BOLLYWOOD EXPERIENCES
1. Red Carpet Wax Museum
Ghatkopar West • 022 2517 5557 • Open 11am–9pm daily • www.redcarpetmuseum.com
Artists, innovators, politicians and sports personalities from around the world are represented at this gallery of wax figures located in Ghatkopar.
Interior of the Red Carpet Wax Museum, Ghatkopar
2. Film Tours
Bollywood Tours: www.bollywoodtours.in; No Footprints: www.nfpexplore.com
Take a full- or half-day guided tour of the city’s Bollywood sights, including famous homes, studios, and dance shows, offered by Bollywood Tours, or watch the taping of a show with No Footprints' Dream Tour.
3. DDLJ at Maratha Mandir
Maratha Mandir Marg • 022 2307 7330, 022 6604 4150 • www.marathamandir.com
This 1,000-seat cinema hall, in the heart of Mumbai, screened Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge for a record 1,009 weeks, from 1995 to 2015. It still the film daily at 11:20am, which no film buff should miss!
4. Studio Visit
If you’re lucky, you may be able to catch a film or a television shoot in progress at one of the many famous studios in the city. SJ Studios, among others, offer guided tours, and many of the Bollywood-themed tour companies also take visitors to these venues.
5. Walk-in Film Clubs
While most film clubs require forms and have membership fees, Vikalp@Prithvi, a collaboration between Prithvi Theatre and Vikalp (Films for Freedom), organizes screenings (first-come-first-seated basis) on the last Friday of every month. Shamiana – The Short Film Club also hosts free screenings at various venues in Mumbai and other cities.
6. Photos at Star Houses
Fans throng the homes of film stars, such as Mannat (Shah Rukh Khan) and Jalsa (Amitabh Bachchan), in the hope of catching a glimpse of the actors. Salman Khan's Galaxy Apartments flat as well as Akshay Kumar's beachfront house are equally popular. The late singer Mohammad Rafi's Bandra home is now a museum celebrating his life and achievements.
Tourists waiting outside Mannat
7. Trip to Dadasaheb Phalke Chitranagri
Named after the father of the Indian film industry, Mumbai's Film City is one of the largest dedicated complexes of film studios in India. Scores of Bollywood films and television serials are shot in its numerous recording rooms, gardens, lakes, theatres and open grounds.
8. National Museum of Indian Cinema
The first of its kind in the country, this museum is housed in an attractive Neo-Gothic Victorian bungalow and boasts expansive exhibition halls, preview theatres and auditoriums, all dedicated to commemorating over a century of Indian cinema. With an objective of immortalizing the luminaries of the film industry, it features artifacts, filming equipment, memorabilia and interactive galleries. The Gandhi and Cinema section, built in honour of Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary, is particularly interesting.
9. Bollywood Paraphernalia
Mumbai's Chor Bazaar is a haven for film buffs. Many antique props used in movies are sourced from here, and shops such as Mini Market and Poster Stuff are especially popular for vintage and hand-painted film posters.
10. Film Festivals
Stalwarts of the industry come together to celebrate films and to encourage new talent through film festivals across the city. The Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image (MAMI)-organized Mumbai Film Festival, and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting's Mumbai International Film Festival, are extremely popular.
TOP 10 FIGURES IN ENTERTAINMENT
1. Fearless Nadia (1908–1996)
Born as Mary Ann Evans, the actor shot to fame in and as Hunterwali, one of the first Indian films with a female lead.
2. Raj Kapoor (1924–1988)
Part of a famous film family, the actor, producer and director is one of the most revered figures in Hindi cinema.
3. Yash Chopra (1932–2012)
The man behind classic films such as Deewar and Lamhe, this producer-director is a Padma Bhushan awardee.
4. Gulzar (b.1934)
This famed lyricist, writer and director has won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for Jai Ho (2008).
5. Shyam Benegal (b.1934)
An early figure of the parallel cinema movement, the filmmaker has seven National Film Awards to his credit.
6. Amitabh Bachchan (b.1942)
Indian cinema's most iconic name, the actor has been honoured by the Indian and French goverments.
7. Aamir Khan (b.1965)
One of Bollywood's most influential names, Khan is a producer, actor, talk show host and humanitarian.
8. Shah Rukh Khan (b.1965)
The "Baadshah (king) of Bollywood" is one of the most successful film stars in the world.
9. Makarand Deshpande (b.1966)
Co-founder of the Ansh Theatre Group, he has worked in Hindi, Marathi, Telegu, Malayalam and Kannada films.
10. Priyanka Chopra (b.1982)
Priyanka Chopra rose to fame in Barfi!, Fashion and 7 Khoon Maaf. She has since starred in the American show Quantico and the film reboot of Baywatch.
Actor Priyanka Chopra
