Never buy camera film except from a recognized dealer. Those bargain Kodak films on offer at tourist sites will most likely have half their exposures missing. It is better to bring batteries from abroad as the local imported variety may have been tampered with. At high altitude, the battery may pop from the cold and if your camera has no manual means of operation, it is not ideal for extreme Indian conditions. The answer is to buy a cheap manual Indian camera that will at least provide some record of your adventure until you get to lower altitudes where your more sophisticated model returns to life.
Film songs are basic to Indian life and their influence is more pervasive than pop.
Make a practice of asking people the words and you will discover the words and you will discover an innocent world of romance and poetry totally at variance with the level of noise. Only make friends if you have to. If this sounds mean, remember the alternative may be two weeks of painful injections in a hospital that seems more frightening than the dog. In villages, it is wise to carry a stick or a stone to show who's the boss. A dog immediately sniffs a stranger and if you don't act promptly to shoo him off, a pack of pye-dogs will gather to make your progress even more difficult.