Insta(nt) Gratification of Music Videos
– Rishika Badhe,
SY BSc. Economics (2023-27).
Estimated Reading Time ~ 3 minutes
I recently watched Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, or K3G as it is more famously known, for probably the zillionth time (I would totally understand if you judged me right now; it’d be weird if you didn’t). Now besides me bawling my eyes out and my dad giving me the ‘side-eye’, one thing caught my attention; the music videos. Bole Chudiyan has 2000s Kareena Kapoor giving over-exaggerated expressions as was her forte. Along with her, all the background dancers were embellished with colourful clothes and ornaments. Fast-forwarding to 2024, we have Triptii Dimri dancing in an eccentric way, to put it kindly, with the background dancers almost being camouflaged. Music videos (MVs) have undoubtedly come a long way.
Bollywood has usually made MVs to complement the movie that the song is in. Songs like Aaj ki Raat, Sajna Ve Sajna and Mere Mehboob follow the same mundane lighting, repetitive steps, and sudden camera cuts. But why has such a shift occurred? The answer lies in the collective addiction of almost all of GenZ: Instagram.
Instagram has evolved as a marketing tool over the years. Directors have started viewing effective marketing as making sure everyone’s Instagram feed is saturated with the same song with those same repetitive steps ensuing a trend that will eventually take over. The steps are choreographed such that it fits the vertical frame that is our mobile phone. This restricts creativity and leads to repetitiveness, which predictably, is what the algorithm loves. This can be considered the reason why I found Tamannaah’s Aaj ki Raat and Kaavaala to be so similar.
It does not just stop at the trendy yet iterative hook steps and repetitive music beats. Reel-editing techniques are used to increase the appeal of the song. This implies that the same techniques that make viral (dare I say, minimalistic) dances look better on your phone are now being used to replicate this effect in music videos as well. It goes to show how profiting off everyone’s short attention span is becoming easier and easier. Not only does this create a new benchmark for music which will force artists to stray from their distinctive style but also compel them to helplessly submit to these new standards.
Time travelling back to 2007 when Farah Khan gave us an absolute banger of a movie and marked the debut of the versatile Deepika Padukone by directing Om Shanti Om. The show-stopper music video of that film, Deewangi Deewangi, is nothing less of art. She incorporates other films like Main Hoon Na, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham by including elements unique to these films. Personally, this gave me a more ‘oh-it’s-like-I-know-these-people’ experience which only elevated the song-listening experience. Every time I listen to this song, I visualize the various actors dancing which just emphasises the whole point of why the music video is made in the first place. A special mention to Dhoom Taana from the same movie where Farah Khan seamlessly incorporates actors like Sunil Dutt, Jitendra and Rajesh Khanna.
Needless to say, Music Videos have evolved and rightly so; movies are trying to keep up with dynamic times and want to adapt in order to maximise their profits. But is this change the most optimal one? Well of course not. The recent videos are remembered not because they are exceptional but because one look at it and the only thought was, ‘what did I just watch?’ So the next time you dance along to a viral bollywood song, you might as well be dancing along to the algorithm.
Loved the article 🫶