Feature

By Kavleen Arora

The Bollywood Turnaround

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word ‘Bollywood’?

I approached some people and popped this very question to determine common stereotypes of the industry. The varied responses yielded three general types of answers:

1) The Ignorant or Unenlightened.
Typical response: “Asian films.”
Initially they simply gawped at me with an air of ignorance, suggesting that they either did not know what Bollywood was or had never seen a Bollywood movie.

2) The Disrespectful
Typical response: “Shah Rukh Khan,” “White Saris in the rain,” or “Dance routines.”
Completely absorbed in the stereotypes that surround the industry, these people’s Bollywood experiences were so disastrous that they were unlikely to ever watch a Bollywood movie again.

3) The Addicted
Typical response: “Fantasy. [Insert long daydream here].”
This type of person was the keenest of the three, smiling and ready to chat endlessly about their latest favorites.

Each one of us probably belongs to one of these categories. I admit to being “The Addicted.” As a result, I am defensive around those itching to criticize the cinematic world that I love. I don’t want to hear the perennial questions: “Why do they never kiss?”; “Why are they all love stories?”; “What is the point in the song and dance routines?”; “Why are they so melodramatic?” Yet, it is these very “criticisms” that make Bollywood what it is.

Bollywood is an industry that churns out almost twice as many movies a year than Hollywood. A few 3-hour-movie-watching sessions are enough to develop an opinion of the industry. While the details change, the plots remain the same: boy meets girl and they fall in love, parents object, the fight for love ensues, and finally, love conquers all. In short, love triangles and bland stories that draw the audience in every time. How? With glamour, beautiful heroines, models-turned-actors, latest fashion outfits changed at a swift rate, action sequences, dancing around bushes in a song-dance-aerobic routines and sudden trips to the Swiss Alps. Bollywood, by this definition, caters to all escapists because it is simply a form of an entertainment.

Behind the gloss and the entertainment value, certain aspects of Indian culture seem to shine through the celluloid. Indian mythology, triumphs over evil, religious festivities, and realistically portrayed family relationships give Bollywood films some grounding in reality.

For NRIs, Bollywood movies provide a connection to Indian culture, something that is easy to lose when surrounded by western influences. However, watching Bollywood remakes of Hollywood films results in many NRIs dismissing Bollywood as a “copycat” industry. It may be hard to relate to stories that are so escapist or require a willing suspension of disbelief. Would anyone expect her partner to sing songs of love while dancing around bushes and trees? Would anyone dare to stand at 14,000 feet, wearing a sari? However, censors (not audiences) set standards for filmmakers.

The Central Board of Film Certification, a rigid yet unpredictable organization under the control of the Indian government, plays an important role in choosing what can and cannot be shown on celluloid. The members work together to make sure that movies will not corrupt national identity. We therefore see movies which fail to address the harsh realities of life: drug use, homosexuality, religious and political injustice and, of course, sexuality.

Time has passed, and while society and the world changes, has Bollywood responded? Observers say there has been a change, due to India’s booming economy, telecommunications revolution, and better-educated middle class, which expects realism. Because of western influences and globalization, Indians now question why issues that are openly addressed in Hollywood are hidden in Bollywood. In the quest to appeal to a better-educated Indian society and a larger global audience, Bollywood has indeed changed its ways to fight its stereotypes.

The New Bollywood

Bollywood has ideals and traditions that make it individual, distinctive and admirable. In recent years, however, Indian filmmakers have been able to freshen up the old formulas and hackneyed song-and-dance numbers. These new perspectives are slowly broadening the very definition of “Bollywood.”

Whether it is because of bold newcomers like Bipasha Basu and Malika Sherawat or a better-educated society, depictions of sexuality in Bollywood films has changed considerably. Earlier, actors danced under artificial rain in thin white saris and shirts as a scaled down simulation of sexuality. Now, films like Julie, Jism, and Murder feature exposed skin and more blatant sexual situations. Because these films were box office hits, they led spawned a plethora of similarly explicit movies. Even well-known actresses, Kareena Kapoor and Aishwarya Rai are now willing to accept roles as prostitutes in Chameli and the upcoming Hollywood flick Chaos, respectively. Homosexual themes are directly addressed in Karan Razdan’s Girlfriend. Although there was a negative backlash against the film, most audiences accepted the film readily.

The critical successes of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Black, a movie about a deaf-dumb girl and Page 3, a movie about the scandals behind the so-called “glamorous” celebrity life of Bollywood stars (covering issues of drug addiction, homosexuality and pedophilia) have blended art with entertainment, breaking down the wall between commercial and art cinema that has existed for decades. High box office returns for such movies have led filmmakers to feel confident about addressing stigmatized issues.

Films like Monsoon Wedding and Devdas have found international success, though they did not have significant effects on audiences in India. As they slowly respond positively to the changes coming from Bollywood, audiences still fear that western influences may be destroying the culture and traditions that are the heart of Indian culture. Gone are the days when movies depicted morally perfect girls. Gone are the days when the realities within Indian society were swept under the carpet.

On October 2, 2005, smoking will be banned in Bollywood films and TV serials in an attempt to prevent young people from being influenced to take up the habit. Just as Bollywood has entered a new era of creative freedom, this blow represents the battles it must still make to compete with Hollywood. As technology advances, Hollywood and Bollywood have stood side by side in their technical potential in films. The difference, however, is one of ideals.

As directors, producers and, most importantly, society accept that films must deal with relationships, intimacy, social injustice and all the realities of life, we can look forward to the time when the barriers that restrict the talented, break down once and for all.

Bollywood has embraced new ideas and we must in turn embrace its efforts and fight those stereotypes that come to mind when we hear the word “Bollywood.” I look forward to the day when the disrespectful become respectful and the ignorant become enlightened, so we can all be proud to say that Bollywood is part of our culture.

Kavleen Arora is a London based student who enjoys writing and is a columnist in a National newspaper.

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