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Created page with "{{short description|Musical performance in Indian cinema}} {{Use Indian English|date=August 2021}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}} {{Infobox music genre| | name..."

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{{short description|Musical performance in Indian cinema}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox music genre|
| name = Item number
| image =
| caption = actress Priya Soni perfoming an item number at the ''Dubai Dazzle Show''
| bgcolor = lavender
| stylistic_origins =
| cultural_origins = [[Bollywood songs|Bollywood music videos]]
| derivatives =
| subgenrelist =
| subgenres =
| fusiongenres =
| regional_scenes = [[Cinema of India|Indian cinema]]
| local_scenes = [[Tamil cinema|Tamil]], [[Hindi]], [[Cinema of Karnataka|Kannada]], [[Cinema of Andhra Pradesh|Telugu]], [[Cinema of West Bengal|Bengali]] and [[Cinema of Punjab|Punjabi]] cinema
}}
In [[Cinema of India|Indian cinema]], an '''item number''' or '''item song''' is a musical number inserted into a film that may or may not have any relevance to the plot. The term is commonly used within Indian films ([[Bollywood|Hindi]], [[Kannada cinema|Kannada]], [[Tamil cinema|Tamil]], [[Telugu cinema|Telugu]], [[Malayalam cinema|Malayalam]] and [[Cinema of West Bengal|Bengali]]) to describe a catchy, upbeat, often sexually provocative dance sequence for a song in a movie.<ref name="Definition">[http://www.cylive.com/viewContent.do?id=351&vt=pub Journals : Item number defined] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080407174943/http://www.cylive.com/viewContent.do?id=351&vt=pub |date=7 April 2008 }}</ref> The main aim of an item number is to entertain movie-goers and to lend support to the [[Film promotion|marketability]] of the film by being featured in [[movie trailer|trailers]].<ref name="Dictionary">{{cite book|last=Barrett|first=Grant|title=The official dictionary of unofficial English: a crunk omnibus for thrillionaires and bampots for the Ecozoic Age|url=https://archive.org/details/officialdictiona00barr_548|url-access=limited|publisher=McGraw-Hill Professional|isbn=0-07-145804-2|year=2006 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/officialdictiona00barr_548/page/n225 189], 190}}</ref> They are favoured by filmmakers as they afford the opportunity to pick potential hit songs from the stocks, since they do not add to the continuity of the plot.<ref name="Communalism">{{cite book|last=Morey|first=Peter|title=Alternative Indias: writing, nation and communalism|url=https://archive.org/details/alternativeindia00more|url-access=limited|year=2005|publisher=Rodopi|isbn=90-420-1927-1|page=[https://archive.org/details/alternativeindia00more/page/n259 221], 178|author2=Alex Tickell|editor=Peter Morey and Alex Tickell}}</ref> It is thus a vehicle for commercial success that ensures repeat viewing.<ref name="Globalization">{{cite book|last=Bhattacharya Mehta|first=Rini|title=Bollywood and Globalization: Indian Popular Cinema, Nation, and Diaspora|year=2010|publisher=Anthem Press|isbn=1-84331-833-4|page=42|author2=Rajeshwari Pandharipande}}</ref>

A female actor, singer, or dancer, especially someone who is poised to become a [[Movie star|star]], who appears in an item number is known as an '''item girl''' (there are '''item boys''' as well).<ref name="Dictionary"/> However, second-generation South Asian women{{clarify|date=July 2020 |reason=unclear what "second-generation" means here; see talk page}} are more commonly featured in item numbers than men.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Gera Roy|first=Anjali|title=The Body of New Asian Dance Music |ssrn=1471101|publisher=SSRN}}</ref><ref name=GhoshTOI>{{cite news|last=Ghosh|first=Biswadeep|title=Biggest item numbers ever!|url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-12-15/news-and-interviews/28231300_1_songs-numbers-film-lovers|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120523183903/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-12-15/news-and-interviews/28231300_1_songs-numbers-film-lovers|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 May 2012|access-date=25 April 2011|newspaper=[[The Times of India]]|date=15 December 2010}}</ref> Item numbers usually feature one or more persons other than the lead actors. Sometimes, established female and male actors will appear in item numbers (a phenomenon billed as a "special appearance" by that actor).

Although the origin of the term "item number" is obscure, it is likely that it derives its meaning from [[Sexual objectification#Sexual objectification of women|objectification of women]]. This is because ''item'' in Mumbai film slang is used by Indian men to objectify women.<ref name="Communalism"/> The classic meaning of item number refers to highly sexualized songs with racy imagery and suggestive lyrics.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Towheed Feroze|title=Hypocrisy of the reel and the real|url=http://www.dhakatribune.com/op-ed/2014/sep/29/hypocrisy-reel-and-real|access-date=15 May 2015|newspaper=Dhaka Tribune|date=29 September 2014}}</ref> The item number would feature an item girl who appeared in the film as a dancer, usually in a bar or nightclub, and was only in the film for the duration of that song.

==History==
===1930s{{ndash}}1970s===
Up to the 1970s, Bollywood often relied on a female "vamp" character – usually playing the role of a [[cabaret]] dancer, ''[[tawaif]]''/prostitute/[[courtesan]], or male gangster's moll – to provide musical entertainment deemed more risqué. While film heroines also sang and danced, it was the vamp who wore more revealing clothes, smoked, drank, and sang sexually suggestive lyrics.<ref name="Communalism"/> The vamp was portrayed as immodest rather than evil, and her dance performances were sexualized by male producers. The trend was started by [[Cuckoo Moray|Cuckoo]] in films like ''[[Awaara]]'' (1951), ''[[Aan]]'' (1952) and ''Shabistan'' (1951).<ref name="filmonomics">{{cite web|url=http://www.pixelonomics.com/bollywood-item-numbers-monica-to-munni/|title=Bollywood item numbers: from Monica to Munni|year=2010|access-date=16 November 2010}}</ref>
[[File:Vyjayanthimala in Devdas.jpg|thumb|Vyjayanthimala as Chandramukhi in Devdas]]
Item numbers had been featured in Bollywood from as early as the 1930s. Azoorie in the 1930s often performed item numbers; Cuckoo was the next popular item dancer in the late 40s. Her banner year was 1949 when she was featured in over 17 films performing dances. Actress and classical dancer [[Vyjayanthimala]] was the one that introduced the classical dance number in Hindi films with her debut film ''[[Bahar (film)|Bahar]]'' (1951). The mixture of classical plus contemporary was popularized by Vyjayanthimala in films such as [[Devdas (1955 film)|''Devdas'']] (1955), [[Amrapali (film)|''Amrapali'']] (1966), ''[[Madhumati]]'' (1958), [[Sadhna (1958 film)|''Sadhna'']] (1958), [[Sunghursh]] (1968) etc.

In the early 50s, Cuckoo introduced the Anglo-Burmese [[Helen (actress)|Helen]] as a chorus girl. In time Helen would come to be the most popular vamp of the late-50s, 60s and 70s,<ref name="Global Bollywood">{{cite book|last=Anandam P|first=Kavoori|title=Global Bollywood|year=2008|publisher=NYU Press|isbn=0-8147-4799-X|page=187}}</ref> having had performed in scores of item numbers including such popular songs as "[[Mera Naam Chin Chin Choo]]" from the film ''[[Howrah Bridge (film)|Howrah Bridge]]'' (1958), "[[Piya Tu Ab To Aaja]]" from ''[[Caravan (1971 film)|Caravan]]'' (1971), "Mehbooba Mehbooba" from ''[[Sholay]]'' (1975) and "Yeh Mera Dil" from ''[[Don (1978 film)|Don]] '' (1978) (the song's tune was used in [[Don't Phunk with My Heart]]), "O Haseena Zulfon Wali" from [[Teesri Manzil]] and "[[Aa Jaane Jaan]]" from [[Intaqam]]. In films like ''[[Gunga Jumna]]'' and ''[[Zindagi (1964 film)|Zindagi]]'' the actor performed semi-classical Indian dances in songs like "Tora man bada paapi" and "Ghungarwa mora chham chham baaje". A ''[[desi]]'' bar number, "Mungda" from ''[[Inkaar (1977 film)|Inkaar]]'' was also immensely popular. In addition to her skillful dancing, her anglicised looks too helped further the vamp image.<ref name="revamp">{{cite news|last=Mukherjee|first=Madhurita|title=Revamping Bollywood's sexy vamps |url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2003-02-03/news-interviews/27281535_1_cinema-special-appearance-shamita-shetty|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103220911/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2003-02-03/news-interviews/27281535_1_cinema-special-appearance-shamita-shetty|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 November 2012|access-date=12 November 2010|newspaper=[[The Times of India]]|date=3 February 2003}}</ref> Helen's dominance pushed other vying item number dancers like Madhumati, [[Bela Bose]], [[Laxmi Chhaya]], Jeevankala, [[Aruna Irani]], Sheela R. and Sujata Bakshi into the background and less prestigious and low budget b-movies.

In the early part of the 1970s actresses [[Jayshree T.]], [[Bindu (actress)|Bindu]], [[Aruna Irani]] and [[Padma Khanna]] entered into what was Helen's monopoly. Another noted feature of this era was the "tribal and ''banjara''" item numbers such as the one in the [[Dharmendra]], Zeenat Aman and [[Rex Harrison]] starrer ''[[Shalimar (1978 film)|Shalimar]]''. Such songs provided the necessary settings for the lead couple's love to bloom.<ref name="bourgeois">{{cite book|last=Deshpande|first=Anirudh|title=Class, Power And Consciousness In Indian Cinema And Television|year=2009|publisher=Primus Books|isbn=978-81-908918-2-0|page=49}}</ref>

===1980s{{ndash}}1990s===
Around the 1980s the vamp and the heroine merged into one figure and the lead actress had begun to perform the bolder numbers. The craze for "tribal and ''banjara''" item numbers were soon gave way to slick choreography.<ref name="bourgeois"/> In the late 1990s, with the proliferation of film songs based television shows, film producers had come to realise that an exceptional way to entice audiences into theaters was by spending excessively on the visualization of songs. Hence regardless of the theme and plot, an elaborate song and dance routine involving spectacularly lavish sets, costumes, special effects, extras and dancers would invariably be featured in a film. It was asserted that this contributed highly to the film's "repeat value".<ref name="Ganti">{{cite book|last=Ganti|first=Tejaswini|title=Bollywood: a guidebook to popular Hindi cinema|year=2004|publisher=Routledge|isbn=0-415-28853-3|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bollywoodguidebo0000gant/page/86 86, 167]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/bollywoodguidebo0000gant/page/86}}</ref>
[[File:Madhuri Dixit promoting Total Dhamaal in 2019 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Madhuri Dixit]]
[[Madhuri Dixit]] is often considered to be the pioneer of the modern trend. In the late 1980s, the song "Ek Do Teen" was added to the movie ''[[Tezaab]]'' as an afterthought, but it transformed Dixit and made her a superstar.<ref name="Ganti"/> Her partnership with choreographer [[Saroj Khan]] has resulted in numerous hits including the controversial "Choli ke peeche kya hai" and "Dhak Dhak" (''[[Beta (film)|Beta]]'').<ref name="saroj khan">{{cite news|last=Bhattacharya|first=Roshmila|title=Our heart goes ''dhak dhak'' again|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/Our-hearts-go-dhak-dhak-again/Article1-629156.aspx|access-date=29 November 2010|newspaper=Hindustan Times|date=21 November 2010}}</ref> Soon after the release of the film ''[[Khal Nayak]]'', there were press reports stating that people were seeing the film again and again but only for the song "[[Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai]]" that featured Dixit.<ref name="Ganti"/>

Although there have been many songs that fit the descriptions of item numbers in the early and mid-1990s, the term itself was coined when [[Shilpa Shetty]] danced for "Main Aai Hoon UP Bihar Lootne" in the movie ''[[Shool]]''. This is perhaps the first time the media actually referred to Shetty as an "item girl" and the scene as an "item number".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdySdhZAvh4&feature=feedu |title=Latest Bollywood News — Top 5 Trends That Gripped Bollywood |publisher=YouTube |access-date=8 November 2011}}</ref>

===2000s===
Since 2000, many top Bollywood stars now do item numbers, and many new women entering Bollywood find item numbers a more amenable shortcut to success, as opposed to more traditional roles with no guarantee of eventual stardom.{{Citation needed|date=April 2011}} Former item girls in pop songs outside films, [[Rakhi Sawant]] and [[Meghna Naidu]], for example, are now in demand and very popular. Today, they are even being given lead roles in movies.{{as of?|date=May 2012}} As of 2007, [[Mallika Sherawat]] had become the most expensive item girl, charging Rs. 15 million (roughly US$375,000) for the song "Mehbooba Mehbooba" in ''[[Aap Ka Suroor - The Real Love Story]]''.{{Citation needed|date=April 2011}} Another example is actress [[Urmila Matondkar]], one of the most successful item girls during that time.{{Original research inline|date=May 2011}} She was featured in "[[Chamma Chamma]]" in the 1998 film ''[[China Gate (1998 film)|China Gate]]''. [[Baz Luhrmann]]'s 2001 film musical, ''[[Moulin Rouge!]]'' used a westernized version of this song.

[[Malaika Arora]] and [[Yana Gupta]] are "official" item number dancers and have said in interviews that they don't want to act in movies since they already earn more than enough money just by doing one item number as opposed to full-on roles.{{Citation needed|date=May 2011}}

[[Abhishek Bachchan]] became the first "item boy" with his performance in ''[[Rakht]]''; [[Shah Rukh Khan|Shahrukh Khan]] performed an item number of sorts during the opening credits of ''[[Kaal (2005 film)|Kaal]]'' but later had an item number in a truer sense of the word with "[[Dard-e-disco]]" in ''[[Om Shanti Om]]'', where he was shot in a more typical "item girl" manner, with Khan wearing minimal clothing (though this number did have a connection, albeit tenuous, with the plot of the film). In ''[[Krazzy 4]]'', [[Hrithik Roshan]] has an item number during the end credits. [[Ranbir Kapoor]] made his debut in an item number in ''[[Chillar Party]]'' (2011); drawing inspiration from his father Rishi Kapoor's [[Qawwali]] song "[[Parda Hai Parda (song)|Parda Hai Parda]]" from ''[[Amar Akbar Anthony]]''. In 2005 and 2006 actress [[Bipasha Basu]] gave blockbuster hit numbers like No Entry and Beedi Jalaile.

In the 2007 [[Telugu film]] ''[[Desamuduru]]'', the song "Attaantode Ittaantode" featuring [[Allu Arjun]] and [[Rambha (actress)|Rambha]] became a chartbuster. In the 2007 film ''[[Om Shanti Om]]'', the song "Deewangi Deewangi" had guest appearances by over [[Om Shanti Om#Cast|30 Bollywood stars]]. In 2008, the makers of ''[[Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi]]'' featured [[Kajol]], [[Bipasha Basu]], [[Lara Dutta]], [[Priety Zinta]], and [[Rani Mukerji]] playing five leading ladies opposite [[Shah Rukh Khan|Shahrukh Khan]] in the song "[[Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte]]".

===2010s===
In 2010, [[Katrina Kaif]] featured in "[[Sheila Ki Jawani]]" from ''[[Tees Maar Khan (2010 film)|Tees Maar Khan]]'', and [[Malaika Arora]] featured in "[[Munni Badnaam Hui]]" from ''[[Dabangg]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rediff.com/movies/report/slide-show-1-top-item-numbers-of-2010/20101209.htm |title=The Hottest Item Numbers of 2010 – Rediff.com Movies |publisher=Rediff.com |date=9 December 2010 |access-date=6 July 2012}}</ref> Parallels were drawn between Katrina and Malaika, as well as between the item numbers, in what was popularly known as the "Munni vs Sheila" debate.<ref>{{cite news|last=Nagpaul-D'Souza|first=Dipti|title=Munni vs Sheila: The way of the 'Item Bomb'|url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/munni-vs-sheila-the-way-of-the-item-bomb/729468/1|access-date=22 December 2011|newspaper=Indian Express|date=26 December 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Wangoo|first=Anupama|title=Sheila steals Munni's thunder|url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-12-26/chandigarh/28217169_1_munni-badnaam-hui-malaika-arora-jawani|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120701180033/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-12-26/chandigarh/28217169_1_munni-badnaam-hui-malaika-arora-jawani|url-status=dead|archive-date=1 July 2012|access-date=22 December 2011|newspaper=[[The Times of India]]|date=26 December 2011}}</ref> The songs became so popular, that, soon, more films began incorporating item numbers, and with more top stars now wanting to do them.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rediff.com/movies/slide-show/slide-show-1-forthcoming-item-numbers/20120626.htm |title=PIX: SIZZLING item numbers coming up! – Rediff.com Movies |publisher=Rediff.com |date=26 June 2012 |access-date=6 July 2012}}</ref>

In 2012, [[Katrina Kaif]] again featured in an item number "[[Chikni Chameli]]" sung by [[Shreya Ghoshal]] which became a huge hit.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-12-21/news-interviews/30538652_1_chikni-chameli-song-marathi-music|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130924053654/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-12-21/news-interviews/30538652_1_chikni-chameli-song-marathi-music|url-status=dead|archive-date=2013-09-24|newspaper=[[The Times of India]]|title=Chikni Chameli sets Kombdi’s popularity soaring}}</ref> In 2013, [[Deepika Padukone]] had some success item dancing, performing songs like "Party On My Mind" and "Lovely". [[Priyanka Chopra]] did many songs such as "[[Babli Badmaash]]", "Pinky", and an appearance in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's [[Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela]] song "[[Ram Chahe Leela]]", of which became a blockbuster upon release. [[Mahi Gill]], [[Sonakshi Sinha]], and [[Jacqueline Fernandez]] made their debut with "Don't Touch My Body", "Govinda Govinda" and "Jadu Ki Jappi" respectively.

[[Indian-Canadian]] actress [[Sunny Leone]] performed her first item dance with "''Laila''" from the 2013 film "[[Shootout at Wadala]]", followed up with ''[[Baby Doll (Kanika Kapoor song)|Baby Doll]]'' from [[Ragini MMS 2]]. In 2017, Sunny Leone featured in the hit item number "[[Laila Main Laila]]" starring [[Shah Rukh Khan]] in the film ''[[Raees (2017 film)|Raees]]''. It is a recreation of the song "Laila O Laila" from the 1980 film ''[[Qurbani (film)|Qurbani]]'', which featured actress [[Zeenat Aman]] with [[Feroz Khan (actor)|Feroz Khan]] in the original musical number.<ref>{{cite news |title=Zeenat Aman reveals the story behind original Laila Oh Laila song |url=https://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report-zeenat-aman-reveals-the-story-behind-original-laila-oh-laila-song-2282919 |access-date=29 April 2019 |work=[[DNA India]] |date=15 December 2016}}</ref>

In 2017, [[Anglo-Indian]] actress [[Amanda Rosario]] featured in the hit item number "Sarkar"<ref>{{Citation|last=R-Vision India|title=Sarkar {{!}} Udanchhoo {{!}} Amanda Rosario {{!}} Rani Hazarika {{!}} Latest Bollywood Item Hindi Song|date=1 December 2017|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2aS1OFT790|access-date=14 December 2017}}</ref> sung by Rani Hazarika from the movie ''[[Udanchhoo]]''.

In 2018, [[Moroccan Canadians|Moroccan-Canadian]] dancer-actress [[Nora Fatehi]] featured in the item song "[[Dilbar (song)|Dilbar]]" which has become one of the most popular [[Bollywood music]] videos of all time.<ref>{{cite news |title=Nora Fatehi rejects reports of signing up Mahira Khan's 'Superstar' |url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/462437-nora-fatehi-of-dilbar-fame-to-dance-in-mahira-khans-superstar |access-date=28 April 2019 |work=[[The News International]] |date=24 April 2019}}</ref> It is a recreation of an item number of the same name from ''[[Sirf Tum]]'' (1999), which was composed by [[Nadeem–Shravan]] and featured [[Sushmita Sen]] as an item girl. The re-created version by [[Tanishk Bagchi]] features [[Middle-Eastern music]]al sounds.<ref>{{cite news |title=Shaken, Not Stirred |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/music/shaken-not-stirred-bollywood-playback-singers-old-classic-music-remakes-5294719/ |access-date=29 April 2019 |work=[[The Indian Express]] |date=7 August 2018 |language=en-IN}}</ref> In the music video, Nora Fatehi performs [[belly dancing]], an [[Arabic dance]] style that was previously featured in a number of popular Bollywood item numbers, performed by actresses such as [[Helen (actress)|Helen]] in "Mehbooba O Mehbooba" from ''[[Sholay]]'' (1975), [[Zeenat Aman]] in "Raqqasa Mera Naam" from ''[[The Great Gambler]]'' (1979), [[Mallika Sherawat]] in "Mayya Mayya" from ''[[Guru (2007 film)|Guru]]'' (2007), and [[Rani Mukerji]] in "Aga Bai" from ''[[Aiyyaa]]'' (2012).<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rajguru |first1=Sumit |title=International Dance Day 2019: Top 5 belly dance numbers in Bollywood you can't miss |url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/entertainment/bollywood/280419/international-dance-day-2019-top-5-belly-dance-numbers-in-bollywood-y.html |access-date=29 April 2019 |work=[[Deccan Chronicle]] |date=29 April 2019}}</ref> TV and Bollywood Actress [[Mouni Roy]] made her debut by "Nachna Aunda Nahi". The "Gali Gali" track sung by [[Neha Kakkar]], which featured Mouni Roy also, was a huge hit. The international success of "Dilbar" inspired an [[Arabic]]-language version, also featuring Nora Fatehi. "Dilbar" is popular across Southern Asia and the [[Arab world]], with all versions of the song having received more than 1{{nbsp}}billion views on YouTube,<ref>{{cite web |title=Dilbar |url=https://www.youtube.com/user/tseries/search?query=Dilbar |website=YouTube |publisher=[[T-Series (company)|T-Series]] |access-date=18 April 2019}}</ref> making it the most-viewed song on the [[T-Series (company)|T-Series]] YouTube channel.<ref>{{cite web |title=Videos |url=https://www.youtube.com/user/tseries/videos?view=0&sort=p&flow=list |website=YouTube |publisher=[[T-Series (company)|T-Series]] |access-date=19 April 2019}}</ref>

==Criticism and controversies==
Item numbers have been criticized for their gratuitous objectification of women.{{citation needed|date=November 2010}} Item numbers have also been imitated by [[Mumbai]]'s [[Dance bar|bar dancers]]. In respect of the ban on bar dancers in Mumbai, it has even been argued{{weasel inline|date=January 2013}} that the morality of bar dancer's imitation of item numbers cannot be questioned without questioning the morality of screening of item numbers in a film in public theatres. It has also been argued{{weasel inline|date=January 2013}} that the two are equally amoral as both objectify women for commercial gain, with likely negative effects on the male population.<ref name="Mumbai bar">{{cite web|last=Agnes|first=Flavia|title=Hypocritical Morality: Mumbai’s Ban on Bar Dancers|url=http://www.manushi-india.org/pdfs_issues/PDF%20Files%20149/Flavia%20Agnes.pdf|publisher=Manushi|access-date=10 November 2010}}</ref>

As one writer put it, "On paper, item numbers form the perfect formula for female sexual empowerment. In reality, they mostly result in the most blatant objectification. Camera angles zoom in over gyrating hips and linger over bare waists as blatantly as the eyes of the ogling men with no subtlety. The gaze in these dance numbers presents itself as vaguely voyeuristic, at best. There is a very deliberate implication present; that the item girl is not only inviting the leers and jeers,but she is also enjoying them."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Waseem |first1=Anum |title=Bollywood item numbers are more dangerous than we think |url=https://thetempest.co/2018/09/13/entertainment/are-bollywood-item-numbers-selling-danger/ |website=The Tempest |access-date=6 July 2020 |date=13 September 2018}}</ref>

In 1993, the Bollywood action thriller ''[[Khalnayak]]'' was instantly controversial for its item numbers and risqué song lyrics. While the lyrics of "[[Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai]]?" ("What's behind the blouse?") were considered vulgar by some, others defended the song on the ground that it was based on folk traditions. The song eventually set off protests all over the country and a potential ban on the song was debated in the [[Indian Parliament]]. The anger and commotion, however, only helped the song and the film become more popular, as many went to the movie theater out of curiosity, to watch [[Madhuri Dixit]] perform the song.{{Citation needed|date=August 2021}}

In 2013, the [[Central Board of Film Certification]] issued a resolution declaring that item numbers will now be rated as adult content and will be banned from being shown on television channels.<ref>{{cite web|last=Sinha|first=Amitabh|title='Item songs' to be barred from TV|url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/item-songs-to-be-barred-from-tv/1071182/|access-date=10 February 2013}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [http://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movies-slide-shows/movie-1/item/item-numbers.html History of Item Girls in Tamil Cinema]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Item Number}}
[[Category:Bollywood]]
[[Category:Indian songs]]
[[Category:Indian culture]]
[[Category:Telugu cinema]]

Item number - Revision history

Prof.Dr.VK Agarwal: minor edit

Flying Bee: Created page with "{{short description|Musical performance in Indian cinema}} {{Use Indian English|date=August 2021}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}} {{Infobox music genre| | name..."