Heading into 2009, the Mumbai terrorist attacks and the global recession are taking an economic toll on Bollywood. Already, more than 50 productions have been halted.

But despite rampant piracy siphoning off billions from box-office revenues, the industry has always found a way to thrive, even in the worst of times. In recent years, Bollywood has opened up numerous territories around the world for its products while steadily increasing revenues through ancillary markets like DVDs, the Internet, and television sales.

What’s giving the Indian film industry hope is the new Hollywood-style corporate studio structure introduced by mini-majors like UTV Motion Pictures, Studio 18, Eros, Adlabs Films, and Yash Raj Films. There’s a big Hollywood helping hand behind this corporatization, and vice versa. Walt Disney Pictures recently became the majority shareholder in UTV, Studio 18 has big backing from Viacom subsidiary Paramount Pictures, and India’s Reliance Industries will invest $500 million in Steven Spielberg’s Dreamworks Studios as it leaves its current home at Paramount to become a stand-alone studio. Reliance also signed development deals with Hollywood stars such as Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Will Smith, and Tom Hanks.

Reliance Big Cinemas has bought more than 500 theatres in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. The company is planning to open 1,000 new screens in India by the end of 2009.

The new corporate structure is already beginning to influence the box office. The three top-earning films of 2008 were all released by the recently restructured studios. Singh Is Kinng, the top-earning film at US$29.1 million, was released by Studio 18, while both Jodhaa Akbar ($26.8 million) and Race ($24.4 million) came from UTV Motion Pictures.

Artistically speaking, the past year was a mixed bag for Bollywood, with the release of a number of innovative and entertaining films alongside a busload of dismal failures. One of the strongest efforts of 2008 was star/director Aamir Khan’s groundbreaking Par Taare Zameen Par (Stars on Earth), an indictment of India’s education system. Other notable films included terrorism-themed A Wednesday, historical epic Jodhaa Akbar, revenge tale Ghajini, and romantic entertainers Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (Match Made by God), Bachna Ae Haseeno (Watch Out, Beauties), and Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na (Either You Know Or You Don’t). Dostana (Friendship) was significant for its attempt to bring gay issues into mainstream Bollywood cinema.

Among the year’s disasters were the Subhash Ghai–directed stinker Yuvvraaj (Prince), the sci-fi Drona, the futuristic Love Story 2050, kid flick Thoda Pyar Thoda Magic (Little Love, Little Magic), and Disney–Yash Raj Films’ first-ever 3-D–animation collaboration, Roadside Romeo.

Kicking off 2009 is Warner Bros’ first Bollywood film, masala-martial arts comedy Chandni Chowk to China, and Kambakkht Ishq (That Damned Love), featuring appearances by Hollywood stars Sylvester Stallone, Denise Richards, and Brandon Routh. Both films will star Akshay Kumar, who visited Vancouver last August to promote Singh Is Kinng. Kumar is slated to return to Vancouver in the late summer to shoot the big-budget Komagata Maru epic Exclusion, by Canadian director Deepa Mehta