Globalization of Bollywood: Gain of Markets or Loss of Audiences?

Films are one of the oldest medium of entertainment. Human civilization has witnessed sea change in film creation-production-distribution-consumption processes in last few decades. This paper examines the question whether globalization of Bollywood has taken place in terms of markets as well as audiences, the forms and shapes of the process of globalization and if the process has led to gain of markets and/or loss of audiences. It uses an Indian cinema-hall-going audience survey, content of Bollywood productions and Box office figures across markets to argue that the process of globalization of Bollywood has neither lead to gain of markets nor loss of audiences. It is an inevitable development creating hypo-real markets whereas audiences connect only to culturally proximate contents. Analysis indicates that while on one hand Bollywood films creating 'global' markets, it is losing 'local' audiences.