Bollywood: A Blend Of Cultures

I remember the reaction of my landlord in Kolkata when I told him that I am from
Banaras, he said " tumi paan khata hai , can u bring me a Banarasi paan from
Banaras". He has never been to Banaras but he knows all about ghaat, paan,
lassi and kachori-jalebi. And the best part, he knows it all just from movies.
Over the years bollywood has introduced us to different cultures of India. We can
see it around us , after the release of Bhansali's Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam,
Dandiyaa has become a common part of Indian weddings and navaratri
celebration everywhere.
Bollywood has played pivotal role in bringing various cultures together. Various
festivals which were unique to some cultures are now being observed
everywhere. Karvachauth is a classical example of the extant of filmy influence
on Indian society, now Karvachauth is not only restricted to North Western India
and the credit for this goes to Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and Baghban. An
Indian wedding is incomplete without Punjabi Numbers from Bollywood. We have
seen how in movie Vicky Donor, Vickys Tau teaches Bhangda to Ashimas
Bengali relatives it was insanely funny, "Bhangda is very simple, wo aapke ghar
me wo bulb hota hai naa... bulb utaaro thalle rakho, bulb utaaro thalle rakho".
Apart from North India which is the heartland of Hindi, these item numbers are
even played in typical South Indian marriages. And this north meets south has
given us some of the best music fusions like Gal Mithhi Mithhi Bol song from
movie Aisha and Lungi Dance from Chennai Express where Shahrukh and
Deepika made us dance in the bathroom with our towels used as lungis, Yeah we
all did that ;-) .
We Indians love our foods and our fooding habits are also influenced by
bollywood we can now see vada pav stalls in Kolkata which would never have
happened if this particular Mumbaikar dish had not been popularised by films.
After the release of Amitabh Bachhan starring Don, Banarasi Paan has now
become a common offering of Paanwalas everywhere in India. I went to a punjabi
dhaba with a Tamil friend and we ordered Mattar Paneer, I was talking to him
during the whole meal and suddenly he quoted this dialogue from 3 idiots, " Badi
duvidha thi, dost ko sambhalte ki dost ki maa ke aasoon pochte ... phir humne
socha hatao yaar mattar paneer pe concentrate karo ". Such was his
concentration on a North Indian dish. And there is another scene from 3 idiots
where Kareena Kapoor literally introduces us to Gujarati delicacies Dhokla,
Phaphda, Handwa, and Thephla and mocks their pronunciation with dialogue, "
Aaj Bush ne Iraq pe do dhokle gira diye ". In Priyadarshan's hillarious comedy
Chup Chup ke, the scene where Rajpal Yadav's character tries to eat Gujarati
Chapatis, It can make anyone Rofl and it also reminds us to take a good dental
insurance if you are planning on shifting to Gujarat.

After the release of Sujoy Ghosh's thriller Kahaani my accountancy teacher

discovered a newfound love for Bengali red bordered sarees and she really
looked good in that. Lucknowi Chickan which was made popular by Rekha as and
in Umrao Jaan is a common sight in almost every marriages. The epic Pathani
suits worn by actors in 90s hindi movies is still replicated by men everywhere
throughout India. No one can forget the colourful Gujarati Pagadis from the
Bhansali's Ram-Leela and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and they were a trend in
shuddh desi weddings everywhere. And I laughed my gut out at the boxer scene
from movie 2 States (it was not in the multiplex version but I watched it on the
DVD) where Ananya's father drapes Krish into a Tamilian Lungi, I have never
found such an insane example of cross cultural malfunction.

Movies like 2 States and Vicky Donor are one of the best examples of integration
of different cultures. These movies are a muse for cross cultural lovers who really
establish that love is free from the barriers of language, class, religion and
cultures and Vicky Donor and 2 States proved it in a funnier way. Movies are
integrating already diverse Indian population into a new united Bollywood culture
which is a blend of different Indian Cultures.