The unstoppable Bollywood

Bollywood is raking in big bucks these days  with every movie starred by top Bollywood stars tripping over each other to become the biggest grossers of all time. No wonder India commands a formidable position in the world movie industry and one of the biggest movie stars in the planet is a Bollywood actor. Unlike Hollywood, Bollywood  relies on sheer star power, dance numbers, family melodrama and logic defying themes to woe the movie goers . Bollywood doesn't require an armageddon nor does it have to deal with end of the world scenarios as its plot for a winner.

As critics write off a Bollywood movie with negative reviews, the audience welcome them with open arms helping the movie hit the prestigious ‘100 crores club’ in a couple of days from its release and the movie then moves on to break box office history. At this rate, an Rs 1000 crore ($160 million) gross collection for a movie is not too far off.

In 2014, top 5 Bollywood movies collectively grossed quarter of a billion dollars (Rs 1600 crores) across the world.  Despite doing such humongous business, sadly none of these movies will be remembered by the future generation and neither can these movies be counted among the classics. The adage of movies being a lasting work of art is long gone in Bollywood. A new generation of movie makers have capitalized the industry with new formula with the only intention to make maximum revenue.

Yet one can’t complain about it.

Indian movies are made to cater to masses of different classes. A rickshaw wallah, or an odd job worker wants  to get simply entertained after a long day of hardship. A typical bollywood movie very well provides that much needed feel good experience. These classes clap and whistle for their favorite stars throughout the movie and leaves the movie hall thoroughly entertained.  

However, one can only hope that all is not lost. The silver lining is presence of a few movie makers with the intention to make good movies. These movie makers can produce meaningful cinemas and at the same time ring in the box office with good revenue.

Going forward, the dance numbers and the melodrama will remain integral part of Bollywood movies and regional movies for that matter. After all, it is what sets us apart as Indians and that is the message we want to spread across to the rest of the world.