They are a staple feature of the classic Bollywood film. At various points in the action, the screen fills with performers, singing and dancing their hearts out. The songs do not necessarily have anything to do with the narrative but directors miss them out at their peril. Sometimes, the songs prove to be bigger hits than the movie.
Not anymore, however. Traditional films have fallen out of favour as audiences have grown used to watching Western-style films with grittier themes on television, in cinemas or even on their phones. Hollywood, it seems, is killing old Bollywood.
Farah Khan, one of Bollywood's top choreographers, recently acknowledged that the five- or ten-minute song and dance routine — often several of them in one film — is on the way out.
"I think the whole song and dance thing is dwindling unless you are making a dance film. I don’t think it is there. The song culture is going away. Songs are played in the background these days or when the credits roll,” she said.
Ms Khan was responsible for the dancing that accompanied huge hits such as “Ruk ja o dil deewane” (Stop, Oh Crazy Heart), “Chaiyya chaiyya” (Jingle Jangle), “Ek pal ka jeena” (Living For This Moment), “Idhar chala” (Here I Go), “Mahi ve” (Oh Beloved) and “Sheila ki jawani” (Sheila's Youthfulness).
These days, Hindi films have fewer songs in them, or none at all. Film themes have also changed. Rather than focusing on romance and tortuous family dramas, a new generation of directors wants to tackle topics that reflect social reality in India.
In these movies — Pink, Bombay Talkies, Lipstick under my Burka, The Lunchbox, or Airlift to name but a few — it would be incongruous to have the hero and heroine jumping up suddenly to cavort around (unless, of course, the scene is one of a festival or wedding), said film director Nitin Ahuja.
"Even if the film is about a romance, the way a modern couple relate to each other and express their emotions is entirely different from an earlier era when coyness and modesty often prevented them — particularly the woman — from speaking directly about their emotions,” he said.
"In the films of the 1950s and 1960s, the songs were crucial in moving the narrative along, providing a vehicle for the expression of love, despair or jealousy. For the heroine, the song and dance was also a chance for her to express her sensuality in an acceptable format. In fact, without the songs, the director would be skipping major developments in the relationship. Since the songs marked crucial junctures in the plot, many films used to have between six to 10 songs of about five minutes each.
"After this period, gradually, the feeling took hold that, every half-hour, you had to give audiences a kind of ‘release’, a stand-alone song. It became a formula. The song had no connection with the narrative. The preceding scene might be of a poor family, the song had no link with their situation, and then it would cut back to the poor family in a village."
Now, songs can no longer be random or artificially inserted into a narrative. Audiences are more discerning and expect a song to have a function and, if the story is compelling enough, the song isn’t necessary.
For example, film producer Bhushan Kumar’s film Baby had not a single song in it, even though Kumar is also a music producer.
"It's always good to try out different things. We have done romantic films that were high on music recall. However, in this script, which had action from start to end, there was no need for songs," he said.
Vinta Nanda, producer and director, points out that young Indians who form 65 per cent of the population, have been exposed to world cinema, social media and more realistic cinema.
"The comparison with what they see elsewhere and what comes from Bollywood is stark. They have more choices now. If Bollywood wants to compete with the rest of the world, it has to change and this is one change that has happened," she said.
None of this is to say that song and dance routines are going to disappear altogether from the Indian film industry. Rather, the type of music used will change.
“We are going to see different and interesting kinds of music emerge now that the field is wide open. Independent music will emerge. This will mark a break with the past when, for decades, Bollywood films and music were totally amalgamated and there was no independent music industry,” said Ms Nanda.
Top choreographer and dancer Remo D’ Souza still has plenty of work and envisages a situation where films with songs will coexist with other genres.
"The content-driven films will obviously not use songs, but there are plenty of directors such as Sanjay Bhansali who thrive on three-hour long musical extravaganzas and will continue to make them.," he said. "How many songs you see in a film is going to depend on the nature of the film but they will always stay as they are an essential part of Indian culture."
World Series
Game 1: Red Sox 8, Dodgers 4
Game 2: Red Sox 4, Dodgers 2
Game 3: Saturday (UAE)
* if needed
Game 4: Sunday
Game 5: Monday
Game 6: Wednesday
Game 7: Thursday
FIVE%20TRENDS%20THAT%20WILL%20SHAPE%20UAE%20BANKING
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Top 10 most polluted cities
- Bhiwadi, India
- Ghaziabad, India
- Hotan, China
- Delhi, India
- Jaunpur, India
- Faisalabad, Pakistan
- Noida, India
- Bahawalpur, Pakistan
- Peshawar, Pakistan
- Bagpat, India
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
THE%20SPECS
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Sri Lanka Test squad:
Dimuth Karunaratne (stand-in captain), Niroshan Dickwella (vice captain), Lahiru Thirimanne, Kaushal Silva, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Janith Perera, Milinda Siriwardana, Dhananjaya de Silva, Oshada Fernando, Angelo Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Kasun Rajitha, Vishwa Fernando, Chamika Karunaratne, Mohamed Shiraz, Lakshan Sandakan and Lasith Embuldeniya.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The%20specs
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The%20team
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more from Janine di Giovanni
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The biog
Name: Atheja Ali Busaibah
Date of birth: 15 November, 1951
Favourite books: Ihsan Abdel Quddous books, such as “The Sun will Never Set”
Hobbies: Reading and writing poetry
Fixtures
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EWednesday%2C%20April%203%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EArsenal%20v%20Luton%20Town%2C%2010.30pm%20(UAE)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EManchester%20City%20v%20Aston%20Villa%2C%2011.15pm%20(UAE)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EThursday%2C%20April%204%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ELiverpool%20v%20Sheffield%20United%2C%2010.30pm%20(UAE)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Company%20profile
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SQUADS
UAE
Mohammed Naveed (captain), Mohamed Usman (vice-captain), Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Imran Haider, Tahir Mughal, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed, Fahad Nawaz, Abdul Shakoor, Sultan Ahmed, CP Rizwan
Nepal
Paras Khadka (captain), Gyanendra Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Pradeep Airee, Binod Bhandari, Avinash Bohara, Sundeep Jora, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Rohit Paudel, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Rajbanshi, Basant Regmi, Pawan Sarraf, Bhim Sharki, Aarif Sheikh
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
FROM%20THE%20ASHES
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
