A desi bar number, "Mungda" from Inkaar was also immensely popular. In films like Gunga Jumna and Zindagi the actress performed semi-classical Indian dances in songs like "Tora man bada paapi" and "Ghungarwa mora chham chham baaje". In time Helen would come to be the most popular vamp of the late-50s, 60s and 70s, having had performed in scores of item numbers including such popular songs as " Mera Naam Chin Chin Choo" from the film Howrah Bridge (1958), " Piya Tu Ab To Aaja" from Caravan (1971), "Mehbooba Mehbooba" from Sholay (1975) and "Yeh Mera Dil" from Don (1978) (the song's tune was used in Don't Phunk with My Heart), "O Haseena Zulfon Wali" from Teesri Manzil and " Aa Jaane Jaan" from Intaqam. In the early 50s, Cuckoo introduced the Anglo-Burmese Helen as a chorus girl. The mixture of classical plus contemporary was popularized by Vyjayanthimala in films such as Devdas (1955), Amrapali (1966), Madhumati (1958), Sadhna (1958), Sunghursh (1968) etc. Actress and classical dancer Vyjayanthimala was the one that introduced the classical dance number in Hindi films with her debut film Bahar (1951). Her banner year was 1949 when she was featured in over 17 films performing dances. Azoorie in the 1930s often performed item numbers Cuckoo was the next popular item dancer in the late 40s. Item numbers had been featured in Bollywood from as early as the 1930s. The trend was started by Cuckoo in films like Awaara (1951), Aan (1952) and Shabistan (1951). The vamp was portrayed as immodest rather than evil, and her dance performances were sexualized by male producers. While film heroines also sang and danced, it was the vamp who wore more revealing clothes, smoked, drank, and sang sexually suggestive lyrics. Up to the 1970s, Hindi cinema often relied on a female "vamp" character – usually playing the role of a cabaret dancer, tawaif/prostitute/ courtesan, or male gangster's moll – to provide musical entertainment deemed more risqué. In filmi Mumbai slang, the term item means a "sexy woman", thus the original sense of "item number" is a highly sensualized song with racy, dirty imagery and suggestive lyrics. However, second-generation South Asian women are more commonly featured in item numbers than men. Īn actress, singer, or dancer, especially someone who is poised to become a star, who appears in an item number is known as an item girl (there are item boys as well). It is thus a vehicle for commercial success that ensures repeat viewing. They are favoured by filmmakers as they afford the opportunity to pick potential hit songs from the stocks, since they do not add to the continuity of the plot. The main aim of an item number is to entertain movie-goers and to lend support to the marketability of the film by being featured in trailers. The term is commonly used within Indian films ( Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, Punjabi, and Bengali cinema) to describe a catchy, upbeat, often provocative dance sequence for a song performed in a movie. In Indian cinema, an item number or item song is a musical number inserted into a film that may or may not have any relevance to the plot. Actress Nathalia Kaur performing an item number in the film Department (2012)
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |