{"id":17212,"date":"2011-06-04T11:35:47","date_gmt":"2011-06-04T11:35:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/beta.tehelka.com\/?p=17212"},"modified":"2011-06-04T11:35:47","modified_gmt":"2011-06-04T11:35:47","slug":"goodbye-sheila-munni-and-the-deadly-jhatkas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/goodbye-sheila-munni-and-the-deadly-jhatkas\/","title":{"rendered":"Goodbye Sheila, Munni and the deadly jhatkas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bollywood actors cannot dance anymore. Young choreographers and dancers are making an exodus to the relative creativity of television shows , says\u00a0Aastha Atray Banan<\/strong><\/em>
\n

\"Choreographer<\/a>
Flying games<\/strong> Choreographer Danny Fernandes trains Mayuresh and Bhavna
Photo: Apoorva Guptay<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nSOMEWHERE IN<\/strong>\u00a0the fifth dimension known as Bollywood, someone is shooting a dance sequence right now. This is a safe bet because Bollywood shoots anywhere between three to five songs every day of the year \u2014 a figure that should not surprise anyone. What is surprising is the current exodus of Bollywood choreographers, saying the future of dance is elsewhere. In television to be precise.
\nFor many ambitious dancers, television has become the refuge of choice. However, live shows in random venues, and even teaching reluctant children seem easier than bashing their heads against Bollywood\u2019s walls. The main grouse choreographers and dancers have is this: you can\u2019t break in unless you agree to comply by the \u2018formula\u2019 \u2014 leave your hopes of incorporating a contemporary lift in place of that hip roll by the door.
\nDanny Fernandes, Kunjan Jani and Savio Barnes started dancing 10 years ago when they were in their late teens. They worked their way up from professional back-up dancers for choreographers such as Farah Khan and Saroj Khan to choreographers for music videos, always keeping an eye for the main chance. Like everything else in Bollywood, the big break in dance comes only to the lucky and connected. In the past few years, they have stopped looking at Bollywood. After being one of the winners of\u00a0Nach Baliye\u2019<\/em>s first season, they have been on the reality television dance show wagon. The hankering for Bollywood continues subliminally though the trio knows what happens if you somehow do break in. \u201cThey\u2019d rather we copy the choreography from an American pop number, than experiment, because they feel safer that way,\u201d say all three of them in unison.
\nWhen we meet them, the trio is choreographing a sequence for\u00a0Dance Ke Superstars<\/em>. \u201cWe chose Bhavna and Mayuresh for this sequence because they have done aerial acts before. Mayuresh is a skilled Malkhamb dancer,\u201d says Danny. Malkhamb is a Indian martial art usually performed on top of a pole or a rope. Bhavna and Mayuresh dance gracefully in the sky for what Danny describes as a \u201csilk cloth act\u201d. With just two silk panels hanging from the ceiling to support them as they spin and roll, the act looks not just gorgeous and risky, but also strenuous.
\nThe trio looks up to great modern choreographers like Astad Deboo but mostly, they watch hours of dance performances on YouTube where their tastes are decidedly mainstream. They love Madonna, Justin Timberlake and Usher\u2019s videos for that smooth hip hop vibe. They dream of choreographing a giant musical, a la\u00a0Moulin Rouge,<\/em>\u00a0with a lot of hip hop and pop moves along with aerial, water and acrobatic acts and a completely Bollywood feel.
\nBY SHUNNING<\/strong>\u00a0young, talented choreographers who could help dance evolve to its next level, is Bollywood sealing itself into stagnation? Terence Lewis certainly thinks so. An established dance teacher for the past 15 years, Lewis has choreographed for a few movies, including Ram Gopal Varma\u2019s\u00a0Naach<\/em>. Lewis is now a choreographer and judge on Zee\u2019s\u00a0Dance India Dance (DID)<\/em>. \u201cWe need new blood or we need established choreographers to get out of their comfort zone. Choreographers should expand their own repertoires and also insist that actors rehearse and learn new stuff. People don\u2019t dance anymore, cameras do,\u201d he complains, adding, \u201cI am smug about my television success because I get to experiment and see new talent. The level of dancing is much higher.\u201d He confesses rather amused that he rarely gets a movie assignment anymore. \u201cI am jobless most of the times as I want to incorporate contemporary dance, or Kalaripayattu, but for that you need an actor who will rehearse.\u201d
\nLewis\u2019 frustration reveals that even established choreographers need to put a lid on their creativity to survive in the industry. Of course, as in any running enterprise, there are the pragmatists. Longinus Fernandes, who shot to fame with\u00a0Slumdog Millionaire\u2019<\/em>s\u00a0Jai Ho<\/em>\u00a0is one of them. He spills a string of aphorisms. \u201cIt\u2019s the audience that decides what is a hit. The\u00a0jhatka<\/em>\u00a0works because people want it. You need to learn the thought process of the industry. Maybe one out of hundred get that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018I wanted Arjun Rampal to do this technical dance piece but he said he\u2019d need time. Since we had none, he just ended up picking up dust and flinging it around,\u2019 says Longinus Fernandes<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Longinus tells the story of how he became practical. \u201cFor a dance calledJaanleva<\/em>\u00a0in\u00a0Moksha<\/em>, I wanted to use spears and make the dancers jump and use the spear in a unique manner. But I was told there is no time. Then I just ended up choreographing a simple jig. In the same song, I wanted to make Arjun Rampal do this extremely technical dance piece but he said, \u2018I will need time,\u2019 and since we had none, he just ended up picking up some dust and flinging it around. Though it looked great in the end, I learnt a lesson that day \u2014 you cannot want everything. You have to compromise. Now, unless the actor is Hrithik Roshan, I keep all kind of ballet techniques or advanced classical steps out of my choreography,\u201d he says without any hint of sarcasm or pathos.
\n

\"\"<\/a>
Same pinch<\/strong> Item numbers like Munni<\/em> (left) and Sheila<\/em> (right) reek of predictability<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nBosco, of the choreographer duo Bosco-Caesar that has worked in films like\u00a0Three Idiots, Love Aaj Kal<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Jab We Met<\/em>, has a more optimistic spin. \u201cThere are no rules in Bollywood, so you can try anything. But there are limitations \u2014 of actors and time. We try and create steps that will get the audience ticking, or we just stick to the usual norms \u2014 make it \u2018massy\u2019 \u2014 and that means putting in the hip rolls and bust thrusts.\u201d As far as dance technique goes, the simpler and more \u2018massy\u2019 it is, the better because the \u2018masses\u2019 judge a Bollywood dance by whether they can do that move at the next party.
\nGEETA KAPOOR,<\/strong>\u00a0the popular judge of DID, who has choreographed for films such as\u00a0Saathiya<\/em>,\u00a0Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham<\/em>\u00a0and assisted Farah Khan for many years, including last year\u2019s\u00a0Sheila Ki Jawani,<\/em>\u00a0agrees with Bosco. \u201cChoreographers should not care about the banner \u2014 big or small. Just do all the work you get. I have worked with the biggest banners and sometimes, haven\u2019t even got credit. I often refuse to do a song just because everyone wants me to repeat\u00a0Sheila.<\/em>\u00a0They get a choreographer who will copy my work for half the price. Is that fair?\u201d Geeta draws the line when probed if she would like to change the \u2018formula\u2019. \u201cWhy change it? The formula works no matter how much it curbs one\u2019s creativity.\u201d
\nTelevision offers easy, quick and substantial money (anywhere from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh for a one-day shoot) along with instant recognition. You can even choose what suits you \u2014 either dance with and choreograph a celebrity in\u00a0Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa\u00a0<\/em>or\u00a0Nach Baliye<\/em>, or dance yourself in\u00a0DID<\/em>\u00a0. The dance-based show is a trend that\u2019s showing no signs of going away, especially with Hrithik Roshan\u2019s forthcoming television debut\u00a0Just Dance<\/em>.\u00a0DID<\/em>\u00a0creator and Zee\u2019s Senior Creative Director (non-fiction) Ranjeet Thakur explains, \u201cDID<\/em>\u00a0is a platform for original work. The stakes are very high in Bollywood, so you need balls of steel to make it, and that\u2019s why directors or producers shy away from using newcomers.\u201d He adds, \u201cThanks to television, choreographers have faces. They get mobbed in small towns. They get paid so much and on time. On top of that, they get to be creative. Why would they want Bollywood?\u201d
\nBollywood does seem to be losing out. In Bandra, we meet the talented contemporary dancer Shampa Sonthalia. The 30-yearold daughter of the late choreographer Gopi Krishna (of\u00a0Jhanak<\/em>\u00a0Jhanak Payal<\/em>\u00a0Baaje<\/em>\u00a0fame), Shampa was the first runner- up of\u00a0Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa<\/em>\u00a0this year and intends to stick to television. \u201cHere I get a chance to do contemporary stuff and push the limits of dance. I admire\u00a0Munni\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Sheila<\/em>\u00a0but item numbers have become so stereotypical now.\u201d
\nBut as most choreographers point out, the biggest hindrance for them are actors, who only work with people they know will make them \u201clook good\u201d without much effort. \u201cGovinda will only work with Ganesh Hegde and Abhishek Bachchan with Vaibhavi Merchant,\u201d says Kunjan. Choreographer and dance teacher Sarika Shirodhkar, 30, adds, \u201cShahid Kapur used to dance so well. But now all his moves look the same, because he will not work with anyone but Ahmed Khan. And all the actresses just want to do the same item number.\u201d
\nEven status quoist Geeta Kapoor zeroes in on the fact that most Bollywood actors today can\u2019t dance, won\u2019t try and don\u2019t need to because the choreographer and camera will do all the hard work. \u201cI love\u00a0DID<\/em>\u00a0because I work with freshers who are ready to experiment. In films, I only try to do something technical if I have actors who will give me 100 percent, like a Katrina Kaif or a Rani Mukerji. Otherwise, they have too many physical limitations. They just want to do two easy steps,\u201d she says.
\nAnd though the dreamers may have moved to pastures such as doing live shows, teaching and reality shows, no one really gives up on the dream. That\u2019s the beauty of Bollywood it would seem. As the gates get higher, the crowd just grows. As Kunjan says, \u201cI want a Filmfare.\u201d To get that, if they have to follow the formula, they will do that. Because all they want to do is get that one elegant foot in, and later, they swear they will change the rules of the game. That\u2019s what many before them said. We just hope they keep their word.
\nAastha Atray Banan is a Senior Correspondent, Mumbai with Tehelka.<\/em>
\naastha@tehelka.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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