The Cultural Significance of Rasa and Darshan in Bollywood

This anthropology essay delves into the concepts of Rasa and Darshan, central to Indian cinema, also known as Bollywood. It traces their origins in Vedic and mythological literature, explaining Rasa as the essence of performance and Darshan as the art of spectatorship. The essay examines how these principles influence contemporary Bollywood, analyzing the eight rasas and their portrayal in films, particularly in song and dance sequences. It discusses the evolution of Darshan, from religious viewing to cinematic engagement, and how filmmakers utilize these concepts to connect with audiences. The essay also highlights the contributions of key figures in Indian cinema who have shaped the performance of Rasa and Darshan. By examining the cultural significance of these concepts, the essay provides insights into the enduring appeal and evolution of Indian cinema.

Running Head: ANTHROPOLOGY ESSAY
Anthropology Essay
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1ANTHROPOLOGY ESSAY
Introduction
The roots of Indian music and art are deep and its origin can be taken from the Vedas and
Upanishads itself which have a proper spiritual and scientific meaning. The concept of Rasa and
darshan are derived from the Vedas which have elaborated them and made them an integral part
of life of the Vedic people. As it is known India is the fountain of culture and many concepts
have been taken from its mythological and Vedic literature which are now seen and applied in
modern context (Bhattacharya 2017). The following essay discusses the concepts of Rasa and
darshan which are said to be the arts of performance and spectatorship specific to Indian cinema
which is also called Bollywood. The following essay comprises of detailed discussion about
Rasa which is the basic essence of everything which maybe food devotional songs dance
performance or theatre acting. The essay also comprises of analysis of Darshan which is the art
of spectatorship and is also termed to be the art of getting viewed and viewing a performance.It
has been observed that the dance and song performances in the contemporary Bollywood movies
are derived from the concepts of Rasa and Darshan which makes it the foundation stone of every
art practice applied in the contemporary Bollywood (Bhushan 2017).There is no doubt that the
concepts have been modified and have evolved according to the demands of the spectators but it
is also true that the basic fundamentals of art performances remains the same.
RASA
The concept of Rasa is an ancient one it is very simple what is misinterpreted and
misunderstood by many entities of global art. Rasa is described as something which is tasted
with enjoyment. If anything gives pleasure by watching tasting or doing then that phenomena is
called Rasa. In many texts it has been described that in the preparation of food to make it tasty
the cook puts many spices and condiments which makes the food enjoyable in the same way

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Rasa is something which when added to a performance gives pleasure to the spectator (Eck
1985). When eating a food item a person feels different tastes of the ingredients and There comes
a sense of satisfaction in the same way sensitive spectators who have the idea of the art and who
know how the performance should be done enjoy different emotions and expressions which are
conveyed through words and gestures by the actors on a stage or on a film screen. According to
Indian ancient texts on arts and performance Rasa has been described as the juice or the essence
of an art which was later change to flavor which a spectator feels when he gets connected with
the art performance.
Rasa has been mainly described as the feeling and the sense of psychological and
physiological nature which is invoked for the characters that are performing and it is believed
that the spectators develop a sense of sympathy and attraction towards the actors who are
performing (Gupta 2017). Rasa is generated through physical movements which are specifically
some gestures that create mental and physical sensations among the spectators. In Indian
theatrical industry especially in the Natyashastra, combination of skillful movements, quality of
the voice and expressions when taken collectively give a proper structure to the Rasa.These are
the ingredients which makes the concept of Rasa holistic can give a proper meaning to it. But
mixing all these ingredients does not give proper justification to the Rasa (Haq 2017). There is a
need of a sensitive spectator who can experience the flavor of Rasa and that spectator should be
knowledgeable and a connoisseur of the respective art which is performed. Again the mixing of
these ingredients of Rasa should be in a proper way which is mentioned in the ancient text of
Indian art and culture performance.It was debated that the actors who are performing on the stage
cannot experience Rasa. It was clarified that to experience Rasa there should be a spectator
which must be at a certain distance from the stage so that an aesthetic feeling can be developed

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in the mind of the spectator who can completely see the entire art performance without which
Rasa is incomplete (Jain 2003). It is difficult to understand the mind of the spectator when he
experiences Rasa as there is a sense of ecstasy and a sense of meta self which is created by the
colorful lucrative scenes which are shown on the stage which creates a feeling of euphoria in the
mind of the spectator.
RASA and Contemporary Bollywood
The concept of Rasa came from the literary work known as Natyashastra written by
Bharata Muni which is a scripture of the science of drama which has been adopted for the
purpose ofEntertainment.It is evident that the entire Indian cinema is based on the concept of
experiencing every aspect of Rasa. All the Indian cinemas are made in such a way that its
spectators experience the display of every minute figment of Rasa which makes the performance
in the Indian cinema in synchronization with the concept of Rasa (Kapur 1990). The actors of the
Indian cinema have a tendency to express their emotions which are to make a connection with
the minds of the audience and each character is structured in such a way that it portrays the
concept of Rasa. Every dance performance or an emotional or violent scene have an impact on
the minds of the spectators which creates the sense of Rasa which is written in the
Natyashastra.There are 8 rashes in total which collectively aims to give the character of the
cinema deep meaning which appeals to the story line of the cinema in context with the
performance of Rasa (Mahadevan and Jain 2017).The rasas have a very prominent role in the
Indian cinema which give a meaning to the performances of the characters. Shringara is about
the beauty faithfulness devotion and love which is always a prominent role given to the female
character of the cinema. Veer Rasa signifies the courage, vigor, strength and pride and is trait of
a proud and chivalrous hero and its character is given to the male lead actor in the cinema.

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Indian cinema has been more melodramatic and emotion oriented from the beginning
which is due to the characteristics of rasas which are mainly centered to be stereotypical and
gives exaggerated expressions and manners to the characters who are playing different roles in
the cinema who are playing different roles in the cinema (Morcom 2017). According to the
Natyashastra, rasas are the only and the most basic concept on which all the dance performances
and songs are based in the Indian cinema. From the origin of Indian cinema in early nineties song
and dance performances have played a very pivotal role in establishing the viewer and
spectatorship especially in India and even abroad. There have been many pioneers of song and
dance performances which have made their mark in history. Some vocalists are Lata
Mangeshkar, Mohammad Rafi, Kishore Kumar and Manna Dey who have pioneered the concept
of Rasa and have given innumerable examples of aesthetic pleasures which can be obtained from
Rasa (Mukherjee 2017). Contemporary movies of famous directors such as Yash Chopra, Karan
Johar, and Sanjay Leela Bhansali have changed the trend of performance of Rasa. They have
taken all the 8 parts of Rasa into their works and have executed them in such a way that audience
gets stuck to the scenes and drama which is shown in the cinema. Movies like Dilwale Dulhaniya
Le jayenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Devdas are some prominent examples of their works
which have all the parts of Rasa incorporated in them (Parthasarathy 2017).
DARSHAN
Darshan is said to be the art of viewing or getting viewed. It actually means that
something which is shown has been seen understood and stablished has the truth. In some Text
Darshan has been given the meaning of viewing a holy deity a god or goddess in a temple or an
auspicious place. In Vedic texts it has been written that Kings of that time we used to make a
presence among their people to listen to their problems and to interact with them which was

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called Darshan (Peter 1993). But in the context of Arts and performance darshan is said to be the
art of viewing and understanding the performance and its minute details. Darshan can also be
interpreted as viewing the performance on a stage or on a silver screen by getting involved
deeply with the emotions and feelings of the art. In context of a dance performance theatre the
audience or the spectators get the Darshan of the actors and the characters which are performing
in front of them. This concept is complementary to the notion of Rasa which requires darshan of
the performance so that the Rasa can be understood and appreciated by the audience (Prasad
2017). The spectators who are in the process of Darshan need to be knowledgeable and should
know the bhava of the performance to properly understand what type of Rasa is being performed.
It is very important to have spectators who have interest in the art and know all the
characteristics of the performance to encourage the respective art. Darshan develops concept of
viewership among people without which any art performance is incomplete.
Like Rasa, Darshan also has effects on the minds of the spectators as the performance of
the Arts is dependent on how a spectator perceives and interprets it (Roy 2017). If the earth being
performed on the stage is not understood by the spectator then the entire meaning of the art gets
forfeited. Therefore Darshan becomes equally important as Rasa, in art performance. Darshan
determines the success and popularity of any art performance which maybe a dance or an act in
the theatre. It had been performed appeals to the audience then the concept of Darshan is said to
be completed.There are certain types of Darshan which are Tattva Darshan, Yoga Darshan and
jnana Darshan (Susan 2004). Tattva Darshan means to look through philosophical point of view
which is also true for Yoga Darshan. Jnana Darshan points out the development of a perspective
to look into the philosophical truths.

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DARSHAN and Indian Cinema
Darshan which is the spectatorship in Indian cinema has changed with time as the first
Indian feature film Harish Chandra which was screened in 1913 was mainly about the Gods and
Goddesses and the viewers who are interested mainly in seeing or getting darshan of the
religious deities. Since then the nature of viewership evolved and Indian cinema became the
cornerstone of entertainment for the masses (Venkatachalam 2017). Theme based Cinemas
which depicted good and bad became very famous. After that the era of singing and dancing took
over in which viewers interests became focused on the type of songs and nature of dance
performances were given prime importance. Many famous dancers and singers came up as the
demand of this kind of spectatorship grew.With modernization of Indian cinema the demands of
the viewers changed respectively and craze of heroic actions and characters took over.With
support of the spectators an audience Indian cinema also experimented a lot to provide different
aspects of entertainment to its audience(Bhattacharya 2017). The first silent feature film was
Alam Ara which was a revolutionary breakthrough as it appealed to the sensory understanding of
its audience.The concept of Darshan was studied by many established film directors in which
they found out that success of Indian cinema was based on its audience and to have a hold on the
minds and hearts of the audience is the key.Indian filmmakers and script writers have made
masterpieces in the time in which the characters which they have written and directed of still in
the hearts and Minds of the people which have persuaded them to watch in the same cinema
again and again(Bhushan 2017). It is the emotional and sensory appeal to the aesthetics of the
audience which has made them patrons of Indian cinema.
Due to this kind of spectatorship the number of films being made in Bollywood has
exceeded film industry of many countries. Due to the proper understanding of the kind of films

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which the audience wants to see Indian filmmakers have made movies which have gained a lot of
appreciation at the global level and in International Award ceremonies.The level of spectatorship
of Indian cinema is such that one person tends to watch his favorite movie many times in cinema
halls (Eck 1985). It is a very common phenomenon to see the audience crying during an
emotional scene in the cinema and getting excited and animated during an action scene. This
kind of response from the audience denotes that the concept of Darshan which is written in the
Natyashastra has been completely understood by the Indian filmmakers.When it comes to dance
performances award functions and theatre acts are very popular among the Indian audience and
the level of appreciation is also very high. Artist from different parts of the world come to India
to perform in the Cinemas of Bollywood because they believe that the kind of response which
they will get from the Indian audience is not seen anywhere else in the world. It can be stated
that this level of understanding of the Arts and performance is because of the deep rooted culture
of Darshan in Indian people (Gupta 2017).Since the concept of Darshan is dependent on the
sensory understanding of the art Indian audience has mastered it over the years and are at a
different level which can be seen by the success of Bollywood movies.
Conclusion
Thus it can be concluded that the concept of Rasa and darshan which comes originally
from the literary work of Bharat Muni written as Natyashastra has shaped up the culture of
Indian art and performance. Rasa being the essence and the flavor of any art is very important to
get stablished in its original form has it is the most basic aspect to enjoy and pleasure through art
practices. On the other hand the concept of Darshan is about the sensory understanding of the art
performance which is done by the audience and the spectators. Both of these concepts of
Natyashastra are incomplete without each other and have to be intensely practiced to get the

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complete gist of the respective art.When it comes to implementing the concepts of Rasa and
darshan and Indian cinema it can be established at Indian filmmakers an artist of the Indian
cinema have pioneered the acts of Rasa as they have been able to make innumerable movies
which are remembered by its song dance performances and dialogues of certain characters. Many
cinemas have certain emotional and action sequences which are engraved deep into the hearts of
the audience. This shows that the portrayal of Rasa has been done immaculately.It seems that
with the changing trend of Indian cinema the concepts of Rasa and darshan are fading away but
if a closer look is given to the dance performances and acting sequences it will be found that the
basics of Rasa is still followed.

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