The Indian Students' Association hosted Bollywood Night 2024 on Aug. 28 with the goals of making international students feel welcome and introducing others to Indian traditions.
One of the focuses of ISA is to create a community rooted in Indian culture and connect all students through creative outlets such as music and dance.
"We have a lot of international students and when we are leaving a country and coming to a new country there are times when we miss our culture and people around," said Maitreyee Deshmukh, a junior studying Earth and space exploration and the secretary of ISA. "These events make us feel at home."
Over 900 students registered to attend the evening of dancing and music with more than 150 on the waitlist, according to ISA president Sukruth Rao, a junior studying business.
As a DJ played traditional and remixed Bollywood songs, attendees filled the center of the Senita Ballroom. Traditional Bollywood dancing and modern dancing were combined throughout the evening.
Bollywood is now a broad term for Indian music, but it originally referred to Hindi music made for Bollywood movies. Hallmarks of the genre are deep emotion and specific storylines according to The Vocal Studio.
Pooja Athmanathan, a sophomore studying film and media production, has attended and volunteered at other ISA events. She said the events are always fun to be a part of and feel like a safe space. Athmanathan said she was most excited about the music at Bollywood Night.
"I listen to a bunch of Indian music on my free time so I always get to jam with all the songs because I actually recognize them," Athmanathan said. "Whereas in other dances, you just hear rap music and I don't really listen to that as much."
Events from ISA such as Bollywood Night are months in the making. Deshmukh said they started Bollywood Night planning and budgeting in the summer and are already working on upcoming events for the next few months and semester.
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Deshmukh said events like Bollywood Night and annual concerts are created to bring inclusivity and fun for all students. However, ISA presents other opportunities, such as speakers, for students and those looking to build social and professional networks.
"These are fun events," Deshmukh said. "We have professional development events too. You get to meet new people, you make new friends, you make new connections."
Deshmukh encourages all students to come to ISA events. It's about building a welcoming environment for all students.
"It says Indian Association, but we are inclusive," Deshmukh said. "Anyone can join us."
Ellie Million, a graduate student studying business administration, found out about Bollywood Night through an ASU Newsletter and attended with her friends from India.
"They're from India and I'm from France so I wanted to discover a little bit about their culture, and then they'll do the same with my culture at some point," Million said.
No matter what background students come from, ISA welcomes everyone to its events with open arms.
"Try to find good people because the thing with ISA is that you can come back anytime and they'll treat you the same, it's like you never left," Athmanathan said.
Edited by Senna James, Sophia Braccio, Tiya Talwar and Natalia Jarrett.
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Ginia is a junior studying journalism and mass communication with a minor in criminology. This is her third semester with The State Press. She has also worked at Arizona Capital Times and KTAR News.
