Posted: 17 years ago
I don't know if this is too late in the day but I would like to protest against the use of the word BOLLYWOOD. How many of you have ever thought about how derogatory this word is? It sounds like B-grade Hollywood. Some might say the B stands for Bombay, but why the comparison with Hollywood? Is there any other film-producing country in the world, say Italy, France, Poland which names itself after Hollywood?
 
The word Bollywood is said to have been coined by a BBC reporter in a sarcastic tone in the seventies. How this word got picked up by the media, I do not know but nowadays even Indian magazines and newspapers use the word and so do the Indians themselves. Years ago, when I was a kid, I remember reading Shashi Kapoor in an interview, in which he requested the media to stop using this word but to say Hindi cinema.To make things worse, words like Mollywood and Tollywood have also sprung up. I am told that Bollywood is now a part of the English dictionary.
 
This kind of mental bankruptcy on the part of Indians baffles me. Why this craze to ape the US?
 
Here is an article in the Hindu which explores the views of the people in the Hindi film industry.
 
 

Starspeak on Bollywood

Bollywood, the term used by many for the Hindi film industry, recently entered the Oxford Dictionary. RADHIKA RAJAMANI gets a take on this from some leading lights of the industry.

OF LATE the term 'Bollywood' seems to have gained currency going by its increasing usage by one and all. Now it has received validation by its inclusion in the Oxford English dictionary.

Is it the right word at all to use? Does this have a slightly derogatory meaning? Does it undermine the Hindi film industry? Opinions were elicited on this. While there are many in the industry who do not subscribe to it, there are a few who don't mind using it.

R. Madhavan

I am for it absolutely. It follows suit with Hollywood. It deserves a place and is long overdue. In my travels, I have observed Bollywood offers more excitement than Hollywood - it is accepted that the industry is to be reckoned with.

Farooque Sheikh

Anything that gains currency or becomes colloquial language usage will be included in the dictionary. I am not surprised. So much has come from the West and this is one of it.

Javed Akhtar

I don't like this word. I think there is an element of contempt or cynicism in it. The Indian film industry has its own identity and following all around. It is undermining the Indian film industry's dignity. It is insensitive and careless of the people to include a word like this in the dictionary without understanding the implications.

Jackie Shroff

Language is all man-made. There is Bollywood, Tollywood and there will be Mollywood and others. It is foolish to do so. Indian Film Industry is a better word.

Madhur Bhandarkar

I completely disagree with the usage of Bollywood. It is a mockery being made. The word was used eight-nine years ago and I felt that it would go but foreign magazines started using it. It is like making fun of the industry. It is sad that it has been included in the dictionary. Other terms like Indian Motion Pictures, Indian Film Industry and Bombay Industry can be used instead.

Manisha Koirala

I see nothing right or wrong in it. They are introducing their conception of the Bombay film industry. People are finding one term to describe the industry. Going by the trend to ape the West, the name falls in line.

Mani Shankar

The inclusion of this word is a left-handed compliment which we richly deserve. It epitomises our plagiarism and shows the desperate vacuum of ideas. It's a mild rebuke to our state of industry.

The Western world looks in disdain. When there are no original ideas and films are remakes/inspired versions, what else would you call the industry? We need to get our act together.

Suresh Oberoi

The usage of the term started as a kind of joke - it is a sarcastic one, not a positive name. It is like aping somebody and not respectable. I would prefer Indian film industry.

Subash Ghai

It started off as a joke. The word Bollywood was coined by a BBC media man. I do not subscribe to it. One could use other terms like Indian Cinema or Bombay Movies. Indian cinema is independent cinema. Inclusion of words spoken in slang language in the dictionary is not the right step.

Raveena Tandon

Whenever I speak, I refrain from using the word Bollywood. When Bombay has neither the hills nor woods (the term Hollywood derived from the hills and village there) why should the Bombay industry be called Bollywood? It is ridiculous. There's Bollywood, Tollywood and so on - what's going on?

The media coined the term Bollywood. None of us in the industry called it Bollywood - it is a term which caught on with the Westerners.

Ananth Mahadevan

Such a step is bad. It's a letdown for the Englishmen. It doesn't make sense at all. It is a farce. Indian cinema is a better option.

Posted: 17 years ago

👏 👏 👏

punjini, good views...and thanks for sharing the article and comments from few artistes....

but unfotunately, seems like a lot of water has flown under the bridge...perhaps reached an irretractable position....

height of aping!

btw, there seems to be another 'kollywood' too for tamil cinema

 

Edited by fairdog - 17 years ago
Posted: 17 years ago
Great perspective, but I think it's little too late!

Some Info:
Oxford Dictionary
I have the hard copy handy
Bollywood : Indian Film Industry , Hindi Film Industry


From Dictionary.com
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=BOLLYWOOD

BOLLYWOOD
n : the film industry of India [syn: Bollywood]

Merriam-Webster
No ENTRY FOUND

From Britannica (snippet)
http://www.britannica.com/ebc/article-9384331?query=bollywoo d

Indian moviemaking industry that began in Bombay (now Mumbai) in the 1930s and developed into an enormous film empire.

Bombay Talkies, launched in 1934 by Himansu Rai, spearheaded the growth of Indian cinema. Throughout the years, several classic genres emerged from Bollywood: the historical epic, notably Mughal-e-azam (1960; "The Great Mughal"); the curry western, such as Sholay (1975; "The Embers"); the courtesan film, such as Pakeezah (1972; "Pure Heart"), which highlights stunning cinematography and sensual dance choreography; and the mythological movie, represented by Jai Santoshi Maa (1975; "Hail Santoshi Maa"). Star actors, rather than the films themselves, have accounted for most box-office success. Standard features of Bollywood films include formulaic story lines, expertly choreographed fight scenes, spectacular song-and-dance routines, emotion-charged melodrama, and larger-than-life heroes. At the beginning of the 21st century, Bollywood produced as many as 1,000 feature films annually, and international audiences began to develop among Asians in the U.K. and the U.S.



From Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bollywood

Bollywood is the informal name given to the popular Mumbai-based Hindi language film industry in India. It is a nonexistent location with no signs or a street address, unlike the famous Hollywood.

The name is a conflation of Bombay, the old name of Mumbai, and Hollywood, the center of the United States film industry. Though some purists deplore the name (arguing that it makes the industry look like a poor cousin to Hollywood), it seems likely to persist and now has its own entry in the Oxford English Dictionary.

Bollywood and the other major cinematic hubs (Tamil - Kollywood, Telugu - Tollywood, Bengali - also called Tollywood, Kannada, and Malayalam) constitute the broader Indian film industry, whose output is the largest in the world in terms of number of films produced and in number of tickets sold. Bollywood is a strong part of popular culture of not only India and the rest of the Indian subcontinent, but also of the Middle East, parts of Africa, parts of Southeast Asia, and among the South Asian diaspora worldwide.

Bollywood is also commonly referred to as "Hindi cinema", even though use of poetic Urdu words is fairly common. (Linguists would call both Hindi and Urdu variants of Hindustani. This is a political debate; see the articles on the various languages/dialects.) There has been a growing presence of English in dialogues and songs as well. It is not uncommon to see movies which feature dialogues with English words and phrases, even whole sentences. A few movies are also made in two or even three languages (either using subtitles, or several soundtracks).

Posted: 17 years ago
thx punjini didi and anol bhaiya for the info.

i guess many of us know that movies nowadays are just copies of hollywood movies with a bit of editing.
Posted: 17 years ago
It may still not be too late in the day.

I remember how South Indians were lumped together and called Madrasis by all and sundry until the 70s. It used to infuriate me ('cause I am a Kannadiga). Now the word is hardly used.

I always correct non-Indians who use the word Bollywood. Many of them are surprised when I tell them that this is just a cooked-up term and there is no such place called Bollywood.

It's true to some extent that the Hindi film industry which has made a cult of plagiarising from Hollywood films deserves to be called Bollywood sarcastically, but surely this cannot be the norm.
Posted: 17 years ago
Originally posted by punjini


It may still not be too late in the day.

I remember how South Indians were lumped together and called Madrasis by all and sundry until the 70s. It used to infuriate me ('cause I am a Kannadiga). Now the word is hardly used.

I always correct non-Indians who use the word Bollywood. Many of them are surprised when I tell them that this is just a cooked-up term and there is no such place called Bollywood.

It's true to some extent that the Hindi film industry which has made a cult of plagiarising from Hollywood films deserves to be called Bollywood sarcastically, but surely this cannot be the norm.


OK Punjini - point taken - I am on a mission now 👍🏼
By the way - I managed to introduce my Chinese friends here to some Indian movies like "Black" and they were pleasantly surprised by the fact that Indian movie doesn't mean only dancing around the tree. Although after watching the shooting of "Kriish" (Hrittik Roshan) just beside our office (Robinson Road / Lau Pa Sat) they are eagerly waiting for the movie to release!! After that they might go back to their original conception!



Posted: 17 years ago
😆
Pl let me know when Krish releases.
Posted: 17 years ago
Originally posted by punjini


😆
Pl let me know when Krish releases.


😆😆😆 

Did you know that the 'other' HR had fall down from the top of Lau Pa Sat during the shooting?

Also I introduced one of my Chinese friend to SRGMP!!! I asked him who is better – Vinit or Debu?

He watched couple of episodes at YouTube and said –"don't know leh"

Posted: 17 years ago
Why are you inflicting torture on unsuspecting Chinese guys? 😆
Posted: 17 years ago
oops...is it too late for me to change my name?   

(i have to say i don't think "hindicinema_queen" has quite the same ring to it though 😕 )

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