I got this postcard from India! Many of you may be familiar with what’s depicted here – these are films from Hindi cinema, more commonly known as Bollywood. The name comes from a combination of “Bombay” and “Hollywood”, with “Bombay” being the former name of where the film industry is based out of (today it’s known as Mumbai, located on the mid-southern coast of the country… I can kinda get why it never became “Mullywood”, that sounds weird…) Before going into facts about Bollywood, I’d like to clarify first that it technically does not refer to ALL Indian films; it is, however, the largest film industry in the country. In terms of number of films produced, though, it can boast first place worldwide! A common style in Bollywood works is the “masala” (or spicy) film, which is a combination of different genres, such as action, romance, comedy, and drama. They also put a very large emphasis on dance and song, which often become the focal points of said films. The highest grossing Bollywood film ever created is known as “Three Idiots” (my life story if I was cloned two times…), which came out in 2009. Thanks to the fruits of pen-palling with a friend from Korea, I came to watch this movie in like… early 2012 maybe? I know it probably can’t speak for all of Bollywood but what an AMAZING movie that was! The song and dance is very much prevalent (just look up “Aal Izz Well” for a permanent earworm), and it melds hearty comedy and some very dark subject matter into one film (there’s one scene in particular that’s rather shocking and disturbing). Overall what an entertaining movie! And now, you can bear witness to just a sliver of Bollywood films in this card here, dating back to its origins in 1913. Thank you so much for this extraordinary postcard, Sagar!
