Indian Movies - On A Song

Here is an attempt to classify the different types of songs that one encounters in Indian movies.

1) Growing-up Song

A child turns into a young man or woman within the space of a 4-minute song usually accompanied by the visual of a rotating bicycle wheel, train wheel or some other wheel.

2) Farewell Song

Usually employed when somebody leaves a village, or by a brother (wearing a shawl) sending off his sister to her husband's house and so on.

3) Catch-Me-If-You-Can Song

The male or female lead play hard to get while displaying all kinds of facial expressions and is chased all around the place by their partners (ably assisted by extras in most cases).

4) God-revealing Song

A woman wearing a yellow sari screams at high pitch, walks, runs, jumps up and down, rolls on the floor, walks on fire, carries hot pots inside a temple to save a loved one from evil, disease or some other calamity. The song usually ends with the said woman banging her head on a hard object or piercing herself with a trident, at which stage the concerned deity manifests itself in human form (whether unable to bear the torture any more or really pleased with the lady's faith is not known)

5) Tryst with a Ghost

There are two variants of this type. One involving a benign ghost, usually the dead wife of a man and the other a malignant creature wronged by a man. The former usually floats in the sky while singing a song and is followed by the husband walking on land. The latter appears all over the place laughing hysterically and chasing the wrong-doer. Both types wear white costumes with sari being the preferred garment for the former and a frilled gown for the latter.

6) Death Song

The hero has blood cancer and chooses to break the news to others by arranging a party and singing a song. If the attendees don't get the message after seeing the shawl draped on the hero's upper body or his unshaven face, then they will be treated to the sight of thick red liquid (apparently, blood) coming out of the person's mouth during the intervals between pallavi, anupallavi and charanam. Another situation where this type of song is employed is when the main character drinks poison to end his/her life and wants to be saved.

7) Item Number

A song which has absolutely no relevance to the story line (as if all other songs have) and included only to stir up passions. In earlier times, item numbers were presented by heavily-built, scantily clad women, shaking all parts of their anatomy, usually in a bar, surrounded by flashing lights and heavily-built men. Nowadays, they are presented by size-zero ladies, shaking all parts of their anatomy, usually in a bar, surrounded by flashing lights and lightly-built men.

8) Multitasking song

A hero sings and dances with his girl while fighting a bunch of baddies and uses the lady as a weapon at times.