Reel masala action

Sometimes some of my non-Indian friends used to ask me, in my childhood days, why were Indian movies so melodramatic with songs being sung at every occasion, be it happy, sad, desperate or devotional scenes? The answer is simple. That is their brand. Just like you have music and movies of different genre, this is what you get from India. The heavenly Greek Gods-like beautiful dancing actors with Kashmiri backdrop from Bollywood  and charismatic not so dashing but swashbuckling stars with lower budget films from the south. Why is their storyline so convoluted and lasting almost 3 hours and just Indian curry is a potpourri of comedy, suspense, action, preaching of good Indian values, tragedy, triumph all in one often ending in a fairy tale like fashion with good prevailing over evil and everybody living happily forever and ever . In the words of a Chennai import who happened to be a Vijay (Ilaya Thalapathi) die-hard fan, whom I had the pleasure to talk to, "We already have enough sadness around us in Chennai, why do want to pay money to feel sad after a movie?"
Actually, besides the masala movie that we are often exposed to, Indian movie industry also produces many artistic true to life critically acclaimed movies (e.g. 36 Chowrangi Lane which I viewed in USM during a filmfest in 1981). Sadly, there is not where the money is, so nobody wants to go there.