India is one of the largest film-producing countries in the world, and its movies are made in many languages. The nicknames used for the main industries often confuse new viewers, so here is a simple guide.
Photo credit: Mattbr, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
The main industries and their bases
- Hindi (Bollywood): based in Mumbai. The name combines Bombay and Hollywood.
- Telugu (often called Tollywood): based in Hyderabad. The same nickname is also used for Bengali films made in Tollygunge, Kolkata, so it is worth checking which industry a writer means.
- Tamil (Kollywood): centred on Chennai, and named after the Kodambakkam area.
- Malayalam (Mollywood): centred on Kerala, with Kochi as a major base.
- Kannada (Sandalwood): based in Bengaluru.
- Bengali: based in Kolkata, with a long film history.
Odia, Assamese, Marathi and other languages have their own film industries as well.
Where it all began
The first Indian feature film is generally taken to be Raja Harishchandra, a silent film made by Dadasaheb Phalke and released in Bombay in 1913.
How big is the industry?
According to figures reported in Wikipedia’s article on the Cinema of India, about 2,886 feature films were produced in 2021-22. The same article, citing industry data, says Hindi films earned about 33 per cent of the box office in 2022, followed by Telugu at 20 per cent and Tamil at 16 per cent.
Sources: Wikipedia, “Cinema of India” and “Dadasaheb Phalke”. Written by The Popular Story desk. Box office and production figures vary by source and year.
