MUMBAI | PARTICIPATIVE AUDIENCES

Devdas (2002) dance sequence with Aishwarya Rai

Unlike what is mostly understood in western world, Bollywood does not refer to the whole scope of Indian cinema. Bollywood, being an acronym for Bombay and Hollywood, refers to the hindi language cinema that is produced in the city of Mumbai and it is one of the largest centers of film producers in the world. Most of Bollywood productions have music and dance as a very determining factor for the success and public reception, hence most Bollywood films are musicals. However, musical numbers in hindi films are presented in a different fashion than in western productions. In the typical Bollywood film, music and dance serves as an intermission in the action of the film, in the form of comments about the action taking place, or as an externalization of a character's thoughts. So instead of being a part of the script's development, as it usually is in Hollywood musicals, it is chronologically disconnected from it, yet conceptually linked to the subject being shown in the main script. 

These musical moments are key parts of the hindi cinema culture, being linked to popular Indian dance and festivities. Because of this, it is possible to argue that the relationship between audience and screening in India have a closer dynamics. Similarly to the origins of theater, when ritual dances and festivals congregated people as a kind of participatory theater, the public of hindi cinema is less afraid to take part in the action in a talkie (how films are referred to in India) than, for instance, when compared to western audiences. The same goes to other kinds of presentations such as theater, dance and music performed to live audiences in India. Interaction through laughing, screaming and back talking is not looked upon in a negative manner. 

In a sense, this concept evocates the history of western, when during the times of Shakespearean theater, for example, the audience would shout, laugh and talk to the actors, or even provide real-time feedback in the shape of rotten tomatoes thrown at poor performances. For these reasons, one can say that cinemas and theaters in India have retained a more participative and democratic nature.