My nine-year-old daughter Sofia is in many ways the culprit responsible for our attachment to Bollywood (Bollycrack , as another fan wryly calls it).
We came to it a few years back through my music work which has a heavy reliance on Indian classical music methodology and improvisational technique (though I've been self-steeped in other aspects of Indian culture for a while as well). Sofi has quite a musical and dance bent and is no stranger to world music, having grown up surrounded by flamenco, Indian classical, bhangra, Arabic and Turkish pop in the car, and listening to her dad play oud and sarod. The extent of her exposure is by now pretty manifest: Sofi may well be the only non-Turkish seven year old girl who can instinctively clap a syncopated 9/8 rhythm in time with Turkish pop diva Candan Ercetin.
So one day on a lark I pop in the Rough Guide to Bollywood CD ( a well-curated guide to the classicfilmi songs) on the car stereo.
"Cool songs, Dad", she chirps.
"Yeah, they're fun... they're from movies".
A pause. The back of my head feels her eyes grow wide, and I grin to myself as I sense her curiosity rising.
"Movies??? " she asks slowly.
"Oh yeah..they usually have a lot of songs, some great dancing..they're called Bollywood movies, cause they come from Bombay in India (well now its Mumbai), but anyway...yeah, movies."
Dancing, singing, movies? she's enthralled.
In a rush she blurts, "can we rent some?"
"Well, Sof, they won't be in English".
"Who cares? I still wanna see 'em. You can tell me what goes on".
"O.K. Sof. I dont know what's around, but let's see".
I wheel the car downtown; our inital stop at Video Library reveals they have at least "Kandukondein Kandukondein" to start with. (They have others, as I learn, but my initial venture was pretty spontaneous).
Sofia and I study the DVD cover, and it seems a safe bet: it has Aishwarya Rai, whom I knew to be one of the dominant actresses at the time (and is often referred to as "one of the most beautiful women in the world"). It has subtitles (so I knew it wasn't some Americanized product) and looked to have some dance numbers. Ok. We're good.
So we watch it, we're swept away, and we've been hooked ever since.
My ever-tolerant wife initially thought we were insane, but was patient; now she's grown to like them a bit as well. Even my son has a few favorites he requests. But it's pretty much a dad-and-daughter hobby.
Many websites and forums reviews later, our collection grows. Sofi sings along, learning to sing in Hindi strictly on phonetics ( I bought a CD set and am teaching myself Hindi a bit more thoroughly). She dances as well. She wore a sari to her school Christmas pageant (see the photo) and has Bollywood and bhangra songs on her iPod.
She may resent me in years to come for not giving her a normal childhood -- but she could have easily not liked them, and that would have been that.
So what is it about these films that captivate? On the surface, people would be apt to dismiss them as trite escapist entertainment. In truth, they run the gamut from serious works of artistic cinema to lighter fare; the range and diversity of quality, subject, intent was something I hadn't expected as we got into these films. And as with Hollywood, not every Bollywood film is a great film; clunkers occur on either side of the pond. But there are some unique characteristics that Bollywood seems to capture and retain that make these films so worthwhile - and by now make Hollywood seem a little flat for me.
1) I love great film. I've long held this idea that film is probably the most advanced artistic medium there is, because only film has the potential to incorporate all the other artistic media within it: visual composition, narrative, drama, acting, literature, music, dance, etc. Film, like a sphere, can encompass it all.
If I ever got a chance to do a film, I'd want it to be that - where all those elements are fully developed, something really intense, detailed, dense, where no element is treated as "secondary" or "supporting" but instead is a fully independent and developed thread for the entire tapestry. I don't get that in much Western cinema, be it hollywood or European art films ( director Peter Greenaway comes close, kind of) - but Bollywood at its best comes closest to that complete gestalt of full cinematic expressive potential.
2) I like the aspects of family. The complex patterns of family respect, relationships, and honor are critical themes in the story lines and are the driving factor of many plot conflicts. That such familial concepts are held in priority - and not discarded - overlays these films and stories with a warmth and resonance one doesn't often find in other films.
3) Its refreshing to see sexual tension masterfully, achingly, erotically depicted with such restraint. I'm no prude and I love the body, but to be melted away by an arch of eyebrow, a graze of hand, adds some subtlety and depth - and I'd much rather have my daughter exposed to this aesthetic than the plethora of talent-free teen-pop vulgar rat-clothed skanks that squat across MTV and the Disney Channel these days. Sheesh.
Among the family themes that occur in these films is the very strong father-daughter relationship. This also seems to have made quite an impact on little Sofia. A milestone in modern Bollywood is 1995's Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, more often referred to as DDLJ. It was a groundbreaking classic for its time, introducing European locations and featuring Non-Resident Indians as the principal characters.
It was an early inkling of the screen chemistry between leads Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, later brought to fruition in the 1998 blockbuster film Kuch Koch Hota Hai. These two films are still compared and contrasted, loved and discussed to this day.
DDLJ also has the distinction of being the number 1 soundtrack seller in England, and holds the record for the longest running film, having a 10 year continuous run at the Maratha Mandir theater in Mumbai (There were many special events last October on the occasion of the film's 10 year anniversary).
Charles Taylor wrote a superb review and analysis of this film for Salon.com (sit through the online ad if you're not a member -- it's worth it).
The plot summary from Wikipedia is succinct:
The movie, fondly called DDLJ, is a story of two young Indians (Raj and Simran, played by Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol) living in the UK. Simran meets Raj on a graduation trip; after some initial misadventures, they fall in love. When Simran goes home and tells her family, her parents will have nothing to do with a love marriage. Simran's father, played by Amrish Puri, is adamant: she must marry his best friend's son.
Simran's parents take her back to the Punjab, and soon wedding preparations are in full swing. Raj follows Simran to India and vows to wed her -- but only with her family's consent. Eloping would be easy, but winning over her father may be impossible. Raj pretends to be a friend of the groom's family. Later, his real identity is revealed, and a confrontation with Simran's father occurs. However, in the end, Simran's father realizes the unconditional love Raj has for Simran is something special and lets her go with him.
The final moments are classic drama, as the train with Raj pulls out of the station and Simran awaits her father's epiphany of acceptance. He finally releases Simran, urging her in a calm but joyous voice, " No one can love you more than him; go, my child... go".
Hours later, I'm tucking Sofia into bed. She's getting cranky, petulant. Suddenly she flings her arms around me and bursts into tears, pleading, "Daddy don't ever let me go like that, don't let me go".
I was moved to tears of my own, and said, "There'll come a time when you'll want me to let you go -- but until then, I won't let you go, I promise..never, until you're ready".
As her heart mended from the reassurances, mine broke a bit, touched deeply by this little one's trust and love.
Of course, there are lighter, more surprising moments as well.
One of the best six minutes of cinema craft I've ever seen is"Chaiya Chaiya", the first song number from Dil Se, filmed entirely on top of a working, moving train. The song, the acting performances, the editing, cinematography, timing and sheer coordination all meld for a great piece of work. It even has a devoted thread to it on one of the Bollywood forums - a rarity for a specific song).
Sofi is an astute observer, and dancing as much as she does she knows how her body works. So I shouldn't have been entirely surprised when at a particularly chest-heaving moment by the female lead dancer, Sofi very matter -of-factly turns to me and says, " Dad, I like the way her breasts move".
( Huh?? What the...) " Hmmm...... what was that, Sofi?"
"The way she's dancing, Dad... I like the way her breasts move".
" Well... the movement is really coming from the shoulders, Sofi; its not actually her breasts doing the moving."
" Yeah I guess youre right...but it looks cool!"
"Well it is great dancing, Sofi, no doubt...."
"yeahh!"
I'm pleased she's comfortable with her body, and has such awareness and confidence but I'm also glad there's time before her teenage years!
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