Katrina’s sassy moves and Malaika’s groovy steps have topped the charts, while dance schools have been cashing in on the Bollywood style by training aspirants. But according to dance diva Madhuri Dixit, the Indian film industry doesn’t have a dance style of its own. Recently, in an interview Madhuri said that the Hindi film industry is devoid of a distinctive style of dance. She thinks that Bollywood has become a melting pot of all forms of the art. “Bollywood is an amalgam of all dance styles. Bollywood has no style of its own. The style is a cliche. There are so many dance styles all over the world and we get to see them all in one song itself. So this is Bollywood’s specialty,” she was quoted as saying.
But is this really the case? Is the Hindi film industry devoid of a dance form. Choreographer Pony Verma, who choreographed the popular Ooh la la number from Vidya Balan starrer The Dirty Picture, says that there was a time when most choreographers used to follow Kathak or any other Indian classical dance form to devise steps for songs. “But today, we try to incorporate as many dance styles, like locking and popping, B-boying, contemporary, all merging in one song. Madhuri is right in a way because we don’t do Dhak-dhak or Ek do teen anymore,” says Pony, who believes Ooh la la became popular because of its Indian roots.
Atul Jindal, owner of the dance academy Big Dance Centre, says that dance numbers in the Hindi film industry are not devoid of a style, rather there’s no origin of it. “It has always been inspired from many dance forms from across the world,” he says.
But choreographers think that now Bollywood style is making its own mark. It is emerging as a distinctive form that has its own flavour. “Obviously, it’s inspired from various dance forms that is a mix of Western and Indian, but this style is very different. Bollywood dance numbers are more about colours and expression, rather than just moving the body,” says Atul.
Choreographer Marzi Pestonji says that the flavour of Bollywood also changes from person to person. “There are choreographers who give their own touch to the numbers they choreograph. We have choreographers who make our dance numbers look different even if it’s an amalgam of many forms. Like, a Saroj Khan dance would have a completely different look from a Shiamak Davar. It won’t be a regular run-of-the-mill number. There would be some moves that would be very experimental,” says Marji.
In fact, the Bollywood style has become so famous that despite it having no origin, it’s making its mark internationally. “It’s taking its own shape now. Now, at international dance reality shows, they have a separate slot for Bollywood dance. That makes it evident how popular our style is today,” concludes Atul.