Parties and celebrations here inevitably have filmi themes. At a recent Namastey London party, for instance, women were dressed in Western attire and men in traditional Indian outfits because the film was about a rustic Punjabi falling in love with a girl born and brought up in London. "Our entire week is spent discussing the movie we have seen," says Shipra. And they don’t just talk movies, they imbibe Bollywood in the way they think, dress and speak. Kirti admits as much. "What we are, our outlook, the way we dress and talk, the way we think—it is all inspired by movies," she says.
Katrina Kaif is the role model of the moment for the entire Meerut-Muzaffarnagar-Saharanpur stretch. At Vandana Verma’s boutique Saheli, most in demand are the black sari with red border she wore in Singh Is King and her balloon-cut dress in Race. At Kishi Sharma’s She Tone beauty parlour, clients ask for Deepika Padukone’s Om Shanti Om look—bouffant hair, heavy eye makeup, pale-coloured lipstick. So what if big city Delhi is some distance away, Saharanpur is no stranger to women in capris, tunics, spaghetti tops and streaked locks. "Bollwood takes us closer to a life we aspire for," says Kirti. "It’s closing the gap."
But while Kirti is gung-ho about Bollywood coming to town, the older generation isn’t too sure. "Our villages haven’t become cities yet, but urbanisation has seeped in through Bollywood," says R.M. Tiwari, senior lecturer at Muzaffarnagar’s DAV College. Prerna Mittal, dean, faculty of education, Sri Ram College, Muzaffarnagar, is resigned. "I can’t keep such influences away from my daughter," she says. "She has to survive and succeed in this world."
In this rich but extremely conservative belt, Bollywood is also ushering in new freedoms. "Call it the Baghban effect, but I made my husband fast on Karva Chauth along with me, like Amitabh did in the film," says Shipra, explaining her little bid at gender equality. Muzaffarnagar college students Priyanshi Aggarwal and Pooja Awasthi chose Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na to introduce to their orthodox parents the mores of college life. "They got to know that we can have ‘healthy’ friendship with boys," says Priyanshi.
No wonder, Nandini Sehgal, a Bombay girl who came to settle down in Saharanpur found a new purpose in life the day she decided to offer Bollywood dance lessons. Her classes begin as early as 7.30 in the morning and go on till 9 pm. Women who throng her classes now have a new, confident body language, their time here is a welcome break from household chores. One of them is now even dreaming of auditioning for TV show Boogie Woogie.
But Bollywood is not just firing their ambitions, it’s also teaching them some of life’s lessons. "Race taught us not to trust anyone other than ourselves," says Pooja. Adds fellow student Reshu, "Guru showed us how it is okay to bribe someone as long as your work gets done."
