Most public appearances made by a film star in 12 hours - Abhishek Bachchan

The greatest number of public appearances by a film star at different cities in 12 hours promoting the same film is seven by Abhishek Bachchan (India), who walked the red carpet, signed autographs and introduced the film Delhi 6 (India, 2009) at cinemas in Ghaziabad, Noida, Faridabad, Delhi, Gurgaon, Chandigarh and Mumbai, in India, on 22 February 2009.

Highest-earning Bollywood star - Shah Rukh Khan

Although the budgets for Bollywood films are still far lower than those of 
Hollywood blockbusters, top Indian stars can still command an even higher percentage of a film´s production budget – reportedly up to 40%. As the salaries of Bollywood stars are never officially revealed, their financial success is usually ranked according to how much tax they pay each quarter. Shah Rukh Khan, star of Devdas (2002) and My Name is Khan (2010), is the number-one tax payer from Bollywood for the second quarter of financial year 2011, paying Rs 5 crore ($1.06 million; £669,000) in tax.

Longest Running Film

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge has become a milestone, which is yet to be achieved by anyone even after a decade. It has completed 700 weeks of undeterred run at Mumbai’s Minnerva theatre a couple of years back. It was released nationwide on October 20, 1995. The film was directed by Aditya Chopra, and starred Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, and Amrish Puri. Earning over Rs 580 million in India and Rs 175 million overseas, the film became the biggest Bollywood hit of the year, as well as one of the biggest Bollywood hits of all time. The movie remains the longest running film in the history of Indian cinema.

Sholay was the second longest running Indian movie. It ran for 5 years continuously and the theatres screening it always had the houseful board in front of it for that period.

Longest Hindi Film

LOC : Kargil  at 4 hrs 25 min is the Longest Indian movie made so far. The story is of Indian soldiers fighting in Kargil and being remembered by their family and features a big star cast. In an effort to give each cast member a back story, LOC:Kargilbecame a tedious, song-filled production with no real highlight except the dubious distinction of being the longest Hindi film ever.

Mera Naam Joker at 4 hrs 14 min is a close second.

Bollywood

The Indian Film Industry is the largest film industry in the world. Out of the various film industries in the country Bollywood alone (Mumbai based film industry) is known to produce more than 800 to 1000 films a year.

What many people do not know is that Bollywood was born in 1899 with the production of a short film which is 11 years before Hollywood’s birth later in 1910 with a Biography melodrama. Bollywood has a worldwide audience of 3 Billion and in terms of viewer ship, it overtook Hollywood in 2004 and has been leading ever since.

Longest Hindi Film Song

The song Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyon in the film by the same name is the longest Hindi film song. The length of the song is 20 minutes and the song is featured in three installments in the film. The song is sung by Sonu Nigam, Udit Narayan, and Kailash Kher and is written by Sameer. The music of the song is composed by Anu Malik. The movie Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyon is directed by Anil Sharma and the star cast of the film includes Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Bobby Deol, and Divya Khosla. Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyon belongs to the genre of patriotism and the basic plot of the film revolves around the theme of fight against terrorism.

India's First Talkie Film

Alam-Ara

India's first talkie film was Alam Ara (Light of the Universe). The film was released on March 14, 1931 at Majestic Cinema in Bombay. Alam Ara was made under the banner of Imperial Movietone. It was produced and directed by Ardeshir Marwan Irani. The film was based on a successful Parsi play of the same name, written by Joseph David. The star cast of Alam Ara included some of the popular stars of the silent era like Prithviraj Kapoor, L.V. Prasad, W.M. Khan, Master Vithal and Zubeida.

Alam Ara exploited the technological wonder of sound to the full. It had opulent sets and made rich use of music, song, and dance. Alam Ara had seven songs. The film took two months to complete. There were several technical hitches in sound recording. At that time there were no sound proof stages and most of the film was shot indoors and during night. Since the film was shot close to a railway track, the unit had to wait till the trains ceased to operate to begin the shoot.

First Indian to Get an Oscar

Bhanu Athaiya

Bhanu Athaiya was the First Indian to Get an Oscar. She won the award for the Best Costume Designer for Richard Attenborough's film Gandhi in 1982. Bhanu Athaiya has been associated with the Hindi Film Industry for more than 50 years. She was born as Bhanumati Annasaheb Rajopadhye in Kolhapur in Maharashtra. She married Satyendra Athaiya, a poet and lyricist for Hindi. The marriage ended in separation and Bhanu never remarried. Some of the other notable films for which Bhanu has worked are:

• Swades (2004)
• Lagaan (2001)
• Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar (2001)
• 1942 A Love Story (1994)
• Karz (1980)
• Meera (1979)
• Mr. Natwarlal (1979)
• Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1978)
• Dastan (1972)
• Himmat (1970)
• Ankhen (1968)
• Teesri Manzil (1966)
• Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai (1961)
• Dil Deke Dekho (1959)

First Indian 3D Movie

Chota Chetan was the first Indian 3D Movie. The film was made under the banner of Navodaya Films in 1984. Chota Chetan was a huge box office success and earned around Rs 60 crore during 1984-85. The film also won the President's Gold Medal. The movie was re-released with additional footage and digital sound upgrade during 1998 and amassed Rs 50 crore during that period. The film's starcast included Dalip Tahil, Suresh Mukesh, Sonia Sahni, and Arvind. Lyrics were written by Javed Akhtar, Anand Bakshi, and Sameer. Music was given by Anu Malik, and the director of the film was Jijo. The version that was released in 1998 also included Urmila Matondkar.

First Color Film Made in India

First Color Film Made in India was Kisan Kanya in the year 1937, although the trend of colour films began very late. The film was produced by Imperial Film Co and was directed by Moti B. Gidwani. The music of the film was composed by Ram Gopal Pandey. The film had 10 songs, which were released by Gramophone Records. The storyline of the film featured an exploitative landlord and a good peasant Ramu who is accused of murdering the landlord. The film was colored using the Cinecolour process imported by Imperial Film Co. Kisan Kanya had a run time of 137 minutes and its main starcast included Padmadevi, Jillo, Ghulam Mohammed, Nissar, Syed Ahmed, and Gani.

Film with Most Number of Songs

Madan Theatres' Indra Sabha with 71 songs is the film with most number of songs. The film was made in 1932 and the director of the film was J.J. Madan. The plot of the film revolves around a benevolent king whose moral character is tested by celestial powers. They cause an apsara (a fairy) to appear before the king as a fallen woman begging for mercy.

Indra Sabha was based on a play written by Sayed Aga Hasan Amanat. The film had two singers Master Nissar and Jehanara Kajjan. The other cast of the film included Abdul Rehman Kabuli and Mukhtar Begum.