## Episode outline
### [Last Time's](http://fanthropological.com/e/31-lord-of-the-rings-fans/) Famous Last Words
**Z**: In *The Simpsons*, when Apu lives with the Simpsons temporarily, they watch a Bollywood movie together. That movie now exists.
**G**: Are western fans of Bollywood also interested in Indian culture in general?
**T**: What is the most ridiculous Bollywood film that exists?
### Fandom Facts
**Origins:**
"Bollywood" movies, more formally referred to as "Hindi cinema", are films produced as part of the larger Indian film industry. It is one of the largest film producers in India representing 43% of net box office revenue (Tamil and Teluga cinema represent 36%). It is one of the largest centres of film production in the world, and one of the biggest film industries in the world in terms of films produced and people employed.
The first silent films made in India started around the beginning of the 20th century, and by the 1930s the industry was producing about 200 films per year.
**Names:**
Hindi cinema fans, Bollywood fans,
**Most Active:**
Probably the present day; [Google trends](https://trends.google.ca/trends/explore?date=all&q=bollywood) data shows a slow but gradual increase from 2005 to now with the most interest being in spikes from last year and early this year.
**Size of Fandom:**
In 2012, over [2.6 billion tickets were sold to Bollywood films](https://blogs-images.forbes.com/niallmccarthy/files/2014/09/Bollywood_2.jpg), compared to 1.3 billion in the United States and almost 0.5 billion in China during the same period. [Another source](https://www.quora.com/How-big-is-the-Bollywood-movie-market) cites 4 billion tickets (Bollywood) vs 3 billion tickets (United States), but still, that's a huge upper bound.
**Around the world:**
There are definitely fans of Bollywood films outside of India, and outside of just Indian ex-patriots. Bollywood films are known from Egypt to Pakistan, Russia (In Soviet Russia, Indian movies were fairly common due to an Indo-Russian deal and also the fact that Hollywood was quite restricted back then), Ukraine, Poland, China, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, UK, USA, Canada. They are *less* known in Europe, Africa, Latin America and Oceania.
> “About 95 per cent of these are women,” Wessel says. “They’re drawn to the movies because German culture can be quite cold, especially for men. In actors like Shah Rukh, they see a guy who is soft, romantic, not afraid to cry or show his emotional side.”
>
> — [Hindustan Times - Take a tour to see how Indian cinema has found foreign fans](http://www.hindustantimes.com/brunch/take-a-tour-to-see-how-our-cinema-has-found-foreign-fans/story-jfw58eD577xfA3Z8Tm2azJ.html)
**Fast facts:**
> In the 1970s, India cinema overtook America as the world's largest film producer and the term 'Bollywood' was coined.
>
> — [Leicester Mercury - Bollywood: 17 interesting facts about Indian cinema](http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/bollywood-17-interesting-facts-indian-cinema/story-26360213-detail/story.html#OHWXA1KGM801ItMY.99)
> A vast majority of Hindi films are still dubbed using synch-sound equipment. The reason for this is, most people have not invested in sound-proofing their studios. Given the camera noise, it is much more effective to have the actors dub in their voices later. Of course, this often ends up compromising on the quality of the films.
>
> — [MensXP - 10 THINGS YOU NEVER KNEW ABOUT: BOLLYWOOD](http://www.mensxp.com/entertainment/top-10s/10932-10-things-you-never-knew-about-bollywood.html)
### Are you in, or out?
**T is in.**
- T will watch a Bollywood movie at some point
**Z is in.**
**G is in.**
- Looking forward to some Shah Rukh Khan
### This week's spotlight
**[Arts for India](artsforindia.org)**
A charity organization looking to support underprivileged youth artists in India!
> While several philanthropic organizations are working towards education for poor Indian children,...
