World Bollywood Day is a holiday that’s observed annually on September 24th and celebrates Indian cinema — especially the Hindi language film industry. This industry has captured the interest of the world with its colorful clothing, amazing musical numbers, and spellbinding storytelling.

This day is one in which cinephiles from around the world can take the time to discuss, appreciate, and show love for the cultural significance of the Indian film industry to the world. Of course, people don’t have to be cinephiles to enjoy these movie exports. Anyone, anywhere, can take the time to enjoy the magic of Bollywood.

The History of World Bollywood Day

Although movies were being made in India at the end of the 19th century, most experts on the subject believe that true Bollywood cinema began in 1913 when Dadasaheb Phalke’s silent movie Raja Harishchandra was released as a feature film.

Over the next two decades, Indian cinema began to really take off, and by the 1930s, over 200 films were being made by Bollywood. Bollywood is a portmanteau that comes from combining “Bombay” with “Hollywood.” The word itself was probably coined in film trade journals of the 1960s, but no one really knows who came up with it originally.

Several film journalists and critics have claimed to have coined this word, but none of these claims have been backed up by hard evidence. World Bollywood Day is a holiday that was supposedly created in 2020 to honor the 150th birthday of Dadasaheb Phalke. Unfortunately, we don’t know if that’s actually true.

We imagine if it were true, then this holiday would be observed on April 30th. After all, that’s the date that Phalke was born in 1870. At this time, we currently do not know why World Bollywood Day is being celebrated on September 24th, but we’ll continue to research the subject.

Observing World Bollywood Day

World Bollywood Day is a great day to enjoy some Bollywood movies. It doesn’t matter if a person is well familiar with the movies produced by this industry or if they’re new to the game. It’s just a day to enjoy some great movie magic, either alone or, preferably, with friends and family members.

Everyone is also encouraged to spread the news about this holiday using the hashtag #WorldBollywoodDay on social media to introduce new people to Indian cinema. As the decades have rolled on, Indian cinema has continued to amaze us, and we’re sure that this is going to continue well into the future.