Bollywood

Before reading

How can you find information about the Indian film industry called Bollywood? Give two examples.

Mathias and his class in Norway are working on a project they are doing with a class in England. His group is going to find out more about the Indian film industry called Bollywood. It is famous for its films full of song, dance and glamour. Saanvi, a girl in the English class, can help him. Soon Mathias’ group has all the information they need. Here is an extract from their chat. Hi, Saanvi, what is Bollywood? Well, many people think that Bollywood is a place, like the movie capital Hollywood, but it is not. Actually, it is a popular nickname for the Indian film industry based in Mumbai. Bollywood was founded in 1899. That is 11 years before Hollywood started film production in 1910. What are the films about? They are often about family and family life and are similar to soap operas. A boy meets a girl and the girl’s parents are against their Vurderingseksemplar relationship. After lots of tears and drama, they see the love the boy and girl have for each other and bless the couple, who then live happily ever after. How long is a typical Bollywood movie? Maybe three hours. You get loads of entertainment with action scenes or comic scenes, and of course a lot of singing and dancing.

So singing and dancing are important in the films?

Almost all Bollywood movies have at least four or five songs. They are sung by professional singers and the songs are then lip-synced by dancing actors and actresses.

What about the costumes?

The costumes are often colourful and say a lot about Indian culture. In the dancing scenes, the actors or actresses often change costumes, even between the verses of a song.

What do you think about Bollywood films?

I just love them! A film must have singing and dancing. They make me laugh and cry.

After reading a What did you learn about Bollywood? b Why does Saanvi like the films so much? c Write two questions you would like to ask Saanvi.

Swap questions with a partner. Write the answer. Talk about it!

extract utdrag actually faktisk nickname kallenavn based in med base i founded grunnlagt are similar to lignerVurderingseksemplar bless velsigner

a What do you think are the main differences between a Bollywood and a Hollywood film? b What is important to remember if you chat to someone on the internet?

entertainment underholdning

lip-synced mimet

actors skuespillere

actresses skuespillerinner

costumes kostymer