So you think you can dance Bollywood ishtyle?

Just came across this from the So You Think You Can Dance show on Fox. Apparently two of the contestants got to learn and perform a bollywood song: Dhoom Tana from Om Shanti Om. Here's the clip from the show:

And here's the song in the film Om Shanti Om:

You gotta love it! :)

White Bollywood Backup Dancers

So Bollywood movies have always had a dance number - where you get a whole bunch of backup dancers to the main leads. This is similar to dance numbers in musicals or on music videos. What's funny is that in the old days most of these backup dancers used to be Indian. But now in almost every Bollywood film more and more of these backup dancers (esp female) are white.

This is an interesting development. Since it didn't just happen in one movie and stop. It started somewhere and continues to this day in almost every movie.

So why is that?

Here are some of my hypotheses:

1) Since more and more Bollywood movies are set abroad - it may seem more "natural" that when the hero and the heroine spontaneously bust into a dance song - that they pull passers-by into their in-the-moment routine. And since they are in Canada, Australia, England, Switzerland, New Zealand or South Africa - the dancers tend to be representative of the country where the characters are.

So the thinking must be that an Indian hero dancing w/ an Indian heroine with a bunch of white people dancing behind them is more realistic than an Indian hero dancing w/ an Indian heroine with a bunch of Indian dancers behind them in a foreign location. Just some sarcasm ;)

2) More likely I think this is economics at work. Flying cast and crew to foreign locations is still a very expensive proposition for Bollywood films. Esp as many of the costs are incurred in a foreign currency. Now as the production manager is determining whom to take - he/she probably has some budgetary limitations to be met. So this is a good place to cut - even though to hire foreign dancers may be more expensive than hiring indian dancers - when you add the airfare and hotel and other logistics costs - the foreign dancers are a more efficient option. And they seem more "realistic" per #1.

3) My third hypothesis is somewhat cultural in nature. A culture that was dominated by a white race for almost 200 years finds reason to show off a position of strength. Sometimes this may come across by Indian men who may have a white girlfriend or a wife. Esp in Bollywood films that may be targeting a broad and diverse Indian population - there is some sense of strength in a man who has white chicks dancing behind him and to his tune. (Interestingly enough though, often the guy who is shown w/ a white girlfriend is the bad one - the one w/ moral weaknesses and a strong and ugly love for money. But being with the white woman is different from just having them dancing behind you, right?)

Those are the thoughts that come to mind. Can you think of any other reasons?

Dallas Historical Society Award for my father-in-law: Raj Seekri

The Dallas Historical Society has announced the recipients of the 2008 awards for Excellence in Community Service. Amongst the winners is my dear father-in-law: Raj Seekri. Here's a blurb from today's Dallas Morning News:

For Education-Teacher:

Raj Seekri. As a former teacher of mathematics at Eastfield College and as an adjunct professor at the University of Texas at Dallas, he now serves as a full-time professor of mathematics at Richland College, where he is held in highest regard by administrators, colleagues and students. As one of his many admiring students has written, "His ability to translate the difficult subject of mathematics is surpassed only by his deep and devoted love for his students."

Congratulations to Daddy. A well-deserved honor.

Here's to many more teachers who inspire us to strive for more and more.