Introduction 1
About This Book 1
Foolish Assumptions 2
Icons Used in This Book 2
Beyond the Book 3
Where to Go from Here 4
Part 1: Getting Started with Bollywood 5
Chapter 1: Introducing Bollywood 7
Addressing What Bollywood is 7
Identifying the Families of Bollywood 9
Looking at Bollywood’s Evolution 10
Focusing on the 1940s to the 1960s 10
Eyeing the 1970s and 1980s 11
Considering the 1990s and 2000s 11
Arriving at the present day 12
Grooving and Moving: Bollywood Incorporates Music and Dance 13
Understanding the importance of the soundtrack 13
Recognizing the roles of different genres 14
Shaking your groove thang: Dance in Bollywood 15
Appreciating Bollywood Worldwide 15
Chapter 2: Focusing on Family Over Everything Else 19
Introducing Kapoor and Sons 20
The first generation of Kapoors 20
The second generation of Kapoors 21
The third generation of Kapoors 24
Building the Bachchan Family 25
Contending to be the GOAT: Amitabh and his wife, Jaya Bachchan 25
Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan 27
Keeping Up with the Khans 28
Bollywood’s king: Shah Rukh Khan 28
Saif Ali Khan 29
Aamir Khan 29
Salman Khan 29
The forgotten Khans 30
Meeting the Johars 32
Yash Johar 32
Karan Johar 33
Bhatt-ing their Way Into Bollywood 33
Mahesh Bhatt 34
Alia Bhatt 34
Emraan Hashmi 35
Examining the Chopras: More than Priyanka 35
Yash Chopra 36
Aditya Chopra 36
Uday Chopra 36
Priyanka Chopra 37
Navigating the Roshans 37
Rakesh Roshan 37
Rajesh Roshan 38
Hrithik Roshan 38
Zayed Khan 38
There’s Something about Mukherjee 39
Kishore Kumar 39
Kajol 40
Rani Mukerji 40
Ajay Devgn 40
Part 2: Bollywood through the Years 41
Chapter 3: Looking at the Golden Age, from the 1940s to the 1960s 43
Parting Ways: The Effect on Indian Cinema 44
First Some Sour, Then Some Sweet: Realist Cinema Giving Way to Romance 45
A sign of the times: Indian social realism 46
The subsequent dominance of romance 46
Meeting the Evergreen Actors 49
Master of mannerisms: Dev Anand 49
Award winner: Dilip Kumar 50
The singing actor: Kishore Kumar 51
Introducing the Classic Gentlemen 51
The multitalented star: Raj Kapoor 51
The first superstar: Rajesh Khanna 52
Overcoming adversity: Sunil Dutt 53
Shining the Spotlight on Leading Ladies 53
International beauty: Madhubala 53
Dancer turned star: Waheeda Rehman 54
Presenting All Things Grace and Presence 55
Beloved beauty: Nargis 55
Pakistani princess: Noor Jehan 56
Chapter 4: Spotlighting Classical Bollywood in the 1970s and 1980s 57
Going Beyond Musical Romance Films 58
Ramping Up the Action 59
Dominating the Industry: The Killer “B” 61
Recognizing Bachchan’s legacy in Bollywood 61
Moving beyond Bachchan’s star status 63
For Richer or Kapoor-er: The Kapoors 65
The remake king: Jeetendra Kapoor 65
The ageless actor: Anil Kapoor 65
Boy wonder: Rishi Kapoor 66
Identifying the Original Gangsters 67
Tall and tough: Jackie Shroff 67
The roller coaster career: Sanjay Dutt 68
Villain and hero: Vinod Khanna 69
Meeting the Method Men 69
Disco King: Mithun Chakraborty 69
The Theatric: Shashi Kapoor 70
Stranger than Fiction: Feroz Khan 71
Appreciating the Divine Divas 71
Sex symbol: Mumtaz 71
Eyes to die for: Sridevi 72
The versatile vixen: Rekha 72
The dream girl: Hema Malini 73
Breaking Stereotypes: Actresses Stepping Out of the Box 73
Stereotype shatterer: Parveen Babi 74
Unconventional yet refined: Dimple Kapadia 74
Tackling tough subjects: Shabana Azmi 75
Staying consistent with Queen Zeenat Aman 76
Lifelong Devotee: Neetu Singh 76
Chapter 5: Going Contemporary: Bollywood in the 1990s and Early 2000s 77
Never-Ending Rom-Khans: Shah Rukh and the Other Khans 79
King Khan: Shah Rukh Khan 80
The critically acclaimed Khan: Aamir Khan 81
Macho man Khan: Salman Khan 82
The fun-loving Khan: Saif Ali Khan 83
Laughing with the Comedy King: Govinda Ahuja 83
High Octane and High Energy: The Action Stars 84
The stuntman: Akshay Kumar 84
Perennial tough guy: Sunil Shetty 84
Coming of Age: Sons of Industry 85
Killer B’s son: Abhishek Bachchan 85
Dancing into the limelight: Hrithik Roshan 85
The serial kisser: Emraan Hashmi 86
Meeting the Method Actors 86
Posing with Models-Turned-Actors 87
Voice (and muscles) of stone: Arjun Rampal 87
Heartthrob heaven: John Abraham 88
Dancing Backup to the Leading Man: Shahid Kapoor 89
Buzzing with the Queen Bee: The Inimitable Madhuri Dixit 90
Keeping It in the Family 91
The Kapoor sisters: Karisma and Kareena 91
The Mukherjee cousins: Kajol and Rani 92
Identifying the Pageant Winners 93
Sweet and wholesome: Juhi Chawla 93
Renowned beauty: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan 94
International star: Priyanka Chopra 95
Identifying Critically Acclaimed Darlings 95
Multi-award winner: Tabassum Hashmi 95
Powerhouse performer: Manisha Koirala 96
Recognizing the Leggy Leading Ladies 97
Reality-star-turned-actress: Shilpa Shetty 97
Item number specialist: Katrina Kaif 97
Smiling with the Sweethearts 98
The mast-mast girl: Raveena Tandon 98
Dimpled sweetheart: Preity Zinta 98
The Sex Icon: Bipasha Basu 99
Chapter 6: Good As New: Bollywood from the Mid-2000s to the Present Day 101
Recycling Old Plots: What’s Old is New Again 102
Keeping It in the Family: Children of Famous Actors 103
Identifying the Newest Kapoors 103
Charming and varied: Ranbir Kapoor 104
Household name: Arjun Kapoor 104
Winning smile: Aditya Roy Kapur 105
Aching in Heartthrob Haven 105
The new king of Bollywood: Ranveer Singh 105
Tall and talented: Sidharth Malhotra 107
Building Bodies in Bollywood 108
Tragic star: Sushant Singh Rajput 108
The martial artist: Tiger Shroff 108
Romantic hero: Varun Dhawan 109
Crowning a Queen: Deepika Padukone 109
The Descendants: Women from Bollywood Families 110
Acclaimed at an early age: Alia Bhatt 111
Body image hero: Sara Ali Khan 111
Variety queen: Shraddha Kapoor 111
The fashion icon: Sonam Kapoor 112
The royal debutante: Sonakshi Sinha 112
Recognizing the Challengers of the Norm 112
The strong personality: Anushka Sharma 113
Critical darling: Parineeti Chopra 113
Taking her own stance: Kangana Ranaut 114
Part 3: The Sound of (Bollywood) Music 117
Chapter 7: Not a Sprint, but a (Musical) Marathon 119
Respecting the Soundtrack 120
Nodding at movie soundtracks 120
Focusing on the actual songs 121
Marketing movies: How songs do it 122
Recognizing the Importance of the Score 125
Orchestrating everything: Music directors 125
Bringing the lyrics to life: Singers 126
Writing the songs: Lyricists 127
Sequencing videos: Sets and locations 127
Getting into Costume 130
Eyeing the cuts and wraps of women’s clothing 130
Appreciating the simplicity and tradition of men’s clothing 132
Chapter 8: Getting Funky with Disco 135
Disco Dancing through Bollywood: How Filmi Disco Made an Impact 135
Everybody was BIDDU fighting 136
Appreciating the Hassan phenomenon 137
Grooving with the Self-Proclaimed Disco King: Bappi Lahiri 138
Kickstarting the disco trend in India 139
Hitting the dance floor: Lahiri’s influence 140
Digging the Psychedelic: R D Burman and Asha Bhosle 140
Master of mixing genres: R.D Burman 140
The versatile playback singer: Asha Bhosle 141
Mixing It Up: A Little Boogie, a Little Sufi 144
Blending religious motifs 144
Composing disco music: Laxmikant Kudalkar and Pyarelal Sharma 145
Chapter 9: Feeding the Soul: Bollywood’s Music Origins and Soul Music 147
Examining the Genesis of Bollywood Music 148
The emergence of Urdu poetry in India through ghazals 149
Filmi ghazal revival in the 1990s 150
Appreciating the Preachy, Powerful, and Poetic: Qawwalis 152
Looking closer at qawwali songs 152
Religious devotion from Sufi music 154
Influencing Bollywood: The subgenre of filmi qawwali 155
Going techno 156
Chapter 10: Mixing It Up with Other Musical Genres: Pop, Rock, and Rap 159
Discovering Rock Music’s Influence in Bollywood 159
Bollywood loves rock and roll 160
Getting psycho with Raga Rock 160
Evolution of Hindi rock 161
Indian Music Pops Off 163
Recognizing famous Indi-pop singers 164
Keeping pop popular in Bollywood 167
Punjabi gets popping 169
Busting a Rhyme: Bollywood and Rap 169
Rap: Appearing in Bollywood movies 170
Making its debut: Bollywood’s first rap film 171
Chapter 11: Noticing Folk Music In and Out of Bollywood 173
Recognizing the Traditions of the Punjab Region 174
Identifying the roots of Punjabi folk music 174
Identifying the unique instruments 175
Getting Down: Dance Traditions of Punjab 177
It’s all in the bounce 178
Bhangra’s evolution, from folk to hip-hop 179
Spotlighting the women of Punjab 180
Choreographing Bhangra within Bollywood 181
Appreciating dance 181
A culture of competing 183
Chapter 12: Painting the Town, Bollywood Style 185
Tapping Along to Indian Dance Styles 186
Looking to the Tribes for Folk Dance 187
Getting to Know the Famous Choreographers 188
Popping with the king of Bollywood dance 189
Emulating MJ and beyond 190
Getting energetic and making history 192
Dancing Their Way to Center Stage 193
Adding Bollywood Dance to Your Repertoire 196
Part 4: Bollywood Goes Global 199
Chapter 13: Leading Box Office Revenue Worldwide 201
Representing Bollywood Culture around the Globe 202
Testing success in the Middle East and North Africa 203
Sharing values with West Africa and beyond 203
Filming in the UK and Western Europe 204
Growing popularity in China 205
Roller-coastering through South America 205
Streaming everywhere 207
Considering the Western Influence 207
American actors adopt Bollywood 207
Musical collaborations 210
The Janice Miller effect and social media 211
Chapter 14: Bollywood Fans Grow in the Masses 213
Loving the Bollywood Culture 213
Celebrating Bollywood with games and music parties 214
More memes, please 214
Spinning Off: TV Shows Discuss More about Their Beloved Bollywood 216
Koffee with Karan 217
Kapil Sharma Show 218
All India Bakchod 218
Recognizing When Fandom Turns into Obsession 219
Banning TikTok in India 220
Majoring in Kapoorology 221
Chapter 15: Grabbing Trophies: The Award Shows 223
Reaching for the Stars: India’s Version of the Oscars 224
Finding Fame with the Filmfare Awards 224
Going international with the IIFA Awards 226
Getting presidential with the National Film Awards 227
Identifying Other Prominent Awards Shows 227
Coming and going with Zee Cine 228
Reaching for the Stardust 228
Starring in the STAR Guild Awards 228
Part 5: From Neighboring Industries to the Diaspora 233
Chapter 16: Taking From and Giving To Lollywood 235
Influencing Bollywood Soundtracks: Pakistan’s Musical Talent 236
Including Pakistani culture in Bollywood 236
Rocking Pakistani-style 238
Rockin’ Out to Music Franchises So Good They’re International 239
Drinking it in: Coke Studio 239
Finding treasures: Nescafe Basement 240
Crossing Over: Lollywood Impacting Bollywood 241
Indo-Pak relations, as told through Bollywood 242
Pakistani actors crossing the border 243
Chapter 17: Examining South India’s Bollywood 247
A Tale of Two Tollywoods 248
The Tollywood of Bengal 248
Telugu cinema, another Tollywood 250
Remaking culture — from Tollywood to Bollywood 251
Tapping into Tamil Cinema: Kollywood 251
A secondary hub for Hindi cinema 252
Kollywood’s greatest gift to Bollywood: A R Rahman 253
Chapter 18: Reaching Hollywood: Bollywood’s Impact 255
Recognizing Bollywood Actors in Popular Hollywood Media 256
Leaving a legacy: The late Irrfan Khan 256
Sweeping audiences off their feet: Dimple Kapadia 258
Shining in unconventional roles: Om Puri 258
Recognizing other actors who made the transition 259
Moving from Acting to Talking with Talk Shows 261
Ellen DeGeneres 261
Jimmy Fallon 261
Oprah Winfrey 262
David Letterman 262
Crossing Over: Hollywood in India 264
Appearing in Bollywood movies 265
Collaborating on cross-cultural comedy 265
Eyeing South Asian Contributions to Hollywood Films 266
Identifying notable people behind the scenes 266
Making space in the industry: Prominent diaspora actors in Hollywood 268
Part 6: The Parts of Tens 275
Chapter 19: Ten Movies to Watch If You’re New to Bollywood 277
Sholay: Burning Down the Competition 278
Mother India: Flag-Bearing a Country 279
Amar Akbar Anthony: Marinating in “Masala” 280
Dil Chahta Hai: The First Coming of Age 281
Hum Aapke Hain Koun ! Topping the Charts 282
Lagaan: Vying for the Oscars 283
Bombay: So Good That We Must Dub 284
Gully Boy: Hip-Hop Hooray 284
Mughal-E-Azam: India’s Prince Charming 286
Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.: Faking It ’til We Make It! 287
Chapter 20: Ten Must-Watch Shah Rukh Khan Films 289
Baazigar: The Antihero Role 290
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jaayenge: Landscapes of Love 290
Dil to Pagal Hai: The Master of Triangles 291
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai: The All-Time Classic 292
Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham: The Star-Studded Family Film 292
Devdas: Tragedy Strikes 293
Mohabbatein: Living in a Dream World 294
Kal Ho Naa Ho: The Tear-Jerker 295
Swades: Yearning for Home 296
Veer-Zaara: A Tale of Two Nations 296
Chapter 21: Ten Bollywood Actors Who Transitioned to Hollywood 299
Amitabh Bachchan 300
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan 300
Priyanka Chopra 300
Anil Kapoor 301
Shashi Kapoor 302
Irrfan Khan 302
Anupam Kher 303
Deepika Padukone 303
Amrish Puri 304
Naseeruddin Shah 304
Index 305
