as Bollywood which definitely has a much wider appeal and transcends the restrictiveness of regional films industries. Let’s face it Bollywood sells and that’s probably what the Bollywood directors know how to do the best- sell their movies. Their films might be a compromise on originality and intelligence but they have what they say in popular parlance-“ masala”. And guess what, the people just love it. There, I said it. The people actually love fluff. We want to see our heroes fly over buildings, beat up the baddies, rescue the pretty girl and have her wooed with a mushy song and dance number. We simply love it. Call it unoriginal, call it unimaginative, call it hackneyed, but it seems to be there in our blood.

This however doesn’t mean that all copycats work. It is an art in itself and it takes years to master. One should know how to make a copycat and how to integrate it in such a manner that it gives the film a unique touch. Like any other film, there are good copycats and outright bad copycats. The good ones have worked out the correct formula, the correct mix if you may, and at the same time given their films that desi flavour that always seems to work. So copying is an art and it is actually studied as a discipline by our filmmakers. The chances of a copycat being a success or a failure are the same as any other original movie. But if you get it right you definitely stand to hit the jackpot.

Lastly, at the end of the day all that really matters are the moviegoers. If copycats are what draws them to the theatres then so be it. Give them what they want and everyone should be happy. For all you critics who crave for originality, I suggest you rent the DVD’s. Anyway, copycats work so keep the cats mewing.

-Rudroneel Ghosh, India eNews

Why was Bollywood made?

Indian movies are alright for a few of the songs, and because you can buy them for about the same price as you can hire American movies. Good if you have nothing to do, but let's be honest, it's completely retarded to compare Indian movies to American movies. Indian movies are almost always romances, have poor acting, poor scripting, inferior cinemetography, awful action choreography, terrible special effects, etc, etc. They lack atmosphere and general punch. Most Indian movies aren't even up to American telemovie standard, and sometimes don't even make sense. Eg: In American movies, the may have really good fighting skills because he was a navy seal or something. Not necessarily realistic, but at least there's a rationale. In Indian films, the hero might just be a normal guy who for some reason has the ability to fight off ten men, with no explanation ever being offered as to where he got his fighting skills. American movies are so far beyond Indian movies that it's not a matter of opinion which are better any that it's a matter of opinion whether Michaelangelo was a better sculptor than I am.