Bollywood Stage 5 Comprehension PDF

STAGE 5 Unit focus: The Movies! Text focus: Information Text Bollywood! Hollywood isn’t the only movie powerhouse in the world. The Hindi language movie industry in...

STAGE 5 Unit focus: The Movies! Text focus: Information Text Bollywood! Hollywood isn’t the only movie powerhouse in the world. The Hindi language movie industry in India, nicknamed Bollywood, is one of the most popular and successful in the world. There is a misconception that Bollywood refers to all Indian cinema, but this is wrong. The term originally came from the place names Bombay and Hollywood and so only referred to films that were recorded in the Hindi language. Modern Bollywood films might use different soundtracks or subtitles so that they can be watched in different languages. One of the most recognisable traits of many Bollywood movies is their colour, energy, music and vibrant dancing. The stories are usually filled with arguments, revenge and drama. For this reason, they are often called Masala movies - Masala means “spice” in Hindi, and these films are definitely full of that! Many Bollywood actors go on to appear in lots of films. The current record holder is Shakti Kapoor. Since he began acting in 1977, he has appeared in over 700 films, often as the villain or funnyman. Throughout his career, he has made millions of dollars and is a celebrity around the world. When you look at the numbers, it is perhaps Bollywood that should be considered the home of movies, not Hollywood. Bollywood began producing movies in 1899, 11 years before Hollywood. Despite this, Bollywood didn’t release the first film with sound until Alam Ara in the early 1930s, five years after Hollywood. Each year, Bollywood releases around 1,000 movies, compared to Hollywood’s 500. Hollywood films are watched by around 2.6 billion viewers worldwide, which is a lot of people. However, Bollywood films are watched by over 3 billion! On the other hand, Hollywood makes a lot more money than Bollywood. In 2018, all resources ©2021 Literacy Shed http://www.literacyshedplus.com Hollywood made $50.9 billion in revenue. Bollywood wasn’t even second in the list - it came in third with $2.83 billion. Cinema of China was the second most profitable with $12.8 billion. The highest-grossing (gross is the term for how much money a film makes) Bollywood film of all time was a 2016 film called Dangal. It was a sports biography and made over $311 million worldwide. Conversely, the highest-grossing Hollywood film was Avatar, released in 2009. That made over $2.8 billion worldwide. So, if you are a film company looking to make money, then perhaps Hollywood is the place to go. However, if you are a fan of colourful, dramatic and entertaining films by the handful, then you should definitely check out a Bollywood production. RETRIEVAL FOCUS 1. Which produces the most films each year: Hollywood or Bollywood? 2. When was the first film shot in Bollywood? 3. Which film industry made the second most money in 2018? 4. What is the name of the most successful Bollywood film? 5. Who has starred in the most Bollywood films? VIPERS QUESTIONS S Why are Bollywood films sometimes called Masala films? V What is a “trait”? V Complete the sentence using a word from the text: When a character wants to get their own back on somebody, it is called ________. V Write a definition for “conversely”. S Summarise how Bollywood and Hollywood compare with each other. all resources ©2021 Literacy Shed http://www.literacyshedplus.com