Mumbai

Mumbai as it is now called, is the commercial capital of India, a city of entrepreneurs, concrete towers, clubs and discos, cricket, Bollywood and more.

The city, a union of seven islands, was named by its natives after the goddess Mumbadevi. After the Portuguese occupied the islands in 1534, they renamed it Bom Bahia, for the natural harbour, which served as a safe place for its ships. The religious and business pursuits pulled people to Mumbai from all over the country. When the Portuguese left the land the city started developing into a metropolitan city and an industrial center. Today, the city is the country's financial and cultural centre and also owns a thriving film industry. This is the city of dreams where people come to strike their luck

Bollywood, the nickname of the Indian film industry, is the movie capital of the country. Bollywood's film production center is a government-owned studio facility called as "Film City" in the northern suburbs of Mumbai. Bollywood traces its start to 1911 when the first silent Indian feature film was released by D.P. Phalke. The industry boomed and today there are over 250 theaters in Mumbai alone.

Bollywood films are being shown in American and British theaters where these theaters have become community centre for the South Asian communities around the world.

Mumbai (Bollywood) leads the Indian film industry where its peculiarity lies with Hindi movies. Chennai produces films in Tamil and Kolkata is the base for Bengali movies.