In the late 70s and early 80s, Nigerians were more used to watching Indian movies than Nigeria movies. Back then in Lagos, Kaduna, Kano and other states, there were various cinema houses that show several movies like the Chinese and American films. ANTHONY ADA ABRAHAM writes on the new craze for Bollywood Movies.The most common flick back in the days was the Indian cinemas. People were seen standing, looking at the posters imagining what it would be like being inside the cinema or film house.There was a popular cinema house at Ajegunle, Oyedeji streets back in the days which show all kind of movies especially the Indian movies. Young men and women would save there last card just to pay for a movie.The idea of entering a cinema hall alone separates the young from the old depending on who gets into the cinema.At various homes there are seldom TV sets talk more of a video player, so people hand around neighbors house trying to peep through the window to watch an exciting movie, especially the Bollywood.Bollywood, Indias huge film industry, not only has the Indian public in its grip, but in recent decades has spread out to Europe, Britain and North America, where a large Indian diaspora has long settled.But the fascination for Bollywood movieswhich typically feature handsome heroes, beautiful damsels, endless musical numbers, improbable plots and happy endingshas also stretched out to a non-Indian audience in parts of the globe.One unlikely place where Bollywood has long enjoyed immense popularity is the West African nation of Nigeria, particularly in the Islamic-dominated north of the countrywhich does not have any significant Indian immigrant community whatsoever.It was gathered that only about 35,000 Indians live in the country of 170 million, primarily in Lagos.Indian cinema entered the Nigerian market more than 50-years ago when Lebanese businessmen (a merchant class across West Africa) decided to try something novel and import Bollywood filmsinstead of the far more expensive American moviesfor distribution in the country.That chance decision became a massive and unexpected success. Nigerians flocked to see Indian movies and this obsession has never really eased, at least among the Hausa people in the north.Some of the widespread movies that shook the foundation of the Nigerian entertainment industry back in the days would be noticeable only by the past generation.Though some blackberry generation would have heard of some of these movies, it would only be understandable when they watch it.Nagina: The 1986 is one of the two snake girl movies that got Nigerians thinking of cheating their own. It is like the movie also inspired the later Nigerian Nneka the Pretty Serpent.Mard : is a 1985 Hindi action film, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Amrita Singh and directed by Manmohan Desai. It was the highest earning film of 1985. The movie is remade in tamil as Maaveeran.Nagin: (Female Snake) is a 1976 Hindi horror fantasy thriller film produced and directed by Rajkumar Kohli on Shankar Movies banner. It features a huge ensemble cast including Sunil Dutt, Reena Roy, Jeetendra, Feroz Khan, Sanjay Khan, Vinod Mehra, Rekha, Yogeeta Bali, Mumtaz in the lead roles and music composed byLaxmikant Pyarelal. The film recorded as Super Hit at Box Office India.Sholay: A 1975 Indian Hindi-language action-adventure film directed by Ramesh Sippy and produced by his father G. P. Sippy. The film follows two criminals, Veeru and Jai (played by Dharmendra and Amitabh Bachchan), hired by a retired police officer (Sanjeev Kumar) to capture the ruthless dacoit Gabbar Singh (Amjad Khan). Hema Malini and Jaya Bhaduri also star, as Veeru and Jais love interests. Sholay is considered a classic and one of the best Indian films. It was ranked first in the British Film Institutes 2002 poll of Top 10 Indian Films of all time. In 2005, the judges of the 50th annual Filmfare Awards named it the Best Film of 50 Years.The Burning Train: Released in 1979 produced by B. R. Chopra on B. R. Films banner, directed by Ravi Chopra. The film featuring a huge all-star cast Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Vinod Khanna, Parveen Babi, Jeetendra, Neetu Singh, Vinod Mehra, Danny Denzongpa in pivotal roles and music composed by R. D. Burman. The plot revolves around a train named Super Express that catches fire on its inaugural run from New Delhi to Mumbai.The Great Gambler: Known in Hindi as Sabse Bada Zuari, stars Amitabh Bachchan, Zeenat Aman, Neetu Singh and Prem Chopra. It was directed by Shakti Samanta. It did decent business in Mumbai and has attained cult status. This film is a thriller, and its story is based on international gangsters, spies and secret agents of different countries intelligence agencies and their undercover operations. This film had high production costs with a significant portions of it being shot in international locations including Cairo, Lisbon, Venice and Rome, and in India many scenes were shot in Goa. The Great Gambler has been widely appreciated for its action, direction and cinematography.Yeh Vaada Raha : A 1982 Hindi film starring Shammi Kapoor, Poonam Dhillon, Tina Munim and Rishi Kapoor. Vikram Rai Bahadur is the only son of Mrs. Sharda, and sole heir to a vast business and estate. While vacationing with his artiste friend, Raja in Kashmir he meets a beautiful girl named Sunita and falls head over heels in love with her. Sunita was a great singer and had also got a contract to sing on Radio, she tells Vikram and also asked him to sing with her but he continuously denied her. Soon he proposes marriage to her, and she accepts. They go to the temple where they had first laid eyes on each other and seek God blessings as well as vow to never part till death, even tying the symbol of their love, a necklace vicky had won for Sunita in a fair, around a wishing pole.Amar Akbar Anthony: The film, which is based on the lost and found theme, is about three brothers separated from their parents and each other in childhood, and raised in three different faiths, Hinduism, Islam and Christianity. They unite in their youth to fight a common villain. It was the biggest blockbuster of 1977, and won several awards at 25th Filmfare Awards including Best Actor, Best Music Director and Best Editing. The film stars three actors: Amitabh Bachchan (as Anthony Gonsalves), Vinod Khanna (as Amar Khanna) and Rishi Kapoor (as Akbar Allahabadi). Each of the heroes had an affiliation with a heroine; these women were played by Parveen Babi, Shabana Azmi and Neetu Singh.Dharam-Veer: The movie stars Dharmendra, Zeenat Aman, Jeetendra, Neetu Singh, Pran, Indrani Mukherjee, Jeevan and Ranjeet. Dharmendras younger son Bobby Deol appears briefly playing the childhood version of his fathers character.Dharam-Veer takes place in a mythical kingdom and tells the tale of twin brothers separated at birth who still become best friends when they are older, not knowing that they were real brothers. It also tells about their adventures, Dharam winning the love of a beautiful princess, court intrigues, and has a host of villains which they have to face. The film went on to become a gigantic blockbuster at the Indian box office becoming the second highest grossing film of 1977 as well as one of the biggest hits of the 1970s decade.
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