Bollywood is the name for India’s musical film industry, based in the Indian city of Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay. Bollywood movies are known for their Indian dance numbers and Hindi songs, which often draw upon Indian folk music, American pop music, and various other genres such as salsa or hip-hop. Notable Bollywood dancers today include Indian actors such as Hrithik Roshan, Ranbir Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit, Malaika Arora Khan, and Shahid Kapoor. Dancing styles in Bollywood films often draw upon Indian classical dance like bharatanatyam or kathak, Indian folk dances, Western dancing as seen in Broadway musicals, and various other Western dance forms such as hip-hop, Latin dance, or tap dance. Often, producers will release Bollywood film soundtracks and promotional videos before the movie actually reaches Indian theatres.

Bollywood movies are celebrated at the annual Filmfare awards ceremony, an annual event to recognize Hindi films in India. Renowned Bollywood actor Sharukh Khan has won the greatest number of awards in Bollywood, including Filmfare Awards and International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA) for movies such as My Name is Khan, Chak De! India, and Devdas. Indian actor Ambitabh Bachchan, on the other hand, has the greatest number of Filmfare Award nominations for films such as Baghban and Kaante and Aamir Khan has the greatest number of consecutive nominations for Bollywood films such as 3 Idiots, Talaash, and Delhi Belly. Other film awards for Bollywood cinema include the Indian National Film Awards, the Screen Awards, Stardust Awards, and Zee Cine Awards. Today, Bollywood films continue to see a growth in popularity across the world. Large production houses such Yash Raj films and Dharma Productions are some of the biggest producers of modern Bollywood films, giving birth to Hindi movies like Kal Ho Naa No, Hum Tum, Dhoom, and Jab We Met, boosting the popularity of Bollywood films abroad.

Bollywood music is at the core of a BollyX class. In our fifty minute workout, we take top Bollywood hits and bring them into class for a high intensity, interval training work out that brings the best of India’s entertainment industry into the gym.