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Bollywood Movies, Song & DanceWhy Bollywood Dance Scenes Are So Popular and How They're Made
Bollywood films are more than just movies, they're singing and dancing spectaculars.
Bollywood is Bombay’s film industry, and is India’s equivalent to Hollywood. When watching a Bollywood film for the first time, you could easily feel that you're re-visiting the era of movie musicals. However, after seeing many of these films, it becomes apparent that the Bollywood industry has failed to progress beyond this period. While most Western audiences lost interest in muscials after the smash hit Grease, films full of singing and dancing are very much alive and well in Bollywood. In fact dance scenes have been increasingly added to Bollywood films, to the point that they’ve often become totally irrelevant to the storylines. Directors are also no longer content with India as the location of these scenes. Many of them are now shot in foreign countries, the more exotic the better. These days the Swiss Alps are not just home to the Sound of Music, they’ve also featured prominently in many Bollywood films. Imagine girl meets boy and falls deeply in love and she suddenly finds herself in the Swiss Alps, surrounded by singing and dancing Indians all dressed in elaborate costumes. It's about as unrealistic in real life as finding an Indian sun baking on the beach. The Rise and Rise of Bollywood Dance ScenesSo why are these dance scenes, which often have no relevance to the movie or real life, so popular? There's no doubt that dance scenes generate a lot of interest in Bollywood films. To Indians, a Bollywood film without dance scenes would be like curry without chilli - bland and unappealing. It's understandable really, since Bollywood films often run for around three hours. Without some light entertainment the viewer's attention interest is bound to wander. The manner in which the dance scenes in Bollywood films are put together also accounts for their high appeal. These scenes have always deliberately featured attractive woman in revealing costumes, usually dancing in a provocative manner. The lyrics consistently contain over the top references to love, life, the heart, and romance. With Indian culture being so conservative, such scenes provide an indulgence that people are unaccustomed to seeing everyday. The Making of A MovieThe success, or otherwise, of a Bollywood movie often depends solely on its soundtrack and dance scenes. Therefore considerable time, effort, and money are devoted to making these scenes. A 6 minute dance scene can require weeks of shooting and preparation. In the 2007 movie Jab We Met (When We Met), an historic castle near Manali in northern India was unrecognisably transformed into a huge carnival scene for the song Yeh Ishq Hai (This is Love). This involved teams of artists working around the clock to handcraft and paint large sculptures and props. People from surrounding villages were organised to be extras, local shop keepers and balloon vendors hired to provide colourful displays of merchandise, and amusement rides were set up. The result was a vibrant singing and dancing extravaganza featuring traditional dancers, including Tibetian lion dancers, and costumes. The dance scenes themselves are highly choreographed and shot in very small blocks from different angles, and not necessarily in sequence. It’s a time consuming process that requires days of work, many costume changes, and re-arrangements of the set. It’s mesmerising to watch the set burst into life with extremely enthusiastic and over the top routines, only to have the energy disappear just as quickly as soon as ‘cut’ is called. However, with the same song playing over and over for days on end again as each movement is repeatedly filmed, the strength of one’s grip on sanity can be tested. Becoming a Bollywood ExtraIt’s possible for foreigners to experience the shooting of a Bollywood movie first hand. Almost every day in Mumbai’s tourist area of Colaba, westerners are approached to be extras. Spend some time around hangouts such as Leopold’s cafe and you’re sure to be asked.
The copyright of the article Bollywood Movies, Song & Dance in India Travel is owned by Sharell Cook. Permission to republish Bollywood Movies, Song & Dance in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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