Manufacturing dreams for the nation for a century is certainly a commendable achievement. India’s fabled dream factory, ‘Bollywood’ — one of the several epithets that are used to describe the Hindi film industry based in Mumbai — is now caught in a decidedly festive mood. The first Hindi feature film, Raja Harishchandra, was released one hundred years ago, and the Hindi film industry has decided to commemorate this historical event amidst frenzied celebrations. Indeed, four of Bollywood’s top film-makers — a clan known as much for brittle egos as the mediocre quality of the productions — have decided to come together to direct a short film to mark the achievement.

The cheerful mood prevailing in the studios in Mumbai is not without reason. According to some estimates, the Hindi film industry churns out well over 1,000 films every year. In spite of the high costs of production — Ra. One, reportedly Bollywood’s most expensive film to date, was made at a stupendous budget of 150 crore — the returns continue to be handsome, given Bollywood’s popularity not only in India but also in parts of Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the United States of America. According to some estimates, the industry earned 2,590 crore in 2011 alone, a feat that helped Bollywood honour its industry status. Bollywood’s unparalleled success has even made some analysts wonder about its potential to serve as a tool in the sphere of cultural diplomacy.

But a celebration of the myriad achievements of the Hindi film industry is likely to be accompanied by several disturbing queries. For instance, is Bollywood’s claim to be the sole representative of a medium as richly diverse as Indian cinema legitimate? Films are made in several languages in India — Tamil, Malayalam, Bengali and Bhojpuri, to cite a few examples — and there are other centres of film production that remain competitive and successful. Bollywood’s mischievous attempt to become synonymous with Indian cinema thus reflects the unfair institutional advantage that Hindi enjoys over other regional languages. Moreover, the quantum of films produced in Bollywood remains inversely proportional to their quality. In spite of the improvements in production values and its new capacity to address niche audiences, lovers of cerebral films remain indifferent to its charms. Bollywood’s popularity, ironically, signifies the average cultural taste in the arts of a vast section of the Indian population. Its dominance has resulted in the shrinking of space and government patronage for other, often dwindling, art forms such as theatre and folk arts. The Hindi film industry has also paid scant attention to the critical need of preserving and restoring old films that have immense cinematic and archival value. Some classics have been re-released in colour, but a lot more can be done, given the availability of digital technology.

Even as India basks in the warmth of the unique milestone achieved by the Hindi film industry, a balanced appraisal of its achievements ought to recognize the warts that continue to blight this kingdom of dreams.