This year sees celebrations abound to mark 100 Years of Bollywood. A century ago, on 3 May 1913, audiences in India were introduced to Dadasaheb Phalke’s ground-breaking Raja Harishchandra. The 40-minute long black and white silent film, based on the legend of King Harishchandra, is widely considered to mark the official start of what is today one of the world’s best loved and most successful film industries.
While the industry currently produces a staggering average of 1000+ feature films a year (twice the annual production of Hollywood), annual revenues of Bollywood films are still only a fraction at 10% of the $30 billion (£19 billion) generated by Hollywood. Yet, the stars of the Indian silver screen, such as the inimitable Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Shan, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan are arguably just as famous as their Hollywood counterparts in homes all around the world.
Bollywood acting legend and industry insider Kajol, has, along with contemporaries such as Aishwarya Rai, become one of the industry’s biggest icons.
Comments Kajol: “The fact that our industry has not only survived, but has, in fact, thrived over the last century speaks volumes. I am grateful for the fact that I am here, at this time, and able to be even a small part of its fantastic accomplishments. From the first black and white film to modern-day 3D cinema, we have certainly come a long way. Whether Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgan or even myself, we are known the world over due to the profession we are in – there is no corner of the world that Bollywood has not touched! And we have a 100 glorious years behind us to prove it.”
