Bollywood Stars, Songs, and Markets

This unit examines Bollywood’s star systems, music and dance traditions, genre conventions, and their roles in domestic success and international reach. Students will analyze family dynasties, production lineages, landmark films, and cross‑cultural exchanges to prepare for applying global marketing and promotional strategies in the capstone unit.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze the economic and cultural influence of Bollywood families, production houses, and star systems (e.g., Johars, Kapoors, Bhatts, Chopras) by citing specific examples from unit lessons and explaining impacts on branding, production decisions, and market access.
• Evaluate how music, dance, and genre conventions (e.g., coming‑of‑age, family drama, tragedy, period sports) contribute to a film’s domestic performance and international exportability using case studies such as Lagaan, Hum Aapke Hain Koun …!, Dil Chahta Hai, and Devdas.
• Apply global marketing and cross‑cultural communication principles to create a concise promotional strategy (target audiences, messaging, channels, and partnership ideas) that positions a Bollywood film or dance program for an international market.
• Demonstrate intercultural analysis by comparing South Asian contributions to Hollywood and assessing the international reception and career trajectories of key figures (e.g., Deepika Padukone, Anil Kapoor), producing a brief report that identifies opportunities and challenges for transnational collaboration.