Indian Cinema

The Indian film industry is the largest in the world (1200 movies were released in the year 2002). India also features the cheapest cost of tickets in the world (the average ticket cost only 20 US cents), and the biggest movie studio in the world, Ramoji Film City [citation needed]. The industry is supported mainly by the vast cinemagoing Indian public, although Indian films have been gaining increasing popularity in the rest of the world — especially in countries with large numbers of expatriate Indians.


Regional film industries

India is a large country where many languages are spoken. Each of the larger languages supports its own film industry: Urdu/Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam.

The Hindi/Urdu film industry, based in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), is called 'Bollywood' (a melding of Hollywood and Bombay).
The Marathi film industry is based in Mumbai & Pune.
The Tamil film industry is based in the Kodambakkam area of Chennai, South India, and hence is sometimes called 'Kollywood'.
'Tollywood' is a metonym for the Bengali film industry, long centered in the Tollygunge district of Kolkata (Calcutta). The Bengali industry is notable for having nurtured the director Satyajit Ray, an internationally renowned filmmaker and a winner of many awards, among them the Bharat Ratna (India's highest civilian award), the Legion d'honneur (France), and the Lifetime achievement Academy Award.
The Kannada film industry, based in Karnataka State, is sometimes called 'Sandalwood', as Karnataka is known for its sandalwood; however, this term does not seem to be in widespread use.
The Telugu film industry (sometimes called Tollywood) is based in Andhra Pradesh's capital city, Hyderabad.
The Malayalam film industry is based in Kerala.
The Bollywood industry is usually the largest in terms of films produced and box office receipts. Many workers in other regional industries, once their talent and popularity is established, move on to work in other film industries, nationally as well as internationally. For example, A.R. Rahman, one of the best known film music composers in Indian cinema, started his career in Tamil cinema in Chennai but has since undertaken ventures in other spheres, including international film and theatre. Similarly, films that succeed in one language are often remade or dubbed in others. Films like Padosan and Roja, for example, were re-made or dubbed from their original Bengali and Tamil versions respectively, into Hindi.