The Churn in Entertainment Biz

As i stare comatose at the music channel, i cant help but admire the guts of father-son duo in YPD. Their decision to dance at a terrible set of a roadside dhaba, with laddies n lads prancing around in clothes best not worn at dhabas, gives us major insight into how they have the "pulse of the market". (If you don't know what song i am talking abt, pls look up the video of : Tinku Jiya.)
Remember watching old movies and the jhalla people who formed the mob in the dance sequences? There were never good-looking people in those "extras" and no one expected them to be stunning. No matter how hard i try, i cant think of anyone worth a second glance, except for the girl in bob-cut and horizontal stripes ganji, sitting behind Neetu Singh in "Parda hai parda" from Amar Akbar Anthony, and she was only sitting, not dancing. (Yes, i know... Judge me all you want...)
When i see background dancers in a YRF or KJo or Nadiadwala movie, i cant help but wonder what happened to the plain-jane, roadside looking mob that was a trademark of our dance sequences till the 80s? When exactly did we lose the average looking folks and replace them with these calendar girls, with tip top bodies, faces that could light up a night?
I cannot help but credit our PM for this effect. The post liberal economy not only sold India to the FII, it also sold India to Indians or India to the Bharat. And what better platform than the Commercial Hindi Movies?? In the post-liberal economy, with all international brands within reach, a string of beauty queens, glossy films and glossier magazines, we learnt to dream, we wanted to dream. We wanted to look good. We wanted the people on screen to look good too. There was a boom in beauty business. Gyms sprang up. Dance classes mushroomed. Now there is a salsa class in back of beyond taluka place too - and that is the wonder of liberal economy.

Much of this on-screen coup was actually a revolution led by Shaimaks dance academy where all hotties lined up - primarily to get a break on stage / screen. I think that did the average looking folks in. Once the film industry realised that the extras can be "upmarket" looking people, the "desi" appearing extras were thrown out of mob sequences. Our maid in the NNP, Goregaon east 1RK pad could easily have passed off as a dancer in the 80s or even early 90s. You know the ones in frocks, doing some version of cha-cha-cha? However, cos of this upheaval she ended up getting the "running scared" mob parts in Shaktimaan (when evil Samrat Kilvish attacks) for 250 bucks a shift. There were whole lot of struggling people in the NNP housing scheme and when i think of them in hindsight, i realise they didnt stand a chance to compete with the posh kids. After all, first impressions go a long way when you are casting 30-40 random dancers.

Think abt it... How many times have you been partial to someone who was more presentable? Or unfair to someone who was little unpleasant to look at?? Our filmwalahs are after all human :)

Well, we also have some terrible looking actors who made it to the silver screen and in lead roles too, thanks to their brother, fathers, mothers, uncles. They are exceptions and let them be.

The other side of the story is, the SEC A+ type kids awakening to the possibilities in film career. So what if its for filling in the background? Bollywood suddenly became fashionable. It was fine to work in the film industry. They did their annual foreign trips with the film crew instead of family holidays. Nothing changed for them, except some more pocket money.
As i look at the item girl and her firang troupe in YMD cant help but think, where did all the average looking people go? Which mob sequence do they dance in? Or run in? What do they do with their "Junior artist" card that doesnt give them those appearances anymore??