“Another reel-worthy moment courtesy Bollywood,” I sigh and scroll past the music video of Bekaar Dil from Fighter. Hrithik Roshan playfully serenades Deepika Padukone amid a beach party—high on infinity pools, cocktails, and breezy vibes. Déjà vu? Didn’t Hrithik have this playful romance with Vaani Kapoor in Ghungroo? Or, for that matter, mirror imagery of Deepika and SRK’s sultry rendezvous in Besharam Rang? Let the sculpted abs of King Khan not be forgotten even for a moment.
It’s pretty tough to keep away the shine off these sleek, minimalist videos. Needless to say, these were, of course, the same days when the numbers in Bollywood could be mini-masterpieces all by themselves. Remember Kaal Dhamaal? A five-minute fare that seamlessly flows from dance floors in the tribal hills, gleaming disco floors, even onto an angst-filled, rain-kissed set; with Shah Rukh Khan and the then-hot-sensation Malaika Arora giving full-on thrust to the visuals—even when she was literally not part of the movie, background dancers added energy so that every single frame tended to go big-screen-sized.
Fast forward to the 2010s with iconic videos like Dhoom Machale (Dhoom 3). Katrina Kaif’s dazzling costumes—from sleek bodysuits to neon gowns—and Vogue’s Anaita Shroff Adajania’s genius styling turned the song into a feast for fashion enthusiasts. Even background dancers, clad in individually styled gowns, were a spectacle. It was cinema-meets-runway brilliance.
Compare that to Mere Mehboob from Mere Mehboob, where bland-toned dancers blend completely into your backdrop, in their meager choreography featuring a Jacuzzi and multiple mirror shots all over each other. All one was left focusing on was the camera at the faces of the leading actors who ended up working out-of-place for cinematic action shots, resembling an Instagram story.
This is not a coincidence but a strategy: the Bollywood music video of today is cut for the Instagram generation. There are restricted camera angles emulating a vertical feed; choreography remains simple to spawn those viral hook steps—as in the Jugnu video by Badshah and Tauba Tauba with Vicky Kaushal. Celebrities and directors double up as content creators, triggering challenges and reels which make the audiences feel involved.
Bollywood is not leading this movement alone. In the West, too, platforms like TikTok have contracted this music video into a minimal visual splinter. Dua Lipa’s Levitating, Sabrina Carpenter’s shows are less to do with telling a story and all about creating those moments, which the fan can reimagine and push out once more. And artists, well, they aren’t mere performers anymore, but rather influencers building connective bridges with their armies of aficionados.
While some may miss the grandeur of early-2000s Bollywood videos—smack in the middle of the rain-drenched romance, with its extra-large, larger-than-life sets—undeniably, today’s aesthetics fit the bite-sized digital era. Bollywood has always been a cultural bridge between India and the world, and this trend carries on that legacy in a new medium. Still feeling nostalgic? Nothing’s keeping you from revisiting your Songs.pk playlist or reliving the magic of a golden era on YouTube.
Because, as the “Instagrammification” of Bollywood is here to stay, so are the timeless classics that remind us of its creative legacy.