Let’s be honest, I am a cinephile. Some may say to the point of paranoia. I would like to give a big shout-out to the filmmakers and Indian film producers for giving us this indescribable treasure of art and entertainment. I am hoping that readers will read this article and desire to explore the marvelous Indian cinematic experience.

Almost every weekend, I find myself opening the Cineplex app and looking up if there are any new Indian films. Let’s dig into what appears as just the tip of the iceberg of the gigantic Indian film industry. In India, there are several regions. Therefore, each region has amassed the wealth of their individual cinema. The major ones are Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood, South Indian cinema — which includes Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam films — and Punjabi cinema, which enjoys a massive fan following in Northern India as well as abroad.

Personally, I am fond of mainstream Bollywood Hindi movies. Some of the major film stars from this space are Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Katrina Kaif. These iconic superstars enjoy a massive fan following not just in India but at a global level.

I vividly recall watching my first motion picture at the age of four, which was the Hindi-language film Jab We Met, a cult-classic entertainer starring Kareena Kapoor Khan. This film just made me fall in love with the movies. As I grew up, I found myself tilting toward the action and action-comedy genre.

This space was dominated by bankable stars like Hrithik Roshan, Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif. My favourite action franchise is the YRF Spy Universe, created by Aditya Chopra, current chairman and managing director at Yash Raj Films, a major film production and distribution company based in Mumbai.

Ek Tha Tiger, the first production from this franchise, was released in 2012. It starred Katrina Kaif and Salman Khan as Zoya and Tiger, fictional intelligence agents of rival agencies who go rogue after falling in love. I was completely blown away by the action sequences, story and chemistry between the lead actors and music numbers. To this date, they are my favourite onscreen couple.

Having said that, the South Indian cinema is gaining momentum quite rapidly. South Indian superstar Prabhas is said to have been the first “Pan-Indian star.” Another factor which is of supreme importance in Indian cinema is the music. Bollywood actors are celebrated for their dancing abilities just as much as their acting ability.

Let me throw some light on the fanbase of Bollywood films in North America, particularly Canada. Shah Rukh Khan, also known as “king of romance,” gave three consecutive commercially successful films on the trot in 2023. These films were Pathaan, Jawan and Dunki. I remember going to Cineplex at Polo Park to watch his film, Jawan. I do not believe I have ever worked as hard for my final exams as I did trying to get a ticket for that film. And I thoroughly enjoyed the whole cinematic experience that the film had to offer. I take after my mother for my love of massive Bollywood films as opposed to my father who is more into intellectual, cerebral films.

I remember going to Switzerland in 2019 and there is one park where the statue of legendary filmmaker Yash Chopra had been erected. We were told by our tour guide that this statue is a tribute to him for filming major portions of his directorial ventures in Switzerland. Yash Chopra is the founder of Yash Raj Films. Everyone in my family is a die-hard fan of Yash Chopra films. It is great that his son Aditya Chopra (mentioned above) has carried the legacy forward.

One family, which has been called the “first family of Indian cinema,” is the Kapoor family. This dynasty has been pioneered by Prithviraj Kapoor, an iconic actor. His legacy was carried forward by his descendants Raj Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Ranbir Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor Khan. Recently, to celebrate one hundred years of Raj Kapoor, the prime minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, was invited by the Kapoor family to the Raj Kapoor Film Festival. Raj Kapoor has been referred to as the “eternal showman” of Indian cinema.

Bollywood produces more movies than Hollywood and sells more than 4 billion movie tickets per year, almost twice more than Hollywood. I am proud of the fact that I hail from a country of great artistic depth.