Bollywood, or the Hindi film industry, is among the world’s most important hubs of movie production. As per a Deloitte assessment, it generates an average of 1,500 – 2,000 movies every year in Mumbai, India’s entertainment hub. This business is well known for including many music and dance scenes into practically every film it makes.
Storylines weave in and out of the music and dance routines, revealing Indian society’s values and ambitions. “The movies absolutely do mirror what is occurring in society,” Javed Akhtar, a prominent Indian poet as well as screenwriter, said of the business. They do, however, represent the ambitions, hopes, beliefs, and traditions of the people. They are indeed a society’s fantasies, not a true representation.”
Older Bollywood films were modest, fairytale-like, and antiquated, depicting themes such as innocence, love at first sight, as well as patriarchy.
“Keh diya na?” says a husband to his wife inside the 2001 Bollywood film “Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham,” as she tries to challenge his choice to arrange their son’s marriage. Bas. “Keh dia,” she says. It is semantically translated as “What I stated is final.” This remark encapsulates the sexist mindset that pervaded India for decades, and it is particularly memorable to the present Indian youth who sees the film since it portrays such an antiquated notion.
Bollywood has indeed been developing since its inception in the 1970s. The changing worldview of India’s populace reflects Bollywood’s dynamic growth; movies have steadily shown more liberal options. Bollywood utterly dismantled its conservative facade with the 2018 film “Veere Di Wedding,” that overtly exposes notions of dating, pre-marital sex, and gender equality in relationships, just 17 years after “Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham.”
However, such a film doesn’t really reflect Indian society’s existing attitude; rather, as Javed Akhtar put it, it exposes its dreams. Currently, such significant shifts in attitudes are often frowned upon, particularly by older generations.
While Bollywood films depict a drastic shift in Indian society’s ideas, the emphasis on family, community, celebration, music, as well as dancing is kept in virtually all of them. Furthermore, they are still used at weddings and national holiday festivities including Diwali and Holi, where family and friends get together to dance to Bollywood music. These principles serve as the foundation of Indian culture because they continue to be included in films and events.