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OPINION: Do dance numbers like Kissik from Pushpa 2: The Rule still contribute to a movie's success and appreciation?
Filmmakers continue to use dance numbers in movies featuring leading actresses. Does this technique still hold relevance to a film’s success?
Pushpa 2: The Rule is undoubtedly emerging as one of the most successful ventures in cinema this year, with an astounding run at the box office. However, the movie was previously criticized for its dance number Kissik, which featured actress Sreeleela in a cameo appearance.
Despite the song becoming an earworm for many, it was continuously compared with the dance number Oo Antava from Pushpa: The Rise, which featured Samantha Ruth Prabhu. However, does such a technique of using dance numbers with popular actresses still hold prominence to a movie's success, especially one headlined by a star like Allu Arjun?
Impact of dance numbers on cinema
Dance numbers, which are often also called item numbers, have been in the Indian cinema industry since the 1930s, when women were made to wear revealing clothes. While in the early days, the trend was popularized by forgotten dancer-actress Cuckoo Moray from the 1950s, the same has continued over the years.
With the transition taking place across the so-called “item” dance numbers being done by certain actresses or dancers only, it later became a trend that was taken up by leading actresses themselves. However, this trend seems to be getting more and more saturated with each passing venture, with certain dance numbers being stuffed down the audiences’ throats, incoherent with the screenplay.
Why has the trend of such dance numbers become prevalent in movies, sometimes becoming quite a hindrance to storytelling? While this remains true in certain films, some creators even opt to add dance numbers as an addition to the film’s post-credit, irrelevant to the movie itself.
Check out the song Kissik from Pushpa 2: The Rule:
One of the most prominent reasons for the same to still prevail might go hand in hand with the reception such songs still get in society. Even in modern discourse or debates on social media, it can be easily understood that the appeal of such dance numbers still carries weight for the Indian audience.
The concept of such dance numbers is mostly found in Indian movies, with the general affection of audiences for these conceptual scenes still lingering on. The appeal these songs provide, being popular among the masses, can be witnessed at the rate at which such ventures go viral across the internet.
While item numbers are generally defined as songs that might have a man or a woman, they are usually portrayed by women in most commercial cinemas across the country. The concept of such songs resonates beyond regional borders and can be witnessed in industries including Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Bollywood, Kannada, and more.
The popularity of the same can be another point to how such songs are still impactful amongst people, turning their use to more about marketing a movie. In many instances, a movie is sold to the masses keeping this factor in mind. Many movies are presented to the public with the use of such appealing dance numbers that some audience members might walk in just to watch this particular song.
Many would have arguments about the same, either being a suggestive take on portraying a character or some validating it as a form of expression. Be it either way, such a dance number still proves to boost the box office by becoming crowd-pullers, especially with masala movies.
Now, such an impact is not limited to the songs being just catchy or being highly visual in representation and choreography but also matters to the star power an actor or actress holds. While in the early stages of the trend, this may have differed; now, most dance numbers that are a hit turn out to be done by actresses who hold significant star power, be it Tamannaah Bhatia in Jailer’s Kaavaalaa or be it the simple belly dance routine by Pooja Hegde in Beast.
Watch Kaavaalaa from Jailer here:
Understanding all these influences, the marketing needs for movies, and the impact created by the actress with such songs, does every commercial movie require something of the same to become a hit?
Are dance numbers still relevant in Indian cinema?
If the question of whether movies require such dance numbers is asked, then it would easily become a hard no. If a film can pull in a star actor to a larger-than-life avatar, riding on a well-made script, then the impact of such dance numbers would easily diminish.
However, whether such dance numbers are still enjoyed by audiences is asked, then yes, the same still remains relevant even in the 2020s. While the majority of Indian audiences, especially those who are well-versed in world cinema, watch something like this, they are undeterred by its impact and focus more on what the film has to offer from a storytelling perspective.
While such dance numbers often offer a steady break from the storyline of the movie while keeping the audience engaged, it would be unjust to say that they do not objectify the actresses. The dance numbers often diminish the artists to become mere eye candy to be enjoyed by the viewers, taking away the entertainment factor.
This may be countered by certain filmmakers by saying that even in suggestive surroundings the song provides a critique of human nature, but the impact remains the same, at least on a particular percent of viewers.
Despite such an understanding in many audiences and filmmakers, eventually, the cycle of the same trend would continue even for days to come unless and until it loses its prominence altogether. However, such a feat seems farfetched as of now, despite larger-than-life films like KGF: Chapter 2, RRR, and Salaar: Part 1 not relying on such trends and still emerging as successes.
On the other hand, there have been instances in films where such songs depict a progression in the film or add a certain value to the screenplay. Such instances are rather scarce to come by in movies, leaving them as just exceptions in a large array of potboilers.
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