Celina Sharma reacts to the public accusations of Eternals Bollywood song not being 'Bollywood enough'
by Jaskiran Kaur | Mon, 08 Nov 2021 14:15:58 GMT
Celina Sharma defends her Eternals song amidst public criticism; Credits: The News

The latest Marvel movie had many of its firsts with Eternals. The history maker Chloe Zhao became only the second woman in the history of Oscars to win the award for the best director, and she took her talents to the set of Marvel universe. She knew just how to bring the best out of those characters to the screen.

But apart from its amazing star-studded cast and exceptional filmmaking, Eternals also feature a full-fledged Bollywood number, full with a Hindi song and also a dance number. While it was a matter of celebration for so many Indian Marvel fans, several took to the internet to slam the song and also criticized the singer behind "Nach Mera Hero."

Hence, the singer, Celina Sharma, reacted to the online criticism and backlash that her song has faced and also reacted to the general upheaval that the song caused. Nach Mera Hero is an original work for the soundtrack of Eternals. The soundtrack features an assortment of songs sung by famous musicians around the globe ranging from BTS, Lizzo, Pink Floyd to Bach.

These songs are specially customized for each of the superheroes and the one that is reserved for Kumail Nanjiani, who plays Kingo, comes under the brilliance of Celina Sharma. The song from the Eternals features the actor, Kumail Nanjiani, pretending to be a Bollywood superstar as he dances to his heart's content amidst all the glory and sparkle of Bollywood.

While the original intention of the song and the 'Bollywood' scenes from the Marvel film were meant to introduce diversity to the studio's film franchise. But not many fans were impressed by the efforts. Apparently, the general complaint with the fans is that apart from all the hustle-bustle of the song and the 'Bollywood' clip, the song is practically an English song just with a Hindi chorus. In the end, it is not 'Bollywood' enough.

The singer of the track then went to clear the public discontent with the song. In an interview with Hindustan Times, the singer said, "I think it's a Hollywood movie, so they wanted something mixed like Hollywood-meets-Bollywood." Explaining what the song is about, Celine shares, "The whole song was about 'dance my hero,' so we used that as the phrase throughout the whole song. But I feel like a lot of the production is very, very Bollywood. But also, the scene is very Bollywood. You are going to have to watch it to know what I mean."

The singer also shared that the film producers wanted a more inclusive intake about the song that could show a mingling of the two cultures and how they are being incorporated with each other. Sharma went on to say, "I think it's a mix, and it's (about) incorporating that Bollywood sound, so I feel like it's interesting when both the worlds meet together."

As the singer defended her Eternals sing for not being 'desi' enough, the singer also defended the film's Oscar winner director Chloe Zhao for having added the Bollywood dance routines to a Hollywood movie. As social media is strongly going after the Kumail Nanjian sing, the singer claimed, "I met Zhao, and we were talking for a little bit, and she really loves the song… She was like, 'Oh it's always on my head' and I was like 'Oh, I'm glad!'"

BTS, Lizzo, Pink Floyd, Bach, and other singers created the Eternals soundtrack; Credits: Republic World

It was Kumail Nanjiani himself who had first revealed that the filmmakers were deciding to add a Bollywood number to the film. As the Marvel Cinematic Universe is extending its reach on diverse cultures and representation, The Eternals single-handedly managed to introduce several diverse cultures from around the globe in a single film.

The movie featuring a Bollywood-Esque song was a big thing for countless fans and the Kingo actor, too. The actor shared with Deadline during his New Hollywood podcast that he and his wife Emily V. Gordon, who also happens to be his creative partner that two had been looking to further representation in their Apple+ anthology series, Little America. The show features the stories of immigrant families that made their way to the country for the American Dream.

His role in Eternals as Kingo also came as an excellent way for him to reach beyond the screen and showcase his culture to the masses. Kingo, his superhero character from the film, is an Eternal or an immortal being from the planet Olympus. The race of Eternals has been blending and hiding amongst humans for seven thousand years, and the character is also said to be a film star. Kumail Nanjiai is actually a character of Pakistani origin, and the movie focuses on him being a South Asian.

The producers chose to go with Bollywood in their title track as it is the most beloved film industry in the South Asian continent and focuses on producing films in Hindi. One of the largest film industries in the world, Bollywood's reach extends over the entirety of the South Asian countries despite their cultural differences and is enjoyed all the same. The Bollywood films are especially known for their cheesy scenes and long musicals that debut over-the-top dance routines, particularly known for their distinguishable Bollywood styles. Hence, the Nach Mera Hero song features a complete Bollywood-style production, dance moves, and lyrics.

The actor, known for his phenomenal performances in Silicon Valley, The Big Sick, and Little America, is not much of a dancer and revealed that his dance number required months of preparation from his side. He had to take special Bollywood dance classes to fit the theme of the song. He revealed, "I took months of Bollywood dance classes to prepare for that. It's really a workout… and you know, there's like 52 dancers, and 51 of them are professional dancers, and then there's me!"

The film features many POC actors in the lead roles of the movie and also the first openly LGBT hero of the movie. The film franchise has now kicked start a new phase of Marvel productions that will be relatively more experimental in their story tropes and will focus on representation as an essential factor to the plot.

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