The answer to what role do item numbers play in a movie is simple. It is just a 5 minute menace having no relation with the rest of the movie but does increase the amount which the movie earns. In a usual item number, there is usually a young famous actress giving a special appearance by wearing a certain number of clothes which normal people find less in number and size. If not this then for no reason the macho hero of the movie gets drunk and starts to rip apart his shirt and dance to the worldly limits. Usually, the item numbers are based on the theme of getting wasted with some unknown girl. In any Bollywood movie, involving an item number, the whole movie makes great sense except for the item song.
The law cannot prohibit someone from making a catchy tune as it would be against his fundamental right but what I am trying to say is that the catchy tune can be made with cinematography of better things rather than some top-notch topless hero or heroine dancing with some drunk guy in a bar in a kinky way. Item numbers have known to cause only noise pollution and promote the use of alcohol in the past few years and believe it or not it will help if government bans item numbers in Bollywood movies. By removing 5 minutes of increased money inflow causing menace won’t even compromise the story of the movie. It is just that then lesser number of 5 year-olds will be singing songs like “I too sexy for for mai tere hath na aani.”
The only possible outcome of banning such unnecessary songs would a positive one by not letting people sing themselves to be some Munni who got defamed for his darling. The argument for put a bar on some director’s right to produce an item song is simple that it will be a reasonable restriction by the government to put a ban on item songs as a good item song cannot make a bad film a hit (We all know how Tees Maar Khan was.). It hasn’t even sent a good message ever so if restriction is put on such a part of the movie it can be called to be a reasonable one.
The lyrics have gone from bad to worse with every item number hitting the charts every week. Banning item numbers will promote better lyric writing rather than production of crappy music that sells.
About the Author
He is pursuing five year integrated law program from National Law University, Odisha at Cuttack.