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:
