What is Bollywood?
B for bollywood;
A funny play on words, bollywood has become the term most people use to refer to the Mumbai-based (formerly known as Bombay) film industry of India. Unlike the popular belief, "bollywood" only refers to the Hindi-language cinema produced in India - When combined with other, smaller Indian film industries (Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Malayam, Kannada), it is considered to be the largest in terms of number of films produced. Bollywood produces more than 800 films a year - About 14 million Indians go to the movies every day!
In western countries Bollywood movies are often described as musicals, and very few movies are made without at least one song-and-dance number in them. These so called "item numbers" are what Bollywood is perhaps best known for, the larger than life sets, melodic songs and gorgeous heroes & heroins are what define a Bollywood movie. For majority of the audience the songs and dance numbers are just as important as the movie itself, and these tracks live on long after the movies are replaced with new ones.
When talking about hindi movies and songs, people often picturise overly romantic set-ups accompanied by heart-aching melodies. Romance has been and still is a common subject in Bollywood, and most of the movies have a love-story incorporated into the film. The "item numbers" are often used as a medium to display these romantic feelings, though they can reflect upon any subject and are used rather creatively to display differend kinds of emotions. Despite the romantic subject, Bollywood movies can be of any category; comedy, thriller, drama, action, fantasy, romance - or a masala mix of all!
Bollywood dance
Bollywood dance consists and is a mix of various Indian and Western dance forms and is manily danced to the songs of indian movies.
It is hard to pin down what exactly makes up Bollywood dance, however when seen it is very easy to recognize. One dance number can be extremely traditional and modest, while another is bold, sexy and modern. Bollywood dance is an expressive fusion of Indian classical and folk dance, combined with arabic, latino & hiphop styles - with a touch of that something that makes it all so allurign!
There is a wide range of styles, colors and moods seen in Bollywood dance no matter what genre it falls in, and through dance the story within the song is brought alive for the audience. Much like musicals, Bollywood dance is storytelling without the use of words.
Since decades Bollywood dance has been popular in the Indian subcontinent, Former Sovient Union and Middle East. Not so long back the magic of Indian cinema landed in Europe, and today it continues to take over the U.S and Canada. Most of the major cities around the world nowadays have dance schools that offer various Bollywood classes from beginners to advanced.
Clothing and costumes play a big part, not only in the movies but especially in the dance numbers. There are usually costume designers in the set who take care that the actors and dancers are wearing exactly the right kind of clothes for the songs. Be it traditional sarees and salwars or western styles - it is always made sure that the leading couples dress will stand out of the chrowd, for a great "item number", it is like a cherry on top of the cake.
What about bhangra?
The rythm that catches you and wont let go!
Bhangra is a form of folk dance and music orqinating from the northen state of Punjab. Bhangra is danced to "bhangra music" which traditionally consists of instruments such as dhol, flute, dholak and others, accompanied by singing. It is very easy to recognize bhangra, and the beat of it is something irresistible - it's a dance of celebration, smiles and colors!
Roots of bhangra are in celebrating the harvest and people perform bhangra as a part of festive celebrations. Nowadays it has spread to all kinds of occasions, from weddings to New Year celebrations all around India. The charm of Bhangra is hard to escape and it will catch you right away with it's beat, to the extent that it is hard to stay still!
Bhangra performances are often very joyous and colorful occassions, with the dancers wearing traditional costumes and bright smiles on their faces. The outfit for men consist of chaadra (lungi), kurta (a long shirt), a pagadi (turban) and in addition a turla (a fan-like adornment on the turban) and a jugi (an open waistcoat). For ladies the outfit can be a simple salwar kameez (loose pants and a shirt) accompanied with a chunni (scarf), or even a lehenga. The dancers often also wear Rumāls, small scarves that they hang from their fingers to add more life to the hand movements of the dance.
There are many new bhangra artists who mix the traditional sound with modern beats, creating a new fusion style. This genre has become very popular all around world and it's often played in clubs and parties. The best part is that anyone can do bhangra! Just let the music lead you into a dance full of energy and high spirits!
A blast of colors
The legendary Madhuri Dixit together with Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan, performing the famous song "Dola Re Dola", a semi-classical item number.
Hrithik Roshan, one of the best dancers of Bollywood and Priety Zinta, dancing in the rain in the song "Idhar Chala Main Udhar Chala".
Shahid Kapoor and Rani Mukerji showing how to dance bhangra in the movie "Dil Bole Hadippa!"
Storytelling without words
Each move has it's own meaning. Here a scene from the historic movie "Lagaan".
Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan in the movie "Umrao Jaan", eyes and facial expressions hold a lot of importance in Bollywood dance and are used to convey differend kind of feelings.
