Bollywood vs Hollywood [Authentic Coverage]
FACTS ABOUT BOLLYWOOD [Indian Movie Industry] and its small steps towards Hollywood.
- ACTUAL/FACTUAL Reasoning behind the Popularity of Bollywood in India and around the Globe.
- Its absolute shortcomings.
- Where, how and why Bollywood fails/succeeds.
- A relative comparison between total production costs, net gross, revenue and profit in Hwood and Bwood movies.
- Factual numbers, analysis and constructive criticism.
Lets start with Bollywood’s global viewership and why it is around 2 - 2.5 Billion.
Global Reach and Audience:
1) Bollywood has a global audience that boasts numbers close to 2.5 Billion. India itself contributes about 800 million to this number, and leaving out China and United States, the rest of the audience is in fact extremely diverse, hailing from every corner of the Planet. However, interestingly the audience is primarily from poor/developing countries. The facts presented here have been generalized, as it applies to the majority of the viewers in their respective countries.
Just to be fair, Bollywood does have audience from Australia, USA, UK etc etc[Rich nations, but 99% of them are NRI's/Expatriate Indians], however its [Bollywood] non-Indian viewers are from almost every other Country on this Planet. Countries like Afghanistan, Iran, Brazil, Kenya, West Indies, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Bulgaria, Germany, Spain, Suriname, Canada, etc etc to name few such countries where not only the NRI/Expatriate Indians are regular viewers, but the local/Native population as well.
Note: Regardless of approx 2.5 billion viewers, the total revenue generated is nominal, as these "random" countries do not boast strong economies. Hindi movies are relatively very low budget when compared to Hollywood movies. [Highest budgeted Hindi movie so far is approx 5-10 million dollars, whereas Hollywood has repeated made movies with budgets of over 100 million dollars ]. Hindi movie tickets are also very cheap and at most moderate in value to purchase in any of these "random" countries. Due to lax copyright and regulation laws, Hindi movies are blatantly pirated and sold everywhere, in every country, sometimes weeks or months in advance of the actual theatre release date. Example [All new Hindi movies are broken down in 10-20 minute clips and easily available on Youtube]
Another, extremely important factor which makes Bwood movies a premium choice for many people from across the Globe, is the fact that Indians are not WHITE in their skin color. A population of a certain country, will closely and intrinsically identify to a skin color, which is akin to them. And it just happens that the majority of the people on the planet are NOT White in color, thus making Bwood Actors much more "closer" to them. Humans inherently “identify” the body and facial expressions, color and imagery as their own, if their skin color matches to the other person. Culture, language, interest and personality also play pivotal roles. However on the surface, the first thing that is visible is the skin color. Everything else is recognized and scrutinized thereafter. Thus this co-relates to the previous point of a Global audience attracted towards Bwood, as majority of these viewers are from Middle East, Africa, South America and the Caribbeans, with an overwhelming majority of them NON WHITE in their skin color. Whether it be brown-tan-black, anything but White, like white Americans, British or Australians ..etc to name few White nationalities. This is not to suggest that White people, such as Eastern Europeans, do not watch it, but we are talking about the majority here.
Note: Geographically these countries lie close to the equator, and that is the primary reason for a darker skin color.
Breakdown Country/Regionally :
Lets take an in depth analysis of every major/minor country from where this 2.5 billion Bollywood or Indian/Hindi movie watching audience originates.
1) India [Population 1.3 billion] [TV/Movie Watching audience [700 Million] at any given time. Example during Cricket Matches, especially a Cricket World Cup match against Pakistan.
2) Pakistan [Pop 165 Million] [TV/Movie audience is over 80 Million. Culture very similar to India, Hindi movies are highly desired, though regulated by the government]
Other Countries in Asia where Hindi movies are extremely popular (Bangladesh, Nepal, Burma, Afghanistan). The combined Population of these countries is close to 200 million, with an avid Hindi movie watching audience close to 100 million.3) Russia [Anti USA [World War + Cold War]]
Pro communist/socialist which India initially was and still is to some extent, however things have changed in the last decade. Therefore interest in India was genuine/strategic for the Russians. Anti Hollywood/capitalist economy, helped Russians [not all, but many] to diversify their interest in South East Asia, during and from 1960s. This does not suggest that all Russians watch Hindi movies and or all Russians hate Hollywood, but merely the fact that Russians perhaps have a better understanding of Indians, than for example Americans or Australians do.
4)South America [Numbers are less, especially now, with the emergence of a proper Latin/Mexican entertainment industry and movies]. However, due to the fact that Indian people look so much alike South Americans/Mexicans, atleast in their skin color, that after a proper dubbing in the desired languange, Hindi movies are seemingly watchable in South American Countries.
5) Africa [Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania etc]. Since Colonial times, Indians have had a decent presence in Africa, especially along the coastal areas, due to the trading companies that took Indians from India to many colonies in and around Africa, especially the islands of Mauritius and Caribbeans.
6) Europe [England, Switzerland, Netherlands, Italy etc]. Europe has some interesting reasons for following/watching Indian cinema. First, because of a huge population of Indians, who reside in almost every European nation conceivable. From Austria to Germany, and Ireland to Latvia. Numbers obviously vary, in terms of population. England leads the pack and the punch with more than 2 Million Indians. The second, extremely important reason is the fact that more than half the Hindi movies are shot in various European locations. This has helped the tourism industry of many European nations, especially Eastern Europe. Along with the fact that the local public also participates in some of these movies as extras or "crowd", Thus generating enough interest in the local community, to go out and watch a Hindi movie, just for the simple fact of seeing themselves in it. This over a due course, has generated enough interest and following among a "decent" population [few million] to regularly watch Hindi movies.
7) Middle East [UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel etc] Middle East is huge, when it comes to watching Hindi Movies. Countries like UAE and Saudi Arabia have a strong fan base and a popular following of Bollywood. Cities like Dubai, Sharjah etc have a sizable Indian population, which is visible in all aspects of these countries. Middle East itself is very apprehensive of the West and a strong Arabic culture almost rejects and regulates anything which is "western". Dubai is an exception, however the rest of the region is more comfortable with Hindi movies than American. It is not to suggest that Hindi movies are very "clean" in terms of language and sexual overtones, but it also has a overwhelming majority of "family oriented" movies, which balance out the sleaziness of many Hindi movies. Many Arabic words are close to Urdu and Hindi sometimes, thus making some songs and dialogues much more meaningful to the audience.
On top of all these things, the above mentioned countries/regions have some very common factors that helps the acceptance of Hindi cinema into the homes and lives of Millions of Humans across the Planet. In few lines we can add the reasons like this .....
Close family values and ties + Songs + Dancing + Skin color + Struggling/Developing economies/people + masses + village/town people + Urban City sprawl and chaos + new democracies/independence + patriotism + land + dirt + rice + politics and corruption in their respective nations.
Many countries from the above regions, identify very closely to India, when it comes to culture and family values. Extended families, with millions who have migrated from farming communities to big city life in search for jobs. Relatively new independence from Colonial rule, less than 100 years in fact. Music, rhythm, soul and dancing, a common cultural thing. The “hero” concept. One poor guy from the village..goes in search for a job in the “Big” city…and his struggles against corruption and his eventual victory over the system..is a classic concept that every country and more sore developing countries can identify to. Amitabh Bacchan was one such typical hero. Tall, dark in color, seemingly ordinary looking, an image that a "random" South American, Middle Eastern, African, Srilankan, Pakistani, Kenyan etc.. can identify with. As suppose to Marlon Brando, Bradd Pitt, Tom Cruise, Sean Connery. Too white, too "American"..too capitalist…too flashy.. too “perfect”, James Bond espionage concept...which most of these countries in question wont identify with. Think about it .. a random village/town guy..from lets say ...Pakistan or Venezuela..or West Indies.. will he identify himself more with a Amitabh Bacchan, Shah Ruk Khan...and or Marlon Brando....Tom Cruise??
Lets factor in another interesting FACT:
India is also the only Non-Muslim country in the world, which has the most Muslims, almost 200 million. The frequent use of Urdu words in movies, and in flux of Muslim Actors in Bollywood give many Muslims, especially Arabs, a chance to identify the Muslim culture/certain words/languages, mosques and even historic locations, through Hindi cinema.
Indian movies on top of all these factors are dubbed in native languages as well. Which is as good as dubbing an English movie into a native language, as only half the Planet speaks English.
Again, like i said NRI’s regardless of where they are, 70%-85% will most likely watch Hindi movies. White people from countries such as [USA, Australia etc have a 99% chance of NOT watching Hindi movies]
Chinese people have a 99% chance of NOT watching Hindi movies.
And there it is, the rest of the world is open to Bollywood. Again, remember that a lot of European countries with “WHITE” population, like Sweeden, Netherlands etc are prime locations for filming Bollywood movies. More than half of the “foreign location/sets” are based in these European countries, thus the local population, invariably has started watching these movies, as so many of them are shot in their backyards, and local streets, sometimes they themselves are in these movies as local props and or crowd.
....to be continued...[Note: Links to facts and figures, data, pictures and references will be posted shortly]
Labels: Bhangra, Bollywood, Bollywood vs Hollywood, Bombay, Future of Bollywood, Hindi, Hindi cinema, Hindi movies, Hindi songs, Mumbai
posted by Planetary @ 11:12 PM
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