Bollywood, India\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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 <\/em>(morality), and for this, he is celebrated as an avatar<\/em> (earthly incarnation) of Vishnu (God).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometime between the 7th and 5th centuries BCE, Rama\u2019s slaying of Ravana was composed as an epic poem (The <\/em>Ramayana<\/em><\/a>) by the great sage Valmiki, who also set it to music. In his introductory chapter, Valmiki describes his poem thus:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u092a\u093e\u0920\u094d\u092f\u0947 \u0917\u0947\u092f\u0947 \u091a \u092e\u0927\u0941\u0930\u0902 \u092a\u094d\u0930\u092e\u093e\u0923\u0948\u0938\u094d\u0924\u094d\u0930\u093f\u092d\u093f\u0930\u0928\u094d\u0935\u093f\u0924\u092e\u094d\u0964 \u091c\u093e\u0924\u093f\u092d\u093f\u0938\u094d\u0938\u092a\u094d\u0924\u092d\u093f\u0930\u094d\u092c\u0926\u094d\u0927\u0902 \u0924\u0928\u094d\u0924\u094d\u0930\u0940\u0932\u092f\u0938\u092e\u0928\u094d\u0935\u093f\u0924\u092e\u094d\u0964\u09641.4.8\u0964\u0964\u0930\u0938\u0948\u0936\u094d\u0936\u0943\u0919\u094d\u0917\u093e\u0930\u0915\u093e\u0930\u0941\u0923\u094d\u092f\u0939\u093e\u0938\u094d\u092f\u0935\u0940\u0930\u092d\u092f\u093e\u0928\u0915\u0948:\u0964 \u0930\u094c\u0926\u094d\u0930\u093e\u0926\u093f\u092d\u093f\u0936\u094d\u091a \u0938\u0902\u092f\u0941\u0915\u094d\u0924\u0902 \u0915\u093e\u0935\u094d\u092f\u092e\u0947\u0924\u0926\u0917\u093e\u092f\u0924\u093e\u092e\u094d\u0964\u09641.4.9\u0964\u0964<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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\u20139)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n 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 <\/em>(\u0917\u0940\u0924, meaning song), and sangita<\/em><\/a> (\u0938\u0919\u094d\u0917\u0940\u0924, literally \u201cwith song,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Often stories were told not just through song, but also accompanied by dance, which resulted in the evolution of theatre. The word natya<\/em> (\u0928\u093e\u091f\u094d\u092f), for instance, means both dance and acting (miming), which is evidence of the blurred line between dance and drama (called\u00a0in 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bharata\u2019s Natya Shastra<\/a> (\u0928\u093e\u091f\u094d\u092f \u0936\u0938\u094d\u0924\u094d\u0930), 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<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Blurred Lines Between Dance and Drama<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Movies as an Extension of Theatre<\/h2>\n\n\n\n