Blog by Sumana Harihareswara, Changeset founder
Bollywood Samples
Hi, reader. I wrote this in 2006 and it's now more than five years old. So it may be very out of date; the world, and I, have changed a lot since I wrote it! I'm keeping this up for historical archive purposes, but the me of today may 100% disagree with what I said then. I rarely edit posts after publishing them, but if I do, I usually leave a note in italics to mark the edit and the reason. If this post is particularly offensive or breaches someone's privacy, please contact me.
In case you've never seen a really amusing Bollywood dance number, here are a few good videos off YouTube.
- "Jan Pehechan-Ho", a sixties classic, made famous by Ghost World. The aesthetic also reminds me of the Adam West Batman TV series.
- "Yeh Ladka Hai Deewana" from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, an opening song in which two college buddies argue and then make up. Their friends make for backup dancers. I believe at one point the setting suddenly changes to a beach with volleyball. Silly, frothy, light.
- "It's the Time To Disco" from Kal Ho Naa Ho. It starts out pretty standard, a woman singing in a nightclub, and then it turns into 1970s homage. And then blonde women become props.
- "Radha Kaise Na Jale" from Lagaan - the story of Radha and Krishna, and an allusion to the relationship between the two Indian leads. Classical dance where you can tell what the moves mean - rare.
- "Chaiya Chaiya" from Dil Se.... This song also served as the opening and closing theme for The Inside Man, the 2006 Spike Lee film.
And, as always, MP3s for many classics live at Bollywood For The Skeptical.
