Churning out more than a thousand films annually, Bollywood is the largest film producer in the world. Bollywood films, which come in at about 3% the cost of production of Hollywood films, incorporate multiple genres and spectacles of all kinds: flamboyant costumes, elaborate musicals and dramatic dialogues. Bollywood dares to explore the uncharted territories that are taboo in Indian culture: homosexuality, extramarital affairs, IVF treatment, and more. These films communicate the unspoken truths of society. The question is, can Bollywood successfully transition from capturing the Indian audience to going mainstream?
On a gloomy January afternoon in Boston, I found myself bawling my eyes out at my favourite Bollywood movie of all time: Kal Ho Naa Ho. Made in 2003, this 3-hour-plus spectacle transports me seamlessly to the living room of my childhood, where I am huddled with my grandparents. A genre of its own, Bollywood has the ability to teleport you to the heart of Indian culture, to really remind you of home.
Bollywood and I have a complicated relationship. Films are extravagant, commercial and ludicrous all at once; an anathema to the contemporary Western standards of aesthetics. I have my moments questioning Bollywood’s depiction of life. Like most others, I live by more subtle emotions. So imagine my discomfort at this melodramatic attempt at a larger-than-life production. Yet, there I was, fully assimilated into this film about a girl falling in love with her secretly ill next-door-neighbor who hovers over the family like a guardian angel. In rollicking dance numbers, they break into song as they redecorate their family-owned café on the streets of New York. Three hours later, I gathered myself together, my cheeks stained with tears.
Is it realistic for the lead actor to run along the centre painted line of street without getting hit by a car? Definitely not. Is it reasonable to believe that with every sad conversation, the clouds can no longer withhold the rain? Perhaps not. Is a coordinated dance at a nightclub a possibility? Most likely not. Yet despite the inaccuracies and unrealistic portrayals, Kal Ho Naa No (like many others), is an anthem to the average Indian. Indians don’t just accept the extravaganza, they embrace it and live vicariously through it. Anyone born within the decade likely knows its dialogues by heart, and definitely grooves to its super hit number, “It’s time to DISCO.”
Bollywood is aligning itself to meet the demands of a new world with an explosion on over-the-top (OTT) platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime. It is doing what it always did: animating the faults and frictions that torment our world, but targeting a much wider audience. Recently focusing on numerous short films and series, it is attempting to capitalise on the shortened attention span of the average viewer. Cinematic demand has transitioned from emotional appeal to intellectual engagement. In the last decade, the number of films with a strong social message has significantly increased. Films that were first used to escape reality are now attempting to address it
Critics argue that the essence of Bollywood lies in its extravagance. These musicals have shaped the dreams and aspirations of several generations. Of these critics, I ask, is that to say that Bollywood’s singular aim was to be a cultural export? In the past, did these films not have an intrinsic message? Beneath the veil of music and melodrama, there was always a reality that resonated with every Indian. It was present, stretching your mind, prodding at your heart, stinging your eyes. Only now, it is more to-the-point, following the evolution of most successful entertainment channels in the 21st century.
That afternoon, as I cried my heart out to Kal Ho Naa Ho in my dorm room, I realised the true power of Bollywood. Loved as a commercial work of art by over 1.4 billion people, its penetration is about to increase exponentially. There is so much more to cinema than Western Superhero productions and French Mademoiselle movies, and the rise of Bollywood into mainstream media is likely to prove just that. Seen as unrealistic and extravagant outside its native culture, Bollywood is strong enough to survive in the “big league” merely by tweaking itself to cater to a wider audience. Indian Cinema is no longer limited by national borders and language barriers: it is on its way to sweep the world off its feet. All it needs to do is take that leap of faith.