Cinema of India
India's cinema: a multilingual mosaic of film industries, from silent pioneers to global box-office leaders.
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Indian cinema encompasses the motion pictures produced by the country's film industry, which has significantly influenced global cinema since the mid-20th century. Rather than a single national industry, it comprises multiple language-specific sectors, including Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Bhojpuri, Assamese, Odia, and others. Key production hubs are located in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Kochi, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar-Cuttack, and Guwahati.
Telugu
For many years, India has led the world in annual film output. In 2024, the domestic box office generated ₹11,833 crore (equivalent to $1.36 billion). Hyderabad's Ramoji Film City, spanning over 1,666 acres (674 ha), holds the Guinness World Record as the largest film studio complex globally.
Indian cinema is a multilingual, multi-ethnic art form. The term "Bollywood" is often mistakenly applied to all Indian films, but it specifically refers to the Hindi-language industry. Indian cinema is an umbrella term covering numerous industries, each producing films in its own language with distinct cultural and stylistic traits. In 2021, Telugu cinema became the largest industry in India by box office revenue.
1970s–present
By 2022, Hindi cinema accounted for 33% of box office revenue, followed by Telugu at 20%, Tamil at 16%, Kannada at 8%, Malayalam at 6%, Marathi at 3%, and Punjabi, Bengali, and Gujarati each at 1%. That same year, the combined revenue of South Indian film industries surpassed that of Bollywood. Telugu cinema also led in ticket sales with 23.3 crore (233 million) tickets sold, followed by Tamil with 20.5 crore (205 million) and Hindi with 18.9 crore (189 million).
Indian cinema operates as a global enterprise, drawing international attention and acclaim across South Asia. Since the advent of talkies in 1931, Hindi cinema dominated box office performance, though it has recently faced strong competition from Telugu cinema. Overseas Indians contribute 12% of the industry's revenue.
History
The history of Indian cinema dates back to the dawn of the film era. After the Lumière brothers' and Robert Paul's moving pictures were screened in London in late 1895 and early 1896, commercial cinematography became a worldwide phenomenon, and these films were shown in Bombay that same year.
Silent era (1890s–1920s)
From 1913 to 1931, all Indian films were silent, featuring intertitles. Dadasaheb Phalke released Raja Harishchandra (1913) in Bombay, the first Indian film, a silent movie with English, Marathi, and Hindi intertitles.
Films grew steadily in popularity as affordable mass entertainment, with admission as low as an anna (one-sixteenth of a rupee) in Bombay. Young producers began incorporating Indian social life and culture into cinema, while others introduced ideas from abroad, drawing global audiences and markets to India's film industry. In 1927, the British government formed the Indian Cinematograph Enquiry Committee to promote British films over American ones in India, but the committee instead recommended supporting the fledgling Indian film industry, and its suggestions were ignored.
The first Indian sound film was Alam Ara (1931), directed by Ardeshir Irani. The first studio in South India, Durga Cinetone, was built in 1936 by Nidamarthi Surayya in Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh. Sound ushered in musicals like Indra Sabha and Devi Devyani, launching the song-and-dance tradition.
By 1935, studios had emerged in Madras, Calcutta, and Bombay, solidifying filmmaking as an industry, exemplified by the success of Devdas (1935). The first color film in India was Kisan Kanya (1937, Moti B). Swamikannu Vincent, who built the first cinema in South India in Coimbatore, introduced "tent cinema"—erecting a tent on open land to screen films.
The first such tent in Madras was called Edison's Grand Cinema Megaphone, named for the electric carbons used in projectors. Bombay Talkies opened in 1934, and Prabhat Studios in Pune began producing Marathi films. However, the British Raj banned Wrath (1930) and Raithu Bidda (1938) for addressing the Indian independence movement.
The Indian Masala film—a mixed-genre format combining song, dance, and romance—emerged after World War II. During the 1940s, South Indian cinema accounted for nearly half of India's cinema halls, and film was seen as a tool for cultural revival. The Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA), a communist-leaning art movement, developed through the 1940s and 1950s.
IPTA plays like Nabanna (1944) paved the way for realism in Indian cinema, seen in films such as Mother India (1957) and Pyaasa (1957), among the country's most iconic productions. After independence, the 1947 partition divided national assets, and several studios moved to Pakistan, making partition a lasting film subject. The Indian government established a Films Division by 1948, which later became one of the world's largest documentary producers.
Lore & Background
The history of cinema in India extends to the beginning of the film era. Following the public screening of the Lumière brothers' and Robert Paul's moving pictures in London in late 1895 and early 1896, respectively, commercial cinematography became a worldwide sensation and these films were shown in Bombay (now Mumbai) that same year. From 1913 to 1931, all the movies made in India were silent films.
In 1913, Dadasaheb Phalke released Raja Harishchandra (1913) in Bombay, the first film made in India. The first Indian sound film was Alam Ara (1931) made by Ardeshir Irani. The first film studio in South India, Durga Cinetone, was built in 1936 by Nidamarthi Surayya in Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh.
The first colour film made in India was Kisan Kanya (1937, Moti B). The period from the late 1940s to the early 1960s is regarded by film historians as the Golden Age of Indian cinema. By 1986, India's annual film output had increased to 833 films annually, making India the world's largest film producer.
A Mosaic of Languages and Studios
India's film landscape defies the notion of a single national cinema. Rather than one unified industry, the country produces motion pictures through a constellation of language-specific studios—Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Bhojpuri, Assamese, Odia, and others—each carrying its own cultural vocabulary and stylistic traditions.
Production hubs are scattered across the subcontinent: Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Kochi, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar-Cuttack, and Guwahati all serve as major centres of filmmaking. The popular shorthand 'Bollywood' refers exclusively to the Hindi-language sector based in Mumbai, yet it is frequently and incorrectly applied to Indian cinema as a whole. In reality, the umbrella term 'Indian cinema' encompasses this entire multilingual, multi-ethnic tapestry of film art, where a Marathi production in Pune and a Tamil feature in Chennai share a national identity while remaining distinct artistic traditions with their own audiences, aesthetics, and creative lineages.
Global Scale and Box Office Dominance
For years, Indian cinema has held the top position worldwide in annual film output, a distinction that underscores the sheer industrial scale of the sector. Beyond its borders, Indian cinema operates as a genuinely global enterprise. Diaspora audiences across South Asia and the wider world contribute meaningfully to the industry's financial health, with overseas Indians accounting for approximately 12 percent of total revenue. This international pull, combined with the domestic appetite for film, positions Indian cinema not merely as a regional phenomenon but as a sustained force in world filmmaking since the latter half of the twentieth century.
From Silent Screens to the Golden Age
Admission prices as low as an anna—one-sixteenth of a rupee—made the new art form accessible to ordinary citizens. The silent period lasted until 1931, when Ardeshir Irani's Alam Ara brought synchronized sound to Indian screens, immediately spawning the musical tradition of song-and-dance that would define the industry.
The Southern Shift: A New Box Office Hierarchy
A significant realignment in Indian cinema's commercial landscape occurred in the early 2020s. In 2021, Telugu cinema overtook its Hindi-language counterpart to become the largest film industry in the country by box-office earnings. The 2022 revenue breakdown tells a striking story: Hindi films captured 33 percent of the market, but Telugu (20 percent), Tamil (16 percent), Kannada (8 percent), and Malayalam (6 percent) collectively out-earned the Mumbai-based sector.
Marathi, Punjabi, Bengali, and Gujarati each contributed roughly 1 percent of revenue. This shift marks a departure from the post-1931 era, during which Hindi cinema had consistently dominated box-office performance. The combined financial weight of South Indian industries now surpasses Bollywood's, signalling that the multilingual mosaic of Indian cinema has entered a genuinely competitive, multi-polar phase.
Reader's Guide
Indian cinema is composed of multilingual and multi-ethnic film art. The term 'Bollywood', often mistakenly used to refer to Indian cinema as a whole, specifically denotes the Hindi-language film industry. In 2021, Telugu cinema emerged as the largest film industry in India in terms of box office.
In 2022, Hindi cinema represented 33% of box office revenue, followed by Telugu representing 20%, Tamil representing 16%, Kannada representing 8%, Malayalam representing 6%, and Marathi representing 3%, with Punjabi, Bengali and Gujarati film industries representing 1% each based on revenue. As of 2022, the combined revenue of South Indian film industries has surpassed that of the Mumbai-based Hindi-language film industry (Bollywood). As of 2022, Telugu cinema leads Indian cinema with 23.3 crore (233 million) tickets sold, followed by Tamil cinema with 20.5 crore (205 million) and Hindi cinema with 18.9 crore (189 million).
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Cinema of India?
It refers to the collective body of motion pictures made across India's many language-specific film industries, including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali, and others. Since the mid-20th century, this multilingual output has exerted a significant influence on global filmmaking.
How much does India produce in films each year?
India has consistently ranked at the top of global film output for multiple consecutive years. Its numerous language-based industries collectively generate more titles annually than any other country.
How does India's audience size stack up against Hollywood's?
In 2001, Indian cinemas were estimated to sell roughly 3.6 billion tickets per year, outpacing Hollywood's approximately 2.6 billion. That gap underscored how deeply embedded filmgoing was in everyday Indian culture.
More in Film History & Milestones
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Cinema of India (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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