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Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Hollywood". The industry, producing films in the Hindi language, is a part of the larger Indian cinema industry, which also includes South Indian cinema and other smaller film industries. The term 'Bollywood', often mistakenly used to refer to Indian cinema as a whole, only refers to Hindi-language films, with Indian cinema being an umbrella term that includes all the film industries in the country, each offering films in diverse languages and styles.

In 2017, Indian cinema produced 1,986 feature films, of which the largest number, 364, have been in Hindi. In 2022, Hindi cinema represented 33% of box office revenue, followed by Telugu and Tamil representing 20% and 16% respectively. Mumbai is one of the largest centres for film production in the world. Hindi films sold an estimated 341 million tickets in India in 2019. Earlier Hindi films tended to use vernacular Hindustani, mutually intelligible by speakers of either Hindi or Urdu, while modern Hindi productions increasingly incorporate elements of Hinglish.

The most popular commercial genre in Hindi cinema since the 1970s has been the masala film, which freely mixes different genres including action, comedy, romance, drama and melodrama along with musical numbers. Masala films generally fall under the musical film genre, of which Indian cinema has been the largest producer since the 1960s when it exceeded the American film industry's total musical output after musical films declined in the West. The first Indian talkie, Alam Ara (1931), was produced in the Hindustani language, four years after Hollywood's first sound film, The Jazz Singer (1927).

Alongside commercial masala films, a distinctive genre of art films known as parallel cinema has also existed, presenting realistic content and avoidance of musical numbers. In more recent years, the distinction between commercial masala and parallel cinema has been gradually blurring, with an increasing number of mainstream films adopting the conventions which were once strictly associated with parallel cinema. (Full article...)

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Agneepath is a 2012 Indian action drama film produced by Hiroo Yash Johar and Karan Johar under the banner of Dharma Productions. It is a retelling of the 1990 film of the same name and was directed by Johar's former assistant Karan Malhotra. Hrithik Roshan (pictured) plays the lead role of Vijay Deenanath Chauhan and Sanjay Dutt plays the role of the antagonist Kancha Cheena, originally played by Amitabh Bachchan and Danny Denzongpa respectively; Rishi Kapoor portrays the newly introduced character of Rauf Lala. The supporting cast include Om Puri as Commissioner Gaitonde, Priyanka Chopra as Kaali Gawde and Zarina Wahab as Suhasini Chauhan, with Katrina Kaif featuring in an item number. The film follows the struggle of a common man, Vijay Chauhan, as he seeks revenge from Kancha Cheena for wrongly framing and murdering his father in the island village of Mandwa. In the process he befriends an underworld drug lord Rauf Lala and falls in love with a loquacious girl, Kaali Gawde. Agneepath was released on 26 January 2012 in 2650 screens worldwide, coinciding with the Republic Day celebrations. Made on a budget of 60 crore (US$6.9 million), the film broke the highest opening day collections record in India and became a major critical and commercial success, with a worldwide gross of 193 crore (US$22 million). Box Office India declared the film as a "super hit". Agneepath has since emerged as one of the highest grossing films of all time from Bollywood.

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Vidya Balan (born 1 January 1979) is an Indian film actress, who appears in Hindi, Bengali and Malayalam language films. At age sixteen, Balan landed her first acting role in the sitcom Hum Paanch (1995). After making several unsuccessful attempts to start a career in film, she acted in television commercials and music videos. In 2003, she made her feature film debut with the independent Bengali drama Bhalo Theko. In 2005, Balan garnered praise for her first Hindi film, Parineeta, and followed it with a leading role in the blockbuster Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006). Her subsequent portrayal of glamorous characters in the films Heyy Babyy (2007) and Kismat Konnection (2008) met with negative comments from film critics. 2009, however, marked the beginning of the most successful period in Balan's career as she portrayed five consecutive roles to wide critical acclaim in Paa (2009), Ishqiya (2010), No One Killed Jessica (2011), The Dirty Picture (2011), and Kahaani (2012). These roles have fetched her the tag of a "female hero" and established her as a leading contemporary actress of Hindi cinema. Balan has received one National Film Award, five Filmfare Awards and five Screen Awards. She is a social activist and supports the cause of women empowerment. She initially drew criticism for her weight and dressing sense, but was later credited in the media for retaining her individuality and breaking stereotypes of a Hindi film heroine. She is married to film producer Siddharth Roy Kapur.

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Awards: Bollywood Movie Awards (defunct) • Filmfare AwardsGlobal Indian Film Awards (defunct) • International Indian Film Academy AwardsNational Film AwardsScreen AwardsStar Guild AwardsStardust AwardsZee Cine Awards

Institutions Asian Academy of Film & TelevisionCentral Board of Film CertificationDirectorate of Film FestivalsFilm and Television Institute of IndiaFilm CityFox Star StudiosNational Film Development Corporation of IndiaSatyajit Ray Film and Television Institute

Lists: List of Bollywood filmsFilm clansHighest-grossing films in overseas marketsHighest-grossing films

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