how can radha not be jealous? overcoming prejudice

when i was in j1, the literature department decided to show "lagaan" for its movie week. before that, my idea of bollywood movie is very much the ignorant and offensive stereotype - couples chasing around coconut trees, endless song and dance, extremely co-ordinated dancing and people speaking in a tongue twisting language.

but somehow, i decided to go to the lt and watch "lagaan" for some unknown reason. that changed it all.

i realised that the coconut trees, like most stereotypes, are non-existent. hello? set in north india, got coast to have coconut trees meh?

i also realise that the endless song and dance are not without reason - the lyrics of the songs are filled with meanings. it's written as though as it is poetry. what took my breathe away was this "radha kaise na jale", or how can radha not be jealous number, which the two childhood sweetheart, in the context of a temple festival, use the story of krishna and his consort, radha, as a veil to discuss about the possible entry of the third party into their relationship. all the symbolism, hidden meaning and parallels, it's not just song and dance, and is actually more layered than a musical number.

as for the co-ordinated dancing, think about it - chinese have their mountain songs (山歌), where a man and a woman flirt with the help of other men and women co-ordinately. you could tell from the dance that there are mechanisms for such things happening as well.

as for the tongue twisting language, with the subtitles, it doesn't seem like a foreign or funny-sounding language anymore.

i walked out of the lt feeling impressed and stupid. impressed by the movie, stupid of the kind of ignorance and stereotypes i held. it was also the basis of my prejudices i hold on bollywood movie, which before, i have not watched a single one. how does that justify my prejudices then?

subsequently, i watched a few more bollywood movie, cause they were showing it on art central (now okto) as international film series. from the movies i've watched, all i can say is
1) i've yet to spot a single coconut tree.
2) song and dance are not without reason - usually in the context of festival and celebration, of which i was told, very much a big part of life in south asia. so how is it out of the world or unbelievable then?
3) there are song and dance scenes, especially stories based in the cities, where the couples are magically transported to another location, or have people coming out of nowhere to dance with them. think of it as a mtv or a musical number - don't we have that in western movies and musicals too?
4) although some movies can be rather escapists, the stories are just wonderful!

so what prejudice do we hold today? is it base on our own ignorance?

here's how can radha not be jealous for you