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Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Hollywood". The industry is a part of the larger Indian cinema, which also includes South Indian cinema and other smaller film industries.

In 2017, Indian cinema produced 1,986 feature films, of which the largest number, 364 have been in Hindi. , Hindi cinema represented 43 percent of Indian net box-office revenue; Tamil and Telugu cinema represented 36 percent, and the remaining regional cinema constituted 21 percent. Hindi cinema is one of the largest centres for film production in the world. Hindi films sold an estimated 341 million tickets in India in 2019. Earlier Hindi films tended to use vernacular Hindustani, mutually intelligible by speakers of either Hindi or Urdu, while modern Hindi productions increasingly incorporate elements of Hinglish.

The most popular commercial genre in Hindi cinema since the 1970s has been the masala film, which freely mixes different genres including action, comedy, romance, drama and melodrama along with musical numbers. Masala films generally fall under the musical film genre, of which Indian cinema has been the largest producer since the 1960s when it exceeded the American film industry's total musical output after musical films declined in the West. Dadasaheb Phalke's silent film Raja Harishchandra (1913) is the first feature length film made in India. The first Indian musical talkie was Alam Ara (1931), four years after the first Hollywood sound film The Jazz Singer (1927).

Alongside commercial masala films, a distinctive genre of art films known as parallel cinema has also existed, presenting realistic content and avoidance of musical numbers. In more recent years, the distinction between commercial masala and parallel cinema has been gradually blurring, with an increasing number of mainstream films adopting the conventions which were once strictly associated with parallel cinema. (Full article...)

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Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge is a Hindi language film released on 20 October 1995. A romantic comedy, the film marked the directorial debut of Aditya Chopra, who also wrote the story. It was produced by his father Yash Chopra, and stars Shahrukh Khan (pictured) and Kajol. The film tells the story of a young couple who fall in love during a vacation in Europea, and relates how the boy tries to win over the girl's parents so that she can marry him rather than the boy her father has selected. It was filmed in India, London, and Switzerland. Earning over 106 crore (US$13 million) in India and 15 crore (US$1.9 million) overseas, the film became the biggest Bollywood hit of the year, as well as one of the biggest Bollywood hits ever. During the 1996 awards season, the film won 10 Filmfare Awards, the most ever for a single film at the time, and also won the National Award for most popular film of the year. Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge was included in the Cinema India showcase, "The Changing Face of Indian Cinema", which toured the United States in July and August 2004. Indiatimes Movies ranks it among the 25 Must See Bollywood Films.

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Deepika Padukone at an event for Yamaha Motor Company in 2012
Deepika Padukone (born 1986) is an Indian film actress and model. She has established a successful career in Hindi (Bollywood) films, and is cited in the media as one of the most popular and attractive Indian celebrities. She made her acting debut in 2006 as the titular character of the Kannada film Aishwarya. She then played dual roles in her first Bollywood release—the 2007 blockbuster Om Shanti Om—and won a Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut. Padukone received praise for portraying the lead female role in the 2009 romance Love Aaj Kal, but her performances in the 2008 romantic comedy Bachna Ae Haseeno and the 2010 comedy Housefull met with negative reviews. The 2012 box office hit Cocktail marked a significant turning point in her career, earning her critical acclaim and Best Actress nominations at several award ceremonies. In 2013, Padukone established herself as a leading actress of Hindi cinema by playing primary roles in the comedies Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and Chennai Express (both of which rank among the highest-grossing Bollywood films of all time), and garnered critical acclaim for her role in the tragic romance Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela.

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Priyanka Chopra at Mijwan-Sonnets in Fabric fashion show in 2012
Priyanka Chopra at Mijwan-Sonnets in Fabric fashion show in 2012
Credit: Bollywoodhungama
Priyanka Chopra at Mijwan-Sonnets in Fabric fashion show in 2012

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Awards: Bollywood Movie Awards (defunct) • Filmfare AwardsGlobal Indian Film Awards (defunct) • International Indian Film Academy AwardsNational Film AwardsScreen AwardsStar Guild AwardsStardust AwardsZee Cine Awards

Institutions Asian Academy of Film & TelevisionCentral Board of Film CertificationDirectorate of Film FestivalsFilm and Television Institute of IndiaFilm CityFox Star StudiosNational Film Development Corporation of IndiaSatyajit Ray Film and Television Institute

Lists: List of Bollywood filmsFilm clansHighest-grossing films in overseas marketsHighest-grossing films

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