Blog: Scantily clad females + loud music = item numbers 
By IndiaFM News Bureau, February 1, 2007 - 02:48 IST
Today, the item numbers in a film dictate the way the film goes, these have become an inseparable of modern day movie making in India – returns in the box office are directly dependant on the sizzling numbers where scantily clad females gyrate to loud music and the vocal element is lent by singers who want to feel they are on the journey to win MTV awards or hope to land a Grammy.
The earliest recollections one has of item numbers are the dance numbers of Helen – the display of her fantastic talents in the block buster Sholay stands out tall. It was in keeping with the storyline where dacoits were involved – it was a sort of entertainment for the folks who were outcasts in society and lived and died by the gun, hence did not appear to be out of place. Then there was that beauty of her dance number in Inteqam. Most of the sizzlers were done by a select band of artists and the dance items would usually have night clubs as backdrop to justify their inclusion. Madhuri Dixit probably was an exception; she was the heroine of the film where she did that memorable number ‘Choli key peechey kya hai?’ in Khalnayak. It is a different matter that she was supposed to be a protector of the law and that she donned the disguise to lure the bad man Sanjay Dutt to his doom. Another number that readily comes to mind is Sridevi in Chalbaaz where, covered in a see-through plastic raincoat, she dances in the rain.
Today, the video of the item number is released in the market long before the actual film is released. This is to create hype and attract as many eyeballs as possible prior to the actual launch. Marketing strategists believe that such hard selling improves the chances of breaking even and, if these click with the audience, translates into good investment. Simultaneously, up and coming damsels grab the resultant opportunities to make dents in Bollywood. It would be an interesting exercise to find out how the term ‘item number’ was coined and exactly when these gained acceptance and started to become an integral part of popular films.
Prabir Ghose’s blog can be accessed at http://prabir-ghose.sulekha.com/
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