The 'Bollywoodization' of the Indian cinema: cultural nationalism in a global arena

The West may have the biggest stalls in the world’s media bazaar, but it is not the only player. Globalization isn’t merely another word for Americanization — and the recent expansion of the Indian entertainment industry proves it. For hundreds of millions of fans around the world, it is Bollywood — India’s film industry — not Hollywood, that spins their screen fantasies. Bollywood, based in Mumbai, has become a global industry. India’s entertainment moguls don’t merely target the billion South Asians, or desis, at home: they make slick movies, songs and TV shows for export. Attracted by a growing middle class and a more welcoming investment environment, foreign companies are flocking to Bollywood, funding films and musicians. The foreign money is already helping India’s pop culture to reach even greater audiences. And it may have a benign side-effect in cleaning up an Indian movie industry business long haunted by links to the underworld. (‘Bollywood Goes International’, Newsweek International, February 28, 2000)