Why Are ‘Item’ Numbers Still Relevant?

Description:

The Swaddle team explores the history of 'Chaiyya Chaiyya,' Helen's cabaret dances, Madhuri Dixit ending the vamp/heroine binary, and 'feminist' item numbers, to understand whether the 'item number' can be empowering. Correction: The dates mentioned in the sources for some of the songs are inaccurate. Here are the corrected sources: At 1:07 -- Mayya Mayya (2007) At 3:11 -- Yeh Hawas Kya Hai (1974) At 5:15 -- Yaarana (1995) At 6:54 -- Mehboob Mere (2000) Research Sources: 1. The Item Number: Cinesexuality in Bollywood and Social Life by Rita Brara ( 2. Chapter 3 (Misogyny and Erotic Pleasure in Bollywood’s “Item Numbers”) in Misogyny, Toxic Masculinity, and Heteronormativity in Post-2000 Popular Music by Suman Mishra ( 3. Item Number/Item Girl by Akshaya Kumar ( 4. Film Dance, Female Stardom, and the Production of Gender in Hindi Cinema by Usha Iyer ( 5. The story behind Madhuri Dixit’s ‘Ek Do Teen’, the most famous counting exercise in Hindi film music by Scroll staff ( 6. Stardom Ke Peeche Kya Hai?/What Is behind the Stardom? Madhuri Dixit, the Production Number, and the Construction of the Female Star Text in 1990s Hindi Cinema by Usha Iyer ( 7. Of Names of Women in Hindi Cinema: An Exploration in Semantics by Anindita Ghose ( 8. What Led to the Debate on ‘Vulgarity’ in 1990s India? ft. Shohini Ghosh ( 9. The Troubled Existence of Sex and Sexuality: Feminists Engage with Censorship by Shohini Ghosh ( 10. What Is Behind Film Censorship? The Khalnayak Debates by Monika Mehta ( 11. Framing the Body and the Body of Frame: Item songs in popular Hindi cinema by Ravneet Kaur ( 12. 'Is it time to bury the item song? The answer can only be yes' by Damini Kulkarni in The Scroll ( 13. 'Are item songs passe?' by Uma Ramasubramanian in The Asian Age ( 14. Dr. Shohini Ghosh on Savita Bhabhi, Media Censorship, and Queer Cinema in India by The Swaddle team ( Credits: Edit and Motion Graphics: Bavana Gone Art Director: Neha Shekhawat Scriptwriter, Voiceover: Anahita Sachdev Sound Design & Mixing: Pranav Ratra Visual Researcher: Avishi Gupta Creative Director: Shrishti Malhotra Executive Producer: Karla Bookman Don't forget to subscribe to our channel: Check out our website: Instagram: Twitter: