Item numbers in mainstream Indian Cinema: Compulsion or an aberration?

They came, they danced, and they conquered… Munni, Sheila and Babli have now entered people's homes, clubs, hearts... Item Numbers have become so integral to our films that we cannot even think of Bollywood without them. However beyond this glossy sheen, it would project to a mature mind what is so wrong with its very fundamentals. Indian films have featured item songs from long since 1951, the first one being Vayjayantimala's "Mann dole mera tan dole" (Nagin)

Soon, Item numbers evolved through the History of Indian Cinema in three phases:

• The vamp and the heroine
• The merging of the two
• Birth of the item girl

With time the setting turned lavish, costumes became glamorous and the whole process of picturisation had a sense of grandiose. One of the major factors that contributed to these changes was the Globalisation/Liberalisation wave of the 1990s. Profit making became the sole purpose behind producing a film. Art forms like films were rather seen from a consumerist point of view thereby aestheticism was brought down to the level of consumerism. Film makers started cashing in on this attitude and produced films on similar lines. This introduced the Western thought of the modern woman as liberal and bold. Market of item songs is now dominant by the "queens" of Bollywood. Actresses like Deepika Padukone, Katrina Kaif, Priyanka Chopra and Kareena Kapoor have all done item songs.

One thing remains constant - Item songs are picturised on women, or rather on their bodies, and with the passage of time this focus has become sharper, pronounced, and bolder. Item songs are picturised in a way that it appeals to men. They show the way men perceive or want to perceive women and the female sexuality. Laura Mulvey in her essay "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema"(1975) explains the concept of "Male gaze". She describes Male Gaze as the tendency of a visual narrative to assume a male viewpoint, and in particular their tendency to present female characters as subjects of male visual appreciation. Camera work and angles, direction, choreography, setting, use of euphemism in lyrics of the song: all work together to bring out and accentuate the female body.

For instance, an idea that a woman is at total ease and enjoying herself while dancing with a group of men, usually drunk who are trying to woo her and reach her, is quite ridiculous. Male gaze is problematic, not only because it projects a very illusionistic and sexually negative portrait of women, but also because it also in a way supports and promotes a patriarchal society. So, all these visuals are mostly made from the point of view of and for the pleasure of the male sex. This objectification and commodification is majorly done through visual aid. The item songs of Bollywood, though not very open to nudity and sex, are somewhat crass and voyeuristic in nature. Commodification of female sexuality is not only done through the visuals but also through the music and lyrics of the item songs. Use of degrading names, ideas, and phrases along with sexually suggestive lyrics is common. Such as "Main toh tandoori murgi hoon yaar, gatkale saiyyan alcohol se" (Fevicol se from Dabbang 2), "Pallu ke niche chipake rakha hai, utha du to hungama ho" (Aa re pritam pyare from Rowdy Rathore), "Laila teri lut legi, tu likh ke lele" (Laila from Shootout at Wadala).

However, item songs have now been naturalised in our society. Despite the item songs being highly illusionistic and vulgar, our society does not find anything wrong with it. Item songs are today as much a part of our film industry as mythical tales are of religion. They have had an impact on gender roles and also how it evolved over time. Item songs affect not only how a man sees a woman but also how a woman sees herself and how a woman sees other women. Item songs have projected an image of a woman whose major priority in life is to doll-up, to beautify herself to please men. More often than not, the item girl is portrayed as a shallow woman. And for men, the image of machismo is projected, the one who is carefree and the controller.

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