Historically, folk theater in South Asia (from which cinema ultimately found form) has umbilical ties to music and dance.Music is not only an integral storytelling device; it is sometimes the matrix of much of this kind of theater. Since Leela uses the form of Hindi films, to us it was imperative that Leela have songs (and dance). It was thus natural that early Indian films would borrow this reliance on music. Songs and dance still remain an inseparable part of most Indian films! The challenge was to make the songs integral to the story and move the story forward.