1930s1970s Up to the 1970s, Hindi cinema 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. The vamp was portrayed as immodest rather than evil, and her dance performances were sexualized by male producers. The trend was started by
Cuckoo in films like
Awaara (1951),
Aan (1952) and
Shabistan (1951). 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 (1951). The mixture of classical plus contemporary was popularized by Vyjayanthimala in films such as
Devdas (1955),
Amrapali (1966),
Madhumati (1958),
Sadhna (1958),
Sunghursh (1968) etc. In the early 50s,
Cuckoo introduced the Anglo-Burmese
Helen as a chorus girl. In time Helen would come to be the most popular vamp of the late-50s, 60s and 70s, having had performed in scores of item numbers including such popular songs as "
Mera Naam Chin Chin Choo" from the film
Howrah Bridge (1958), "
Piya Tu Ab To Aaja" from
Caravan (1971), "Mehbooba Mehbooba" from
Sholay (1975) and "Yeh Mera Dil" from
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 the actress 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 was also immensely popular. In addition to her skillful dancing, her anglicised looks too helped further the vamp image. 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,
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
Shalimar. Such songs provided the necessary settings for the lead couple's love to bloom.
1980s1990s Silk Smitha was part of several successful Item
dance numbers in the 1980s Indian films. 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.
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. 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. In 1998
Urmila Matondkar featured in the song "Chamma Chamma" in the 1998 film
China Gate.
2000s Abhishek Bachchan became the first "item boy" with his performance in
Rakht.
Shah Rukh Khan performed an item number of sorts during the opening credits of
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" from
Amar Akbar Anthony. In 2005 and 2006 actress
Bipasha Basu gave blockbuster hit numbers like "No Entry" and "Beedi Jalaile". After Bachchan, the "item boy" trend was reused by
Dev in
Bengali cinema, who did a cameo with the song "Pante Taali" in the film
Chirodini...Tumi Je Amar (2008). He also established his image of a "dancing star" with popular dance numbers - "Bhojo Gourango" in
Challenge (2009), "Le Paglu Dance" in
Bolo Na Tumi Aamar (2009), "Pyarelal" in
Dui Prithibi (2010), "Khokababu Jay" in
Shedin Dekha Hoyechilo (2010), "Lady Killer Romeo" in
Romeo (2011), "Dance Maare Khokababu" in
Khokababu (2012), "Party Shoes" in
Bindaas (2014), "Desi Chhori" in
Yoddha (2014) and "Dhitang Dhitang" in
Love Express (2016). In 2005,
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was featured in "
Kajra Re" from the movie,
Bunty Aur Babli. In 2006,
Mumaith Khan was featured in "Ippatikinka" from a Telugu film,
Pokiri, sung by
Suchitra. Plus, the remake did the same to 2007 Tamil film,
Pokkiri in "En Chella Peru Apple". In the 2007
Telugu film Desamuduru, the song "Attaantode Ittaantode" featuring
Allu Arjun and
Rambha became a chartbuster. In the 2007 film
Om Shanti Om, the song "Deewangi Deewangi" had guest appearances by over
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
Shahrukh Khan in the song "Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte". In 2007,
Mallika Sherawat performed an item number "Mehbooba O Mehbooba" in
Aap Ka Suroor - The Real Love Story.
2010s In 2010,
Katrina Kaif featured in "
Sheila Ki Jawani" from
Tees Maar Khan, and
Malaika Arora featured in "
Munni Badnaam Hui" from
Dabangg. 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. The songs became so popular, that, soon, more films began incorporating item numbers, and with more top stars now wanting to do them. In 2012,
Katrina Kaif again featured in an item number "
Chikni Chameli" in
Agneepath, sung by
Shreya Ghoshal which became a huge hit, while
Kareena Kapoor was featured in "Fevicol Se" in
Dabangg 2, sung by the same artist from "Munni Badnam Hui". 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 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. It is a recreation of the song "Laila O Laila" from the 1980 film
Qurbani, which featured actress
Zeenat Aman with
Feroz Khan in the original musical number. In 2017,
Anglo-Indian actress
Amanda Rosario featured in the item number "Sarkar" sung by Rani Hazarika from the movie
Udanchhoo. In 2018,
Pooja Hegde featured in the hit item number "
Jigelu Rani" from the film
Rangasthalam. The song was trending on
YouTube.
Jacqueline Fernandez featured in the remake of the "Ek Do Teen" song that originally featured Madhuri Dixit.
Moroccan-Canadian dancer-actress
Nora Fatehi also featured in the item song "
Dilbar" which has become one of the most popular
Bollywood music videos of all time. 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 musical sounds. 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 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), and
Rani Mukerji in "Aga Bai" from
Aiyyaa (2012). 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 1billion views on YouTube. From then on, Nora Fatehi became associated with performing item numbers that featured belly dancing. TV and Bollywood Actress
Mouni Roy made her debut by "Nachna Aunda Nahi". The "Gali Gali" track from the Kannada film
K.G.F: Chapter 1, sung by
Neha Kakkar, which featured Mouni Roy also, was a huge hit.
Alia Bhatt also made an appearance in "The Hookup Song" from
Student of The Year 2 (2019).
2020s In the 2020s, the item songs moved away from the suggestiveness and risque visuals to a more musical and dance-filled approach, while still wearing similar belly-dance clothes. In 2021, the popular "
Oo Antava Oo Oo Antava" track sung by Indravathi Chauhan from the
Telugu language film
Pushpa: The Rise featuring
Samantha was released.
Nushrratt Bharuccha too featured in an item number song from the film
Chhalaang. In 2021,
Janhvi Kapoor performed her first item number in the song "Nadiyon Paar" from the film
Roohi.
Pooja Hegde delivered an Arabic belly dance in blockbuster song "
Arabic Kuthu" from
Beast. In 2023,
Sayyeshaa featured in an item number "Raawadi" from the Tamil film
Pathu Thala.
Tamannaah featured in item songs like "
Kaavaalaa" from
Jailer alongside
Rajinikanth and "Aaj Ki Raat" from
Stree 2. In 2024, Actress
Sharvari performed her first item number in the song "Taras" from
Munjya. Actress
Sreeleela performed many item number songs in Telugu cinema, with her most famous being
Kissik from
Pushpa 2: The Rule. ==Impact==