Last night I was watching An Evening In Paris a classic Bollywood film, and it got me wondering why I am so fascinated by films before the 80s from India. I pretty much loathe the films that come out now.
I think the main reason is that Indian films and music during that time were not genre specific. They were a genre in themselves which meant they were free to do anything. And that led to them borrowing influences from almost anything that interested them: French music, American films, Islam sufi singing, Western cowboy themes, Mexican hats and guitars and morphed them together to this very interesting mix that became Bollywood.
As time went on however, there was fresh consciousness for the genre and the industry and some smart ass thought Indian film should become specific and marketable to the outside world. So they needed to find a style of music, fashion, language and so on, so that they serve a niche in the market and audiences know what to expect when they buy into it. So Bollywood became more specialised and outward focussed, thus losing the randomness and the quirkiness that used to be there.
That's my conclusion.
I think the main reason is that Indian films and music during that time were not genre specific. They were a genre in themselves which meant they were free to do anything. And that led to them borrowing influences from almost anything that interested them: French music, American films, Islam sufi singing, Western cowboy themes, Mexican hats and guitars and morphed them together to this very interesting mix that became Bollywood.
As time went on however, there was fresh consciousness for the genre and the industry and some smart ass thought Indian film should become specific and marketable to the outside world. So they needed to find a style of music, fashion, language and so on, so that they serve a niche in the market and audiences know what to expect when they buy into it. So Bollywood became more specialised and outward focussed, thus losing the randomness and the quirkiness that used to be there.
That's my conclusion.