When I think of Indian films, the first thing that comes to mind is the elaborate song-and-dance numbers that pop from out of nowhere. Second is the 3-hour investment you need to make to watch a film.
But thanks to Netflix, I got exposed to a wider variety of Indian films. And I learned that not all of them have song-and-dance numbers (for example, “Lust Stories”).
I came across an Indian film called “Love Per Square Foot” on the streaming site a few weeks ago. It wasn’t a mind-blowing film, but it was a pleasant one to watch. The film depicted the love story of two young Indians, whose journey to marriage began the unconventional way: Buy a house first, fall in love second. I also liked the way it gave me a peek into the aspirations of young, working-age Indians. In this case, a house.
What further amazed me about this film was the realization that I didn’t mind having song-and-dance numbers in Love Per Square Foot. I used to find the appearance of song-and-dance numbers in Indian films jarring. I feel like it comes out of nowhere. But in this film, it felt organic–there was a reason why the music appeared; there was a reason why somebody sang. In my head, it was all logical. I suppose what I have been looking for all along was organic unity and some sort of logic that still remained creative.
Asianist Life 