Bollywood-Origin to now

15/09/2019

Bollywood is the name given for Indian cinema, it is in fact a play on words of Hollywood. Hollywood is the second main source of cinema movies. The nickname of Bollywood; the B came from Bombay a city in India. Bombay can also be known as Mumbai. (News.bbc.co.uk, 2019) Bollywood produces around 1000 movies a year twice the amount of Hollywood. The vast industry covers audiences over 3 billion people and has been around since 1899. From the first movie till now the film and dance style has developed. (Anon, 2007)

Bollywood as a dance style is used in Indian cinema. Bollywood originated from traditional dances of India then developed into the more commercial style it is today. Dances such as Indian folk, kathak, and even belly dancing. Within Bollywood, both dance and film the costumes are very important. Costumes of both the dancers and actors will set the scene within the movie or dance. Nails are usually long to elongate the finger line, this is effective as the Bollywood style contains a lot of intricate hand movements and gestures. The jewellery and accessories with the costume are extravagant. In Indian cinema the colour and gold jewellery show wealth within the film. Showing wealth with items such as jewellery or costumes is iconic of Bollywood film. (Anon, 2007)

The beginning of what we know as Bollywood now started as traditional Indian Folk, Kathak and Bharat Natyam. The purpose of these dances was to tell a story whether that be a tale of history or religion. Bollywood movement itself has developed into a more commercialised version of the original. It keeps the traditional hand movements however their original purpose of telling a story is no longer used. The hand movements each had their own meaning such as ‘Alapadma’ meaning Lotus flower. The lotus is meant to represent joy, beauty but also how sacred the flower is. The hand detail is created by pinching together the thumb and index finger while splaying the other fingers out. Or there is also Peak of the mountain also known as ‘shikhara’ the movement of this hand gesture people may see as a thumbs up. The intricate hand gestures now a more of an accessory in my opinion, they are generic splayed hands or (ok) hand gesture as style rather than subsistence or telling a story. They finish of arm lines, like a extra detail. (Dance.lovetoknow.com, 2019)

Bollywood dance is seen in music videos, adverts and movies. As a style or choreographed piece, Bollywood is very repetitive. There will often be a choreographed chorus that repeats during the song and certain verses where choreography before hand is repeated. I believe they do this as for one the main singer/dancer or duet are meant to be the main focus of the dance but also the visuals of the repeating movements and costume design in the background creates an overall aesthetic picture. Although repeated the intricate movement of Bollywood still makes the physical side of Bollywood very difficult. You can see in this video below the imagery Bollywood creates with its dance.

Although dance should evolve and develop to keep up with changing times of the industry I think that the original form and culture of that dance should not be tainted. For example Bollywood’s traditional hand movements should still be used and integrated for its original intention of story telling.

References-

News.bbc.co.uk. (2019). CBBC Newsround | BOLLYWOOD | What is Bollywood?. [online] Available at: https://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/find_out/guides/2003/bollywood/newsid_2683000/2683799.stm [Accessed 22 Nov. 2019].

Anon, (2007). [Blog] Bollywood vs Hollywood - The Complete Breakdown. Available at: https://mutiny.wordpress.com/2007/02/01/bollywood-vs-hollywood-the-complete-breakdown/ [Accessed 22 Nov. 2019].

Dance.lovetoknow.com. (2019). [online] Available at: https://dance.lovetoknow.com/Dance_Bollywood:_Hand_Gestures [Accessed 28 Nov. 2019].