Bollywood themed workout and movie night

Our plans for Sunday night fell through, so I was pretty much on my own for much of the evening. I decided to do a Bollywood night, starting with a workout and followed by a movie. Are you familiar with Bollywood? It's India's answer to Hollywood and many of the movies feature songs and lots of energetic dancing.

I checked out the Bollywood Burn workout from my library. Here's my summary for you:

What is needed: No special equipment. Room to move around, taking several steps forward, backward and to the sides.

Structure: Three fifteen minute dance routines, progressing in difficulty. 47 minutes total.

Special features: Freestyle dance performance. Audio options of music only or music with instruction.

My impressions: I watched this through once and then did the first two workouts. Workout done by two women and a man. For a Bollywood feel, the instructors are barefooted and rather glamorously dressed, with plenty of sparkle. I was not, wearing my usual sports bra & shorts ensemble with tennis shoes. The first segment is a warm up, and the second is faster, with some dance choreography. It involves a lot of jumping and kicking. I'm not comfortable doing much jumping (which is ridiculous for someone who wants a jump rope, eventually) so I tried to follow along with less impact. It looked fun, and maybe it would have been better if I would have done what they were doing, but slowed down it had the feel of old Jane Fonda aerobics for me. The instructors are very graceful, bouncing around lightly, but I have to say I felt elephantine, clomping around in my sneakers. I was also somewhat disappointed in the music; I thought it would have a little more flavor. These are just my own reactions, of course, but I don't think that I'll be doing this workout again.


I had a better time cycling to the Om Shanti Om CD, lent to me by my considerate coworker Floating Lush , who encouraged me to watch  Om Shanti Om to begin with. The super energetic music gave my workout a push!

Check out "Dard E Disco" below:

Here is an English translation of the song from BollyWhat? The Guide for Clueless Fans of Bollywood Films :

Dard-e-Disco

The Pain of Disco

Woh haseena woh neelam pari

That beauty, white fairy

Kargayee kaisi jadoogari

Did some sort of magic

Neend in aankho se chheenli

Took the sleep from these eyes

Dil mein bechaniyian hai bhari

The heart is full of restlessness

Woh haseena woh neelam pari

Kargayee kaisi jadoogari

Neend in aankho se chheenli

Dil mein bechaniyian hai bhari

Main bechaara hoon aawara woh lo samjhaoon mein ab kis kis ko

Woe is me, I am lost and how many people can I tell

Dil mein mere hai dard-e-disco, dard-e-disco, dard-e-disco

In my heart is the pain of disco, the pain of disco, the pain of disco

Dil mein mere hai dard-e-disco, dard-e-disco, dard-e-disco

Dil mein mere hai dard-e-disco, dard-e-disco, dard-e-disco

Dil mein mere hai dard-e-disco

Dard-e-disco, dard-e-disco

The pain of disco, the pain of disco



Phasledil ki gulposhiyon ka mausam tha

The season of beauty it is in my heart

Hum par kabhi sargoshiyon ka mausam tha

On me it is the season of colours

Phasledil ki gulposhiyon ka mausam tha

Hum par kabhi sargoshiyon ka mausam tha

Kaisa junoon khaabon ke anjuman mein tha

What a feeling it is in my dreams

Kya main kahoon kya mere paas pun mein tha

What can I say about what I have?

Ranjish ka chala tha untha jo khaab ka

The feeling in my dreams, stung so badly

To phirta hoon main London, Paris, New York, Alai, San Francisco

So I roam in London, Paris, New York, Alai, San Francisco

Dil mein mere hai dard-e-disco, dard-e-disco, dard-e-disco

Dil mein mere hai dard-e-disco

Dard-e-disco, dard-e-disco



Lamha lamha armaanon ki famaayish thi

Every moment I had the wish to see my dreams come true

Lamha lamha jo ladki aasmayee thi

Every moment she took over me

Apne karam gir gir pe mujhpe barsa tha

When she dropped and rained on to me

Apne karam barsa to tab main tarsa tha

When she rained I became desperate

Phir soona huwa manzar mera

Then suddenly I was alone

Woh mera sanam dilbar mera

My lover

Phir tor gaya mujhe chor gaya

Broke me and left me

Pichle mahine ki chhabbis ko

On the twenty-sixth of the previous month

Dil mein mere hai dard-e-disco, dard-e-disco, dard-e-disco

Dil mein mere hai dard-e-disco

Dard-e-disco, dard-e-disco



Woh haseena woh neelam pari

Kargayee kaisi jadoogari

Neend in aankho se chheenli

Dil mein bechaniyian hai bhari

Main bechaara hoon aawara woh lo samjhaoon mein ab kis kis ko

Dil mein mere hai dard-e-disco, dard-e-disco, dard-e-disco

Dil mein mere hai dard-e-disco, dard-e-disco, dard-e-disco

Dil mein mere hai dard-e-disco, dard-e-disco, dard-e-disco

Dil mein mere hai dard-e-disco

Dard-e-disco, dard-e-disco

How fun and silly is that? I recommend the movie if you like melodrama, romance, glitter and lots of dance numbers.

After the workouts, I indulged in a little romantic comedy, Bollywood style with Honeymoon Travels Pvt.ltd. (Indian Cinema / Bollywood Movie / Hindi Film Comedy DVD) .

Six couples in different stages of their relationships are off on their Honeymoon trips on a tour bus. From a reluctant and sobbing bride and her clueless mate, to a freshly married mid-life couple,to a seemingly perfect pair who have been together since childhood, we learn their stories and empathize with them while also enjoying the film's lighter moments and song and dance numbers.

All in all I spent a very pleasant evening. Do you ever do themed workouts?