Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay), Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing films in regional languages. Bollywood is the largest film producer in India and one of the largest centers of film production in the world.

Bollywood is formally referred to as Hindi cinema. There has been a growing presence of Indian English in dialogue and songs as well. It is common to see films that feature dialogue with English words (also known as Hinglish), phrases, or even whole sentences.

The name "Bollywood" is a portmanteau derived from Bombay (the former name for Mumbai) and Hollywood, the center of the American film industry. However, unlike Hollywood, Bollywood does not exist as a physical place. Though some deplore the name, arguing that it makes the industry look like a poor cousin to Hollywood, it has its own entry in the Oxford English Dictionary.

Mahesh Babu (born Mahesh Babu Ghattamaneni on 9 August 1975) is an Indian film actor best known for his work in Telugu cinema. Born to actor Krishna, Mahesh Babu faced the camera at the age of four as a child artist in 1979's Needa. His first leading role was in the film Rajakumarudu, which was released in August 1999.

After playing the role of a young Kabaddi player in the 2003 blockbuster film Okkadu, Mahesh continued in this vein, gaining mass appeal and appearing in many successful films such as Murari (2001), Athadu (2005), Pokiri (2006), Dookudu (2011) and Business Man (2012). These accomplishments, have established him as one of the most sought after actors in Telugu Cinema. He was listed at 5th position among Times 50 Most Desirable Men for the year 2011 and at 12th place the year before.

Mahesh Babu has worked in nine films as a child artist and in seventeen films as a lead actor till date. He has won six Andhra Pradesh state Nandi Awards, two Filmfare Best Telugu Actor Awards and two CineMAA Awards. In addition to the films, he also endorses several brands such as Thums Up, Navratna Oil, Univercell, Amrutanjan,Provogue,Idea, Vivel, Jos Alukkas and Santoor Soap in Andhra Pradesh.

Anushka Shetty (born on 7 November 1981 as Sweety Shetty) is an Indian film actress who works mainly in the Telugu and Tamil film industries. She debuted in the 2005 Telugu film Super and rose to fame following her performance in Vikramarkudu (2006). After starring in a series of high-budget productions alongside leading Telegu and Tamil actors, she went on to became one of Telegu and Tamil cinema's leading actresses in the successive years, while receiving high critical acclaim for her portrayal of the titular character in Arundhati, and as Saroja in Vedam, which fetched her two Filmfare, one Nandi and two CineMAA Awards.

Anushka Shetty was born as Sweety Shetty on 7 November 1981 in Mangalore. Shetty is an ethnic Bunt hailing from the landed Bellipady Uramalu Guthu family. Her parents are Prafulla and A.N. Vittal Shetty. She has two brothers Gunaranjan Shetty and Sai Ramesh Shetty who is a cosmetic surgeon. She attended her schooling in Bangalore. She did her Bachelor of Computer Applications at Mount Carmel College, Bangalore. She was also a Yoga Instructor and has trained under yoga guru Bharat Thakur.

Shahrukh Khan (pronounced [‘ʃaːɦrəx ˈxaːn]; born 2 November 1965), often credited as Shah Rukh Khan and informally referred to as SRK, is an Indian film actor. Known as "The King of Bollywood", Khan has acted in over 70 Hindi films. He has won fourteen Filmfare Awards from thirty nominations for his work in Indian films and shares the record for the highest number of Best Actor awards with Dilip Kumar, eight wins. In 2005, the Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri for his contributions towards Indian cinema.

After graduating with a Bachelor's degree in economics, he started his career appearing in theatre and several television serials in the late 1980s and later made his Hindi film debut in 1992 with Deewana. Early in his career he was recognised for his unconventional choice of negative roles in films such as Darr (1993), Baazigar (1993) and Anjaam (1994). Since then he has played leading roles in a wide variety of film genres, including romantic films, comedies, thrillers, action films, sport films, and historical dramas among others.

Juhi Chawla (Punjabi: ਜੂਹੀ ਚਾਵਲਾ born 13 November 1967) is an Indian actress, voice actress, film producer and television presenter.

After being crowned as the winner of the Miss India beauty contest in 1984, Chawla pursued an acting career. She went on to become one of the top leading actresses of Bollywood and starred in films ranging from the romances Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988) and Darr (1993) to Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke (1993), which earned her the Filmfare Best Actress Award, to Yes Boss (1997) and Ishq (1997). Chawla has been mostly recognised for her comic timing in films as well as her vivacious screen persona.

During the 2000s, after having starred in over 70 mainstream Hindi films, Chawla started acting in art and independent films. She appeared in films in her native tongue of Punjabi, and has been mostly working in parallel cinema. She gained critical recognition for her performances in films like Jhankaar Beats (2003), 3 Deewarein (2003), My Brother Nikhil (2005), Bas Ek Pal (2006) and I Am (2011). Since 2000, Chawla branched out into film production and television presenting as well.