There’s no doubt that the 70s was the best decade Bollywood has ever had. We witnessed the rise of many film stars, the setting of new, long-lasting trends and an apt shift from the old cinema to its modern version. The decade turned out to be the decision-maker in the future of Bollywood. From western fashion, striking dialogues to challenging roles, the film stars could establish their identities through the variety of films in the 70s.

Western culture started seeping into Bollywood

It was in the early 70s that the western influence started seeping into Indian cinema. It would be justified if I mention the name of Raj Kapoor here. His film Bobby (1973) left a deep impact on the audience in terms of culture and modernization. It opened innumerable doors to the filmmakers and raised the expectations of the audience. Bobby was just the beginning. Most of the films that succeeded followed a similar path to stay in trend.

The variety of films brought peppiness to Bollywood

It was the time in the history of Bollywood when filmmakers started experimenting with diverse themes. The stories that used to revolve around the simple hero-heroine-villain-comedian enclosure now began to endeavour brave subjects. Action dramas like Don, Sholay, Deewar were released in the 70s and this makes my point valid. Golmaal and Chupke Chupke were also produced in the 1970s, and they belong to a different league altogether. Then, there came contemporary cinema with some all-time great movies like Manthan, Ankur and Nishant. In short, in the 1970s, many new perspectives were given the opportunity in Bollywood and most of them emerged victoriously. 

Concept of Angry Young man introduced by Amitabh Bachchan

Amitabh Bachchan entered Bollywood and started the craze of ‘Angry Young Man’ in Indian movies. The energetic hero who can act, dance, and make people laugh turned out to be the complete ‘paisa wasool’ package. He changed the image of Bollywood heroes for-ever. There was no looking back after the rise of Angry young heroes. I think the casting directors might have changed the rules of selecting actors as the main lead after this fad. The audience loved this avatar of Bollywood heroes and showed their love by declaring many such films as blockbusters. It was the time when Bollywood was started to be called the ‘One man industry’, the one man being Amitabh Bachchan.

Parallel Cinema changed the flow of thinking

Though the concept of ‘Parallel Cinema’ had begun in the 1950s, it was only in the 70s that people started accepting it comparablerable to the mainstream cinema. Directors like Shyam Benegal, Gulzar, Govind Nihalani emerged as the competent entries to Bollywood. The time gave careers to a whole new breed of young actors, including Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil, Amol Palekar, Om Puri, Naseeruddin Shah, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Pankaj Kapoor, Deepti Naval, Farooq Shaikh and more.

The word ‘Bollywood ‘ was coined in the 70s!

Last but not least, the term ‘Bollywood ‘ was coined in the 1970s by blending the words ‘Bombay’ and ‘Hollywood’. I have presented my evidence of declaring the 1970s the best decade for Bollywood. You are free to share your views in the comments section.

Trivia of the day
Can you guess the name of the 70s movie from the picture given below:

The answer to yesterday’s question is Rajnikanth and Chitti. Pragun was the only one to reply correctly. Congratulations:)

Reading Suggestion: Matinee Men- A journey through Bollywood