Is the term “Bollywood” demeaning?
Bollywood, as you will all be well aware, is the informal name given to the popular Mumbai based Hindi-language film industry in India. It is a comical combination of Bombay (the fomer name of Mumbai city) and Hollywood. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema. Bollywood is only a part of the Indian film industry.
To me, the word has always sounded awfully tacky, and because it is so blatantly ripped of ‘Hollywood’, it automatically gives a sense of a film industry which lacks originality and confidence. It is hard for a film industry to be seen as anything more than a comical bunch of wannabes when its very name is ripped off so unashamedly…
August 20th, 2007 at 5:22 am
I think you are right - not harsh at all..
A beginning could be for each of us to consciously avoid using the term and instead talk about the Indian Film Industry or the Hindi?Tamil/Bengali film industry…
August 20th, 2007 at 8:18 am
Bollywood is a pile of shit and should be burned.
August 20th, 2007 at 9:56 am
I use to think that Bollywood is tacky and an unoriginal name but now I think it is definitely the right name for the type of tacky and unoriginal films that bollywood produces .What makes me laugh even more is the Indian media tries to give this false impression that bollywood films and actors are popular around the world which they definitely are not apart for the nostalgic NRI community but even there Hindus have started to wake up to the trash they have been watching all these years .These bollywood actors and films in reality are just a laughing stock for most mainstream people who would only employ these third class bollywood actors to clean toilets in Macdonalds. Still the only credit I will give to Bollywood as a contribution to world cinema is how to not make a film.
August 20th, 2007 at 3:02 pm
I agree that ” Bollywood” conjures an image of a tacky and senseless film made in Mumbai - you know what to expect- a boringly long film ,badly acted,story based on a Hollywood movie but made worse by poor script and a confusing medley of songs,styles ,locations,costumes,etc. In short,rubbish.
I prefer the term “Indian Cinema” but let them first produce good clean films - films that have a good original story,good acting and above all, a script amd music that is Indian.
August 20th, 2007 at 3:38 pm
bollywood has no originality, almost all its hit movies have some hollywood inspiration and its the same storyline over and over again.
plus now, bollywood is nothing but raunchy material with no substance. the only people who watch bollywood movies regularly are the KOOL YAAR losers.
August 20th, 2007 at 5:17 pm
Indians have always been imitiating western values. Now that Bombay is called Mumbai, why not change from Bollywood to Mawaliwood because all these actors/actress are nothing but mawalis. They are only interested in money. For money they wll stoop to such depths that they wll insult their own Dharma, Culture and country. Few examples, why its always Hindu judge/police corrupt. why all goondas ar always Hindus. Are there not an Hindu based schools as you you always see education achieved is from christians schools I think those who make these trash are stupid, those who act are more stupid but stupidiest are those who waste money to watch these trash.
August 20th, 2007 at 10:22 pm
to me the very word Bollywood is not at all old, most people who used to refer to the films would say Hindi film or Indian film, I think the media in particular the western media has conjured up “Bollywood” and certain film makers I.E deepa Mehta plays right into the hands of this media
August 21st, 2007 at 1:57 am
neway, the losers who watch bollywood. i know who you are, cuz you idiots usually look like the morons of bollywood whom you emulate in character and dress. you end up looking like hijras and leave everyone you meet questioning your sexual orientation.
August 21st, 2007 at 2:00 am
“Bollywood” is a well suited name cuz the movies themselves are unoriginal and tacky, 90% of the movies are pure and utter trash with a few standout one’s like Satya, Company or the more recent Omkara.
I hope the industry itself is destroyed, and a message to Bollywood fans abroad, Bollywood is NOT Hindu culture as many pretend it to be.
Still like Dev said, it serves one purpose and that is to show how movies should not be made.
August 21st, 2007 at 8:19 pm
huuaa? :~
scratches head.
“Bollywood is NOT Hindu culture as many pretend it to be.”
who in their right mind would think that?
Have you noticed how all Bollywood lyrics praises Khudda, because Hindus worship Khudda. Raam and Krishna are dead in India.
August 21st, 2007 at 11:32 pm
Well maybe you haven’t met all these nutter Bollywood fans, anyway that’s what they think Bharat is all about, they think learning Bollywood “dancing” is learning “Indian culture”.
August 22nd, 2007 at 1:18 pm
Bollywood is where all the girls dress like prostitutes. Need I say anymore?
August 22nd, 2007 at 2:13 pm
Actually I was trekking in Switzerland a few weeks back.While I was taking a rest enjoying the mountain scenery I suddenly heard some tabla type music.I looked across on to the other side of the hills and happened to see some cameras and some actors dancing around trees like baboons.I thought oh my god not here as well but then it struck me of course these bollywood lot always film here in this country.Even some of the locals were laughing at the pathetic scenes going on.I just moved fast so I wouldn’t be mistaken to be part of the bollywood joke film crew.
August 22nd, 2007 at 10:52 pm
If ppl feel strongly - as well as posting here, make your voice heard in Bollywood magazines and radios and e-mail producers whenever you find any address.
Together we can do something about the future of Indian culture through the Cinemas.
Otherwise they will continue to please the nonHindus at the expense of bypassing Hindus.
Even though Bollywood is not meant to be a religious institute, it does show a huge bias towards Hindus.
August 23rd, 2007 at 11:13 am
What’s in a name! I would have preferred “Filmistan”
August 23rd, 2007 at 3:24 pm
bollywood is a entertainment culture not a religion even though non indians think that is part of religion!!”
But you notice its becoming more and more westernised with the men/women wreaing less and less. India should take up Assam’s rule to not produce/show bollywood films if this type of action keeps continuing
August 23rd, 2007 at 10:47 pm
the great films in hindi were made when it was nver called bollywood.
ofcourse itis a demeaning word and shame to thte indians who do nto feel shame saying “bollywood”
August 28th, 2007 at 10:40 pm
I love Bollywood. All the haters, please get a life and lighten up.
August 29th, 2007 at 8:26 am
” I love Bollywood. All the haters, please get a life and lighten up.”
I don’t hate it. I find it very cheesy and mundane. I pity those who spend their whole day watching tacky bollywwod movies. I prefer to watch some interesting programmes which resemble the way of life in India. Not some cheap immitation of the western film industries, which has very little relevance to our way of life.
August 29th, 2007 at 1:35 pm
“I love Bollywood. All the haters, please get a life and lighten up.”
Actually we have a life, it’s the losers who sit and watch baboons dancing around trees 24 hrs a day that don’t.
But hey if you find trash loveable who am I to object, whatever floats your boat.
September 2nd, 2007 at 3:31 pm
“I love Bollywood. All the haters, please get a life and lighten up.”
lol whatever “sheena”. i find it hilarious that someone who watches bollywood is asking us to get a life. i find the “kool yaar” yindian accent and their pathetic attempt to copy white pop culture really laughable. their tacky jokes, unoriginal material (copies of hollywood, hell look at the name itself), lame dance sequences in switzerland where the natives look at the scum in disgust must really impress these “Kool Yaars”, who are a joke unto themselves.
September 4th, 2007 at 11:41 am
The term “Bollywood” is bad but the Mumbai Film Industry is not that bad. These movies are entertaining and for serious stuff they have parallel cinema as well. As for glorification of “khuda” these are silly lyricists who have become mentally bankrupt. Jai Krishna
September 15th, 2007 at 11:37 pm
what nobody has mentioned is that millions of dollars are sent from Saudi Arabia and ploughed into Bollywood to keep making the Anti Hindu movies, so now the norm is that almost all movies made are in someway ridiculing the Hindu faith, this is slowly eroding our culture…and now politicians have the nerve to say that Hindu gods are “not real”…that begs the question how do they propose to prove that Jesus walked the earth, that Muhammed was real!!??
February 9th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
Most Hindi films might not be original, but ppl who watches them cannot be called losers.
February 11th, 2008 at 7:59 am
Bollywood films are not copies of Hollywood films at all. Look at these carefully. These are very different from the American films which lack story, drama or beauty and that is the reason Arabs, Russians, North Africans like Bollywood films not the Hollywood films.
The language of the films is the Hindi at all, but URDU, thus it has its appeal for Pakistanis. Even Iranians understand the language of these films.
There is a Bhojpuri film industry but not any Hindi film industry unlike those of Bengali, Tamil, Telegu film industries. However, those films have no international appeal.
Bollywood name was created by the journalists and now well known. It will stay whatever may be the opinion. The films have some universal values and that is the reason they are popular outside India among several non-Indian countries, Russia in particular.