Beyond the surface of Bollywood

These days anytime anyone mentions the word “Bollywood” someone inevitably screams out “I love ‘Slumdog Millionaire!’ Jai Ho!” Although this association isn’t entirely off the mark, it’s not entirely true either. “Slumdog Millionaire” certainly embodies certain Bollywood-esque traits, such as the inclusion of a song and dance sequence, yet the film itself cannot be categorized as a Bollywood production.

First of all, Bollywood films must be produced in India, specifically in the city of Mumbai. The Academy Award-winning “Slumdog,” however, was produced in the United Kingdom under the guidance of British director Danny Boyle. Second, Bollywood films are made primarily in Hindi, the most widely-spoken official language of India. Occasionally, especially in today’s age of globalization, it’s not uncommon for Bollywood film dialogues to intermix bits and pieces of English with Hindi. The opposite is true for “Slumdog Millionaire,” where the characters speak mostly in English; the odd snippet or two of Hindi is banished from the foreground, lost amid the film’s dense audio backdrop.

Although the plot is set entirely in India, “Slumdog Millionaire” offers a limited view of the great diversity within Indian culture. Home to over 17 major languages, four main religions, varying geographies and a population of roughly 1.2 billion people, it only makes sense that India plays host to a wide range of film industries as well. Aside from Bollywood, the industries of Tollywood, Punjwood and Mollywood comprise a sampling of the varieties of smaller cinema centers spread across the nation. Each of the aforementioned “–woods” refers to film industries that hail from certain states in India. Each name, of course, was inspired by the original and iconic American Hollywood film industry. It is the specific language of each state, however, that characterizes the films produced and provides the prefix for its film industry’s name. Tollywood, for instance, is based in the state of Andhra Pradesh and takes its name from the state language of Telugu.

Bollywood instead derives its name from the city in which it’s based: Bombay, known as Mumbai since 1995. Bollywood is, without a doubt, the most well-known and widely watched film industry in India. Patrons of Punjwood rarely, if ever, watch Tollywood films, but they unfailingly find themselves mesmerized by Bollywood films. The reason is simple. Few Indians speak the dialects of states other than their own, but Hindi, as mentioned previously, is the most widely-spoken official language of India. Although only 41 percent of Indians speak Hindi, this percentage is still vastly greater than the number of Indians who speak regional dialects. For example, only 7.2 percent speaks Telugu and 2.8 percent of the population speaks Punjabi.

In this way, Bollywood serves as a unifier for the Indian population—not only within India but outside of India as well—by connecting South Asians across various states, countries and generations. They may not realize it, but individuals caught on either side of the Pakistan-India conflict often find themselves watching the same Bollywood movies. NRIs (Non-Resident Indians) get just as excited, if not more, for the release of a new film as do Indians living in India. Second generation Indians search the Internet on a daily basis, scavenging for the newest sneak peeks at Bollywood films and the latest gossip on the actors and actresses.... I may or may not be referring to myself here.

When we think of Bollywood, we generally think of never-ending, three-hour-long movies chock-full of bright colors, ridiculous plot lines, choreographed dances and countless songs. But Bollywood is so much more than that. Just ask the girl who doesn’t know a lick of American pop culture from the ’90s because she spent her childhood learning those ridiculous songs and watching those long movies. Through Bollywood, she was able to build a bridge to connect with her Indian heritage. It gave her a common ground upon which she could start conversations and bond with her foreign relatives; it gave her a deeper understanding of what it means to be Indian.

I don’t believe that anyone means to malign or minimize Bollywood when they equate the industry with films like “Slumdog Millionaire,” “Bride and Prejudice” or “Bend It Like Beckham.” But by letting these stereotypes and misconceptions about Bollywood stand, we, as a people, are missing an opportunity to be a part of something that goes far beyond songs and melodrama. We’re missing an opportunity to know India as a whole. We’re passing up the chance to become a part of India’s most unique and enduring strength—unity through diversity.

So I challenge you, dear readers. Go to Lilly Library, go to Netflix or even peruse my personal, extensive collection of Bollywood movies. Let yourself be opened up to an entire world unexplored and bursting with the timeless unity and intimacy of India as you’re swept away by the mesmerizing array of color, song, dance and magic.