Bollywood Basics
Bollywood. The term itself conjures up a variety of images. Be it yesteryears actors/actresses or today’s heroes and heroines, the song and dance routines or three hour opuses which are fast giving Hollywood a run for its money, you cannot escape it. Being one of the world’s largest film industries, Bollywood has proved its importance in its growth over time and is making its mark on international cinema slowly but surely. What is it about this industry that encourages film magazines sales to rocket and box office returns to cause even Steven Spielberg to frown? Be it in India, the rest of Asia or in the UK, Indian cinema is huge. So why exactly is Bollywood so popular?
With the growing number of Asians who now make up an integral part of British society, being born raised and working here it’s surprising they’ve latched onto this cultural phenomenon which is from a country they probably haven’t visited regularly, some may not even be too confident with the language, but they still flock in their droves to cinemas to see the latest blockbuster. In India, the literate level is not among the highest in the common man, yet he’ll still buy the glossies to keep pictures of his favourite celluloid idol – that’s how passionate Indian cinegoers are.
Indian cinema in its home country is its main cinema, and form of entertainment, with a few new films being released every Friday, and on average each movie having four showings a day. Analysts say it is a form of escapism, where the man on the street can forget his worries and be whisked away for three hours on a journey full of colour and vibrancy, song and dance all courtesy of the peacock screen, while others insist their cinema is so good it breeds a fan following because of its slick entertainment, despite its Hollywood counterpart being shown in the very theatres (except to half full audiences).
If this medium is a form of escapism, what is India escaping from? Poverty surrounds the common man and wherever you work you cannot escape what’s going on around you, the children begging on the streets and the men and women living in self-constructed shanty-towns that barely hold together during the monsoon season. Is this what Indians are looking to escape from, and that too by watching a three hour musical? Or is it their working lives which have long hours and allow them to afford precious little, leaving many to lead a hand to mouth existence? Indian cinema for many is less a way out, somewhat of a distraction but more simply a way to be entertained and relax. It gives them heroes that have values, villains that you can spot a mile away and heroines who look sensual and need to be romanced to be yours. It represents a fantasy land which stems from fairytales and stories parents tell children, and infuses it with modern society to come up with tales of the subconsciously expected. That’s one idea from one section of Indian society.
Another is that because they are divided by class, not all Indians seek cheap thrills and entertainment that distracts from everyday goings on. You have two sides of a spectrum where one is deemed the ‘masses’ and the other the ‘classes’. The curve begins at the ‘front benchers’ who run stalls or drive rickshas and want to sit close to the screen because it’s cheaper and they can shout at what they like and boo at what they don’t, often throwing coins at dance sequences and songs that they know will be playing in their mini taxis or at their stalls for days to come. Then there is the average common man, who will probably sit with his family in the balcony seats, so he can watch the movie and be entertained. And then you have the higher class breed of yuppies who cruise down Marine Drive in their convertibles and attend the high class colleges or work in the most luxurious of offices. These people wouldn’t dare admit Indian cinema is ‘escapism’ for them, as that would be like confessing they have problems or that they need to be distracted. For them cinema is an art form. They readily say Indian cinema caters to the masses and gives them light relief, but where they themselves are concerned they’re there to find out what will be the next fashion and to see if an actor is worthy of discussion the next week and so they can dissect and comment on what the papers say about these ‘so called demi-gods’. What is entertainment for some is fuel for gossip and discussion for others, while some even become ‘closet watchers’ who won’t admit to where they disappear to every Friday night between nine and twelve.
The films provide an extended fantasy realm, and present characters who borrow from reality. The character on screen is larger than life and invincible, gets the girl and wins against all odds. More recently you have the addition of films that present anti-heroes and protagonists that have shades of grey to them, such as in Darr, Kasoor and Champion which bring out the audiences to a genre of film that is usually unpredictable as almost anyone is expendable. Then the emergence of family dramas with Hum Aapke Hain Koun and Hum Saath Saath Hain, proved that you don’t even need a villain any longer to entertain for three hours. What are emerging are different experimental styles of cinema which use the tried and tested formulae but deviate just a little. The traditional hero-heroine-villain-love story-parental opposition story still exists, but now there are alternatives.
This has helped the crossover to the Western audiences whereas Indian films were watched mostly by the elder generation as they reminisced about how good life was and how today’s youth have lost their identity, along came a spate of films which redefined the rules of Indian cinema, scooped up a new younger audience and crossed over to the West. British Asians now make watching Indian films a regular pastime, because they have something to offer them too in terms of songs, good looking Asian characters and something that caters to their inherent Asian culture, without betraying the Western environment upbringing they have been nurtured on. The films of late such as Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai continue what began in the late 80s, which was a transition of the MTV generasian onto the big screen. Sooraj Barjatya’s Maine Pyar Kiya began the trend in 1989 when he made an Indian film, but with strong subtle Western undertones. In the Indian context, the films that do well are those that address Asian traditions and customs (however subtly) because one scene which shows a puja or a mandir, a rasm or a marriage, immediately creates an identifiable aspect for the viewer to latch onto reassuring them this is something that could happen. We may wear DKNY jeans and sport Nike shoes, but we also end up making it to our yearly pilgrimage or still follow the same wedding traditions that are instilled in our culture. Despite the changes and wherever in the world we are, Asians at heart have remained the same.
The identifiable aspect, a new variety in the genre of film and now technically brilliant movies such as Mission Kashmir, Lagaan and Black make Indian cinema and the industry termed ‘Bollywood’ a force to be reckoned with. So we turn up in our groups to watch the latest blockbuster and the ones we like end up in the UK top ten surpassing Hollywood’s big budget offerings and bringing more attention to a cinema that is gaining more recognition by the day. Welcome to the world of Bollywood.
Fuad Omar.
With the growing number of Asians who now make up an integral part of British society, being born raised and working here it’s surprising they’ve latched onto this cultural phenomenon which is from a country they probably haven’t visited regularly, some may not even be too confident with the language, but they still flock in their droves to cinemas to see the latest blockbuster. In India, the literate level is not among the highest in the common man, yet he’ll still buy the glossies to keep pictures of his favourite celluloid idol – that’s how passionate Indian cinegoers are.
Indian cinema in its home country is its main cinema, and form of entertainment, with a few new films being released every Friday, and on average each movie having four showings a day. Analysts say it is a form of escapism, where the man on the street can forget his worries and be whisked away for three hours on a journey full of colour and vibrancy, song and dance all courtesy of the peacock screen, while others insist their cinema is so good it breeds a fan following because of its slick entertainment, despite its Hollywood counterpart being shown in the very theatres (except to half full audiences).
If this medium is a form of escapism, what is India escaping from? Poverty surrounds the common man and wherever you work you cannot escape what’s going on around you, the children begging on the streets and the men and women living in self-constructed shanty-towns that barely hold together during the monsoon season. Is this what Indians are looking to escape from, and that too by watching a three hour musical? Or is it their working lives which have long hours and allow them to afford precious little, leaving many to lead a hand to mouth existence? Indian cinema for many is less a way out, somewhat of a distraction but more simply a way to be entertained and relax. It gives them heroes that have values, villains that you can spot a mile away and heroines who look sensual and need to be romanced to be yours. It represents a fantasy land which stems from fairytales and stories parents tell children, and infuses it with modern society to come up with tales of the subconsciously expected. That’s one idea from one section of Indian society.
Another is that because they are divided by class, not all Indians seek cheap thrills and entertainment that distracts from everyday goings on. You have two sides of a spectrum where one is deemed the ‘masses’ and the other the ‘classes’. The curve begins at the ‘front benchers’ who run stalls or drive rickshas and want to sit close to the screen because it’s cheaper and they can shout at what they like and boo at what they don’t, often throwing coins at dance sequences and songs that they know will be playing in their mini taxis or at their stalls for days to come. Then there is the average common man, who will probably sit with his family in the balcony seats, so he can watch the movie and be entertained. And then you have the higher class breed of yuppies who cruise down Marine Drive in their convertibles and attend the high class colleges or work in the most luxurious of offices. These people wouldn’t dare admit Indian cinema is ‘escapism’ for them, as that would be like confessing they have problems or that they need to be distracted. For them cinema is an art form. They readily say Indian cinema caters to the masses and gives them light relief, but where they themselves are concerned they’re there to find out what will be the next fashion and to see if an actor is worthy of discussion the next week and so they can dissect and comment on what the papers say about these ‘so called demi-gods’. What is entertainment for some is fuel for gossip and discussion for others, while some even become ‘closet watchers’ who won’t admit to where they disappear to every Friday night between nine and twelve.
The films provide an extended fantasy realm, and present characters who borrow from reality. The character on screen is larger than life and invincible, gets the girl and wins against all odds. More recently you have the addition of films that present anti-heroes and protagonists that have shades of grey to them, such as in Darr, Kasoor and Champion which bring out the audiences to a genre of film that is usually unpredictable as almost anyone is expendable. Then the emergence of family dramas with Hum Aapke Hain Koun and Hum Saath Saath Hain, proved that you don’t even need a villain any longer to entertain for three hours. What are emerging are different experimental styles of cinema which use the tried and tested formulae but deviate just a little. The traditional hero-heroine-villain-love story-parental opposition story still exists, but now there are alternatives.
This has helped the crossover to the Western audiences whereas Indian films were watched mostly by the elder generation as they reminisced about how good life was and how today’s youth have lost their identity, along came a spate of films which redefined the rules of Indian cinema, scooped up a new younger audience and crossed over to the West. British Asians now make watching Indian films a regular pastime, because they have something to offer them too in terms of songs, good looking Asian characters and something that caters to their inherent Asian culture, without betraying the Western environment upbringing they have been nurtured on. The films of late such as Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai continue what began in the late 80s, which was a transition of the MTV generasian onto the big screen. Sooraj Barjatya’s Maine Pyar Kiya began the trend in 1989 when he made an Indian film, but with strong subtle Western undertones. In the Indian context, the films that do well are those that address Asian traditions and customs (however subtly) because one scene which shows a puja or a mandir, a rasm or a marriage, immediately creates an identifiable aspect for the viewer to latch onto reassuring them this is something that could happen. We may wear DKNY jeans and sport Nike shoes, but we also end up making it to our yearly pilgrimage or still follow the same wedding traditions that are instilled in our culture. Despite the changes and wherever in the world we are, Asians at heart have remained the same.
The identifiable aspect, a new variety in the genre of film and now technically brilliant movies such as Mission Kashmir, Lagaan and Black make Indian cinema and the industry termed ‘Bollywood’ a force to be reckoned with. So we turn up in our groups to watch the latest blockbuster and the ones we like end up in the UK top ten surpassing Hollywood’s big budget offerings and bringing more attention to a cinema that is gaining more recognition by the day. Welcome to the world of Bollywood.
Fuad Omar.
posted by Blogman at 8:27 AM
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