The Phenomenon of Bollywood - Essay Example

Introduction: Through the late twentieth century, the phenomenon of Bollywood has risen and taken a definite shape and is able to propagate a cohesive and harmonious face of India. A country of different nations, various social classes and people of varied interests has become unified through the cinematic presentation of Bollywood. The Non-resident Indians and the Indian Diasporas have been taken by a storm and at the same time the Bollywood film makers have successfully put forward a culture that embraces western culture and keeps intact the Indian values at the same time. By the increasing and economically profitable markets that Bollywood now has internationally, it can be gauged that an increasingly growing population of the Indians Diasporas and the Non-resident Indians have come to realize their great bond with India. A great shift in the thematic backgrounds of Bollywood films has been witnessed; the films today emphasise the chastity and morality of Indian women in comparison to the Western women, the moral values of men and their faith in the religious rituals and belief system as well as the cultural superiority of Indians. The films now focus on economically established Indians who have not lost their faith in their homeland, their belief systems and their set of values. While it can be argued that the films are not representative of India as a country inhabiting various social classes, different religions and castes amongst people of the same religion, nonetheless, the movies have successfully portrayed a unified face of the nation. Instead of the stereotypes that focussed on the male protagonist of lower class in love with the heroine of the upper class, Bollywood now presents heroes hailing form India and falling for female protagonists born and raised abroad. While they are on a quest to prove to their beloveds, the values of Indian culture and traditions, they are at the same time proving their superiority over the native’s values. Recently, Bollywood has initiated the import of the exotic East to the people and cinemas of West. Bollywood and Diaspora: “India, the largest producer of feature films globally, produces almost twice as many films as Hollywood. Bollywood, Bombay’s Hindi-language cinema, is not only nationally popular, but also one of the most important in the world. Bollywood is a global cinema that positions itself against the hegemony of Hollywood.” “More recently, Indian films have become increasingly popular in transnational migrant and diasporic South Asia communities. As part of world communications, these films produce economic, cultural, and social ties between the Indian homeland and its diaspora.” (East Main Street, 2005, p. 55) Jigna Desai expressing his ideas also argues that these films have been able to infuse in the Diaspora of India a sense of belonging and bonding with their nation. “From the development of state councils and academic centres on the diaspora to the prevalence of NRI characters in Bollywood cinema, the nation-state advances its interest in diasporas in different modalities, articulating its varying relationships with diaspora based on contradictory and complementary interests.” (Bombay Girls and Boys, 2003, p. 46) That the cinema has been the most accessible mode for communicating with the Indians abroad is greatly recognized through the literally circles of India. They appeal to an audience that has been settled abroad for two or three generations. To the youth and the children who have not visited the homeland in their lifetimes, this is the presentation of a lifestyle that is similar to their own. While the films of this particular genre or theme do not touch the issues of racial violence, discrimination against women or lower castes, violence in society and so on and so forth, they portray the life of the upper middle class Indians and specially glamorizes the aspect with Western touches. The culture of West had permeated the society during the colonial era and had also been a part of the earlier Hindi cinema. Today however, what features in the film is the familial values, the chastity and honesty inherent in protagonists due to their commitment to culture and the respect that they earn within the country and abroad due to their brilliant characteristics. In films such as Pardes, specially, the contrast between those who had assimilated with the Western society and those who resited the evil intentions has been greatly highlighted. The values that are transferred to an Indian female, that she has to put the feelings and values of her in-laws before herself, or that the young has to respect and obey the elders have been manifested. The super hit film, Dilwaley Dulhania Layjayengay was even more closely followed and appreciated as it portrayed that the traditions and values of and the pride of being an Indian does not come from living in the country. The dialogue of the protagonist’s father that “Hum to Hindustan ko apnay dil main lay kay phirtay hain” said it all for the movie. While the movie portrays the struggles of an Indian family in maintaining their culture in a different society, it also shows that they were able to successfully live up to the Indian standards as well as abide by them in the most difficult of the circumstances. Through these themes and ideas, the Bollywood producers have been able to produce a sense of belonging in the Indians living abroad. But at the same time they have presented a favourable face of India to the world. Through these pictures, they have successfully presented almost all those features to the West that are missing in their own society. They have produced and presented an exotic religion that is brimming with ever-green dances and musicals, a set of family values that is missing in their society and a true love, that is neither here nor there, but that captures the fancy of youth in all societies. The films are becoming popular throughout the globe for these very reasons. Bride and Prejudice: Taking the original Jane Austen text, the themes were substantially kept the same but Gurinder Chadha was able to take the prejudices to the next level. While the original novel dealt with the social structure of the British society, the issues of female inheritances, the prejudices of the British peerage, the altered version created a scenario where an Indian mother was worried about her unmarried daughters and was faced with an American that sneered at the Indians and their traditions. While the original pride was destroyed and the prejudice was punished, the film maintained a patriotic background and marketed Indian values and culture through bhangra beats, extreme emotions and cultural and religious reflections. In M/C Journal Suchitra Mathur (May 2007) presents differing opinions on the film, its thematic presentation and it adaptation. “Combining aspects of two popular Bollywood genres, the “social” and the “romance”, this sub-genre enacts the story of young lovers caught within complex familial politics against the backdrop of a nationalist celebration of Indian identity. Using a cinematic language that is characterised by the spectacular in both its aural and visual aspects, the patriotic family romance follows a typical “masala” narrative pattern that brings together “a little action and some romance with a touch of comedy, drama, tragedy, music, and dance”. Bride and Prejudice’s successful mimicry of this language and narrative pattern is evident in film reviews consistently pointing to its being very “Bollywoodish”: “the songs and some sequences look straight out of a Hindi film” says one reviewer, while another wonders “why this talented director has reduced Jane Austen’s creation to a Bollywood masala film”.” But leaving aside the critical assessments of the movie, the theme of the disparity between two social classes was elevated to the disparity between two people who were nationals of different countries and came from starkly different backgrounds. The protagonist here asserts herself through her national identity, and is insulted not because she belongs to a lower social class but because the male protagonist comes with definite ideas about the Indian society and their value system. She asserts herself as a female who knows her mind. Through her dialogues, she represents the Indian women of today who are aware of their own worth and have pride in their background. Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham: This was one of the movies that did more business in American then some of the Hollywood flicks. The movie did business of two to three million dollars in USA alone. While featuring a family whose roots had been deeply ingrained in India, the film showcased their pining and yearning for their home land when they were forced to sever ties with family and live abroad. The film shows a whole university campus swaying to the Indian music and sings. While the film features again the very rich of the Indian society with mansions and private planes, the deep rooted love for nation and religion is portrayed at every step. The Vande matram as well as the Indian National anthem are hailed and respected by the British masses that have a newfound respect for the family as well as their familial bonding. The film has managed to glamorize all aspects of Indian life from a great obsession with cricket to love for the nation and country. At the same time the movie tries to portray a deep and wide relation between Hindus and Muslims through the sharing of festivals and celebrations. Here again, a society is formed and reflected that has similar values and culture irrespective of religion and social class as some of the members of upper class readily accept those from the lower strata due to their innate good characteristics. The movie was able to attract many of the Indian Diaspora and the youth residing abroad as well. The movie also got much favourable reviews from the international newspapers and film critics due to its musicals as well as due to the presentation of the deep family love and the true love that led the protagonists to leave their homes and make it big on their own. Swades and Kal Ho Na Ho: This was another Bollywood flick that shows how the attraction of motherland forces people to shrug off the better life and great opportunities offered abroad. While the movie shows an Indian immigrant returning to India to find an old loving governess, it also shows his struggles with the society that he finds at home. It is a portrayal of an immigrated Indian to transform the society as he comes back and finds great flaws in his own people. He instils in them the ability to help themselves and to believe in themselves for bringing good in their own lives. The film also originally shows the inability of the natives to trust and Indian returning from abroad and at the same time compares the difference in living standards. Yet the pull of the land that brings him back also allows him to adjust with the much less privileged life that is offered here. However, with his greater knowledge and degrees, in the end the protagonist refuses to serve the NASA in order to being betterment to his own homeland. Through this emotional and intellectual cross over the protagonist decides to come back and make his share towards the betterment of his land. Likewise in the other movie, Kal Ho Na Ho, again an Indian family is portrayed struggling and trying to make it on their own, when in comes the protagonist from India. He teaches them to market their national features, to take pride in their own identity and culture and to be as different from the natives as they can be keeping the situation harmonious. It is only though the Indian foods, and the Indian cultural touch that the hero is able to produce for the struggling family that they survive and start earning profits. Through subtle yet emphatic gestures, the family is also portrayed as setting up business against the Chinese and to have prevailed upon them as they destroy their clientele and made it big through their restaurant. Also the head of the family had transgressed his limits that leave the family devastated and becomes the source of all their problems. At the same time the movie also shows that while the American lady who had given birth to the child was not ready to bear the burden of her daughter, she was welcomed and made part of the family by the Indians who held on to their values. Also the continuous wedding celebrations that took place, as well as the other songs of the film, intended to show the superiority of Indian music and dance over the western ones. Creating Indianness: Through these aforementioned movies, the Bollywood producers and directors have created a sense of a Indianness amongst their viewers. “While it is emphasised repeatedly by Indian political parties and popular opinion maker’s that the country’s values are contradictory to a Western life-style, there is no single opinion about what these values are. Nevertheless, they are used to mark the definitive space of a consolidated group identity. The dominating values are further reinforced in the form of the agendas followed by the Celluloid Occident. For example, Sudipta Kaviraj finds a consistent linkage in Indian films and nationalism where the imaginative universe of the former constantly represents the Nehruvian ideals of nationalism and democracy.” (Viewing the West through Bollywood, 2002, p. 207) It is through such concerted efforts that the Bollywood have portrayed an Indian culture and marketed it through to all other nations. The glamour has been infused into the religious rituals such as Diwali and other religious events through songs specific to the events. The relations between siblings and parents and children, are all now set to be cherished through music and songs and emotions. The portrayal of a different social class is being done through the cinema as they are generally characters with financial securities and great religious beliefs. The problems of prejudice against religious minorities, the discrimination against women, and the problems of rural and urban areas in general and the hold of the few on the economic resources are all issues of the present India. These are addressed in the parallel cinema and also in the local cinemas such as are working in Tamil areas, in Gujrat and Punjab, however they are not part of the international image that is being created by the Bollywood films that can be characterized differently form the rest of the Indian cinema. While there are social classes and castes that are a living and everyday trouble to almost half of the population in India, these issues are not addressed through the Bollywood cinema. Conclusion: Bollywood and its thematic films can be greatly distinguished from the parallel Indian cinema or the local cinemas that are producing different movies. However, majority of the movies that are released through the Bollywood are portraying a different India but these movies are catering very successfully to an audience that has to create a bonding with their homeland. They are presenting a unified image of the country their movies that are at the same time creating a better image of India through put the world. For the Indian Diaspora and the Non-resident Indians, this is a matter of pride and greatness that the Bollywood movies, a term that was coined to ridicule the cinema have now grown to a level that they are nominated for the international film fares. Although the subject matter is rarely different from the ones that was previously portrayed, however the dimensions of the movies have now definitely grown to international levels. Studying the influences of cultures on each other and the triumph of the Indian traditions are portrayed in a beautiful manner. The Bollywood movies are now successful weapons for the media battles and are emphatically claiming India’s place in the annals of international cinema. Bibliography: Davé, Shilpa, Nishime, LeiLani, Oren, Tasha G., and Lee, Robert G. (2005), East Main Street, New York: NYU Press. Desai, Jigna, (2003), Bombay Girls and Boys, The Gender and Sexual Politics of Transnationality in the New Indian Cinema in English, EBSCO Publishing. Mathur, Suchitra, (2007), From British “Pride” to Indian “Bride”, M/C Journal, Vol. 10. Kaur, Ravinder (2002), Viewing the West through Bollywood, Carfax Publishing. Read More

While the films of this particular genre or theme do not touch the issues of racial violence, discrimination against women or lower castes, violence in society and so on and so forth, they portray the life of the upper middle class Indians and specially glamorizes the aspect with Western touches. The culture of West had permeated the society during the colonial era and had also been a part of the earlier Hindi cinema. Today however, what features in the film is the familial values, the chastity and honesty inherent in protagonists due to their commitment to culture and the respect that they earn within the country and abroad due to their brilliant characteristics.

In films such as Pardes, specially, the contrast between those who had assimilated with the Western society and those who resited the evil intentions has been greatly highlighted. The values that are transferred to an Indian female, that she has to put the feelings and values of her in-laws before herself, or that the young has to respect and obey the elders have been manifested. The super hit film, Dilwaley Dulhania Layjayengay was even more closely followed and appreciated as it portrayed that the traditions and values of and the pride of being an Indian does not come from living in the country.

The dialogue of the protagonist’s father that “Hum to Hindustan ko apnay dil main lay kay phirtay hain” said it all for the movie. While the movie portrays the struggles of an Indian family in maintaining their culture in a different society, it also shows that they were able to successfully live up to the Indian standards as well as abide by them in the most difficult of the circumstances. Through these themes and ideas, the Bollywood producers have been able to produce a sense of belonging in the Indians living abroad.

But at the same time they have presented a favourable face of India to the world. Through these pictures, they have successfully presented almost all those features to the West that are missing in their own society. They have produced and presented an exotic religion that is brimming with ever-green dances and musicals, a set of family values that is missing in their society and a true love, that is neither here nor there, but that captures the fancy of youth in all societies. The films are becoming popular throughout the globe for these very reasons.

Bride and Prejudice: Taking the original Jane Austen text, the themes were substantially kept the same but Gurinder Chadha was able to take the prejudices to the next level. While the original novel dealt with the social structure of the British society, the issues of female inheritances, the prejudices of the British peerage, the altered version created a scenario where an Indian mother was worried about her unmarried daughters and was faced with an American that sneered at the Indians and their traditions.

While the original pride was destroyed and the prejudice was punished, the film maintained a patriotic background and marketed Indian values and culture through bhangra beats, extreme emotions and cultural and religious reflections. In M/C Journal Suchitra Mathur (May 2007) presents differing opinions on the film, its thematic presentation and it adaptation. “Combining aspects of two popular Bollywood genres, the “social” and the “romance”, this sub-genre enacts the story of young lovers caught within complex familial politics against the backdrop of a nationalist celebration of Indian identity.

Using a cinematic language that is characterised by the spectacular in both its aural and visual aspects, the patriotic family romance follows a typical “masala” narrative pattern that brings together “a little action and some romance with a touch of comedy, drama, tragedy, music, and dance”. Bride and Prejudice’s successful mimicry of this language and narrative pattern is evident in film reviews consistently pointing to its being very “Bollywoodish”: “the songs and some sequences look straight out of a Hindi film” says one reviewer, while another wonders “why this talented director has reduced Jane Austen’s creation to a Bollywood masala film”.

Read More