As the free download ecosystem grew, so did the attention from law enforcement and the film industry. Authorities began to crack down on piracy, shutting down websites and prosecuting individuals involved in copyright infringement.

Apps like MX Player and ZEE5 offer free Bollywood movies with ads, while platforms like Sony Liv and Voot provide users with a range of content, including Bollywood movies, for free or with a subscription.

Apps like 123Movies and ShowBox gained popularity, providing users with a vast collection of movies, including Bollywood releases. These platforms often operated in a gray area, sometimes hosting content without the necessary permissions.

The practice of downloading Bollywood movies for free dates back to the early 2000s, when piracy began to take hold. With the rise of peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing and torrenting, movies started to circulate on the internet, often without the permission of the creators. This marked the beginning of a cat-and-mouse game between pirates and the authorities.

In recent years, the landscape of free Bollywood movie downloads has changed. The rise of legitimate streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Hotstar has provided users with affordable access to a vast library of content, including Bollywood movies.