Graduation Year
Spring 2013
Document Type
Open Access Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Dance
Reader 1
Ronnie Brosterman
Reader 2
Piya Chatterjee
Terms of Use & License Information
Rights Information
© 2013 Avantika Saraogi
Abstract
This thesis deals with the “item number” genre of Bollywood song and dance sequences. I argue that the item song has evolved from a combination of the historically rich culture of prostitution in old India and the western influence of modern times; and that it contributes highly to the male dominated patriarchal society perpetuated by Hindi films by means of the voyeuristic male gaze and objectification of the female body. In conjunction with this research I choreographed a dance called Item No. 3 that was performed in Scripps Dances 2013. A discussion of the significance and decisions behind the choreography is also included in this written document. A record of the performance as available on DVD through the Scripps College Dance Department or at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVNztFuezEc.
Recommended Citation
Saraogi, Avantika, "The Bollywood Item Number: From Mujra to Modern Day Ramifications" (2013). Scripps Senior Theses. 215.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/215
Included in
Art Practice Commons, Dance Commons, Dramatic Literature, Criticism and Theory Commons, Film and Media Studies Commons, Other Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, Performance Studies Commons, Women's Studies Commons
