During a movie, the characters would spontaneously burst into song, and at least one large “fantasy,” show-stopping number would be included. Other areas of India and South Asia now have similar names, including Tollywood, Kollywood, Lollywood, and Dahliwood.įollowing the Hollywood model, Bollywood films incorporated several aspects of musicals. “Bollywood” does not refer to films produced all throughout India, but to a specific region. The name came from a combination of “Bombay” (which is now Mumbai, a cosmopolitan center of India, comparable to New York City in the United States) and “Hollywood” (Chidanand). The term “Bollywood” did not appear until the 1970s, when India surpassed the United States as the largest producer of films in the world. During this time, there was a growth in the commercial aspect of films, and a definition between commercial films and new wave films was unofficially established. The Golden Age lasted into the 1960s, and marks a period in which several of India’s classic and most popular films were created, as well as the time of India’s Independence. The first Indian color film was produced in 1937, marking the start of the “Golden Age” of Indian cinema.
A potential explanation for the popularity of musicals at the time lies in these current events the escapist and unrealistic nature of musicals is attractive when day-to-day life is overwhelming and distressing. The early 1930’s marked a time of great upheaval around the world, with the advent of the Great Depression, the start of World War II, and the Indian Partition. Shantaram and released in 1932 (Subhash, 1970). The first talkie produced in India was Ayodhyecha Raja, directed by V. The first Hindi film with sound was Alam Ara, directed by Ardeshir Irani, and was released in 1931. Similar to American films, Indian movies were originally silent, black and white films, and developed into “talkies” and musicals during the 1930s and 1940s.
NEW HINDI SONG 2012 YOUTUBE MOVIE
Does this make it an Indian style of dance? By examining a brief history of the development of Bollywood films and dance, one can trace the evolution of Bollywood from a specific and hybridized movie dance form into a global phenomenon.īollywood films have been in production since the beginning of the 20th century. All of these questions become even more complex when looking at Bollywood dance, a form that in its “original” state was already a hybrid of elements of both Eastern and Western dance, but was located in India and primarily based on the classic Indian Kathak dance. This, in turn, raises the question of what it means to be culturally authentic in the first place, as well as whether or not a style of dance can truly be possessed by a person or people. When dance forms become globalized, the question of whether or not the style can maintain its authenticity is raised.
Others might put their own twist on a dance style to “make it their own” or to adapt the style to fit in with the context of dance in that culture.
Dancers may adopt movements from foreign genres, may train completely in various styles, and some will even work to adopt the cultural behaviors associated with a dance style. In the case of dance, globalization takes place when dance companies go on tour, students go abroad or travel, and particularly since the dawn of the internet. Globalization is defined by as “the act of extending to other or all parts of the world”.
Over the past few decades, Bollywood films have become their own distinct entity, given rise to a new variation of a genre of dance, and have developed into a globally recognized and appreciated phenomenon.