While writing reviews, I’ve occasionally had to stop myself from
using home-made terms to refer to common Bollywood tropes. Rather than
keep censoring myself, though, I’ll just list and define them here.
I’ve got the space. Collect them all! Amaze your friends!
Bollywood Teleportation: The amazing ability demonstrated by BW characters to move from place to place in mid-song, often to either Switzerland or the edge of a cliff. The range of Bollywood teleportation vaires; the longest distance I’ve seen covered is from New York City to Las Vegas. BW Teleportation is usually accompanied by costume changes, but it’s possible to teleport without changing clothing, or to change clothing without teleporting.
The Sari Point: The point in a film where the relationship between the hero and heroine is completely established. While the heroine has probably been wearing Western clothing up to this point, often including very short skirts, from the Sari point onward she will not be seen without traditional Indian dress.
The Bollywood Dialectic: A common type of musical number within BW films, in which the hero and heroine each sing their arguments, and hopefully reach some sort of logical synthesis. For example, in the song “Jaane Kyoon” from the movie Dil Chahta Hai, Akash presents his thesis: Love is potentially painful, and really more trouble than it’s worth. Shalini presents her antithesis: Love is really quite nice, and without love a person is lonely. The two sing their arguments, and in the end reach a synthesis and walk off talking happily. Background dancers are often involved in the Bollywood Dialectic; in such cases, the men usually side with the hero, and the women with the heroine.
Bollywood Teleportation: The amazing ability demonstrated by BW characters to move from place to place in mid-song, often to either Switzerland or the edge of a cliff. The range of Bollywood teleportation vaires; the longest distance I’ve seen covered is from New York City to Las Vegas. BW Teleportation is usually accompanied by costume changes, but it’s possible to teleport without changing clothing, or to change clothing without teleporting.
The Sari Point: The point in a film where the relationship between the hero and heroine is completely established. While the heroine has probably been wearing Western clothing up to this point, often including very short skirts, from the Sari point onward she will not be seen without traditional Indian dress.
The Bollywood Dialectic: A common type of musical number within BW films, in which the hero and heroine each sing their arguments, and hopefully reach some sort of logical synthesis. For example, in the song “Jaane Kyoon” from the movie Dil Chahta Hai, Akash presents his thesis: Love is potentially painful, and really more trouble than it’s worth. Shalini presents her antithesis: Love is really quite nice, and without love a person is lonely. The two sing their arguments, and in the end reach a synthesis and walk off talking happily. Background dancers are often involved in the Bollywood Dialectic; in such cases, the men usually side with the hero, and the women with the heroine.
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