Abstract
India has been a soft-power house from time immemorial – culturally, linguistically, racially, and religiously. Added to these, since independence in 1947, is its economic growth at an enviable pace under democratic governmental institutions. According to scholars of international affairs, and diplomatic relations in the 21 century a country’s soft-power perhaps is more important than its hard-power. India has been an exporter of its soft-power in terms of highly skilled manpower, consisting mainly of software developers, engineers, doctors, and Yoga teachers. But there is an area observers of India’s soft-power had overlooked till recently – the soft-power of its film industry consisting of: Bollywood, Mollywood, Kollywood, Sandalwood, and Tollywood. India's film industry, referred to as Bollywood, releases more than 1,000 films per year. These films showcase India’s strength of unity in diversity in terms of its rich and diverse culture, numerous languages and dialects, varieties of food and culinary habits, multiple dance forms – classical and folk, geographical beauty consisting of mountains, plains, and rivers, art and architecture, religious diversity and related feasts & festivals and above all its vibrant democracy – political parties, elections, institutions …. Globalization of media aided the spread of Indian movies across the globe. Observing this some media scholars even go to the extent of positing a reverse media imperialism – from the East to the West. Sure, within the East itself Indian movies are well-accepted especially for their entertainment quotient. This contribution would like to argue that Indian Film Industry is a significant vehicle of India’s soft-power.