17 interesting facts about Bollywood

1 . 'The Wrestlers', shot in 1899, was the first motion picture shot in India. However, the first wholly Indian-produced film was 'Raja Harishchandra', which was released in 1913.

2 . In the 1970s, India cinema overtook America as the world's largest film producer and the term 'Bollywood' was coined.

3 . Released in 1937, Kisan Kanya, a film about the plight of poor farmers, was the first Indian film in colour.

4 . Actor Dilip Kumar, known as the 'Tragedy King', was offered the role of Sherif Ali in 'Lawrence of Arabia'. He declined the offer and the role went to Egyptian actor Omar Sharif

5 . Bollywood produces around 1000 films every year – almost double the output of Hollywood.

6 . Two Bollywood songs 'Ye Mera Dil Yaar Ka Diwana' (1978) and 'Ae Nujawan Hai Sub' (1972) inspired The Black Eyed Peas' song 'Don't Phunk with My Heart'.

7 . Around 14 million Indians go to the cinema every day, which equates to 1.4% of the entire population. Cinemagoers pay around a day's wage to watch a Bollywood film.

8 . 'Indra Sabha', an opera about a prince's romance with a fairy, has an incredible 71 songs in it – the most in any Indian film.

10 . 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge' (The Brave Hearted Will Take Away The Bride) has run at a Mumbai cinema for around 1000 undeterred weeks. It is one of Bollywood's biggest films of all time.

11 . Fatima Begum became Indian cinema's first female director in 1926 with Bulbul-e-Paristan.

12 . Walk of the Stars in Bandra, Mumbai, honours Bollywood film stars. Many famous Indian actors are honoured with an autograph, tile or statue.

13 . Films in Bollywood are produced in the following languages: Hindi, Gujarati, Malayalam, Punjabi, Assamese, Bengali, Marathi, Tamil, Kannada and Telugu.

14 . Bollywood actor, producer and director Rakesh Roshan was shot by Mumbai gang members in 2000. He survived the attack.

15 . The longest ever kiss in a Bollywood film stands at four minutes. Devika Rani and her real-life husband Himanshu Rai shared the embrace in the 1933 film Karma. The movie is also credited as having Bollywood's first song in English.

16 . Dilip Kumar and Shahrukh Khan have both won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor a record eight times. Amitabh Bachchan has the record for most nominations, with 30.

17 . Superstar Salman Khan is reportedly the highest paid Bollywood star receiving 55 Crore (just under £6 million) for every film.