while the "masala" film genre originated from bollywood films in the 1970s, there have been several earlier influences that have shaped its conventions. examples of this influence include the techniques of a side story, back-story and story within a story. indian popular films often have plots that branch off into sub-plots; such narrative dispersals can clearly be seen in the 1993 films "khalnayak" and "gardish". the second influence was the impact of ancient sanskrit drama, with its highly stylized nature and emphasis on spectacle, where music, dance and gesture combined "to create a vibrant artistic unit with dance and mime being central to the dramatic experience." sanskrit dramas were known as "natya", derived from the root word (dance), characterizing them as spectacular dance-dramas which has continued in indian cinema. the third influence was the traditional folk theatre of india, which became popular from around the 10th century with the decline of sanskrit theatre. these regional traditions include the jatra of bengal, the ramlila of uttar pradesh, and the terukkuttu of tamil nadu. the fourth influence was parsi theatre, which "blended realism and fantasy, music and dance, narrative and spectacle, earthy dialogue and ingenuity of stage presentation, integrating them into a dramatic discourse of melodrama. the parsi plays contained crude humour, melodious songs and music, sensationalism and dazzling stagecraft."