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beth |
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(Technically this might not be "Why I Love Bollywood," but bear with me and my recent writer's block.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Hdjp1lEeWU (and a fun AV remix here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3ywG_iD4DE)
This song embodies so much of what is both good and regrettable about current popular Hindi films. The first time I saw it, when I was still new to Bollywood, my jaw hit the ground, and I enjoy it more and more each time I see it. It's a clip I love to show to people who haven't seen Hindi films before, and usually their reaction is a mix of "Wow this is so fun!" and "WTF?"
Here are some of the things that I find in "Pretty Woman" that remind me of elements or trends common throughout much of Bollywood these days.
• Catchy song? Check. Elements from the borrowing/homage/remake/plagiarism palette? Check (though according to at least one source done completely legally).
• Fusion of various musical styles and/or influences? Check. Actor lip- syncing not only to singing to rapping? Check.
• Exuberant dancing (by the fantastic Farah Khan), some of which you can mimic in your living room? Check. There's-something-not-quite-right-about-this rapper-style posing? Check.
• Big stars? Check check. Relentlessly hamming Shahrukh Khan? Check.
• Romantic glances? Check. Adorable small children? Check.
• Cast of thousands? Check. Unrealistic setting (streets of New York) and inexplicable appearance of unexpected elements (e.g. a gospel choir)? Check check.
• Colorful, trendy costuming? Check. Scantily clad backup dancers? Check.
• Winning over scowling on-lookers with an unstoppable wave of cheer? Check. Community feel-good-iness? Check check check. Nationalistic flag-waving? Check (though not the flag you might expect).
Lengthy checklists aside, I love this song - and Bollywood - because it's FUN.
What do you think? What other songs embody Bollywood for you?
Originally posted at 12:42pm, Jul 15, 2007 PDT ( permalink )
beth edited this discussion 2 years ago |
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Nope, it never did start a trend of legal acquisition of rights. But actually earlier this year Anu Malik and Pritam were blasted for their plagiarisms, I really think we'll see less and less of it now. Let's keep our fingers crossed!
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When I first saw the song I completely fell in love with it - its so wonderfully over the top and so much fun! (Except for the rap. The rap is bad. Really bad. But I tend to ignore that bit.)
You forgot to list one extra important element: Dancing on top of a vehicle. That's something that always makes me happy, even if the rest of the film or the song is really crappy.
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They call it the Chaiyya Chaiyya effect.
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As long as dancing on a vehicle is an organic part of the song...okay, just kidding. Kinda - if _everyone_ started doing it all the time, it wouldn't be special anymore.
Kaddele, I agree, the rap is horrid, but it's so ridiculous that it makes me laugh and laugh. Some people can rap and some can't, and I think Shahrukh (and whoever voices that bit) fall into the "can't" category. I'd be happy to be proven wrong, though.
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Clearly SRK can't rap, and the first time I saw this I was horrified! But SRK had me back in the palm of his hand just before the intermission of the movie, and now every time I see Kal Ho Naa Ho this song gets more and more tolerable to the point of being cutesy fun, which is what it was intended to be. I still wouldn't download on my Ipod though!
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I have the reverse response to Kal Ho Na Ho, it seems - I loved it the first time I saw it and with repeated watching it has lost its appeal, and I have grown incresaingly short-fused with Karan Johar overall.This song, "It's the Time to Disco," and "Maahi Ve," though, I still love, whether in the movie or just listening to them on CD.
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