Hooray for Bollywood|宝莱坞万岁

Hooray for Bollywood

by Leigh Goldberg

Bollywood movies are taking the world by storm.

　　Before there was Mumbai, there was Bombay, the city's former name, which was the center of the Indian film industry. Bollywood, which is a combination of Bombay and Hollywood, is not actually a physical location like its cousin in the West. Instead, it refers to the part of the industry that produces nearly all the Hindi-language based movies in the world.

　　Tracing its start to 1911, Bollywood films are typically three to four-hour long musical productions that include intermissions. Essential to this format are lots of action, without the bloodshed of Hollywood movies, and dozens of song-and-dance numbers, which oftentimes feature at least 100 choreographed dancers. Additionally, big-name stars blaze across the screen as they sing and act out melodramatic stories that contain no kissing or sexual contact and always end happily. Movie plots usually center around star-crossed lovers, siblings separated at birth, corrupt politicians, love triangles, and more. Such creations have everything the audiences want and are called masala movies, just like the spice mixture commonly used in Indian cuisine. Bollywood movies are jam-packed with all forms of entertainment because Indian audiences expect to get full value for their hard earned money. With more than 800 Bollywood movies produced each year, which is twice the number made in the US, it comes as no surprise that over 14 million Indians go to the movies daily.

　　Aside from being popular in their home country, Bollywood films have been well received in practically every part of the world, including Egypt, Russia, Taiwan, and even Hollywood. Bollywood has wormed its way into Western society so much so that Western actors are now seeking out roles in their productions. Pretty soon, we will all be singing and dancing to Bollywood movies instead of watching the latest Hollywood thriller.

     1.     What is NOT an element of Bollywood movies?

(A) Movie endings that are joyful.

(B) Men and women making out on screen.

(C) A short amount of time to take a break to get a snack.

(D) Singing and dancing.

     2.     According to the article, where are Bollywood films popular?

(A) In some places in the US.

(B) Only in the UK.

(C) Mostly in Ethiopia and other African countries.

(D) Thailand, Myanmar, and Vietnam especially.

     3.     What is true of Bollywood?

(A) It is a city in India.

(B) It is a district in Mumbai.

(C) It is a major part of the film industry in India.

(D) It was created by Hollywood for the Asian market.

     4.     Why are masala movies packed with entertainment?

(A) Over the years, laws have been written making it required.

(B) They aren’t bound by normal movie conventions, so they can be as long as the director wants.

(C) To ensure that audiences don’t fall asleep while they are in theaters.

(D) Indian audiences expect to get what they pay for.

宝莱坞万岁

宝莱坞电影正席卷全世界。

　　孟买（Mumbai）这个城市原名为 Bombay，它曾是印度电影业的中心。宝莱坞（Bollywood）这个名称是由 Bombay 和 Hollywood（好莱坞）综合而成，它并不像好莱坞这个西方同质产品一样是个实际的地点。相反的，它指的是生产几乎全世界所有印度语电影的业界。

　　宝莱坞电影的起源可追溯至 1911 年，典型的宝莱坞电影是指包含中间休息时间全程长达三至四小时的音乐剧。这种类型的电影没有好莱坞电影的血腥画面，它的要素为大量的动作以及丰富的歌舞表演，其特色为至少有一百位精心设计的舞者。除此之外，大牌明星以歌唱和演出戏剧性的故事在大屏幕上大放异彩，其内容完全没有亲吻或性接触，且总是以喜剧收场。电影情节通常围绕着命运多舛的恋人、出生时就分离的兄弟姊妹、腐败的政客、三角恋情及更多主题。这样的作品满足了观众所有的需求，它被称之为玛萨拉电影，就像印度菜肴中常用的混合香料。宝莱坞电影带来的娱乐包罗万象，因为印度观众期待他们辛苦赚来的钱花得有价值。每年有八百多部宝莱坞电影上映，那是美国电影产量的两倍，因此每天都有一千四百多万的印度人去看电影并不令人惊讶。

　　宝莱坞电影除了在其祖国印度备受欢迎，在世界各地也已广泛为人接受，包括埃及、俄罗斯、台湾，甚至是好莱坞。宝莱坞已在西方社会奠定相当地位，以致于西方演员如今都想在宝莱坞电影作品中争取演出机会。很快地，我们都会跟着宝莱坞电影唱唱跳跳，而不是观看最新的好莱坞惊悚片。

答案： 1.   B   2.   A   3.   C   4.   D

 

　　电影是印度最具特色的产业之一，印度的电影产量傲视全球，每年发行近一千部，约为美国好莱坞的两倍，受雇和相关从业人员约七百万人，每年产值近一千亿印度卢比（约二十一亿美元），近年来成长率高达百分之三十。

　　印度电影产业发达的原因与政府政策鼓励有关，政府鼓励拍摄商业通俗电影，并以低廉票价让一般大众买得起门票，使看电影成为全民运动。印度境内十一点四七亿人口所构成的庞大内需市场，成为支撑庞大电影产量的主力。宝莱坞的电影通常是歌舞片，由歌唱、舞蹈、三角恋爱、喜剧以及惊险场面所构成的通俗剧情，不仅广受印度市场的青睐，也外销至大陆、俄罗斯等市场。（数据源：Digitimes）