A growing chorus of actors and filmmakers wants Hindi cinema to shed the ‘Bollywood’ label, calling it derivative, patronising and an unnecessary reminder of Hollywood
Few prominent names in the Hindi film industry are ready to make a formal representation to the Oxford English Dictionary seeking the removal of the word from its pages. For them, ‘Bollywood’ is more than an innocuous nickname. It is a derivative term that, they argue, reduces the richness and individuality of Indian cinema to a pale imitation of Hollywood.
“It’s derivative and hence demeaning and derogatory,” says Amitabh Bachchan in an exclusive conversation with this writer. “Why should we be known as ‘Bollywood’, a term that suggests a pale association with Hollywood? It has bothered me for years. I’m willing to take any action required to see this mongrelised coinage eradicated from descriptions of Indian cinema.”
Acclaimed actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui feels it is time to remove ‘Bollywood’ from India’s cultural lexicon. “I love our Indian film industry. But when it’s referred to as ‘Bollywood’, I get very upset. It’s embarrassing to hear our cinema called ‘Bollywood’ at international film festivals. I’m ready to take the necessary action to remove this term from the dictionary. No one refers to the Japanese film industry as ‘Jollywood’ or the Korean film industry as ‘Korywood’. Why us?” Filmmaker Priyadarshan believes the problem is rooted in a lingering colonial mindset. “India remained under British rule for 100 years.
The tendency to look up to the Western world for approval is prevalent in our culture. ‘Bollywood’ is a term that has gone into the Oxford dictionary. We are doing everything possible to get it removed.”
“We are past masters at slavishly aping the West, especially when it comes to glamour. We respect Hollywood’s talent more than our own. We think Marlon Brando is more talented than Amitabh Bachchan, Tom Cruise is a better action star than Akshay Kumar, and we give more respect to America’s great filmmakers than Satyajit Ray or Adoor Gopalakrishnan. Our cinema has sold its individuality to Western gloss. We must learn to value our own culture and heritage. Stop aping the West. Stop calling the Hindi film industry ‘Bollywood’. We are on the way to getting rid of this derivative tag.”
Not everyone agrees
Mahesh Bhatt dismisses the debate as much ado about nothing. “Oh, come on, buddy! ‘Bollywood’ is just a word — a convenient shorthand. It doesn’t diminish anything. Films stand or fall on their own truth, not on what the industry is called. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. And a bad film, however named, remains bad. The real question isn’t what we call the industry, but whether the work has a pulse, touches a human heart and lasts beyond its Friday opening.”
Malayalam-Hindi filmmaker Bejoy Nambiar is similarly untroubled by the term. “It’s derivative but not demeaning in any way. Over the years I have come to accept it. It’s become synonymous with us. I prefer calling us the Indian film industry, but it’s not like I hate Bollywood.”
Several filmmakers and actors have preferred the more straightforward terms ‘Hindi cinema’ or ‘Indian cinema’. The argument is not merely about a word but about ownership of the narrative — and whether Indian cinema should continue to define itself through a term built around its perceived relationship with Hollywood.
Standalone Quotes:
“It’s derivative and hence demeaning and derogatory. Why should we be known as ‘Bollywood’, a term that suggests a pale association with Hollywood? It has bothered me for years. I’m willing to take any action required to see this mongrelised coinage eradicated from descriptions of Indian cinema.” — Amitabh Bachchan
“It’s about time we got rid of the Bollywood tag. Why can’t we just call our cinema the Indian film industry? Sadly, from Bollywood we’ve gone to Tollywood, Kollywood, Mollywood, etc. It is embarrassing.” — Jackie Shroff
“It makes us sound like poor country cousins of Hollywood. I cringe every time I hear Hindi cinema being called ‘Bollywood’. I’ve been protesting against this for over 20 years. It was coined by Amit Khanna as an inside joke and then caught on like wildfire. It seems to suggest that the Indian film industry is just a pale imitation of Hollywood, which is not true. Both Amitabh Bachchan and I have steadfastly raised our voices against it.” — Shabana Azmi
