Ollywood to shake a leg for item songs

It’s a season of great footwork. If cricketers and even cheerleaders are trying to get their footwork right on the field during the IPL matches, item girls from various Indian film industries are leaving no stone unturned in getting their steps right, while they gyrate to chart-busters. If Mallika Sherawat raised the oomph quotient in “Tezz”, Kareena Kapoor is now gearing up for the item song — “Halkat jawani” — in “Heroine”.
Ollywood, of course, is not too far behind when it comes to wooing their audience with their own Munnis and Sheilas. But are these item numbers in Odisha managing to draw the audience to the theatres?
While directors in Bollywood have never done item numbers in a movie, Ollywood chose to be different when in the title song of “Chanda Na Tume Tara”, the director-turned-choreographer appeared himself wearing the famous ‘Chulbul Pandey’ costume!
When asked about this trend, Sudhakar Basant says, “Item songs are highly in demand in Odia films now. But the song sequences are mostly copied from Hindi movies. The aim is to entertain the audience and nothing else. Once the audience is entertained, it will ensure that the cash registers jingle. Since the Odia film industry is dependent on the common people, having an item number is a sure shot way to pull the audience to the theatres. Chulbul Pandey’s character is very popular and, hence, I thought that using that look will help me entertain the crowd even further.”
Says music director Manmath Mishra, who has worked in more than 30 Odia films, “The item songs are mainly for the front benchers who enjoy them thoroughly. In commercial Odia movies, the common people sometimes come to watch a movie just to see the sizzling item songs. The moment the item girl appears on screen, whistles rent the air. In the film, “Pagal Premi”, there were many good songs. But the item number, “Ooo mane utarkul, B mane Balasore”, broke all records.”
But this concept of having an item number in an Odia film may not be a novel idea as in 1968, actor Parvati Ghosh’s “Stree” had a nightclub song in it, which had the actor dancing to the number — “Jhumi jhumi ase aakhi”.
In the same year, two more item numbers titled “Hema harini mathara mani” and “Bandhu chhii chhii marana laje gali sari” had been included in the Nitai Palit’s “Kiea Kahara”.
Sandhya Mukherjee, Nirmala Mishra and Sipra Bose had lent their voice to these songs. “Samaya” (1975), the first partially-coloured Odia film, also had an item song called “Rimi jhimi to maja” that was sung by none other than Asha Bhonsle. In those films, the item songs were mostly performed by courtesans, dancing for a rich patron. Otherwise, it would be a part of a cabaret show.
However, the trend has gone for a radical change. Contemporary item songs are often unrelated to the main cast or the plot of the film. As Odia item numbers are used mainly for promotional purposes, the songs are allowed to have little or no relation with the original script.
While item songs were frowned upon by the traditional Odia audience in yesteryears, today, people take it for granted that a commercial Odia movie will have an item number. Even Ollywood’s heroines don’t hesitate to feature in item songs. That could be a result of the memorable incident that occurred during the making of “Hari Bhai Harena” (2004), when director Raju Mishra ushered in a change in Odia cinema by introducing lead actor Pinky Pradhan in an item number.
Director Susant Mani also took a bold step by introducing actor Namarata Thappa in an item number for his film, “Abhimanyu” (2009). The song was in Sambalpuri language and nobody expected it to be this famous.
Today, this song has replaced the most popular Sambalpuri folk song “Rangabati...rangabati” even at wedding processions. According to the director, “The common people in Odisha come to watch movies with a jubilant mood. The foot-tapping dance numbers match their moods perfectly. That’s why these songs are so popular now.” But unlike other Odia directors, Mani thinks, it is essential for the item numbers to be linked with the main story. Otherwise, the audience feel disoriented.”
Actor Sambhavana Seth had performed an item song in the movie, “Love dot com”. Bidyutsmita has also done an item number in the film, “Chocolate”. A new Sambalpuri item number, “Mor jawani sola saal, dune dinke mui asambhal, mote karide tor bodyguard”, has been added in the recently released “Emiti Be Prem Huea”. This song is performed by Odia actor Lovely, who had earlier performed in a hit item song, “Lal taha taha”, in “Loafer”.
Ashok Pati’s forthcoming film, “Shapath”, has an item song, “Mui ta ram piyari”, which was picturized on the lead actor, Namrata Thappa. Says Pati, “I think, there is no such thing in a film called item song. It’a name that has been popularized by Bollywood. In my opinion, any dance sequence should be linked to the main story. It helps in the progress of the plot.”
A more recent trend these days is to feature a Bollywood starlet in an Odia item song. Basant did just that when he got Kashmira Shah along with Anubhav Mohanty to feature in “Kanta lagi chiri gala lo kunira ghagara” for “Kiese Dakuchhi Kouthi Mote”.
Finally, it’s all about doing all it takes to set the box office ringing. If that means shaking a leg to great music, so be it.
Ashok Palit