Bollywood

With their casts of thousands, troupes of dancing girls, handsome heroes, star-crossed lovers, tinsel, glitter and sheer joie de vivre, Bollywood movies capture the essence of India.

Bollywood symbolizes Indian cinema, and Mumbai is at the center of the country’s film industry. More than 900 films a year are filmed in the city, making it the world’s busiest cinematic center.

Bollywood films tend to be musicals, designed around massive song and dance set pieces. Expect plenty of melodrama, love triangles, heroes and villains, comedy, romance, angry parents and reversals of fortune, and some of the most exotically sequined and gold-dusted costumes this side of Las Vegas.

If you’d like to do more than just watch a Bollywood movie, head down to Cafe Leopold in Calaba to show off your flair – if you’re in luck, talent scouts might be in the area searching for extras to appear in one of Bollywood’s all-singing, all-dancing extravaganzas.

Many Bollywood films are shot at Film City. The huge estate includes gardens and landscaped grounds with lakes, providing all the color and movement essential to a Bollywood blockbuster. If you’d like to see it for real, you can visit Film City on an organized tour.

Practical Info

Film City is near Sanjay Gandhi National Park, around 10km (6 miles) north of Mumbai.