The Magic Of The Movies

India’s film industry has survived television and video-streaming platforms are unlikely to take the shine off the silver screen either.

- Sugita Katyal

There’s no business like show business Like no business I know Everything about it is appealing Everything that traffic will allow Nowhere could you get that happy feeling When you are stealing that extra bow

It’s been more than 70 years since American composer Irving Berlin’s iconic tribute to the excitement of show business, but there’s still no business like show business. You’d have imagined the silver screen would have lost its lustre by now with so many easier forms of entertainment right in the comfort of your home, from old-fashioned television for the masses to video-streaming platforms for avocado-toasteating millennials.

You couldn’t be more wrong. India still remains a movie-mad country that cranks out around 2,000 films a year, the largest film industry in the world in terms of sheer numbers. And box-office collections keep rising with every movie. Sure, it’s still a little over $2 billion industry compared with Hollywood’s over $11 billion and digital streaming has become popular, but in terms of mania for the movies, India perhaps remains unmatched. The Hindi film industry, dubbed Bollywood much to the chagrin of many in the business, still manages to draw movie-watchers by the millions. And there’s also regional cinema in at least 20 languages that holds audiences in thrall.