The Indian film industry is the biggest in the world in term of sheer numbers. The industry churns our more than a thousand flicks every year in dozens of languages. The biggest number of films is produced in Hindi, the major language spoken and understood across the northern part of India. The Hindi film industry is based in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), and is popularly known as Bollywood. By the way, Bollywood also produces a small number of English language movies every year.

Over the years, film making over the world has evolved its own genres. For example, we may have a musical, or a sci-fi, or a horror movie. These are all genres that are universally used. A particular film can be categorized into a genre based on different factors like the setting, the topic, the mood and the format of the movie. Most of the films can be categorized into one genre or the other, or as is more likely, a mixture of more than one genre.

The phenomenon of the genre has undergone a strange transformation in the Indian film industry in general, and the Hindi film industry (that is Bollywood for you) in particular. The bollywood has evolved what is called a "formula" for the making of a successful film. Or to put it correctly, a film which has the maximum probability of succeeding at the box-office. Many critics and experts pan the very idea of a formula, saying that it is an affront to the intelligence and sensibilities of the viewer. Most producers also avoid using the term "formula", saying that their film is a complete entertainer for the whole family. Yet, the fact remains that a majority of the films produced conform to a paticular pattern, or a formula.

True to the Indian form, this formula has even got an Indian name: The Masala Movie. What is Masala? Masala literally means "spices", or a mixture of spices. So, what does Masala (spices) have to do with a successful film? Just like a good recipe has to have a reasonable balance of the spices besides other ingredients, a successful film should also have the correct mixture of various genres such as action, romance and musicals. At least that is the idea. Just like you can tweak the amount of each individual item of spice to impart your curry an individual flavour, so you can adjust the amount of romance, action, music etc in your film to fit your own script.

With the passage of time, the film-makers have developed what they think is the best formula for a successful film. The film may succeed, or may bomb at the box-office. Yet, conforming to a formula increases the probability of success. On the other hand, non-conformance is considered adventurous, and frowned upon. Watch a few Bollywood flicks, you will promptly understand that there is a pattern. These flicks will contain some essential elements, which remain unchanged across films. What will vary is the amount of each masala.

Indians are emotional people. Well, most of the people are emotional at some level, but there is something unique about the intensity of the emotions in the Indian people. The same emotions are reflected in our traditions, expressions, culture, and by extension, our arts. The origin and development of the Masala Movie has its roots in this somewhat unique Indian psyche.

The Masala Movie has evolved and developed from the following:

Specifically, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. These two epics can be considered to be the best ever depiction of the entire range of human emotions. Both these epics were written around 5000 to 4000 years back(!), and continue to influence Indian ethos to this date. You will definitely find copies of both these books in every Hindu home, where they are revered and read frequently. These epics have had a lasting influence on the narrative traditions and the performing arts, and later, on the popular cinema. Even today, Ramlila (theatrical depiction of Ramayana) is played every year for 7 to 10 days across India, at thousands of locations in the month of September-October (just before the festival of Dussehra).

The Indians have traditionally being hopeless lovers of singing and dancing. This is also a tradition which has been continuing for thousands of years. India has a very rich tradition of performing arts. The arts have been carefully preserved, appreciated and enjoyed by common folks, and found great patrons in almost all the rulers of India. The dances (nritya) and singing were always steeped in an underlying story, and had an element of drama and expression. In fact, the overwhelming part of the non-classical music that is produced every year in India is actually film music.

Theatre has been around in India for thousands of years. Since the time of Rig Veda (around 2000 B.C.), which contains the earliest recorded forms of dramatic dialogue, Sanskrit theatre flourished in India. The biggest proponents of Sanskrit theatre were Shudraka, Bhasha, Ashavaghosh and Kalidasa. Sanskrit drama started declining around the Tenth century AD with the rise of popular folk theatre like the Ramlila (North India), Yatra (Bengal), Tamasha (Maharashtra) and Terukkuttu (Tamilnadu).

The Parsi people landed in India fleeing from the persecution in Persia, and went on to influence the popular culture in their own way (Freddie Mercury aka Farrokh Balsara, was a Parsi). One of their most important contribution was to the field of theatre. The Parsi community can rightly be credited with the evolution of the modern Indian theatre. Since the Parsi were mostly based in and around Mumbai, it was inevitable that they would influence the film industry at some point. The Parsi theatre was foremost in the blending realism, fantasy, music, dialogue, dramatic representation, humour, song and dance routine and first rate stagecraft. These influence also shaped the Indian cinema, especially Hindi cinema (Bollywood).

How can one omit Hollywood from this list? After all, the word Bollywood itself is derived from the combination of Bombay and Hollywood. To be fair, Bollywood has been influenced by various elements of world cinema, including the European, Iranian and Japanese cinema, yet the influence of Hollywood has been the most substantial. From technology to story telling, from popular music influences to (sadly) whole plots, Hollywood has been a notable influence on Bollywood.

As pointed out earlier in the hub, the Indian Masala movi is a mixture, a pot-pourri of different genres, or masala as they are called. Take a fair sprinkling of drama, dance, action, emotion, music and melodrama, and lo and behold, you have the makings of a Bollywood potboiler! Once you go through the list of most famous masala movies of all times, you will quickly notice a pattern emerging.

The main ingredients of a typical Bollywood masala movie are :

Characters:

Logically, characters should be secondary to the storyline (plot or script) but not so for Bollywood! Here, the characters rule. Often, the actors are chosen even before the script is finalized for their sheer star power and their banakability. The script becomes secondary. The main characters in typical Bollywood movie are:
* The main characters (called the hero and the heroine), sometimes in double roles.
* A Villain (or a Vamp, or both). Sometimes the situation, and not a person, becomes the villain.
* Comedian (The comedian is almost extinct now)
* Supporting cast (called the 'Character Actors"), including the lackeys of the villain.

Storyline:

As explained earlier, the script is the secondary consideration for the masala movie. The scripts are sadly lacking in content and substance. The most successful storyline for Bollywood is a love story (which is typically based on the Romeo and Juliet plot). All other genres are also sprinkled for added effect. Thus, the story will have a love story as a central theme, with some action, comedy or suspense thrown in for good measure.

Music:

An integral part of Bollywood Masala movie. Infact, one is even tempted to place it before the storyline in the schem of things. No bollywood masala film can be expected to succeed without a string of song and dance sequences, and that is a guarantee! The reverse is true, though. This means that the music of a film may succeed, though the actual movie may bomb at the box-office. This is Bollywood for you! Sometimes the sond and dance routines are entirely unrelated to the story line, they just jump out at you from the blue! Another recent adiition has been the so called "item numbers".

Action:

Action is a widely successful genre across the world cinema. It is no diffrent here in Bollywood. Though one can name a very few Bollywood films that are truly action, yet it is an integral part of the masala. Most successful films will have a fair sprinkling of some action sequence, especially towards the climax of the story.

To be fair, one can say that the Bollywood is not the only film industry which follows a fixed "formula" for the success of films. Most successful films worldwide (especially Hollywood) have followed a more or less fixed formula. For example, one of the most successful movies of all times, Titanic was essentially a love story. The tragedy of the Titanic became secondary to the love story of the main protagonists. Or take Moulin Rouge, a musical, which is what a lot of Bollywood movies are! Moulin Rouge even used a popular Hindi film song!