Routemumbai

Bollywood — Film City, Studio Tours & the World's Largest Film Industry

Bollywood (the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai — the world's largest film industry by number of films produced annually, approximately 1,500-2,000 films per year in Hindi and regional Indian languages, compared to approximately 500-600 films per year in Hollywood): Mumbai (Bombay) is the home of the Hindi film industry since the 1930s, when the first Indian talkies were produced at the Bombay Talkies studio; today the industry generates revenues of approximately $2.5 billion annually and is watched by approximately 3.6 billion people (the largest film audience in the world).

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1
Film City Goregaon — 520 Acres of Permanent Sets
Film City (Goregaon, 520 acres, established 1977) is the largest film production complex in India — the facility contains 42 permanent outdoor sets (a complete Mughal street, a railway station, a replica of a Goan church, a courtroom), 16 indoor sound stages, and a forest reserve used for nature scenes; 1,000+ Bollywood films have been shot here; guided tours (₹500, weekend mornings, book online) show visitors active sets where shoots are in progress.
2
Yash Raj Studios — Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge's Home
Yash Raj Studios (Andheri West, 1997, founded by Yash Chopra) is the most storied private studio in Bollywood — Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995, the longest-running film in Indian cinema history, 1,276 weeks at Maratha Mandir) was produced here; the studio's archive contains original costumes, scripts, and camera equipment from landmark productions; the YRF Film Museum (opened 2023) is the first studio museum in India.
3
Dharavi — Asia's Largest Urban Slum as Creative Economy
Dharavi (central Mumbai, 600,000 residents, 1km²) is the most economically productive informal settlement in Asia — the informal economy produces ₹5,000 crore ($600 million) annually in leather goods, recycled plastics, pottery, and textiles; Slumdog Millionaire (2008, Danny Boyle) was filmed here; Reality Tours & Travel operates ethical guided tours (₹800, 2.5 hours) where 80% of revenue returns to community projects; Dharavi is being redeveloped under a controversial 2023 plan.
4
Bollywood Star Spotting — Juhu and Bandra Bungalows
Mumbai's most famous Bollywood star residences are concentrated in Juhu (Shah Rukh Khan's Mannat, Amitabh Bachchan's Jalsa and Pratiksha — which can be seen from the gate at Juhu) and Bandra (Salman Khan's Galaxy Apartments, visible from Mount Mary Road; Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh's Prabhadevi apartment); the annual birthday celebrations at these gates draw thousands of fans; fan culture in Mumbai rivals any sports stadium atmosphere.
5
National Award Winning Films Archive — NFDC and NFAI
The National Film Development Corporation (NFDC, Pedder Road) and National Film Archive of India (Pune, day trip) are the institutional infrastructure of Indian parallel cinema — films by Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Shyam Benegal, and Ritwik Ghatak (the four pillars of Indian art cinema) are preserved and screened in retrospective programs; the NFDC Cinematheque (Marine Lines) shows restored prints of classic Indian films; entry free on Tuesdays.
6
Mehboob Studios — Where Bollywood's Golden Age Was Born
Mehboob Studios (Hill Road, Bandra, 1952, founded by director Mehboob Khan) is the oldest surviving film studio in Mumbai — Mother India (1957), India's first Oscar-nominated foreign language film, was made here; the 14-acre property contains 4 sound stages, a garden lot used for outdoor sequences, and a costume warehouse; the studio has been used continuously since 1952 and has hosted productions including Lagaan (2001) and Devdas (2002).