Mumbai (Bombay) – Mayapuri | The city of dreams
Mumbai originally called as Bombay was associated with the film industry since long and is home to Bollywood one of the most prolific centers of film production in the world.
Despite its massive overcrowding and difficult living condition, it was the most modern city in the Indian subcontinent. It is center of India’s entertainment industry and “The Gateway to India” since 1700 and many migrants from Lahore, Calcutta, Madras portrayed Bombay as the city of their dreams.
The city continued to grow and Bombay film industry has contributed in a big way to produce the image of the city as a blend of dream and reality, of slums and star bungalows. It is a perfect blend of rich and poor here you can find big bungalows with the lavish lifestyle of film stars and also the slums who have to stuff themselves in one-roomed houses or chawls, and due to its glamour and job opportunities, Bombay attracts many migrants.
It was India’s film capital since 1925 and thousands of talented people come here every year looking to brighten their career in the film industry. Millions of rupees were invested in films and by 1987, the film industry employed 520000 people which made Mumbai as the center of Bollywood film industry.
History
Mumbai is in history since Stone age and Kolis were the earliest known settlers in the city. The Mauryan Empire ruled the area in the third century and transformed it into Buddhist culture and religion center.
Later in the second to the ninth century, there were Satavahanas, Abhiras, Vakatakas, Kalachuris, Konkan Mauryas, Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas and Silharas Dynasties who ruled the area. In the 13th century, the region was under the rule of King Bhimdev. Later it was captured by Muslim rulers of Gujarat and governed by Gujarat Sultanate. Mughals rulers of Gujarat invaded the island during the 17th century and the Gujarat Sultanate places the city into Portuguese possession.
In the seventeenth century, Bombay was a group of seven islands under Portuguese control which was later passed into British after the marriage of Britain king and Portuguese princess. It was one of the major outlets for cotton textile from Gujarat and was a port through which a large quantity of raw material like cotton and opium was passed.
The city has provided an ample opportunity for those who were seeking employment. It was considered a city that gave everyone the opportunity to realize their dreams. The city was the epicenter of Rowlatt Satyagraha and Royal Indian Navy Mutiny during the independence movement.
After India’s independence in 1947 Bombay Presidency was restructured into Bombay state with various princely states joining the Bombay state. The official name of the city was changed from Bombay to Mumbai in 1995 after Shiv sens came to power in Maharashtra. Mumbai name was derived from Mumbadevi, the stone goddess of the deep-sea fishermen who originally lived on the islands before they were driven out by the East India Company.
BOLLYWOOD: The Indian Film Industry
Bollywood is a dismissive term that people use for the Indian film industry. The name originates from two different names, namely Bombay and Hollywood, which together made the name Bollywood. The tеrm іѕ bеlіеvеd tо hаvе bееn соіnеd by a wеѕtern journalist іn 1970ѕ.
When the name was cited, it was those phases that Indian cinema looked up to Hollywood for inspiration, but now that the days have changed Indian cinema seems to be at par with its international counterpart.
The film production era is said to have commenced in Bombay from or around the year 1913 when the first film Raja Harishchandra was produced by Dadasaheb Phalke. Ever since the production of the movies took place, there started the trend of film making that established and further progressed, resulting in the formation of the film industry and new film production companies as well as studios.
In the beginning, movies about the reality of Bombay were common, for example; many films dealt with the arrival of new migrants in the city and the problems they faced. By 1925 Bombay had become India’s Film Capital. Bollywood became one of the largest film producers in India and one of the largest centers of film production in the world.
Basically, nowadays, all kinds of movies are made in Bollywood, but movies about the present condition of Mumbai and India are gaining momentum for example; Slumdog Millionaire, Peepli Live, Mumbai Meri Jaan, etc.
Bollywood makes up to 800 films a year more movies are shot in Mumbai than anywhere else in the world, including Hollywood. Indian people love their movies and their stars, and the productions are of high quality.
Bollywood films are really colorful and crammed with singing, dancing, loads of costume changes. The also used to stick to a formula of boy meets girl, they fall in love and they struggle for family approval. There is a Hero, a Heroine, and a vamp.
Difference between Bollywood and Hollywood
Bollywood films are called masala film, Masala is a culinary tеrm thаt means “ѕрісу mіxturе.” Mаѕаlа fіlmmаkіng combines mоrе than оnе gеnrе іn thе ѕаmе mоvіе, blеndіng еlеmеntѕ оf соmеdу, rоmаnсе, асtіоn, аnd drama. Thе gоаl іѕ tо арреаl tо as mаnу реорlе аѕ possible. That wау thеrе’ѕ ѕоmеthіng fоr еvеrуоnе in еvеrу fіlm-thе grandparents, the раrеntѕ, the teenagers, thе lіttlе kіdѕ-bесаuѕе Indians оftеn gо to thе mоvіеѕ as an fаmіlу.
Hollywood fіlmmаkеrѕ dо thе орроѕіtе-thеу dо ѕuреr-nаrrоw niche mаrkеtіng tо tаrgеt thе dеmоgrарhіс grоuрѕ thеу thіnk аrе the most рrоfіtаblе (аnd thеn іgnоrе everyone еlѕе). Onе еxсерtіоn tо thіѕ mіght bе thе Jаmеѕ Bоnd mоvіеѕ, which hаvе bееn еnоrmоuѕlу ѕuссеѕѕful for decades. Thеrе’ѕ асtіоn, оf соurѕе, rоmаnсе, ѕоmе саmру соmеdу, and even an lіttlе mеlоdrаmа whеn James feels bаd about hіѕ best frіеnd betraying him or his latest lоvеr dying in his аrmѕ.
