http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/entertainmentfeatures/view/382103/1/.html
Please spend some time to read it before continuing on with my entry.
In summary, the article discusses Bollywood's ever increasing presence in the global entertertainment scene and how it plans to reach out to a more global audience in the future through better scripts and technology, to be more on par with their Hollywood counterparts.
My question is then, " Is Bollywood trying to go more in the way of Hollywood? And ultimately shed its unique style as perceived by the rest of the world?"
But what is the prevailing perception/stereotype of Bollywood's movie styles and cinematography? The following clip, in my opinion, best reflects the global perception, especially that of the West, of Bollywood:
This clip is taken off a scene in a popular American comedy show off Comedy Central, whilst it really is entertaining and will probably tickle of your funny bones senseless(as it did mine!..heh), the more pertinent issue that I'm bringing forth is, "Is that all there is to Bollywood?" i.e the dance, the cheesy romantic acts,the coconut trees and the songs?
I'm sure there are many stellar and serious Bollywood movies out there but yet, what stands out most and unique to Bollywood movies in general is their lengthy integration, and sometimes unneccessary inclusion, of song and dance into the plot.
Sure, there are Western musical movie types like Moulin Rouge and the more recent Mamma Mia!, but it's just not the same when compared to Bollywood movies. The inclusion of song and dance is almost a staple for most Bollywood productions.
From that alone, we can discern the entertainment worth and tastes of the Bollywood audience and the difference in culture in Indian entertainment media when say compared to the American media where the film style is more direct; without breaks for song and dance.
So, while I am all for better scripts and technology, and Bollywood's determination of having the global audience take it more seriously, I certainly hope that Bollywood doesn't lose its unique appeal just for the sake of pandering to the Hollywood crowd.
That said, I cannot help but remember this really funny viral video circulated on youtube some time back which shows, rather negatively in my opinion, the direct consumption of Hollywood media (Michael's Jackson's short music video/film thingey..i won't spoil the surprise) into the Bollywood (or rather Kollywood, which is the term referred to the Southern Indian movie industry, a big thank you to Shankar,a personal friend, for the heads up!) context. Do note that the video is a parody of the actual clip and that none of the lyrics subtitled actually represent the actual words sang:
4 comments:
HAHA! I've watched that golimar video before! like twenty over times in the past. I've this one friend who even memorised the funny dance steps in the clip. anyway, moving on....
it's true when you said that Bollywood should preserve the qualities that makes them BOLLYWOOD. it was painful to watch that whole 3.04minute video on the white guy lip-synching to the indian song. somehow, it's more entertaining and natural to watch bollywood artists do it.
on the other hand, bollywood should also inject some modern qualities to their shows too. with the further modernising of an already modern world, majority of the people would want to watch what's up-to-date. plus, we all know how much influence americanisation carries. thus, the bollywood movie makers are also influenced. after all, where there is demand, there will be supply. & Bollywood is just doing that bit to survive in the modern world.
but I was shocked to see some bollywood movies having more-than-normal sleazy scenes! well, like they say, sex sells. but I kindda prefer couples running around a coconut tree instead.
I guess the key here is moderation? :)
yup.. a point that i didn't explicitly (on purpose ok..to stimulate discussion..sobz..but..nvm..haha) mention or relate to in this week's article is how pervasive the hollywood or "american" influence is in the context of media and culture..
here we can see how an apparently more dominant media culture i.e America's, inadvertently causes another, India's, to shift more towards the dominating culture,be it for economic reasons or otherwise.
Like you mentioned, the more-than-normal sleazy scenes were once considered taboo and a definite no-no in Bollywood films a couple of years back..but now there's more and more of them;
suggesting that maybe more Bollywood audiences have been influenced by the American culture and are more tolerant of such scenes appearing in their own home-produced films..
i remember a time when i was much younger and we had a maid from Sri Lanka. every friday afternoon, she would turn on the Indian channel on TV and watch one of her 'Bollywood' films. i would sit and watch with her, even though i never understood the conversations. i would be happy just to see the myriad of colours and the stunning backdrops.
fast forward to today, your post got me thinking to the word 'Bollywood'. This word is a portmanteau of Bombay and Hollywood. Hollywood exists as a real physical place in USA, but Bollywood does not, so why the choice to merge the 2 names together? is this trying to showing that India's films are similar to those from Hollywood?
Hmm..that's a very good question that you're asking there zed..
I honestly don't really know why they coined the North Indian movie industry "Bollywood".. But I do remember reading some time back that Bollywood megastar/veteran Amitabh Bachan dislikes the term and he thinks it's derogatory to their industry..
Judging by styles alone, I don't think it's because of similarity to films from Hollywood..rather,
all I can speculate and infer is their desire to compete with Hollywood on a more even term.. since Hollywood is already such a common household term, why not ride on that wave and coin their industry "Bollywood"?..it makes for easier recall and comparison too..
But that's just *my* opinion..i may be wrong..heh
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