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."
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
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The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
SPECS
Engine: Two-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 235hp
Torque: 350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Price: From Dh167,500 ($45,000)
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
Match info:
Real Betis v Sevilla, 10.45pm (UAE)
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
2.0
Director: S Shankar
Producer: Lyca Productions; presented by Dharma Films
Cast: Rajnikanth, Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson, Sudhanshu Pandey
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
The%20Color%20Purple
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The specs: 2019 Mercedes-Benz C200 Coupe
Price, base: Dh201,153
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 204hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 300Nm @ 1,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.7L / 100km
FORSPOKEN
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The%20Legend%20of%20Zelda%3A%20Tears%20of%20The%20Kingdom
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Assassin's%20Creed%20Mirage
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Starfield
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Mountain Classification Tour de France after Stage 8 on Saturday:
- 1. Lilian Calmejane (France / Direct Energie) 11
- 2. Fabio Aru (Italy / Astana) 10
- 3. Daniel Martin (Ireland / Quick-Step) 8
- 4. Robert Gesink (Netherlands / LottoNL) 8
- 5. Warren Barguil (France / Sunweb) 7
- 6. Chris Froome (Britain / Team Sky) 6
- 7. Guillaume Martin (France / Wanty) 6
- 8. Jan Bakelants (Belgium / AG2R) 5
- 9. Serge Pauwels (Belgium / Dimension Data) 5
- 10. Richie Porte (Australia / BMC Racing) 4
The Bio
Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
Favourite place to relax in UAE: the desert around Al Mleiha in Sharjah or the eastern mangroves in Abu Dhabi
The one book everyone should read: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It will make your mind fly
Favourite documentary: Chasing Coral by Jeff Orlowski. It's a good reality check about one of the most valued ecosystems for humanity
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
THE APPRENTICE
Director: Ali Abbasi
Starring: Sebastian Stan, Maria Bakalova, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 3/5
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
BACK%20TO%20ALEXANDRIA
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ETamer%20Ruggli%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENadine%20Labaki%2C%20Fanny%20Ardant%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE SQUAD
Ahmed Raza (Captain), Rohan Mustafa, Jonathan Figy, CP Rizwan, Junaid Siddique, Mohammad Usman, Basil Hameed, Zawar Farid, Vriitya Aravind (WK), Waheed Ahmed, Karthik Meiyappan, Zahoor Khan, Darius D'Silva, Chirag Suri
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 290hp
Torque: 340Nm
Price: Dh155,800
On sale: now
Jebel Ali Dragons 26 Bahrain 23
Dragons
Tries: Hayes, Richards, Cooper
Cons: Love
Pens: Love 3
Bahrain
Tries: Kenny, Crombie, Tantoh
Cons: Phillips
Pens: Phillips 2
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Copa del Rey final
Sevilla v Barcelona, Saturday, 11.30pm (UAE), match on Bein Sports
Arrogate's winning run
1. Maiden Special Weight, Santa Anita Park, June 5, 2016
2. Allowance Optional Claiming, Santa Anita Park, June 24, 2016
3. Allowance Optional Claiming, Del Mar, August 4, 2016
4. Travers Stakes, Saratoga, August 27, 2016
5. Breeders' Cup Classic, Santa Anita Park, November 5, 2016
6. Pegasus World Cup, Gulfstream Park, January 28, 2017
7. Dubai World Cup, Meydan Racecourse, March 25, 2017
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed
Power: 620bhp
Torque: 760Nm
Price: Dh898,000
On sale: now
No.6 Collaborations Project
Ed Sheeran (Atlantic)
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
Company%20Profile
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Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
Juliot Vinolia’s checklist for adopting alternate-day fasting
- Don’t do it more than once in three days
- Don’t go under 700 calories on fasting days
- Ensure there is sufficient water intake, as the body can go in dehydration mode
- Ensure there is enough roughage (fibre) in the food on fasting days as well
- Do not binge on processed or fatty foods on non-fasting days
- Complement fasting with plant-based foods, fruits, vegetables, seafood. Cut out processed meats and processed carbohydrates
- Manage your sleep
- People with existing gastric or mental health issues should avoid fasting
- Do not fast for prolonged periods without supervision by a qualified expert
Company Profile
Company name: Yeepeey
Started: Soft launch in November, 2020
Founders: Sagar Chandiramani, Jatin Sharma and Monish Chandiramani
Based: Dubai
Industry: E-grocery
Initial investment: $150,000
Future plan: Raise $1.5m and enter Saudi Arabia next year
