The word “Tollywood” didn’t start out as a nickname for Telugu cinema. It was coined in 1932 for Bengali films, made in Kolkata’s Tollygunge neighbourhood — decades before Hyderabad borrowed the name. That mix-up is a small clue to a bigger truth. India’s film industry isn’t one industry at all, but a cluster of separate regional businesses, all regulated by the same national rules.
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Art & Culture · ArtnCulture0106
The Indian Film Industry
From a single censor board to a ₹2.78 lakh crore media economy
1951
The Board of Film Censors is set up, renamed CBFC in 1983.
1975
The National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) is founded.
4 Aug 2023
The Cinematograph (Amendment) Act modernises certification and adds anti-piracy law.
2025
India’s media & entertainment sector crosses ₹2.78 lakh crore, film revenue hits ₹205 billion.
5 Aug 2026
Government confirms 7,393 piracy URLs disabled under the 2023 Act’s new powers.
Films released (2025)1,900+
Regional share of box office45%
Direct + indirect jobs~12.75 million
One Industry, Many Industries
“Bollywood” is only the Hindi-language slice. Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and other language industries now out-earn it combined at the domestic box office.
Timeline
- 1951: The Board of Film Censors is set up. It is renamed the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) in 1983.
- 1975: The National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) is founded, to finance and promote Indian cinema.
- 4 August 2023: The Cinematograph (Amendment) Act receives Presidential assent. It modernises certification and adds new anti-piracy law.
- 2025: India’s media and entertainment sector crosses ₹2.78 lakh crore. Film segment revenue alone hits ₹205 billion.
- 5 August 2026: The government confirms 7,393 piracy URLs disabled, using the 2023 Act’s new enforcement powers.
Must Know
- India releases more feature films each year than any other country. Over 1,900 films were released in 2025 alone.
- Indian cinema itself began in 1913, with Dadasaheb Phalke’s silent film Raja Harishchandra.
- “Bollywood” refers only to Hindi-language cinema, based in Mumbai. It is one of several separate regional industries, not the whole of Indian cinema.
- Other major regional industries include Tollywood (Telugu, Hyderabad), Kollywood (Tamil, Chennai), Mollywood (Malayalam, Kerala), and Sandalwood (Kannada, Bengaluru). Bengali, Marathi, Punjabi and Bhojpuri cinema are also sizeable industries of their own.
- Every film needs certification from the CBFC before public release, under the Cinematograph Act, 1952. Categories are U, UA, A, and S.
- The National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), founded in 1975, is the government’s central body for financing and promoting Indian cinema.
Good to Know
- Regional-language films now outdraw Hindi cinema nationally. Non-Hindi films took a 45% domestic box-office share in 2023, and continue to produce major pan-India hits.
- The Cinematograph (Amendment) Act, 2023, split the old single “UA” certificate into three age-based bands: UA 7+, UA 13+, and UA 16+.
- The same 2023 Act made certification valid for a film’s lifetime. It previously needed periodic renewal.
- India’s media and entertainment sector grew 9% to ₹2.78 lakh crore in 2025 (FICCI-EY report). Film revenue reached ₹205 billion, up 16% on higher ticket prices, with 37 films earning ₹1 billion or more.
- Streaming has overtaken theatres as the industry’s growth engine. India’s OTT market crossed ₹272 billion in 2025, and digital media became the sector’s single largest segment for the first time.
- The industry supports about 2.75 million direct jobs and over 10 million indirect jobs. It contributes roughly 0.8% of India’s GDP.
- The Film Federation of India (FFI) selects India’s official entry for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film each year. Domestically, the National Film Awards recognise the year’s best work across every language.
- Alongside mainstream commercial cinema, India has a strong parallel/arthouse tradition. Satyajit Ray pioneered it in Bengali cinema, Adoor Gopalakrishnan carried it into Malayalam film, and directors like Mani Ratnam later blended it with commercial storytelling.
- Indian cinema’s reach extends well beyond India itself, through both Bollywood’s global audience and diaspora filmmakers like Mira Nair, who make Indian-themed films for international audiences.
Current Affairs
- 5 August 2026: Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, accompanied by Netflix India head Monika Shergill. Netflix announced the Netflix India Storytelling Initiative, a multi-phase investment in India’s creative talent pipeline. (Source: The Tribune)
- The initiative builds on Netflix’s decade-plus India partnership, which has produced over 200 Netflix Originals filmed across more than 100 Indian locations. It aims to build skills across the Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC) ecosystem. (Source: IANS)
- In its first phase, Netflix will partner with the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT). Together they will build an industry-ready curriculum in visual effects and media technology, backed by scholarships for Indian students. (Source: IANS)
- In its second phase, Netflix will partner with the NFDC. Together they will train audio-description writers and voice artists, making films and series accessible to visually and hearing-impaired audiences. (Source: IANS)
- The same day, Sarandos joined Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat for a fireside conversation at the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi. Both reaffirmed a commitment to bringing more stories rooted in India’s culture and heritage to global audiences, alongside a related Ministry of Culture and Tourism partnership announced the same day. (Source: Variety)
- Also on 5 August 2026: The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting confirmed intermediaries have been directed to disable 7,393 URLs for film piracy. This included 4,996 Telegram channels and 1,263 websites. Minister of State Dr. L. Murugan gave the figures in a written Lok Sabha reply, answering a question from Shri Balashowry Vallabhaneni. (Source: PIB)
- The takedowns rest on the Cinematograph (Amendment) Act, 2023. It added Section 7(1B)(ii), curbing unauthorised recording and exhibition of films. This empowers government action against intermediaries under Section 79(3) of the Information Technology Act, 2000. (Source: PIB)
- The government has authorised the Joint Secretary (Films), Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, to issue takedown notices under the IT Rules, 2021. A dedicated ministry mechanism now takes piracy complaints from copyright holders directly. (Source: PIB)
- Beyond takedowns, the 2023 Act also created criminal penalties for unauthorised camcording and exhibition of films. These carry a fine between ₹3 lakh and 5% of a film’s audited production cost, plus imprisonment from 3 months to 3 years.
- See SciTech0010 — Intellectual Property Rights for the same enforcement story from India’s broader IP-law angle.
- 22 July 2026: MoS I&B L. Murugan told the Lok Sabha the government has disabled 50 OTT platforms over two years, for hosting obscene content.
- Blocks cited violations of IT Act Sections 67 and 67A, BNS Section 294, and the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act.
- 25 platforms were blocked in July 2025, and 5 more in February 2026, before this latest tally.
- Separately, the government detailed its filmmaker-support ecosystem: the DCDFC scheme funds regional-film production via NFDC, alongside festival and international-promotion support.
- A newly formed High-Level Study Group will examine challenges facing India’s film industry, and recommend policy reforms.
- 29 June 2026: Ministry of Information & Broadcasting chief Ashwini Vaishnaw announced the formation of that Study Group, chaired by Prasoon Joshi, to study global competitiveness, AI and virtual-production technology, and institutional-finance access for filmmakers; it must report within three months.
- The same day, the Ministry sent Model State Cinema Regulations to all States, since cinema and theatre regulation is a State subject. The model rules aim to speed up cinema-infrastructure growth, especially in small towns and rural areas.
Test Yourself
Great to Know
- Regional cinema’s rise is an economic shift, not just a cultural one. As ticket prices climbed and OTT fragmented Hindi-film audiences, Telugu and Tamil studios built pan-India hits precisely when Bollywood’s own theatrical dominance was weakening.
- Streaming and piracy pull the industry’s finances in opposite directions. OTT platforms often pay upfront for content, cushioning risk regardless of theatrical results. Pirated re-uploads of that same content erode the subscription revenue those platforms depend on.
- CBFC’s job is certification, not quality control. A film can be certified and still fail commercially — certification only decides who is legally allowed to watch it, not whether audiences will show up.
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