Awara

http://www.covershut.com/cover-tags/Awaara-1951.html

Bollywood cinema is not completely new to me.  I have been exposed to some of the culture surrounding Bollywood, specifically the musical aspect of it from a childhood friend.  I wasn't at all surprised when there was randomly a hundred women dancing strangely through the hills.

http://www.popscreen.com/v/6TAHw/Ghar-aaya-mera-pardesi-Awara1951

Whether or not Awara is a musical is questionable.  I suppose it depends on by whose terms we are asking.  American cinema very rarely has choreographed musical numbers unless it is a musical.  You wouldn't just see people break out into elaborate synchronized dance moves in The Notebook (that's pretty melodramatic right?), but you would in Grease, and the songs would further the plot or character development.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6z-bmG6YeE

In Bollywood films, it seems pretty typical to have fantastic musical numbers in the middle of a scene.  There is nothing special about Raj sharing a little jig with the audience to inform us that he's a tramp, when it comes to Bollywood cinema.  If the judge would have sentenced him to three years in prison in the middle of doing the splits and belting some falsetto, then there would be more evidence backing it as a musical.  As it is I don't think the scenes were pivotal enough in the development of the plot or of the characters to take it from just normal Bollywood, to straight up musical splendor.

To our eyes, Awara may seem like a musical, but the frequency of songs are not convincing enough and do not come at critical enough moments in the plot to convince me that it is worthy of the genre of musical.

http://staticmass.net/world/awara-1951-movie-review/

p.s.

SO MANY ANGRIES IN THIS SCENE! AH!

p.p.s.

Caps lock means I yelled that and, also, probably yelled at the movie.