When it comes to India, musical films always come to mind.
As a film category that accounts for more than 90% of the country, Indian musicals not only have a very high domestic sales rate, but even swept the world, becoming the exclusive label of Indian films. The group dance scenes, which are interspersed with songs and dances in the plot, have a hotness in the magic, which seems to set off the plot, but in fact become an inseparable part of the plot, attracting the world with its unique national charm. audience.
What kind of magic does Indian musicals have?
In the Indian movie “Dancing, Dad”, singing and dancing are no longer a formal foil, but are presented on the big screen as the subject matter. The story is based on the dream of a little Indian girl, Rahimi, to win the title of “Light of India” in the national dance competition. Song and dance have become the cause, foreshadowing, climax and the end of connecting reality of all plots. It is not only logical in narrative logic, but also based on the story. A more graceful way becomes a multidirectional bond of emotion, conflict, and culture.
Perhaps, in this film, we can more aptly feel the significance of musicals to India and to us.
[Foot Dance: Narrative Rhythm of Indian Song and Dance]
like the beginning of the day. The movie opens with the little girl Lasimie getting up.
The upper body is still lying down, maintaining a sleeping position, but the toes have swayed with the rhythm. Immediately, the toes drove the calf, which in turn dragged the entire body. It’s no exaggeration to say that it was dragging – the little girl’s legs seemed to be magical, jumping from the bed to the floor, dancing constantly, but her upper body remained calm and not disturbed. Such a unique tap dance scene subtly completes the background explanation of the plot in its own lens language: traditional Indian houses, lively protagonists, witty and relaxed atmosphere.
The depiction of the “foot dance” is not only a dazzling skill in Indian musicals, but also serves as a key clue throughout the entire film: the girl Laxmi’s mother objected to dancing, so Laxmi could only take advantage of the When her mother was away, she quietly jumped her footsteps; her strict and assertive mother would fondly caress her daughter’s little feet when Laxmi was asleep; Laxmi, who participated in a dance competition privately, was conspiratorial on the stage, and her feet Stepping on a thumbtack, but still insisting on dancing… The dance steps of small sections, which connect various elements such as dreams, family affection, and perseverance, constitute a larger narrative rhythm of Indian song and dance movies.
The popularity of musicals is of course related to Indian culture: most Indians believe in Hinduism, and the god Shiva in Hinduism is the embodiment of dance. Therefore, dance has become a kind of worship to the gods. In the daily life of Indians, such as parties and marriages, dancing together is used to express joy. As the sublimation art of life, movies are naturally inseparable from the rendering of singing and dancing elements.
Therefore, what we see in the movie is the “biggest dilemma” that ordinary people can face: poor academics, strict tutoring, and their own dreams, but they have to compromise with the rugged reality. The little girl Lasimie always likes to carry a schoolbag with the image of Spider-Man, and Spider-Man was originally just an ordinary person – until he was bitten by a mutant spider.
Laxmi is also looking forward to a miracle. And this kind of miracle is her talented dance moves.
So she dodged and danced, jumping at every turn, while maintaining the image of a good girl on the surface, while privately using dance to dump all beings: streets, bus roofs, schools, coffee shops… No fear of other people’s eyes, as long as the music is playing , where is the stage. As the endorsement of “divine nature”, singing and dancing also gave back “miracles”. The people in the film showed great tolerance to Laxmi’s dancing regardless of the occasion and inappropriate time, and even opened the back door and brought in foreign aid to help the little girl jump on the stage of the national dance competition step by step. The greatest strength is “Laxmi’s Dad” – Laxmi, a single-parent family, met the owner of a coffee shop because of dancing, and he recognized it as “Dad”. And this “father” is actually the dance king “Mr. VK” of the previous generation in the dance world.
Although there is a bit of mechanical serenity, as a dream-making machine, the movie keeps the little girl’s dream unreservedly in the plot, and it really affects every audience outside the screen. Indian musicals break the traditional narrative structure, reflect romanticism in the form of song and dance, and also create a rich audio-visual feast for us.
There are always people who joke that Indian musicals are really exaggerated, and no one jumps up while talking in reality. But perhaps, boldly jumping out of realism is the true meaning of Indian musicals. Dreams are to be drawn with great colors. The talents, advantages, and luck that are unattainable in reality are given to the protagonist with dance points in the movie, so that the audience can follow the protagonist and bathe in miracles in the dance, and feel their own contentment and happiness. Happiness is also the unique magic of film art.
And all of this may be the warm background of Indian musicals enough to break the circle.
【Moving Heart: Breaking the Cultural Resonance of Language】
People have character, dance has dance character. As an Indian song and dance film “Dancing Dad”, it also conveys this interpretation of the product in the song and dance.
The first is the communication product from the upper and lower generations. The conflict between the little girl Laxmi and her mother is a common confrontation between authority and anti-authority. Mom’s line “You can like what I like” has almost become the common voice of mothers all over the world. Facing the oppression of the power, Lasimi danced the “underground dance” in his own way, and secretly went to the competition site without his mother’s knowledge in the concerted performance of “Dad”, “Principal”, “Teacher” and other adults.
In this originally simple plot, like the change of the song, there are various branch lines of group portraits: my mother lost her old love because of dancing, so she does not want the next generation to go to the same fate as herself; because of a car accident, the dance king who lost his dancing champion, Live in the dark, but awakened by the purest dance steps; the opponent who lost his rival and was “forced to win” has been sullen for decades, looking forward to a real showdown; the movie even puts the spotlight on the protagonist, while Boldly let the supporting characters complain about the protagonist’s halo, use the anger of the dance teammates to be absent, and extend the deep issues of tolerance, understanding, and cooperation…
Therefore, in “Dance, Dad”, such an adventure that belongs to children is conveyed by reflections among adults: as a mother, how should I educate my children, and as a principal, how can I keep dancing? Interests, how I was betrayed by love and ended up with my old friend, whether I want to cooperate in the pursuit of ratings, how can I honestly face my “enemy” as a competitor… The movie cleverly uses a dance The competition reflects the various attitudes of the people in the current society, there are desires, compromises, trust, betrayal, interests pulling, and regaining one’s heart.
In the current real society of India, the illiteracy rate of the people is high, and many viewers do not know subtitles. Therefore, in Indian musicals, dancing is the most direct and concise way to interpret the heart, or joy, or sadness, or depression, or high, and it has become the best shortcut to the heart of the audience. And this method also breaks through the language’s Tower of Babel dilemma and conveys the most real emotions to audiences in various countries.
In the final scene of the film, Lasimie, who was temporarily deaf in a car accident, insisted on returning to the final duel on stage because of her physical inconvenience. Unable to distinguish the music, she struggled and danced on the stage with “Dad” who was conducting mirror movements in the auditorium. The opponent who was going to interfere with “Dad” was also deeply shocked in the end. Laxmi did this last dance. This borderless moving expression is just like the line in the movie “Dad” when he accepted the award: it is not a certain team or a certain person who wins, but the victory of the art of singing and dancing itself.
At this moment, it also conveys the “ambition” of the movie “Dancing Dad” itself: to use the unique dream mechanism of musical films to rectify the name of song and dance, and to rectify the name of song and dance movies.
Sai Young, the production director who has worked in the Tollywood Studios in Hyderabad, India for more than ten years, did not hesitate to admire Indian musicals in an interview, “I grew up watching musicals, and singing and dancing are my fantasy of movies. Everything.” Facing the Chinese people’s question of “Why do Indian musicals dance when they are filmed”, Sai Young also wisely replied: “Do your Chinese movies also start fighting when they are filmed?”
As a developing country, India’s economy has gradually taken off in recent years, and its population is about to surpass China’s, becoming the world‘s most populous country. The high-end industry and software talents have gradually let this country get rid of the inherent impression it gave people before. Indian films, with their complete special effects industry, perfect industrial model, and professional practitioners, also allow the dissemination of local culture to have more and more say in the world. “Dance, Dad” can be seen.
In the movie, Lasimi won the championship on the stage of the competition. Outside the movie, can this victory, like singing and dancing itself, bring inspiration to the cultural heritage of other countries and bring about their own breaking circles. Perhaps, everyone has a heart in their hearts. Answer.