History Main / TheItemNumber

Cinema of the Arab world does much the same thing, but usually with a [[BellyDancer belly dance]].

[[quoteright:350:[[Film/{{Kaal https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kaal.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[-Creator/ShahRukhKhan and [[MsFanservice Malaika Arora]] in ''Film/{{Kaal}}''.-] ]]

[[quoteright:350:[[UsefulNotes/{{Bollywood}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kaal.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[-Creator/ShahRukhKhan and [[MsFanservice Malaika Arora]] in ''Kaal''.-] ]]

* Malaika Arora (on top of a moving train!) in Chaiyya Chaiyya, in 1998's ''Film/DilSe''.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpnohT_a-2I "Munni Badnam Hui Darling Tere Liye"]] from ''{{Dabangg}}'' (2010), with Malaika Arora Khan playing Munni. This one lampshades itself, and is one of the most iconic examples. (And, in a way, kind of deconstructs itself, too.) Munni was so popular that she had a cameo in the sequel.

* Creator/KatrinaKaif has done several of these, most famously [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KH8TpOLROOQ "Chikni Chameli"]] in ''Agneepath'', and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTmF2v59CtI "Shiela Ki Jawani"]] in ''Tees Maar Khan.'' The latter is very famous, and as it was also released in 2010, Shiela and Munni were frequently compared.

* Katrina Kaif has done several of these, most famously [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KH8TpOLROOQ "Chikni Chameli"]] in ''Agneepath'', and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTmF2v59CtI "Shiela Ki Jawani"]] in ''Tees Maar Khan.'' The latter is very famous, and as it was also released in 2010, Shiela and Munni were frequently compared.

* Katrina Kaif had done several of these, most famously [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KH8TpOLROOQ "Chikni Chameli"]] in ''Agneepath'', and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTmF2v59CtI "Shiela Ki Jawani"]] in ''Tees Maar Khan.'' The latter is very famous, and as it was also released in 2010, Shiela and Munni were frequently compared.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpnohT_a-2I "Munni Badnam Hui Darling Tere Liye"]] from ''{{Dabangg}}'' (2010) This one lampshades itself. (And, in a way, kind of deconstructs itself, too.) Munni was so popular that she had a cameo in the sequel.
* Katrina Kaif had done several of these, most famously [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KH8TpOLROOQ "Chikni Chameli"]] in ''Agneepath'', and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTmF2v59CtI "Shiela Ki Jawani"]] in ''Tees Maar Khan.''

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpnohT_a-2I "Munni Badnam Hui Darling Tere Liye"]] from ''{{Dabangg}}'' (2010) This one lampshades itself. (And, in a way, kind of deconstructs itself, too.)

* Frerquently parodied in Western works. ''Series/GoodnessGraciousMe'' puts a British-Asian slant on the Item Number, in an affectionate way. And the character of painfully shy, selectively mute around women Raj Koothrapali has been allowed several Item Numbers (featuring the female members of the cast) in ''Series/TheBigBangTheory''.

* Creator/AishwaryaRai in ''Kajra Re in Bollywood/BuntyAurBabli'', alongside her future father-in-law Creator/AmitabhBachchan and her future husband Abhishek Bachchan.
* Malaika Arora (on top of a moving train!) in Chaiyya Chaiyya, in 1998's ''Bollywood/DilSe''.
* Deliberately invoked (among with a lampshading of its fanservice nature) in ''Bollywood/OmShantiOm'', when Creator/ShahRukhKhan's character believes the film he is working in is too dull and claims that such an scene must be added to reflect the mindset of his absurdly crippled character. Cue Item Number with him as the main Item, alternately [[ShirtlessScene shirtless]] or [[WetSariScene in dripping clothing]].

* "Nimbooda Nimbooda" in ''Bollywood/HumDilDeChukeSanam'' featuring Creator/AishwaryaRai. It's a song about lemons, though to be fair, the lemons are being used as a metaphor for the challenges that make life and relationships interesting.
* "Dola Re Dola" in ''Bollywood/{{Devdas}}''
* The controversial (because of its title) song "Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai" in ''Bollywood/{{Khalnayak}}''. The title translates as "What's behind the blouse?"...although [[SubvertedTrope the answer is far less perverted than one would expect]].

* ''Bollywood/{{Lajja}}'' featured two item numbers. The first one is "Aa Hi Jaiye" with Urmila Matondkar. The second one is "Badi Mushkil" with Creator/MadhuriDixit.

* During the pitching tryout finals of ''Film/MillionDollarArm'', a Disney movie filmed mostly on location throughout India, which tells the story of J.B. Bernstein scouting the Indian countryside for prospective pitching talent. At the finals in Mumbai, some young Indian ladies can be seen dancing about in the background as the hopeful pitchers audition for the right to become the first baseball pitchers from India to make it in the United States.

* The controversial (because of its title) song "Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai" in ''Bollywood/{{Khalnayak}}''. The title translates as "[[KeepAbreastOfThisIndex What's behind the blouse]]?"...although [[SubvertedTrope the answer is far less perverted than one would expect]].

A {{Bollywood}} song designed for only one thing: {{Fanservice}}. The song in question traditionally had an [[MsFanservice Item Girl]] do a dance for either the hero or the villain, but usually did not involve them beyond ogling the girl in question. Also, the song may or [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment may not have anything to do with the plot]]. A variation on this would be the heroine to do the Item Number, depending on a few factors: She is either a skilled dancer, a new actress in her first movie, the studio could not afford the Item Girl they wanted, or the movie's promotion was centered around the song in question.