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A poster for the 1952 smash hit A an
PHOTOGRAPH: DINODIA PHOTOS/ALAMY
India’s movie industry puts out up to 1,600 films a year (compared to 700 or so for the USA), and at its centre is Mumbai. While the term ‘Bollywood’ dates from the 1970s, when Mumbai was still known as Bombay, its posters started 50 years before. Heroes and heroines gaze out from the broad brushstrokes, their steely resolve or smouldering looks competing for attention on billboards. Though this classic hand-painted art is almost extinct, its vintage appeal is now indelibly fixed in Mumbai culture.