Any one attended the Millennium Masti 2000 Show. It’s in Houston on April 28, 2000. Worth going?
Young people connect to stars of Indian cinema - LA Times
By MARIAH ASHRAF JAMAL
I know of a dozen 3-year-olds who know the songs to all the latest Indian movies. They have barely mastered their ABCs, yet they are singing and dancing to tunes they watch on video. They know all the actors and actresses and have already decided which movie star they will marry.
The Indian film industry is booming and has the younger generation -- mainly teenagers and young adults -- to thank. And given the chance to meet their movie star idols, those young fans race for the opportunity.
After two months of rehearsing in Bombay, some of India's hottest movie stars came to the United States recently for a live show filled with singing and dancing. The stars lit up the stage at the LA Sports Arena, where more than 4,000 of their fans came to catch a glimpse of favorite actors and actresses.
A group of teenage girls I bumped into were going on and on about Salman Khan, one of the stars. Their mission was to somehow get backstage.
Dr. Bina Kamdar of Walnut went with some friends.
"It was just for fun -- just to see them [actors]," she said. "Most people go to see the movie stars -- to see the glamour and beauty of it all."
Yakoob Kassim Dada of Millennium Entertainment, the primary sponsor of the Millennium Masti 2000 Show, said the actors have scheduled 17 shows in the United States and Canada.
"The international promoters are in India," he said. "There is a group there who decide which stars come for the show."
Since 1975, Dada has been bringing Indian and Pakistani actors, singers and musicians to America.
"Somebody has to do it, and I do a pretty good job at it," he said. "It's good entertainment for the family from back home."
Dada stressed the wholesome nature of the show and that no alcohol is served at the event.
Although Dada expected more fans to attend, those who did turn out went wild when they saw actors Salmon Khan, Bobby Deol and Saif Ali Khan and actresses Sonali Bendre and Raveena Tandon.
For those unfamiliar with Indian cinema, these might not be household names. But for those die-hard fans who religiously watch every Indian movie, read every blurb in an Indian gossip magazine and catch every interview, these names are synonymous with "Indian movie star" and "Bollywood."
Like Hollywood, Bollywood is the cultural center of the Indian film world in Bombay. India's Bollywood cranks out even more films than Hollywood. And every Indian movie is a musical because of the Indian people's love of song and dance.
The history of Indian cinema dates back to July 7, 1896, when an agent brought to the country six short silent movies from Lumiere Brothers Cinematography of France. The movies were shown at the Watson Hotel in Bombay.
By World War I, 85% of all movies watched in India were American. But Indian cinema already was making its mark by then.
Producer Dhundiraj Govind Phalke released the first Indian-made film, "Raja Harishchandra," on May 3, 1913. And by the time the first "talkie" was released -- "Alam Ara" on March 14, 1931 -- the Indian audience craved even more movies in the native tongue, Hindi, and wanted to see movies with songs -- the more the better. Early movies were said to have had at least 40 songs each.
These pioneering films paved the way for contemporary Indian cinema. It was their themes of social injustice, caste division and love that popularized the industry, and those same themes are still prevalent, along with action, comedy, mystery and drama.
Indian moviegoers can escape the real world for the reel world for two or three hours at a time. Indian movies are long, and that's one reason song and dance are so important in them. You can bet that if a song has a catchy beat and a dance is well choreographed, you soon will have countless people trying to imitate them at weddings and parties.
The actors are not actually singing the songs themselves. They lip-sync the live performances as well as the movies. It is common knowledge that the singing is done by playback singers (quite famous and popular in their own right). Few Indian actors have ever sung in their own movies.
With the great influence Hollywood has on Bollywood, Indian movies are becoming a lot more westernized in terms of clothing, language and style. And by targeting younger viewers, Indian films are attracting larger audiences and experiencing something of a revival.
Bobby Deol, one of Bollywood's leading men, is the son of screen legend Dharmendra.
"When my father was in films the actors used to be more mature," Deol told me. "Now they look like kids."
He agreed that as India has become more "global," the motion picture business has changed.
"Every generation is different. With television booming in India there is more accessibility. It really influences the kids, which is not a good thing. It's sad because that's becoming their culture, which it's not," said Deol, whose first movie was in 1995.
"(Now) they feel the need to belong. They want to be recognized. Indian movies have started picking up because the kids want to watch -- they want to be connected."
At the live performance, members of the audience felt the connection. They were watching a show tailored to their needs in their own language and culture.
"We have come from India for Indians living in America," said Saif Ali Khan, who is on his third trip to the United States in a show.
He noted that some Indian movies are copies of American ones.
"You can borrow ideas, but you can't tell the same story -- you have to tell your own story in your own way," he said. "If you copy a story in the West, it doesn't mean it will be successful in India at all. An Indian is still an Indian. He might wear jeans or listen to some music, but that's very shallow. It's still a different culture.
"We can probably learn from the West, and the West can probably learn a few things from us."
-- MARIAH ASHRAF JAMAL writes a weekly column about the cultural diversity of the Inland Valley.