An Analysis of Historical and Contemporary Factors
When I tell people I study Indian music, they immediately think of Bollywood songs. And why not? Bollywood, India’s largest film industry, has also been synonymous with the Indian music industry for the better part of the last 100 years. Most Indians get their music fix from Bollywood and other regional-language film songs. The film industry is the largest employer and promoter of musical talent in India.
In this article, I explore some of the historical and contemporary reasons why the film industry in India is so heavily music-and-dance oriented.
Storytelling Through Song
Ravana, the 10-headed demon king, kidnaps Sita, the lovely wife of Rama, Prince of Ayodhya. Ravana has kidnapped the wives of many men before, and nobody has dared question him because he is too powerful. But this time round, he has messed with the wrong man. Rama takes Ravana to war and kills him, rescuing not just his own wife, but also all the other women Ravana has imprisoned against their wills. By killing Ravana, Rama has destroyed evil and restored dharma (morality), and for this, he is celebrated as an avatar (earthly incarnation) of Vishnu (God).
Sometime between the 7th and 5th centuries BCE, Rama’s slaying of Ravana was composed as an epic poem (The Ramayana) by the great sage Valmiki, who also set it to music. In his introductory chapter, Valmiki describes his poem thus:
पाठ्ये गेये च मधुरं प्रमाणैस्त्रिभिरन्वितम्। जातिभिस्सप्तभिर्बद्धं तन्त्रीलयसमन्वितम्।।1.4.8।।रसैश्शृङ्गारकारुण्यहास्यवीरभयानकै:। रौद्रादिभिश्च संयुक्तं काव्यमेतदगायताम्।।1.4.9।।
It is attractive in both recitation and in song, set to three tempos and seven ragas, and adapted for accompaniment by stringed instruments, to be sung in romantic, compassionate, humorous, heroic, terrible, violent, and other moods. (The Ramayana, Book 1, Chapter 4, Verses 8–9)
My point in mentioning this is to illustrate the role of music in storytelling in ancient India. Many ancient Sanskrit texts mention the concepts gita (गीत, meaning song), and sangita (सङ्गीत, literally “with song,” meaning song with instrumental and rhythmic accompaniment as well as dance). Music in ancient India played an important role in many scenarios, both religious and secular. While religious music was mainly a part of religious ceremonies and rituals, secular music was enjoyed both as music for its own sake and for storytelling.
Blurred Lines Between Dance and Drama
Often stories were told not just through song, but also accompanied by dance, which resulted in the evolution of theatre. Words such as nritya (नृत्य) and nata (नट), which mean dance, but are also used to mean miming or acting, are evidence of the blurred lines between dance and drama (called natya; नाट्य) in the context of Indian classical dance and theatre. To this day, most genres of Indian classical dance are inherently about storytelling through mime and gesture.
Bharata’s Natya Shastra (नाट्य शस्त्र), written sometime between 200 BCE and 200 CE as per most estimates, is an encyclopedic work devoted to all aspects of theatre, including both the practical and artistic. It has chapters on the construction of theatres, acoustics and visibility, costumes and makeup, the types of plays, the theory and practice of acting, diction, dance, and music, both vocal and instrumental, and a great deal more.
The existence of such an extensive treatise on the subject shows the prevalence and importance of theatre in Indian social life right from those times. Theatre served the purpose of both entertainment and education, including religious education. Plays were frequently stories from historical or mythological texts and came with moral instruction.
As music and dance (with mime), were the most effective ways to reach large audiences in the days before microphones and movie screens, Indian music and dance flourished and evolved for millennia as part of theatre while also being highly sophisticated disciplines in their own rights.
Movies as an Extension of Theatre
When movies were introduced to India, they were eagerly embraced including as an extension of the ancient theatrical tradition. Theatre actors, singers, musicians, dancers, and creative staff were all seamlessly integrated into the movie industry, and many of them brought their theatre backgrounds with them. As a result, many of the early Indian movies had a strongly theatrical component to them.
The dance sequence above is from a 1966 film called Amrapali, which is based on the life of a famous court dancer of that name who lived in the times of the Buddha. Amrapali in the film is played by actress Vyjayanthimala, a classically trained dancer in real life. The scene in the video shows Amrapali being called upon to dance for her royal patrons, but her mind is preoccupied, as she awaits her lover and does not know what’s keeping him. When he arrives, she cheers up. The dance communicates these contrasting emotions quite expressively in a manner typical of traditional Indian theatre.
Playback singing is also an extension of the ancient theatrical tradition. In the days before sound amplification technology, the best way to project dialogue to audiences in the back was through song. Music was, therefore, a vital part of theatre, with the story being told primarily through songs, set to music in different ragas to reflect the mood or sentiment being portrayed. However, singers would be seated with other musicians back-stage, while the dancers presented the story visually through dance and mime while lip-syncing to the song.
This formula was adopted by the film industry, giving rise to a uniquely Indian subgenre of music called playback singing. The song below is sung by famous playback singer Lata Mangeshkar, who has given her voice to over 6000 film songs. It is lip-synced by actress Madhubala.
Amrapali being about an ancient court dancer, the dance sequence is quite befitting of the movie’s theme, and songs can sometimes be useful for expressing shades of emotion, but surely it is not necessary to have singing and dancing in every movie? So why are most Indian films musicals?
Making Use of Creative Resources
In the early days, working in films was not considered a respectable occupation for ordinary women. Filmmakers, therefore, often sought out classically trained dancers who were used to performing on stage. With so many actresses being classically trained in dance, it must have seemed a shame to let their talents go to waste. Filmmakers, therefore, looked for excuses to incorporate dance sequences into their stories to showcase the classical dancing skills of lead actresses.
An example of this can be seen in the 1993 film Damini, which is about an idealistic woman who sets out to seek justice only to find out how difficult it is to fight the system. The dance sequence is picturized as an expression of her rage-filled prayer in a time of desperation.
Meenakshi Sheshadri from the video above is known for portraying strong women in her films, but a large number of Indian movies are male-centric, with lead actresses reduced to barely more than the romantic interest of the male protagonist. In these kinds of movies, it is often the songs and dances that give the actress any screen time at all.
Catering to the Audience
Until recently, the typical Indian film had a run time upward of three hours. An evening show and dinner was a common weekend activity for many Indian families, and they went to the theaters expecting a three-hour show. But most movies did not have stories so meaty they could be stretched that long. Songs/dances came to the rescue as fillers, giving rise to a genre called “masala films” — India’s answer to variety shows (masala means spice blend). Take some romance, add a dash of comedy, a few songs, some peppy dialogues, the obligatory action sequence, and a happy ending, and you had yourself a solid three hours of family entertainment. Everybody went home happy.
The masala film concept became so widely accepted that many filmmakers stopped trying to find reasons to incorporate song-dance sequences into their movies. The singing and dancing became its own thing, quite independent of a movie’s storyline, even giving rise to a special genre called “item songs.” Item songs are extravagant and often provocative musical numbers in a film that usually have very little relevance to its plot.
Benefits for Filmmakers
For the filmmakers, one of the benefits of producing musicals is that, even if the movie does not perform well, there is a possibility of the songs going on to be big hits. A song that comes to mind in this context is kannodu kanbathellam from the 1998 film Jeans.
Another benefit is that songs serve as advertisements for movies. Chitrahaar was a popular weekly TV show in the 1980s and 90s that presented film songs with a brief introduction to each song. I remember, as a child, watching the songs and becoming curious about the movies, because the songs served as teasers, giving you just a small glimpse into the story.
These days, filmmakers use YouTube and other platforms to release a movie’s songs ahead of its own release, as a very effective marketing technique. Tell me this song from the 2022 film Kantara doesn’t make you wonder what the film is all about!
A Symbiotic Relationship
All in all, I think it is fair to say that music and dance serve many useful functions in the Indian film industry, and the film industry plays a big role in both reflecting and shaping the Indian music and dance landscape. It is a symbiotic relationship that is hard to disapprove of.
I must mention that most film music is popular music, not classical. To the extent that movies took over from classical Indian theatre, they started out with more of a classical orientation in music and dance. But the film industry soon moved away from classical theatre and so did and its music and dance. For the most part, film music has been very diverse, reflecting popular culture and tastes. Here is a sample of some popular film songs over the decades.
1. Song from 1952 film Jaal, sung by Hemant Kumar.
2. Song from 1968 film Kismat, sung by Asha Bhosle.
3. Song from 1973 film Yaadon Ki Baaraat, sungh by Asha Bhosle & Mohammed Rafi.
4. Song from 1981 film Prem Geet, sung by Jagjit Singh.
5. Song from 1994 film Kadhalan, sung by Mano and Swarnalatha.
6. Song from 2003 film Jism, sung by Shreya Ghoshal.
Chalo Tumko Lekar Chale — Jism — Webhd 1080p (youtube.com)
7. Song from 2013 film Aashiqui 2, sung by Arijit Singh.
Tum Hi Ho Song Aashiqui 2 | Music By Mithoon | Aditya Roy Kapur, Shraddha Kapoor (youtube.com)
8. Song from 2016 film Baar Baar Dekho, sung by Amar Arshi, Badshah, and Neha Kakkar.
8K Remastered — Kala Chasma | Katrina Kaif, Sidharth Malhotra | Baar Baar Dekho (youtube.com)
9. Song from 2022 film RRR, sung by Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava.
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