The unstoppable Bollywood!

Indian films featuring megastars with a global appeal, coupled with the backing of affluent production houses, garnered millions of ticket sales around the globe last year. The Indian film industry grew 27 per cent in 2018 on the back of box office growth in both domestic and international markets, according to a report by EY and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

In 2017, box office collections for Indian films overseas took $367 million — up almost three times from $125 million the year before, the report said. Earnings this year are expected to do just as well and may rise to $411 million in 2020 — up by 12 per cent from 2017, according to the report. Indian movies are finding success overseas from the backing of wellknown celebrities and big production houses — factors that attract international viewers.

Those factors are helping some Indian films earn showings at more mainstream theatres in countries like the US. Hindi-language movies, popularly known as Bollywood films, earned more in international markets in 2017 compared to their counterparts in other languages such as Tamil, Telugu or Punjabi. While some Tamil and Telugu movies did well in international markets in 2017, and Tamil superstars like Rajinikanth have a huge following in different parts of the world, other films proved unpopular with audiences As the country establishes itself as a space power, Indians have developed an appetite for sci-fi themes in its cinema.

The patriotic outburst that followed the Mars mission has fuelled the latest example of Indian space cinema: Mission Mangal (Sanskrit for Mars), a fictionalised account of the Orbiter Mission. Starring and produced by Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar, it is due for release today. “I would follow the news about India’s space missions and feel proud of what we were achieving,” says Kumar. “But through Mission Mangal, I guess you could say I have an insider’s perspective.”

Indian films featuring megastars with a global appeal, coupled with the backing of affluent production houses, garnered millions of ticket sales around the globe last year. The Indian film industry grew 27 percent in 2017 on the back of box office growth in both domestic and international markets, according to EY report. In 2017, box office collections for Indian films overseas took $367 million — up almost three times from $125 million the year before, the report said.