Editing Hindi cinema (section)

=== Eastern Europe and Central Asia ===
Bollywood films are popular in the former [[Soviet Union]] ([[Russia]], [[Eastern Europe]], and [[Central Asia]]),<ref name="Sanskar Shrivastava">{{cite web|url=https://www.theworldreporter.com/2013/08/bollywood-diplomacy-influence-in-soviet-union.html|title=Influence of Bollywood in Former Soviet Union; Why India and Russia Need to Target Bollywood Diplomacy and Business|work=The World Reporter|date=1 August 2013|author=Sanskar Shrivastava|access-date=1 August 2013|archive-date=4 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130804105232/http://www.theworldreporter.com/2013/08/bollywood-diplomacy-influence-in-soviet-union.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> and have been dubbed into [[Russian language|Russian]]. Indian films were [[List of Soviet films of the year by ticket sales|more popular in the Soviet Union]] than Hollywood films<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=cpoLAQAAMAAJ ''Indian Films in Soviet Cinemas: The Culture of Movie-going After Stalin''], page 75, [[Indiana University Press]], 2005</ref><ref name="moscow">[https://is.muni.cz/el/1421/podzim2015/FAV291/um/Roth-Ey-Moscow_Prime_Time.pdf#page=5 ''Moscow Prime Time: How the Soviet Union Built the Media Empire that Lost the Cultural Cold War'', page 44], [[Cornell University Press]], 2011</ref> and, sometimes, domestic [[Soviet films]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=laoaAQAAIAAJ ''Behind The Scenes Of Hindi Cinema: A Visual Journey Through The Heart Of Bollywood''], page 138, [[Royal Tropical Institute]], 2005</ref> The first Indian film released in the Soviet Union was ''[[Dharti Ke Lal]]'' (1946), directed by [[Khwaja Ahmad Abbas]] and based on the [[Bengal famine of 1943]], in 1949.<ref name="Rajadhyaksha" /> Three hundred Indian films were released in the Soviet Union after that;<ref>{{cite news|title=With love from India to Russia|url=https://www.rbth.com/articles/2009/10/22/221009_indianfilms.html|work=[[Russia Beyond]]|date=22 October 2009}}</ref> most were Bollywood films with higher average audience figures than domestic Soviet productions.<ref name="moscow" /><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=bJnAAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA357 ''The Routledge Handbook of the Cold War'', page 357], [[Routledge]], 2014</ref> Fifty Indian films had over 20 million viewers, compared to 41 Hollywood films.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-FceAQAAMAAJ|title=A Taste for Indian Films: Negotiating Cultural Boundaries in Post-Stalinist Soviet Society|first=Sudha|last=Rajagopalan|date=16 August 2018|publisher=Indiana University|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://kinanet.livejournal.com/1469857.html|title=Зарубежные популярные фильмы в советском кинопрокате (Индия)|author=[[Sergey Kudryavtsev (film critic)|Sergey Kudryavtsev]]}}</ref> Some, such as ''[[Awaara]]'' (1951) and ''[[Disco Dancer]]'' (1982), had more than 60 million viewers<ref>{{cite web|url=https://kinanet.livejournal.com/13882.html|title=Зарубежные фильмы в советском кинопрокате|author=[[Sergey Kudryavtsev (film critic)|Sergey Kudryavtsev]]}}</ref><ref name="hindu_russia">{{cite news|title=Bollywood re-enters Russian homes via cable TV|work=[[The Hindu]]|date=27 September 2007|url=https://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/009200709270360.htm|access-date=7 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121109235938/https://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/009200709270360.htm|archive-date=9 November 2012|location=Chennai, India}}</ref> and established actors [[Raj Kapoor]], [[Nargis]],<ref name="hindu_russia" /> [[Rishi Kapoor]]<ref name="moscow43">[https://is.muni.cz/el/1421/podzim2015/FAV291/um/Roth-Ey-Moscow_Prime_Time.pdf#page=4 ''Moscow Prime Time: How the Soviet Union Built the Media Empire that Lost the Cultural Cold War'', page 43], [[Cornell University Press]], 2011</ref> and [[Mithun Chakraborty]] in the country.<ref name="sbs">[https://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/hindi/en/article/2017/03/18/do-you-remember-jimmy-jimmy Do you remember Jimmy Jimmy?], [[SBS One|SBS]], 18 March 2017</ref>

According to diplomat Ashok Sharma, who served in the [[Commonwealth of Independent States]],
{{blockquote|The popularity of Bollywood in the CIS dates back to the Soviet days when the films from [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]] and other Western cinema centers were banned in the Soviet Union. As there was no means of other cheap entertainment, the films from Bollywood provided the Soviets a cheap source of entertainment as they were supposed to be non-controversial and non-political. In addition, the Soviet Union was recovering from the onslaught of the Second World War. The films from India, which were also recovering from the disaster of partition and the struggle for freedom from colonial rule, were found to be a good source of providing hope with entertainment to the struggling masses. The aspirations and needs of the people of both countries matched to a great extent. These films were dubbed in Russian and shown in theatres throughout the Soviet Union. The films from Bollywood also strengthened family values, which was a big factor for their popularity with the government authorities in the Soviet Union.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chillibreeze.com/articles/Indian-films.asp |title=Promoting Bollywood Abroad Will Help to Promote India |last=Ashreena |first=Tanya |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203003948/https://www.chillibreeze.com/articles/Indian-films.asp |archive-date=3 December 2013 }}</ref>}}

After the collapse of the Soviet film-distribution system, Hollywood filled the void in the Russian film market and Bollywood's market share shrank.<ref name="Sanskar Shrivastava" />

In [[Poland]], [[Shah Rukh Khan]] has a large following. He was introduced to Polish audiences with the 2005 release of ''[[Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham...]]'' (2001) and his other films, including ''[[Dil Se..]]'' (1998), ''[[Main Hoon Na]]'' (2004) and ''[[Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna]]'' (2006), became hits in the country. Bollywood films are often covered in ''[[Gazeta Wyborcza]]'', formerly Poland's largest newspaper.<ref>{{cite news|title=After Kama Sutra, it is Bollywood and SRK in Poland|url=https://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report-after-kama-sutra-it-is-bollywood-and-srk-in-poland-1211988|work=[[Daily News and Analysis]]|date=7 December 2008}}</ref><ref name="indiatimes">{{cite news|title=9 Countries Where Bollywood Is Badshah|url=https://www.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/9-countries-where-bollywood-is-badshah-331482.html|work=[[The Times of India]]|date=15 October 2017}}</ref>

''[[Squad (2021 film)|Squad]]'' (2021) is the first Indian film to be shot in [[Belarus]]. A majority of the film was shot at [[Belarusfilm]] studios, in [[Minsk]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/epic-battle-for-climax-of-rinzings-film-squad/articleshow/71765107.cms|title=Epic battle for climax of Rinzing Denzongpa's film Squad|date=26 October 2019|website=Mumbai Mirror|language=en|access-date=20 March 2020}}</ref>