By Bill Zeeble, KERA reporter
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-648615.mp3
Irving, Tx – Bill Zeeble, KERA reporter: For most American movie-goers, this music, and film may seem exotic. But not to natives of India and the South Asian subcontinent. The nation claims more than a dozen official languages & hundreds of dialects. Bollywood films - playing to an expanding international audience - are usually shot in one of four predominant Indian languages, with English sprinkled throughout.
Father character: You're in love. Do I know my son or what! Hindi language.
Zeeble: This film from a few years ago - Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham - is among the alltime Bollywood hits. It's a family saga in which the eldest son is disowned by the wealthy father because the young man won't marry the woman chosen for him. The inherent conflict of romance versus an arranged marriage drives the plot in many Bollywood movies. This film's love story and coming-of-age tale mixes melodrama & serious drama with elaborate, fantasy-like song-and-dance numbers and - in typical Bollywood fashion - an intermission. All these are rare in Hollywood, but not Bollywood.
Asha Tabani - If a lot of Americans watch this, they would think, what is this? This would never happen in real life.
Zeeble: Asha Tabani's in a movie theater lobby waiting to see a Bollywood film at Funasia, in Richardson. Locally, the movie chain boasts 17 Bollywood screens, some here, in Irving, and Houston. For Tabani, it's a bit of home. From Pakistan originally, the student has lived in Dallas 10 years.
Tabani: It's entertaining. Sometimes it's too much. But it's entertaining. We can identify with the culture, that's why it's entertaining. Indian movies have this sort of innocence to them. In a lot of American movies you'll see a lot of vulgar, controversial things. But Indian movies, it's more for the family. The whole family can watch, with kids and adults and it'll be entertaining for every age group.
Zeeble: Films drive South Asian pop culture, which is why Bollywood movies are the cornerstone and income generator of the Richardson-based business Funasia. The 5 year old for profit operation pays for a lot of social services for the North Texas Indian and immigrant communites. Fun Asia's co -founder and CEO, doctor Farrukh Hamid, says that was by design. The films and the Funasia-sponsored concerts, with top Indian performers - known as playback singers - because they sing the pop hits Bollywood stars lip sync, attract volunteers.
Hamid: If you ask people to come in and help out to do a social service thing, how many do you think will show up? And if you ask people to show up to a huge concert with the top stars from Bollywood, they'll come help to out. And the funds will be used for this or that. How many do you think will show up? We've never had any problem with people showing up to help with that. So it is a very important part.
Zeeble: Hamid's organization has brought in some of Bollywood's biggest musical stars, like A.R. Rahman. Called the Mozart of Madras (now known as Channai) he's compared to Star Wars composer John Williams. But Rahman might even be bigger. That's because Bollywood songs ARE the sub continent's pop music, dominating Indian radio waves. With more recording sales than the Beatles, Rahman is more like John Williams AND a superstar like Sting.
AR Rahman: Film is really big. Maybe 20 times more than a pop album.
If the film becomes a hit, its 80 times more. So proportion of what film does, that carries the music. It's unbelievable.
Zeeble: Hailed as a genius, the 41 year old composer and singer is credited with revolutionizing Indian film music by spreading it worldwide.
AR Rahman: My initial intention was to have music made from my part of the world to reach everyone. Like how I used to listen to all the western bands, like Queen, or Rush, or Dave Grusman, or John Williams, Chick Corea. I wanted our music to go to that level, where people could enjoy the intricacies of us too.
Zeeble: These days, Rahman's music and other Bollywood songs are SO big,, they're released in advance of the movie, to promote it.
MUSIC
This song's been out for weeks. It's one of many from the huge Indian release Om Shanti Om, that just opened worldwide - including here in Richardson, on the same day as the significant religious festival day called Deepavali or Divali, a festival of lights.
Bollywood films, like their music, are also becoming more popular worldwide. They capture South Asian culture and so carefully observe ratings guidelines that entire extended families will show up to see a film. Fun Asia's Doctor Hamid says movie makers aim to deliver a product with broad appeal.
Hamid: It's the expectation that you'll see new dresses, lots of colorful saris, and see all this music and songs and that's part of the entertainment. That's also the reason for the length of the movie - that you get your money's worth. It's still, in parts of the east, people need something to kill time. They want to go to a movie and have 3 hours of entertainment and another hour of conversation ABOUT the movie to kill time. Its entertainment. They get their money's worth.
Zeeble: In North Texas, tens of thousands spend money at Funasia, which Hamid says pulled in 2 million dollars last year, before expanding into Houston. Patrick Corcoran, with the National Association of Theater Owners, says Bollywood pictures often fly under the radar. But based on impressive numbers, he suspects the films are reaching more than just South Asians.
Patrick Corcoran, National Association of Theater Owners> The Bollywood influence is picking up a bit. I've sort of been aware of, the way it sort of percolates along which, you know, movies I never heard of and then I go how did that make 3 million dollars? Sort of catches you by surprise
Zeeble: Freelance Bollywood journalist David Chute, in Los Angeles, isn't that surprised. He's followed the industry for years and says, with the growth of digital technology and subtitled DVD's, numbers of Indian films viewers - especially among South Asian transplants - will keep growing.
David Chute, journalist: . More people are living in cities, many middle class, urban, westernized, on deeper levels than we realize. Many young people go out and don't expect to live in the same house. Not anymore.
Zeeble: Chute expects to see that Indian immigrant focus grow in new Bollywood story lines. He also expects more and more U.S. natives to catch on to Bollywood productions. Bill Zeeble KERA news.
Bzeeble@Kera.Org