What on Earth happened to Bollywood?

Appeared in Speaker Newspaper.

As a young girl, I loved nothing more than watching a Bollywood film with my family.  In the 90’s, Bollywood was at its peak, with interesting new films every week, they are now the classics we all love to watch and talk about.  Growing older, my interest in Bollywood fizzled out and my obsession with Hollywood grew.  It was not until a recent episode of the BBC’s Newsnight that I began questioning why.  Why did my relationship with Bollywood end?

Watching Newsnight raise issues about Bollywood, I instantly turned up the volume.  The current affairs programme discussed how Bollywood industry is now a confused culture and flashed images of young Asian actors partying and drinking.  I could not help but ponder on how much Bollywood had changed since I was youngster.  Where were the young girls running around in fields?  Where were the strong men riding their motorbikes?

It is from this I realised why I no longer watch Bollywood movies.  Whereas some may enjoy the new Bollywood, I do not want to watch Bollywood turn into Hollywood.  I want to enjoy the culture it used to transmit; the beautiful colours, perfect choreographed dances, dramatic yet realistic storylines.  I want to see angles flipping around from every direction.  I want to see the weather changing drastically every five minutes to match the characters mood.  I want to see the girl sink lower into the ground because she has lost the love of her life because to me that is classic Bollywood.  It is this poetic imagery that I miss about this cultural phenomenon.

Classic Bollywood film, Devdas (2002)

I understand that Bollywood cannot completely stay the same as it once used to be, it has to change in order to stay current.  However, it still has some serious issues it needs to address. One of the main reasons Bollywood no longer interests me is it has not remained family friendly.  I would feel more comfortable watching a Hollywood film rather than a Bollywood film as it is less about trying to attract more ratings with vulgar dances and more about the actual storyline.  Just because the women actors are beautiful, does not mean the audience wants to see them stripped down wearing practically nothing.  In Hum Dil De Chuke Sanaam, the famous Aishwarya Rai performs a classical Indian dance in the song Nimbooda.  The song was majorly popular not because of its Hollywood body popping style, which is commonly displayed in today’s cinema, but because of its clear portrayal of Indian cultural heritage.  Any film, Bollywood or not, is not successful for its antics but if the story is well written, which leads to my next point.

It is becoming apparent to say a lot of the originality films once had has now disappeared.  If the mass wanted to see a Hollywood film, they will watch one, why would someone want to see Bollywood’s version of a Hollywood film they saw five years ago?  Rather than Bollywood creating their own brand, they are adopting Hollywood’s and attempting to make it their own. There is no longer any depth to the films, no twists in the plot, no amazing shock factor just before the intermission.  At least, none that has not been overused before many times.

As an audience member, I always feel as though something is missing. I rarely feel a connection with new actors.  Not all but some actors no longer have that spark that a up and coming actor should have. There are no heartfelt emotions displayed on their face or no amazing crying scenes.

Now I am not saying we should completely regress when it comes to Bollywood.  I enjoy classics, but it does not mean the old woman in the film has to have one grey streak in her hair.  Make up and costume can progress! Needless to say, I am not completely writing off Bollywood, I do think some new films have the best of both worlds such as Jab We Met.  A recent Bollywood film I thoroughly enjoyed, as not only did have elements of classic Bollywood but also dealt with situations that we face in every society.  It checks all the boxes; the music, the convincing story and youngsters lost in today’s world.

I feel as for Bollywood to improve, it needs to go back to basics.  Not completely relapsing and having bad special effects but going back to what makes classics so special and bringing them out in a new light.  For Bollywood to truly reflect where it comes from, it needs to demonstrate the tradition of its legacy by utilising the traditional arts that we all love.  By bringing the old and new together, we can rebuild Bollywood to something that we once knew and keep it contemporary.

Moiza

Follow me on Twitter: @MoizaB