DANZ QUARTERLY No 3 April 2006

Anything Goes! That ‘s Bollywood!

by Francesca Horsley

Review: The Merchants of Bollywood, The Civic, Auckland, 14 December 2005

The Merchants of Bollywood was a vibrant feel-good show that pulsed with energy - a quintessential extravaganza of song, dance and story. Combining an opening prayer dance to Shiva Nataraj, the Hindi King of Dancers, myriad costumes changes, power packed dance items, passionate lip syncing, corny melodrama and syrupy ending – the show had it all.

The 30 member cast told the story of dance and choreography from its early beginnings to the present day. For the uninitiated, the history of Bollywood was fascinating,  revealing the development of a dance form adored by millions.

It told the true-life story of star choreographer Valibhavi Merchant, known as the Queen of Romance, and her grandfather, Hiralal Merchant, the celebrated choreographer of the classic films in the 1940s and 50s, known then as the King of Dance. The story was told through a voice-over by the rich tones and immaculate English accent of Tony Mirracandani, accompanied by actors Jshitta Arun and Arif Zakaria.

The structure of the choreography was formulaic: a group of lead dancers in the front of the stage, backed up with interchanging lines of men and women. The styles were eclectic, sometimes jazz or hip hop, sometimes borrowing from Indian classical or folk dances. There were plenty of hip and shoulder movements from the women and plenty of pelvic thrusts, head tossing and shoulder-flicking from the men, all delivered with electric passion.  The brilliantly-coloured costumes were extraordinary, but surprisingly, the women’s bare midriffs were modestly covered with flesh coloured fabric.

A nostalgic trip back to Rajasthan, the birthplace of the heroine, was priceless. It provided an array of vamped up folk dances, a comic scene between three hookah smoking, giant mustachioed characters, a high blown family drama, the discovery of a long-lost love, concluding with a wild disco and classical dance finale.

The infectious energy of the show superseded its predictability, and the audience – a wide cross section – gave it a rapturous reception.

Bollywood Star talks about the style

In an interview, Jshitta Arun said the show was a perfect example of Bollywood style. “It’s a snapshot spanning 60 years of Bollywood history, showing its many styles and how it has changed over the years.”

Jshitta said the style is an amalgamation of folk, classical and modern day dancing. “India has a huge heritage of classical and folk dancing and Bollywood essentially is a platform for these different to trickle in together.”

“Initially there were black and white movies with just actors, but the audience wanted more, so they were forced to sing their own songs, and do whatever little dance performance they knew. Then playback singers came into the picture, then music directors and choreographers.”

“They used to have classical dance teachers instructing them in classical steps - Bharatnatyam or Kathak. It then took a deviation into folk, and then in the 1980s the movements became really ludicrous, pelvic thrusts and so on. They weren’t even well choreographed but that was the demand of the moment.” Now it is a very western dance form backed up with cutting-edge technology and filming.

One of the hallmarks of Bollywood style is lip-synced songs by dancers and actors. “You will never find actors singing and dancing as they do in western shows. In India playback singers are really big – they sing their own songs.”

All performers in the production were veterans of the Indian film industry. Jshitta is from a theatrical background - her mother is a famous folk singer and actress, and she has also acted in film and the theatre. She began dance classes at three, studying jazz ballet and Kathak, as well as singing. Now she is a well-known RJ – a radio jockey.

Bollywood in NZ

Auckland

In New Zealand, Bollywood dance is increasingly popular, with classes throughout the country, and groups performing and competing at multi-cultural and Indian festivals.

Hemant Parikh, a host at Radio Tarana, the Auckland Indian radio station said that Bollywood style dancing has increased in popularity since the two migrant waves to New Zealand - 1987/88 after the coup in Fiji and in the 1990s from India.

He said the Auckland scene is booming, with many groups taking part in competitions. At school level, up 30 schools take part. The same number take part in Bollywood dance competitions, such as the one during the Diwali celebrations involving adults, children and individuals.

Bollywood was also very popular in Hamilton and Wellington where he was impressed with the high standard.  “I saw something totally new; clothing and performances were different, very up-beat, synchronized and colourful. They put in lots of homework, whereas in Auckland we might see the same thing again and again.”

Young girls start dancing in their own homes, he said, watching a movie, and it becomes a hobby. Sometimes they join a dance school, or form their own group. He said it is not confined to Indians; large numbers of young people join because they enjoy the social aspect. Asked whether he was a fan on Bollywood movies – he replies “101 percent!”

Dunedin

Dunedin has its own Bollywood class, run by Lisa Wilkinson as part of her RASA Dance School. Lisa’s interest in Bollywood grew out of her attraction to the Indian culture and religion from aged 17. She studied South Indian classical dance with Wellington’s Indian dance teacher, Vivek. This, combined with her contemporary dance experience and 17 years of teaching hip hop, provides a wide range of genres for Bollywood.

There is no strict technique, she said. Movement comes from music of the movies. “The films are musicals, so the dance steps follow the story line of the song – a lot of the movement is just acting out the words. The dance is quite gendered. Boys get quite strong movement, based on the masculinity versus femininity aspect.”

Her classes are a mixture of Kiwi and Indian children. “Because I am not Indian, it is not my specialty; I do it for interest. I have 30 minutes of classical training then 30 minutes of Bollywood. In Dunedin, there is small number of Indian families and they want their children to learn about their culture. They just love it.”

For western children the appeal is the dress-ups. “Parents like it because it’s feminine, sweet and quite naïve. Kids get to dress up in Indian costumes and bangles - something they don’t otherwise get the opportunity to do.”
 
Lisa has a minimum of four concerts a year and they are often asked to perform. “We did Chinese New Year. We don’t take it ultra seriously, we just dance. The Indian children come to class and they know all the words and dance moves; if the parents are in to it the kids will know everything about it.”

In 2000 Lisa danced in a Bollywood film being shot in the South Island. “I rang up and got myself in; it was fun.”

Lisa loves Bollywood dance. “It is uplifting, quite free and over-the-top happy. It’s colourful and naive - in life it’s nice to do a bit of light stuff. The classes are definitely smaller than my hip hop, but those who come are really interested in doing something different.”

Wellington

Yeleny Sivapalan of Wellington’s Indian 21st Century Performing Arts, forms groups for specific events. Her group of 12 came second in this year’s Bollywood competition in the Diwali Festival. A smaller group took part in a show at Civic Square for the February opening of the NZ Festival of the Arts.

“I usually work from a theme or some type of story, with choreography is based around film music. It is usual to have a variety of music styles in one Bollywood song so if there is a little bit of salsa then I will put it in, hip hop, ballroom dancing, salsa – anything like that. It depends on the style of music.” 

Yeleny, who studied Bharatnatyam for six years, is also teaching a couple a wedding dance Bollywood style. After many requests she is planning to start a children’s class.
“I enjoy dancing, creating choreography in different styles. It is a challenge every year, you can’t do the same routine -  you have to come up with something new.”

No doubt Shiva Nataraj, the Hindi King of Dancers is pleased. Bollywood has found a home in Aotearoa for sure.

Return to Contents page of DANZ QUARTERLY N0 3 April 2006