Bollywood and its crazy trends

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Bollywood is a huge phenomenon all over the world, and yes, it does make or break a lot of impressions and also sets trends. Munni and Sheila in the recent times have set the temperatures soaring with their exciting dance moves. All choreographers now want to choreograph dance sequences that create sensation and a buzz. Even my choreography in the recent film Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji was a similar attempt.

Planning the sequences for the film was not an easy task. With two of my dance assistants Alysa Decruz and Sudeesh Nair, we went about meticulously looking into every little detail. It took us almost a month to get Ajay Devgn and the gorgeous Shazahn Padamsee grooving.
When the national award-winning director Madhur Bhandarkar called me to choreograph the sensual salsa pieces, I was honestly very excited to work with a trendsetter like him. But at the same time, I was a bit hesitant, as I hadn’t heard much about Ajay’s dancing skills. After being nominated recently for best choreography for the film Kites with Hrithik Roshan, a step ahead was to train Ajay in salsa. It did seem like a huge challenge in the beginning.
However, I was pleasantly surprised when I started training Ajay. He turned out to be a complete surprise package as he danced so effortlessly.
In the film, Ajay is learning dance from Shazahn and we reached a stage when we had to tell Ajay to act like a student and not like a professional. I hope some day, some filmmaker takes a chance and explores this side of Ajay’s talent too.
The other song was with television actor Dhruv Bhandari and Shazahn and this dance was a complete pleasure. Both Shahzan and Dhruv were so hard working, that it is lovely to see youngsters put in so much of effort. The most difficult part of the job was when Madhur sir asked me to rehearse with them at nights. From 11pm to 2 am, we would all dance for almost a month to get our steps right and look professional. It was like a party every night and we worked extremely hard on this film. The results are all there for everyone to see now.
When I now read reviews of the film, where the dance sequences are being written about too, it gives me a sense of joy. Somewhere, all the midnight hard work has paid off well.