系列文章《亚洲电影巡礼》总共包括中国、韩国、印度以及伊朗四站,让大家尽情体验亚洲各国电影的不同特色和美丽风情。以下为大家带来第三站——
听力小提示:由于受访者大多带有明显口音,部分语句的语法不够规范,本文不宜模仿,仅可作为泛听材料使用。
Based in Mumbai, the Hindi注 film industry is the most recognizable face of Indian cinema, known the world over as Bollywood. With 95% of the population watching these films and 40 million actually going to the cinema every single day, it’s a truly home-grown success that’s left even the mighty Hollywood 1)trailing in its wake.
以孟买为大本营的印地语电影业是印度电影最广为人知的面孔,世人把它称为“宝莱坞”。95%的印度人会观看这些电影,每天都有四千万人上电影院——这标志着印度本土电影实实在在的大获全胜,连强大的好莱坞也只能跟在后头。
The Irresistible Magic 魅力无限
One particular film has kept its audiences entertained for over a decade since its first screening in 1995. At this cinema in the heart of Mumbai, the movie Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge is enjoying its 500th week of being on screen. While they may already know the story – and many off by heart – the audience remains 2)engrossed in the movie as if it was their very first time.
The appeal of The Brave Heart Will Take the Bride stems largely from its perfect 3)blend of essential Bollywood ingredients. In three hours, the story unwinds about a pair of 4)star-crossed lovers whose families are against their marriage. But amid the 5)ubiquitous song and dance routines, and a roller coaster ride of emotions, the audience is ultimately assured of a happy ending.
Viewer: Well, you will never get bored. The story and the making of it, or whatever it is, it is something which is very different. You see it almost every time, but you just feel like you’re watching it for the first time.
Western Director: I think there’s a certain 6)exuberance that I find really…just 7)invigorating in watching the movies.
And I think when the movies 8)click, just like any society’s movies, any culture’s movie, not every movie here is a classic. But I think the ones that do work, the ones that really connect, I think that sort of sense of fun and spirit is something that’s missing from a lot of American movies.
India has a vast number of people living under the poverty line. Their only source of entertainment and relief is the cinema. The magic of Bollywood is that it casts aside the realities of India in one huge leap of the imagination. For the audience, this is the fantasy world they 9)yearn for, 10)whisking them away from the hardship they face every day and transporting them to a perfect world.
从1995年首映至今,有一部电影已经为观众带来了十几年的欢乐。在这家位于孟买市中心的电影院,电影《勇夺芳心》已经上映了500周。虽然观众对电影情节非常熟悉——许多人甚至倒背如流——他们还是像第一次看这部电影那样全神贯注地欣赏。
《勇夺芳心》的吸引力主要在于它将宝莱坞的必要元素完美地结合在一起。这部长达三小时的电影讲述的是一对婚姻遭到家人反对的苦命鸳鸯。不过,除了无所不在的歌舞场景以及云霄飞车般的跌宕情感,电影保证观众最后一定会看到大团圆结局。
观众:你总是百看不厌。不管是故事还是拍摄手法什么的,这部电影都与其他电影很不一样。尽管每次都看,你还是像第一次看那样。
西方导演:这部电影相当充实,观看时让人感觉充满活力。与来自任何社会、任何文化的电影一样,并非每一部走红的电影都是经典之作。但真正感人的成功电影里蕴含的喜感和精神,正是许多美国电影所缺乏的东西。
许多印度人生活在贫困线以下,看电影是他们获得娱乐、纾解压力的唯一方式。宝莱坞电影的魅力在于它用夸张的想象一下子抛开了印度的现实生活。对观众来说,这就是他们渴望的梦幻世界,让他们从每天都要面对的困境中抽身出来,进入一个完美的世界。
A World of Music and Dance 歌舞世界
At first glance, it might seem like every Bollywood star can sing as well as they can act, but behind the scenes there is another cast of characters who lend their voices to the actors. Playback singers are a unique element of Indian cinema. They sing the songs performed on screen by the main characters, and the most successful of them are stars 11)in their own right.
Sonu Nigam is the latest in a line of young, successful playback singers. His father was a pioneer in this industry, and Sonu inherited his talent at an early age. Then, as now, the playback singers can affect the success of the song and the movie it’s featured in.
Nigam: When someone watches a movie, they know that this song is going to carry the story forward, and the songs are…it’s a good mix between Indian traditional… tradition music and the Western influences. So that’s why we get a lot of variety of music in…in the so-called Bollywood. So that is why they appeal to a lot…lot more audience than normal music appeals to.
Music Director: When we are sad, we sing. When we are happy, we sing. When a child is born, there’s a song for that occasion. When marriage, the whole world has seen how many days we spend singing songs in marriage.
Weddings are huge occasions in India, where they go on for days, and many are as 12)lavish and colorful in real life as they are on the big screen. Dance and music are an important part of a traditional Hindu wedding, which often resembles a festival with everyone in the neighborhood gathering to see the 13)procession. Such 14)elaborate celebrations are reflected in Bollywood films ever since the industry began.
Aruna Vasudev (Magazine Editor): Every event in our lives in India, less in the cities than in the rural areas, is accompanied by special songs and special dances for that ceremony, for that event, whether it’s a harvest festival, or a birth, or a marriage…the huge quantity of songs and dances for every ceremony in your life. So then, naturally, when it begin…came to cinema, they adopted forms of entertainment and expression that were part of our daily living.
The movie Dil Se was popular because of its bold, energetic song and dance, and it featured one of the most memorable scenes of Indian cinema. The 15)choreography was very demanding for the film’s stars.
Actress: I remember there was this one scene, one is where we had to go over this bridge, and it was like, you know, complete drop on either side.
The train scene was shot in northern India and is one of
Bollywood’s most 16)innovative dance sequences.
乍看之下,宝莱坞明星似乎不但会演戏,而且能歌善舞。其实在幕后,有一批艺人把自己的声音借给这些演员。配音歌手是印度电影的特色元素。主角在银幕上唱的歌其实都由他们代唱,最成功的几位配音歌手自然而然也成了明星。
索努·尼甘姆是最近跻身成功配音歌手之列的年轻艺人。索努的父亲是这个行业的先驱,他年少时便已继承了父亲的才华。发展至今,配音歌手足以影响歌曲乃至整部电影的成败。
尼甘姆:电影观众知道歌曲会推动剧情发展。这些歌曲是……印度传统音乐和西方音乐影响的完美结合。那就是为什么在所谓的宝莱坞电影里会有这么多不同类型的音乐。这也是它们比一般音乐更能打动观众的原因。
音乐监制:悲伤时,我们唱歌;高兴时,我们也唱歌。小孩子出生时,有专门庆祝这个时刻的曲子。结婚的时候,全世界都见识到我们在婚礼上要花多少天来唱歌。
婚礼在印度是一件大事,通常会持续好几天。许多现实中的婚礼和银幕上一样,铺张盛大,多姿多彩。歌舞是传统印度婚礼的重要组成部分。婚礼就像过节似的,附近的人们都会过来观看迎亲队伍。自印度电影业诞生以来,这种精彩绝伦的庆典就不断在宝莱坞电影中得到体现。
阿鲁娜·瓦苏德瓦(杂志编辑):在印度,不管是城市还是乡下,我们的每一件人生大事都伴随着特别的歌曲和舞蹈,这些都是专门为这个庆典、这件大事准备的。不论是丰收节、孩子诞生还是婚礼……人生的每一个庆典都有大量的音乐和舞蹈。因此拍电影的时候,人们自然会采用日常生活中的各种娱乐手段以及表达情感的方式。
电影《从心开始》以其大胆出众、充满活力的歌舞而深受欢迎。电影里还出现了印度电影史上最令人难忘的场景之一。这样的舞蹈编排对出演这部电影的明星提出了很高要求。
演员:我记得有一场戏,我们必须通过一座桥,而桥的两边是彻底悬空的。
这一幕列车戏拍摄于印度北部,是宝莱坞最有创意的歌舞片段之一。
Bollywood in the 21st Century 新世纪的宝莱坞 
One of the biggest Bollywood films is a classic romantic tale set in a 17)glittering fantasy world. Devdas stars mega-star
Shahrukh Khan and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai. At a 18)price tag of $12 million, Devdas was the most expensive Indian film ever made at the time.
Vasudev: So you know you enjoy even the…drama and the
tragedy because you know it will end happily, and you come out feeling good about yourself and about life. It may not last very long, but at least while it’s there, it makes you feel good.
Bollywood and its actors have brightened up the lives of Indians for the past hundred years. All over the country, home-grown films
appeal to millions from diverse backgrounds with a unique 19)formula –
a formula to simply entertain. Supported by loyal fans, Bollywood now 20)looks set to tell the story of 21st century India.
宝莱坞其中一部最卖座的电影讲述了一个经典的爱情故事,事情发生在闪闪发光的梦幻世界——《宝莱坞生死恋》由超级巨星沙鲁克·罕以及前世界小姐艾西瓦娅·雷领衔主演。这部电影耗资1200万美元,是当时拍摄成本最高的印度电影。
瓦苏德瓦:你可以尽情享受……情节的波折和悲惨,因为你知道最后一定是大团圆结局。看完电影出来,你自我感觉良好,觉得生活也是美好的。虽然这只是一时的感觉,但至少在看电影的时候,你会快乐起来。
过去一百年来,宝莱坞及其演员点亮了印度人的生活。凭着纯粹娱乐的独特成功模式,本土电影打动了印度全国来自不同背景的无数观众。在铁杆粉丝的鼎力支持下,如今的宝莱坞准备讲述21世纪的印度故事。
注:印地语(Hindi)是印度两种官方语言之一(另一种为英语),从古梵语发展而来,主要分布在印度的中部和北部,是其国内最为通行的语言。
