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Bollywood: Youth Culture and the Global Perspective
From: The Victoria and Albert Museum
| By:
Divia Patel |
EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION |
The Indian film industry is the largest in the world, producing films that range from regional-language cinema to art house. 'Bollywood' describes the Hindi-language cinema of Bombay (Mumbai). Viewed across the country, it is regarded as the national cinema of India. Here, V&A curator Divia Patel explores how Bollywood has changed with the times, reflecting modern life in India, while Bollywood film advertising has embraced and influenced contemporary artists in India. |
 n the 1960s films began to look beyond national boundaries. The world outside India offered exciting possibilities for new filming locations. Paris, Rome, Switzerland and London, along with Japan, became exotic backdrops for romances. |
A more international outlook also focused attention on youth culture. In the west, this was a period of economic growth, which was accompanied by the spread of a new liberal culture. Britain saw the rise of consumerism, new music, new fashions and hairstyle trends and increased sexual freedom. India never appropriated this lifestyle, but the Indian cinema projected a sense of it through films such as Bobby and later Love Story which, for the first time, focused on teenage romance. Visually this liberal culture was represented primarily through women's fashion, particularly bouffant hairstyles and heavy black eyeliner makeup. |
The 1970s and 1980s
The 1970s witnessed great political, economic and social upheaval. War with Pakistan led to the creation of Bangladesh, the government imposed a state of emergency curtailing personal freedom, and inflation, urban poverty and crime were on the rise. |
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| Kabhi Kabhie, directed by Yash Chopra and produced by Yash-Raj films (1976). | |
Indian cinema responded by creating a new genre that reflected the anger and aggression of the period. Films were characterised by themes of revenge, violence and a new type of hero--the anti-hero. He exhibited great physical strength but also had a tragic, introspective side. Amitabh Bachchan, the most famous Indian actor of all time, rose to fame in this role of the 'angry young man'. |
A new graphic style also emerged. Bold exaggerated brush stokes created dynamic and expressive images which suited the high emotional intensity of these films. |
The formula film
The formula (or masala) film refers to the key ingredients that go into the making of a film. Music, archetypal characters and star actors were all essential components from the 1940s, and by the 1980s they had become much more exaggerated. Posters reflected this film format by constructing a montage of images depicting these various components. |
Kabhi Kabhie is a classic romance spanning three generations, and a big musical hit in 1976. The poster depicts the three male characters, played by Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor and Rishi Kapoor, combined with many smaller images of romantic couples to convey the theme of the film. |
The global perspective
Influenced by the new global culture of MTV, Hollywood and the Internet, the Indian film industry went through major changes in the 1990s. A younger generation of film directors, actors, costume and set designers began to create films with more professional production values. These newer films also have new themes which depict the modern, affluent consumerist lifestyles of the growing middle class in India. Despite these changes, films retain their Indian identity through the use of music and their projection of traditional cultural, family-oriented themes and values. |
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| Sometimes Happy, Sometimes Sad, directed by Karan Johar (2002). | |
The change in film is also reflected in film advertising. Today, more than ever before, star portraits have become the single major component of any advertising campaign. New technology has also resulted in a new look for poster designs. They are no longer designed by hand but on computers. Photographic stills are manipulated on computer screens to give seamless superimposition, juxtaposition, reduction, enlargement and colour contrasting of images and text. The result is a slick, sophisticated, contemporary design--a reflection of Indian cinema's arrival on the international scene. |
The advertising slogan 'It's all about loving your parents' reflects the family theme of Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, released in 2002. This is one of several lobbycards which depict different combinations of the family members, their wives and their girlfriends. The romantic theme is apparent through the various depictions of the two younger couples. Lobbycards are a way of showing a variety of scenes, characters and themes from the film. They depict the dynamic song and dance sequences, some of which have been shot in London and other locations in the UK including Blenheim Palace, Waddesdon Manor and Bluewater shopping centre. The UK is now one of the most popular filming locations for Bollywood films. |
Love and romance
Romance plays a major role in nearly all Bollywood films. Despite this preoccupation with romantic love, the family is still the predominant moral force and any illicit romance is discouraged. |
Unlike western cinema where the kiss is frequently a symbol of love, it is rarely seen in Indian films. Although the censor's ban on kissing was lifted in the 1980s, the industry has maintained a self-imposed ban, with only a few recent exceptions. The more sensual and erotic aspects of love are depicted instead in the song and dance sequences. These occur in a fantasy world where anything is possible, taking them away from the moral world of the main narrative. |
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| Pyaasa, directed by Guru Dutt, produced by Guru Dutt films (1957). | |
Posters for these films brought together some of Indian cinema's great old romantic couples such as Raj Kapoor and Nargis (Awara, Barsaat) as well as Guru Dutt and Waheeda Rehman (Kagaz ke Phool, Pyaasa). In simple, bold images their star status and the passionate intensity of their relationships are conveyed. |
Pyaasa explores the place of the artist in society. The poet Vijay is portrayed as the creative individual battling against a hostile environment and a society motivated by material wealth. The poster depicts Vijay, who ends up living on the streets, with Gulab, a prostitute who falls in love with him and his poetry. |
The depiction of women
Women have historically been depicted as either 'traditional' or 'modern' in character. The traditional woman would be dressed in a sari or rural costume and depicted with pale skin. As a dutiful wife and mother she is likened to Sita and Savitri, goddesses from Indian mythology. The high moral standards of the Indian woman were often held up as a measure of the nation's character. By contrast, women dressed in western clothes were regarded as 'modern' with all the immoral values associated with a western lifestyle. |
Film advertisements frequently depict overtly sensuous and voluptuous figures. These displays of sexuality are often legitimised by linking them to Indian traditions; a prime example is the poster for Satyam Shivam Sundaram where the revealing rural costume is regarded as a customary rural practice. |
In the past decade, the visual representation of women has changed dramatically. The most recent films show women in sexy western designer clothes. Rather than any implied judgement on their morality, these clothes indicate the affluent lifestyles of the new middle class on which these films focus. |
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| Umrao Jaan, directed by Muzaffar Ali, produced by Integrated Films (1981). | |
Visual representations of courtesans usually focus on their heavily-embroidered costumes and ornate jewellery. They are set against grand palace settings and are associated with wealth, luxury and refined society. These images are a reminder of a grand and cultured past, and the courtesan is an indicator of tradition rather than immorality. Umrao Jaan, a classic art-house film starring Rekha, was famed for its costumes, sets and music. |
Bollywood and contemporary artists
Many contemporary artists have responded creatively to the Indian film industry, from hoarding (billboard) painters who continue to practise their dynamic art to international artists who look beyond a celebration of kitsch imagery and offer an alternative view, both critical and complementary of the industry. |
Annu Palakunnathu Matthew's work, from a series entitled Bollywood Satirized, explores the position of women in Indian society. Gulam Sheikh's dynamic painting City for sale highlights the vulgarity of an industry which has come to dominate Indian life and culture. |
In contrast, the stunning lightbox images by Catherine Yass capture the Art Deco cinemas of India, and her portraits of film stars explore the notion of stardom. |
The colour-saturated photographs of Adam Bartos depict the unseen spaces of the older film studios of Bombay, evoking a sense of nostalgia for a bygone era. Olivier Richon's intimate images document film sets, which, for him, offer a telling insight into the nation's desires through the temporary fantasy world they construct. |
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