Bollywood Item songs: Cheeky 'fun' or something more serious?

Figures in white and of innocence

Hmmm...Bollywood. We have the highs (the debut of the one and only, green-eyed, six-fingered human angel that is Hrithik Roshan in 2000 in Kaho Naa...Pyaar Hai who is a human elastic band.) Just check out that boy-next-door smile. Why thank you. Thank you very much. *shimmies shoulders in and out*  

Aaaand...then we also have the lows. Bollywood Item Songs. *crashing thunderstorm* They really really grate my cheese. This is a recipe for a Bollywood Item Song.

 

1. Lots of men, generally in long moustaches and sweaty foreheads leering and cheering the Busty Babe on.
 
2. Said scantily-dressed Busty Babe strutting her stuff on a catwalk/stage/village clearing. In a song, she will either a) complain about her life b) sing about how sexy and unattainable she is c) make suggestive euphemisms.
 
3. Sweaty men get more excited. They clap some more. They drink some more.


YEAHH! Enjoy your tea lads. Not.

*throws shoe at T.V*
 
The main reason I am so picky about the Bollywood films I watch is because the sheer popularity of these songs just irks me. I will get to the point in the film, and then the B.I.S will start. I just find it distasteful. Perhaps it is not even the fact that it is the literal B.I.S in the film, but the principle of the male-centric gender politics, and also, the fact that some people still view it as 'normal, harmless fun.' Man= audience. Woman= entertainer. Realistically, this gender-relationship occurs in all parts of the world, and in all cultures. But that doesn't make it right, does it? Women are not Entertainers, and by the same token, it should not be 'accepted' or normalised in any way that Men ARE just these 'predator' like beings. Let's leave emancipation and issues of gender equality to one side. But what does this say about Basic. Human. Respect. I don't believe anyone, be it man or woman should be viewed as a piece of meat. It's just creepy. (Okay, I know I have a crush on Hrithik, but it's the cute type, not the MUHAHAHAAHA-ALL-MINE type)

Leer. Cheer. Leer

One case that comes to mind is the unforgettable 2012 Delhi rape. There was outrage. There were countless protests. Such passion and uproar behind this. Now I KNOW that all individuals should be responsible for their actions, but if the likes of B.I.S's and certainly other objectifying messages are going to continue to be treated in a titillating and 'exciting' manner, the message that is being portrayed is that This Behaviour Is Normal. Only it's not.
 
I'll tell you a quick anecdote. I was at a wedding, and this little girl aged 10 started giggling to her little friend next to her, saying she likes to dance like 'Sheila' when the 'Sheila Ki Jawaani' song was thumping through the speakers. Sheila. Yes. Such aspirations. *facepalm* Obviously, this little girl probably doesn't know any better, but it's sad to know that at such an impressionable age, her role model is flirty skirty Sheila, who, playing hard to get, is 'Tere haath kabhi naa aani.'
 
Which also begs the question: Why play Item songs at a wedding? It's so uncomfortable when your Mum, Dad, Aunt, Uncle, Extended Family etc etc are there, and this raunchy song is busting through the speaker. I find that weird :P Just because a sexualised song is in 'Indian', I don't see it being any more 'acceptable'!! I find it embarrassing. And...weird. Where to look? Where to look?? But seriously, imagine this situation now. You're at a wedding. And then Ciara's 'Promise' or...some other...Not Fit For Family Hearing song swells up. Imagine. *shudder*
 
Happy listening. Remember, close your eyes. You're at a wedding and your entire family is there.