Bollywood facts

• Bollywood term used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai.
• Bollywood is the largest film producer in India and one of the largest centers of film production in the world.
• Bollywood is formally referred to as Hindi cinema.
• The name "Bollywood" is derived from Bombay (the former name for Mumbai) and Hollywood.
• The term "Bollywood" has origins in the 1970s, when India overtook America as the world's largest film producer.
• Following India's independence, the period from the late 1940s to the 1960s are regarded by film historians as the "Golden Age" of Hindi cinema.
• The Hindi film industry has preferred films that appeal to all segments of the audience, and has resisted making films that target narrow audiences.
• Bollywood films are mostly musicals, and are expected to contain catchy music in the form of song-and-dance numbers woven into the script.
• Baz Luhrmann stated that his musical film Moulin Rouge! (2001) was directly inspired by Bollywood musicals.
• Bollywood movies are a mixture of many things such as action, comedy, romance etc.
• Bollywood employs people from all parts of India. It attracts thousands of aspiring actors and actresses, all hoping for a break in the industry.
• The only time in the history of any Indian award, when the best female playback singer award was shared was between Ila Arun and Alka Yagnik for 'Choli Ke Peeche' in 'Khalnayak'.
• Akshay Kumar is superstitious. He will never write anything on a page unless he first heads it with an "Om".
• Salman Khan likes to collect soaps.
• Bollywood movies are watched by almost 14 million Indians everyday.
• 'Noorjahan' (1931) was the first Indian English film.