Masala film
A popular Indian film form that combines genres such as action, comedy, romance, and melodrama within one story, often using songs and dance.
Indian cinema: The filmmaking traditions and industries of India, spanning many languages, regions, and styles. Masala films are a prominent form within India's diverse cinematic traditions.
Sholay: A 1975 Hindi action-adventure film directed by Ramesh Sippy. Its action, comedy, friendship, romance, and melodrama became a landmark combination.
Dadasaheb Phalke: An Indian filmmaker who made Raja Harishchandra, commonly regarded as India's first full-length feature film. His mythological filmmaking helped establish early popular Indian cinema's appeal to mixed audiences.
Parallel cinema: An Indian filmmaking movement emphasizing social realism and artistic experimentation outside mainstream commercial conventions. Its restrained realism offers a contrast to masala cinema's mixed genres and heightened spectacle.
Melodrama: A dramatic mode built around heightened emotion, moral conflict, and legible stakes. Masala films often use its emotional intensity to bind comic and action sequences together.
Amar Akbar Anthony: A 1977 Hindi action-comedy film directed by Manmohan Desai. Its intertwined family drama, comedy, action, and musical numbers exemplify the form.
Raja Harishchandra: A 1913 silent Indian film directed by Dadasaheb Phalke, based on a Hindu legend. Its mythological story exemplifies an early source for Indian cinema's blend of spectacle and moral drama.
Art film: A film made primarily as an artistic expression rather than as mass entertainment. Masala films typically prioritize popular entertainment, unlike art films' often more formal or contemplative aims.
Bollywood: The Hindi-language film industry centered in Mumbai. Hindi cinema popularized many widely recognized examples of the masala form.
Mughal-e-Azam: A 1960 Hindi historical epic directed by K. Asif. Its romance, spectacle, music, and heightened drama anticipate ingredients later associated with masala cinema.