The teachings of Bollywood over the last 100 years
As this year marks a 100 years of Bollywood, it’s important to shed some light onto the fact that the Indian Film Industry has a lot to offer. The thrill of taking the day out to endure a wonderful 3 hours of laughter, sadness, heartache, happiness and a whole lot of dancing, and that feeling of a great happy ending and a smile on your face as you walk out of the cinema hall. BizAsia��felt that it was only right, to take you through the great life lessons of what Bollywood has taught us over the past 100 years.
Love – With every great Bollywood film (or every Bollywood film for that matter), there is no such story to tell other than a love story. A girl and a guy who fall in love, endure all the turmoils that life has to offer, the lesson of love was that no matter what difficulties you have to go through, with the words “jab pyaar kiya tho darna kya” – love will conquer all.
The Hero – He is perfect in every single way. He’s good looking, he can dance, he can sing, he has good morals, he loves his mum and no matter how many blows he takes from all the bad guys, he still has the energy and remains in top shape to fight them all and kill the villain. He is also the perfect guy to fall in love with, so much so because he is willing to do anything for his love. Yes, this includes crossing the seven seas in search for her and even dying for her. He gets the girl, defeats the villain and everyone loves him – in a woman’s eyes, every guy should be like this, just so she can say ‘tu mera hero hai’.
The damsel in distress – Like her hero, she is beautiful. She has perfect hair, perfect skin, a perfect bod and she’s the one everyone want’s; including the villain. The only way to get to the hero, is to kidnap his girl and the hero will come running. However unlike her hero, despite standing up for her love, she is not strong enough to beat the guy up herself, and by shouting the word “NAAHIIIINNNN’, she gets slapped round the face from the villain, she goes flying across the other room and may end up hitting her head on the wall, which results into a bleeding head. However there is nothing to fear, no scars or marks are left after the scene. She declares her love to all, let’s her hero show how much of a man he is and stays beautiful all the time – every woman should be like this, in a man’s eyes.
The Bad Guy – The villain, comes in all shapes and sizes. Without any history apart from being a family member, an old friend or just someone who is bad, his aim in life is to take over the world or get all the money the world has. And he will do whatever it takes to get there. This guy is so evil, you wouldn’t even want to pass him on the street. He is as bad as bad can be, and does all the evil that one can ever think of. Though he has one major weakness. No matter how many guns he carries, how many muscles he has bulging out of his body, and how many men he has on his side, he is never a match for the dashing hero. Despite playing every trick he has up his sleeve, his hard work never pays off and ends up dying a deadly death. So kids, no matter what you do, always be the good guy, otherwise your plans will always fail. Sorry Magambo -“Kush Nahi Howa”
The Maa – As the famous line goes, ‘mere paas maa hai’, as true to it’s words��the mother of mainly the hero, is the soft, ever so caring, ever so loving, soft spot for the hero. She is responsible for teaching her macho son right from wrong, and shares an unconditional bond of love with him. Here is another woman the hero would do anything for. If it’s not the heroine, then it’s the mother that the villain targets to get at the hero, and as always, all ends well with the mother being saved too. In order to have a good son, the mother has to have all the above.
Naach – All one needs is a chiffon sari, some trees and some ‘tip��tip barsa paani’. With both hero and heroine engrossed in a compassionate love song, these three elements make up the prefect ambience of a perfect romance. And not forgetting the��parts were the couple embrace, the hero leans in for a kiss, only to have his heroine turn away bashfully, or a random rose that pops up between them- how romantic. Not to mention that the random people in the background will somehow know the moves, all come together and dance with the couple (and somehow wear the same outfits).
Gaana – There is no emotion in an Indian film, that doesn’t come in a song. Weather it be, happiness, sadness, anger or pain, there’s a song for every situation. And no matter how deep the hero’s, or even heroine’s voice is, they always have the most melodious singing voices. Always in tune, and no matter how far apart, always in sync.
Happy Endings – The final lesson that we have been taught is that there is always a happy ending. The events throughout the film could have gone in any direction, and if the villain really wanted to, he could stop asking ‘kitne aadmi the?’, go straight to the hero and shoot him between the ears. But no. Because of all the above, fighting for the truth, for their love and for the hero’s mother, everyone deserves to live happy ever after. Yes – even the audience.
So there we have it; the life lessons of a typical Bollywood life. The essence of taking a few hours away from the realism of ones world, and becoming immersed in a grand fantasy that you feel you are a part of, falling in love with the hero and heroine, despising the villain, singing along to the tunes, and wishing you had those infamous dance moves. Yes the action is unrealistic, yes the emotional scenes are over dramatic, yes the songs are all drugged with love- and we wouldn’t have it any other way. Thank you and a huge 100th Happy Birthday to Bollywood. We as the audience, love you, praise you and bow to you. Thank you.
