Hindi films have become so synonymous with song-and-dance that it’s hard to see in your mind’s eye a Film without them. Can you think of a Bollywood film without flamboyantly choreographed song-and-dance sequences, which sometimes become more popular than the actual film, and often catapult it to success? No, would be the answer, to be honest. India has such an affluent pedigree of music culture that manifests beautifully through cinema. Throughout the history of Indian films, music has become an indispensable constituent reflecting the movie’s theme and script. Songs-and-dance based on joy, romance, love, passion, anger, motivation, patriotism and several other shades of human emotions, in permutation and combination, are seamlessly woven with the film’s premise.
Here is a look at movies which dared to take the plunge:
Ittefaq:
A 1969 movie produced by B.R. Chopra and directed by his younger brother Yash Chopra, Ittefaq stars Rajesh Khanna, Nanda, Bindu, Madan Puri, Iftekhar and is a remake of British film “Signpost to Murder” which starred Joanne Woodward. The film emerged a semi-hit at the box office and was only the fourth film ever to not have any sons. Yash Chopra, usually known for sophisticated picturization of songs in his movies, broke the style with Ittefaq. The film is narrated over the course of a stormy night with super direction and performances.
Kalyug
A modern version of Mahabharat directed by Shyam Benegal, Kalyug starred Shashi Kapoor, Rekha and Raj Babbar in important roles. Revolving around the rivalry between business houses, the film went to win several awards.
Jaane Bhi Di Yaaro
Produced by NDFC and directed by Kundan Shah, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro is a comedy film boasting an ensemble cast of Naseerudin Shah, Ravi Baswani, Om Puri, Pankaj Kapur, Satish Shah, Satish Kaushik, Bhakti Barve and Neena Gupta. The movie is a dark satire based on the widespread corruption in Indian politics, bureaucracy, news media and business. The film was not an instant success after release but was eventually recognised as a cult classic.
Kanoon
Directed by B.R. Chopra, the film stars Rajendra Kumar, Nanda, Ashok Kumar, Mehmood, Shashikala, Jeevan and Om Prakash and presents a case against capital punishment in a powering subject which left no space for songs.
Kaun
A psychological horror film directed by Ram Gopal Verma, Kaun was written by Anurag Kashyap and starred Urmila Matondkar, Manoj Bajpayee and Sushant Singh in pivotal roles. Although the film performed above average at the box office, it gained a cult classic later. Popular for his unconventional shooting style, Ram Gopal Verma moved away from Rangeela style romance to this thriller effortlessly. The entire plot of the film is so nicely interwoven keeping the audience guessing that there is no space left for songs.
Bhoot
Another Ram Gopal Verma directorial venture, Bhoot had Ajay Devgn and Urmila Matondkar playing lead roles in this supernatural horror film. It was his second one after Raat and was considered nonconforming as it did not contain any song. The film stands out for Urmila Matondkar superlative performance and won several awards that year. Among other notable features, Bhoot also set rolling a new trend of promotional song for the trailer. The sequel, however, did not do well.
Darna Mana Hai
Another exceptional and pioneering attempt of Ram Gopal Verma was Darna Mana Hai, an anthology horror film starring a host of Bollywood stars including Saif Ali Khan, Vivek Oberoi, Aftab Shivdasani, Shilpa Shetty, Sameera Reddy, Isha Koppikar, Nana Patekar, Sohail Khan, and more. The film is loosely inspired from the film “Campfire Tales” intermingling six stories into one film. The film was an eventual success and was critically acclaimed for its pioneering experiment.
A Wednesday!
A thriller film directed by Neeraj Pandey, A Wednesday stars Naseerudin Shah and Anupam Kher in important roles. The film narrates a sequence of events which unfold on a particular Wednesday between 2pm and 6pm. With remarkable performances, the film navigates effortlessly through an enthralling plot with zilch songs. The film did satisfying business and was widely appreciated by critics and audiences alike.
Bheja Fry
Bheja Fry stars Rajat Kapoor, Vinay Pathak, Sarika, Milind Soman and Ranvir Shorey in leading roles and was released on 13th April, 2007. The film was produced by Sunil Doshi and directed by Sagar Ballary on a small budget but managed to do exceedingly well at the box office.
The Lunchbox
Produced by Guneet Monga, Anurag Kashyap and Arun Rangachari, The Lunchbox is an epistolary romantic film directed by Ritesh Batra and stars Irrfan Khan, Nimrat Kaur and Nawazuddin Siddiqui in leading roles.
Being Cyrus
A stimulating plot filled with secrecy and suspense, Being Cyrus was directed by Homi Adajania and revolved around the story of a dysfunctional Parsi family. The film was Saif Ali Khan’s first venture into English and was the directorial debut of Homi Adajania. The script of the film required no songs and also held the record of the most number of nominations for a film without winning any award.
Fan
Shah Rukh Khan’s psychological thriller film proved to be a damp squid at the box office but was hailed for the performances. Produced by Aditya Chopra under the banner of Yash Raj Films, Fan was directed by Maneesh Sharma and tells the story of an obsessive fan of a film star who looks exactly like his idol. Although the film had no song, the music was composed by Vishal-Shekhar for “Jabra Fan” which was sung in 9 different versions.
Dus Kahaniyaan
This anthology film comprising ten short films narrating ten different stories was directed by six directors including Sanjay Gupta, Apoorva Lakhia, Meghna Gulzar, Rohit Roy, Hansal Mehta and Jasmeet Dodhi. Produced by Sanjay Gupta under the banner of White Feather Films, the film was declared an above average grosser at the box office and was inspired from the Hollywood movie The Ten. The movie boasted an ensemble cast of Diya Mirza, Sunil Shetty, Arbaaz Khan, Jimmy Shergill, Amrita Singh, Nana Patekar, Minnisha Lamba, Sudhanshu Pandey, Anupam Kher, Aftab Shivdasani, Naseerudin Shah, Sanjay Dutt and Manoj Bajpayee.
