Philosophy 101
The In’s and Out’s of Indian Cinema
Bollywood has certain flair to it that not many other cinemas’ hold. As a child, I was exposed to many Bollywood movies. I was used to watching movies about romance, true love, dancing, music and obviously the usual exaggerated death scene. My love for Bollywood had faltered during my early teen years, where I was more focused on action that Hollywood provided me with. I am ashamed to say that the “T & A” theme that had captured the imaginations of millions of young teenagers also caught my attention (minimally). However, I could not be kept away from Bollywood for long; I now find their movies to be witty, funny, (even more) and dramatic, have amazing songs, and even better actors. How did Bollywood attract me, how did it attract its billion viewers? Nasreen Munni Kumar, author of the published book Bollywood: The Indian Cinema Story, says “Indian films are unquestionably the most-seen movies in the world. And we’re not just talking about the billion-strong audiences in India itself, where 12 million people are said to go to the cinema every day.” It definitely does not use the same “T & A” theme that Hollywood does. So what themes and motifs does it use? Bollywood attracts its audience by showing them the basic cultural values that they live by. Indian culture is obsessed with romance, love, music, dancing, and family values (to name a few), and Bollywood wisely uses their obsession to make popular and successful movies. Fourteen million Indians go to the movies on a daily basis (about 1.4% of the population of 1 billion) and pay the equivalent to the average Indian 's day 's wages (US $1-3) to see any of the over 800 films released by Bollywood each year. Why is that? It’s simple enough; Indian audiences want to see the same cultural values and tradition that they live in their lives, on screen. Producers and directors strive to achieve this goal and the majority of popular movies in India portray those cultural values
Bollywood has certain flair to it that not many other cinemas’ hold. As a child, I was exposed to many Bollywood movies. I was used to watching movies about romance, true love, dancing, music and obviously the usual exaggerated death scene. My love for Bollywood had faltered during my early teen years, where I was more focused on action that Hollywood provided me with. I am ashamed to say that the “T & A” theme that had captured the imaginations of millions of young teenagers also caught my attention (minimally). However, I could not be kept away from Bollywood for long; I now find their movies to be witty, funny, (even more) and dramatic, have amazing songs, and even better actors. How did Bollywood attract me, how did it attract its billion viewers? Nasreen Munni Kumar, author of the published book Bollywood: The Indian Cinema Story, says “Indian films are unquestionably the most-seen movies in the world. And we’re not just talking about the billion-strong audiences in India itself, where 12 million people are said to go to the cinema every day.” It definitely does not use the same “T & A” theme that Hollywood does. So what themes and motifs does it use? Bollywood attracts its audience by showing them the basic cultural values that they live by. Indian culture is obsessed with romance, love, music, dancing, and family values (to name a few), and Bollywood wisely uses their obsession to make popular and successful movies. Fourteen million Indians go to the movies on a daily basis (about 1.4% of the population of 1 billion) and pay the equivalent to the average Indian 's day 's wages (US $1-3) to see any of the over 800 films released by Bollywood each year. Why is that? It’s simple enough; Indian audiences want to see the same cultural values and tradition that they live in their lives, on screen. Producers and directors strive to achieve this goal and the majority of popular movies in India portray those cultural values
Cited: 1. Kabir, Nasreen Munni. Bollywood: The Indian Cinema Story. London: Channel 4 Books, 2001. 2. Kavoori, Anandam P., and Aswin Punathambekar. Global Bollywood. New York: New York University Press, 2008. 3. Khabi Khushi Khabie Gham. Directed by Karan Johar. Produced by Yash Johar. Performed by Amitabh Bachan and Sharukh Khan. Yash Raj Films, 2001. DVD. 4. “Central Board of Film Certification." Wikipedia. April 30, 2013. Accessed May 01, 2013. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Board_of_Film_Certification. 5. "Bollywood." Wikipedia. April 28, 2013. Accessed May 01, 2013. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bollywood. 6. Gender, Nation, and Globalization in Monsoon Wedding and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge; Sharpe, Jenny Meridians: feminism, race); 2005 Vol. 6 Issue 1, p65, 1p. Document Type: article; 7. Journalists in Film: Heroes and Villains; McNair, Brian; 2010, Edinburgh : Edinburgh University Press. Document Type: book 8. Making News: Women in Journalism; Joseph, Ammu; 2005, New Delhi : Penguin Books. Document Type: book