by Pooja Kansal – Indiana University
During a November 2009 interview with CNN, Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan said that, “Indian cinema needs to move beyond traditional song-and-dance musicals amid increasing international competition in the Mumbai studios’ domestic market.”
The frequent occurrence of the hero and heroine running through meadows while breaking out in song is severely mocked among the Indian-American community, but at the end of the day, we have to admit that we kind of love it.
The musical format of Hindi movies is what makes Bollywood stand out from all other types of films and is the driving force behind India’s music industry. Song-and-dance numbers in Bollywood play an integral role in promoting Indian music, as well as the artists who create it, similar to how radio helps to publicize music in the U.S.
It’s true that Bollywood isn’t exactly seen as a prestigious film industry: It lags behind in special effects, the scenes are melodramatic, and the plots are often wildly unrealistic. But, who ever said that Hindi films need to imitate life perfectly? Isn’t that what documentaries are for?
A good friend of mine once said that people don’t go to the movies to watch their lives; they go there to get away from them. I couldn’t agree with that more. The whole charm of Bollywood films is in their sense of escapism. Bollywood’s exaggerated depiction of romance even inspired the Facebook group “Bollywood gave me unrealistic expectations about love.’ While that may seem like a negative effect, it actually allows audiences to unwind after a trying day and gives them the hope that happy endings can happen.
This isn’t to say that serious storylines aren’t welcome; only that superficial and provocative ones are not lending any artistic value to them. ‘3 Idiots’ seems to be the only recent Hindi film that actually addresses issues relevant to young Indians and Indian-Americans. It moved away from the clichéd romance genre and astutely explored the widespread problem of academic pressure.
But for some reason, Bollywood seems to think that sexing up its products is the way to be seen as a legitimate film industry. Rather than addressing the issues that plague the Indian community, both in India and abroad, Bollywood has chosen to assimilate to global film norms by showcasing scantily clad women and steamy make-out sessions.
The risqué road that Bollywood is currently traveling on counteracts the family bonding aspect of Hindi films. Now, it’s nearly impossible to watch a Hindi movie with your parents without squirming uncomfortably. Long gone are the days when a song would make a potentially sensual moment come to screeching halt.
Come to think of it, maybe the days of hearing Hindi in these films are also long gone. Over the past decade, Hindi films have often been titled with English words, but over the past few years, the actual language spoken in the movies has also shifted to English. The film ‘Kites’ is the latest example of how Bollywood is diluting its own culture in exchange for reaching a more global audience.
If Hindi filmmakers did a little more research, they might be surprised at how much of their audience appreciates traditional Bollywood movies. It would be wise of Bollywood to re-evaluate its goals and how it should reach them, instead of hoping to merge with Hollywood and, as a result, lose its unique identity.
I literally could not agree more. I definitely appreciate a realistic storyline but the escapist elements of Bollywood is what attracts me the most. Personally I think this “sexing up” of the Bollywood industry is embarrasing and a shame, since we’re not only losing “family fun” of watching these films together with our parents, aunts & uncles, but we’re also losing important traditions.
I couldn’t agree more. I am a neophyte in the world of Bollywood and Kollywood movies, yet for me, the allure of them is exactly what is being gotten away from. There is no shortage of idiotic sex-and-violence themed movies on the market today. There is no shortage of eye candy (usually poorly generated computer graphics) and exposed flesh. Nor is it a secret that most movies from Hollywood are targeted toward that intellectually elite and discriminating group: 13 to 19 year old males.
In fact, are Hollywood movies realistic when they portray half of society to be crazed psychopaths packing enough heat to fight a major war? Is it to be considered realistic when (as opposed to breaking out in song) Hollywood movies break out into gun battles, martial arts, or gratuitous sex scenes? Hardly!
I have watched a few Bollywood movies, and I have enjoyed the honest and refreshing chemistry of SRK and Kajol. I see valid social commentary in Taare Zameen Par. The symbolism in a movie like Devdas is quite artistic, I feel, and the 4th version is a worthy successor to the 3rd (the one with Dilip Kumar) in the artistic sense. Furthermore, my big, burly Texas son-in-law did have to go hide in the kitchen toward the end of Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham so we would not see his emotion — I could think of no better proof of the powerful emotional pull, despite the criticisms of the movie’s formulaic situations. These movies pack a powerful emotional punch!
Furthermore, back to the realm of art, is it impossible for a culture that so celebrated Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” to miss the artistic power and elegance of the dance scene, “Dola re dola”?
In the realm of suspense, can the suspense and intensity of brooding disaster be missed in Kajol’s portrayal of Zooni in “Fanaa”?
Is the message of tolerance not clearly made in movies like “Bombay” and “My Name is Khan”? Truly, there are messages in these socially relevant movies that could well apply to the USA today, just as similar messages were portrayed in “South Pacific” so many years ago.
Bollywood art has both a relevance and a stylistic presentation of relevant themes and issues, just like any other art. One might well question whether art can be considered as such without a stylistic element.
(Here, I would also like to add that I very much enjoy Kollywood presentations, such as in Chandramukhi. Is there a difference between the basic premise of a film like “Paint Your Wagon” and “Thiruda, Thiruda”? I think not!)
I do not see the point of replacing the cultural “spice” of Bollywood, in order to make such movies plastic interchangeable parts with banal Hollywood fare. There’s an overabundance of that already!
(BTW, I like the “Chandni Chowk to China” picture accompanying the article!
Regards,
timmy