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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. The term 'Bollywood', often mistakenly used to refer to Indian cinema as a whole, only refers to Hindi-language films, with Indian cinema being an umbrella term that includes all the film industries in the country, each offering films in diverse languages and styles.

In 2017, Indian cinema produced 1,986 feature films, of which the largest number, 364 have been in Hindi. In 2022, Hindi cinema represented 33% of box office revenue, followed by Telugu and Tamil representing representing 20% and 16% respectively. 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. The first Indian talkie, Alam Ara (1931), was produced in the Hindustani language, four years after Hollywood's first 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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Aditya Roy Kapoor
Aashiqui 2 is a 2013 Bollywood romantic musical drama film directed by Mohit Suri. Starring Aditya Roy Kapoor (pictured) and Shraddha Kapoor in the lead roles, it was produced by Bhushan Kumar and Mukesh Bhatt under the T-Series and Vishesh Films banners. Set in the early 2010s, Aashiqui 2 is a love story centering around the turbulent relationship between musicians Rahul and Arohi, a relationship which is affected by Rahul's issues with alcohol abuse and temperament. The film is the sequel to the 1990 musical blockbuster Aashiqui, and initially caused concern in the Indian media that the film could live up to the high standards and success of the original. Production of Aashiqui 2 began in 2011, with the principal photography taking place in Cape Town, Goa and Mumbai on a budget of 90 million (US$1.1 million). The film which premiered on 26 April 2013 received a positive to mixed critical reception and became a major commercial success at the box-office despite featuring newcomers, earning 1 billion (US$12 million) worldwide within the first four weeks. It was declared as a blockbuster by Box Office India after its three-week box office run. The soundtrack to the film became very popular after its release; the songs "Tum Hi Ho" and "Sun Raha Hai" topped the charts across various platforms in India.

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Farhan Akhtar at a promotional event for Karthik Calling Karthik.
Farhan Akhtar (born 9 January 1974) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, playback singer, lyricist and television host, who works primarily in Bollywood. Born in Mumbai to screenwriters Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani, he grew up under the influence of the film industry. After completing his schooling in Maneckji Cooper School, he studied a degree of commerce in HR College, before dropping out, and began his career in films by working as an assistant director in Lamhe (1991) and Himalay Putra (1997). Akhtar, after establishing a production company named Excel Entertainment along with Ritesh Sidhwani, made his directorial début with Dil Chahta Hai (2001) and received critical acclaim for portraying modern youth. Following it, he made Lakshya (2004) and had his Hollywood début through the soundtrack of Bride and Prejudice (2004), for which he wrote the lyrics. He had his first commercial success with Don (2006), though failing to receive critical acclaim for it. He started his acting career with Rock on!! (2008), for which he won a second National Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi as producer, and indulged in further experimentation before he acted in, produced and wrote the dialogues for the critical and commercial success Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011), which also won two National awards. In the same year, he directed a sequel to Don titled Don 2 (2011), which remains as his highest-grossing film till date.

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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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