Guest article by DP Rangan
(An interesting feature of our films is the dances performed in the streets, often by unknown actors. Sometimes the main protagonists also take to dancing and singing in the streets. Naturally a big crowd assembles around them enjoying the performance. These songs generally come at a critical juncture in the film, for relieving the tension, or as a surrogate for the inner feelings of shy lovers, or a gangster’s mole distracting the attention of the people for the gang to commit their act. These songs were key for taking the story forward. Often these songs became the high point of the film and achieved everlasting popularity – note the recent remix of ‘Jhumka gira re’ in ‘Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani’.
Our guest author today is well-known to the regulars of SOY – he has written over 30 articles for the blog. Considering that Hindi is not his native language, and he is into 80s, and half the year he travels abroad, this is no mean feat. The theme ‘Street Dancers of Bollywood’ has long been on his radar, and in fact the completed article has been in my folder for quite some time. He is still not back in India from his travels. But I find he has been logging in and commenting nevertheless. Therefore, without waiting any further I post this superb article. Thanks a lot Mr Rangan. – AK)
It is next to impossible to determine when dancing as a sort of celebration was introduced among humans. Migration of homo sapiens commenced from Africa and over several millennium they spread over Europe and Asia. It is much later they settled in various places, found a community with distinct language of their own. Once basic necessities of survival were achieved, society turned towards development of various kinds of artistic skills. Music and dancing were the offshoot of such an endeavour. There is adequate archeological evidence of prevalence of a sort of music and dance even in early societies of human beings. Over a long period of time as they improved their standard of living, artistic skills also flourished in tandem. Music and dancing diversified among societies in the world and in our country this reached a pinnacle much earlier. Many schools of music and dancing were established in different regions. In music we had the Hindustani and Carnatic system. In dance many offshoots as Kathak, Kuchipudi, Bharatnatyam evolved. READ THE FULL ARTICLE
Today the Songs of Yore completes thirteen years. The last three years have brought great disruption in the world. In the years 2020 and 2021, the pandemic was on a rampage. The year gone by saw a debate whether Covid19 is gone or still around. Finally, the scientific opinion has veered around that this unwanted guest is now a part of our lives, with its virulence greatly mellowed down. Finally, everybody has started travelling and taking part in functions and get-togethers. I, too, had more than a fair share of travels, and family and friends’ functions and get-togethers that two years ago I would have declined without any hesitation.
The CBSE syllabus for its Board examinations in English includes a topic ‘Poetic Devices’ or ‘Figures of Speech’. The common ones like simile, metaphor, irony, hyperbole and oxymoron have entered our everyday vocabulary. But two sound very profound and scholarly: Synecdoche and Onomatopoeia. I start with a brief introduction before I come to the songs.
We are all aware of the drug problem in Bollywood, thanks to the media which went into frenzy at some NCB raids at rave parties and the homes of some celebrities. There was a lot of moralising about the decadent lifestyle of our role models. Bollywood in turn was surprised at the hullaballoo and their response was, Guys! Grow up to the new social reality. Everyone does party drugs, which have been legalised in many countries. And Hey lawmakers and enforcement agencies! Remove them from the list of banned substances.
You might recall some songs picturised on Harindranath Chattopadhyay, who always looked over 80, or on the patriarch of three generations Prithviraj Kapoor, and several such songs on an ever-old Om Prakash or David. Coming to the next generation, most songs were picturised on adult romantic lovers. As for children, they had an important place in our films as in our lives, and you can reel off dozens of songs picturised on them in our films. It is another matter that barring a few songs like Naani teri morni ko mor le gaye, baaki jo bacha tha kaale chor le gaye, or Lakdi ki kaathi, kaathi pe ghoda, most of the children songs made them mouth mature philosophies. A popular soap on Sony TV, currently on air, is centred around a 6-year child who, like a 60 year old strategist, untangles the mess, removes her mother’s confusion and helps her in defeating the gang of vamps and villains in the family. Bollywood took Wordsworth’s poetic expression, “The Child is Father of the Man”, literally, and gave it a new meaning altogether.
Rohit Shetty proudly says, “For watching my movies you have to leave your brains behind at home”. Farah Khan says something similar when she talks about making “my kind of movies.” But are these movies really brainless? They require a very high degree of intelligence to make and for the audience to appreciate. In Om Shanti Om, the superstar Om (Shahrukh Khan) remembers from his past life the secret of Arjun Rampal, and wants to avenge the killing of Shantipriya (Depika Padukone), his love-interest in his previous life. Since there is no proof, he wants Arjun Rampal, a big producer in Hollywood now, to resume the shooting of OSO, so that he could be made to confess by recreating the crime with the help of Shantipriya lookalike (Deepika Padukone again). He is extremely reluctant and offers a Hollywood project to the superstar. In this game of chicken, Shahrukh Khan casually drops in, Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn! Other references in the film are over the top and unmissable, but this one from Gone With The Wind is very intelligently inserted.
After I had written on romancing the major types of balmas, such as 