Most people think that the capital of the movie world is Hollyhood, in the United States. However, the real movie capital is Mumbai, in India. Mumbai used to be known as Bombay, and so the film industry there is called “Bollywood.” Bollywood makes twice as many movies each year as Hollyhood—more than 800 films a year.
The movies from Bollywood are very different from Hollywood movies. For one thing, Bollywood movies are much longer than most Hollywood movies. Most Bollywood movies are more than three hours long, and contain singing, dancing, action, adventure, mystery, and romance (but usually no kissing). Because Bollywood films contain so many different features, this style of film is sometimes called a “masala” film. (“Masala” is an Indian word for a mixture of spices.)
Another big difference between Bollywood and Hollywood movies is the way movies are made. It takes much longer to make a movie in Hollywood than in Bollywood. In fact, filming may begin on a Bollywood movie before the script even finished. The director and writers can make up the story while the film is being made. Sometimes they will even write the script by hand instead of taking time to type it.
Bollywood actors are very popular and some are in such high demand that they may work on several movies at the same time. They may even shoot scenes for several films on the same day using the same costumes and scenery. Since most Bollywood movies follow the same kind of story, shooting scenes for several films at the same time is not a big problem for actors or directors. This also helps keep the cost of Bollywood movies lower than the cost of Hollywood movies. The average Bollywood film, with a budget of only two million U.S. dollars, seems very cheap compared to the average budget of sixty million U.S. dollars for a Hollywood film—thirty times as much!
What is the main topic of the reading?
A.famous stars in Bollywood | B.how Hollywood movies are made |
C.the differences between two movie industries | D.the history of movie-making in India |
What is NOT true about Mumbai?
A.It is the movie capital of India. |
B.The new name is Bombay. |
C.More movies are made there than in Hollywood. |
D.It is less expensive to make films there than in Hollywood. |
Why are Bollywood films often called “masala” films?
A.They have spicy stories. | B.They show Indian culture. |
C.They are much longer than Hollywood films. | D.They mix different styles of movies. |
Bollywood movies are cheap to make because ____________________ .
A.they are shorter than Hollywood films. |
B.the scripts are written by hand. |
C.the movies do not use any special effects. |
D.each movie reuses things from other movies. |
Which of these statements would the writer probably agree with?
A.Most Bollywood movies are very similar. |
B.It takes a lot of money to make a good movie. |
C.Only Indian people can understand Bollywood movies. |
D.Hollywood movies are too violent. |