May 8, 2018
Is every Bollywood movie a dance movie? How does one define a
dance movie? Dance has always been an instrinsic part of films in India. But
choreographers like Shiamak Davar and Terence Lewis sense the brewing of a new
movement to their advantage -- all thanks to Remo D'Souza's "ABCD: Any Body Can
Dance".
Late actor Shammi Kapoor prancing around to energetic numbers,
Mithun Chakraborty's pelvic thrusts in "Disco dancer" and Govinda's dance moves
in songs like "Sarkaye liyo khatia jada lage" and "Ankhiyon se goli mare" --
Bollywood has always had an affair with dance.
Now, fast forward to the
present, and the rendezvous has got more sophisticated.
"'ABCD: Any Body
Can Dance' is the start of dance movies. It is a movie which shows hip-hop and
street. I don't see exactly a 'Black Swan' (in the future), but (we are) going
into that space. We have dance troupes going on seven-month-long tours as a
contemporary dance company because we don't have that kind of audience here,"
Ashley Lobo told IANS.
"There will come a time when that kind of work
will be in films," added Lobo, who has choreographed in movies like "Rockstar"
and "Guzaarish".
Choreographers Lobo, Melvin Louis, Terence Lewis and
Ganesh Hegde spoke to IANS on behalf of Sony PIX, a channel which often
showcases different installments of popular dance film "Step Up".
National Award-winning choreographer Davar, who has made icons like Shah Rukh
Khan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Kevin Spacey and John
Travolta sway to his steps, appreciates the growing culture of dance films.
"I think choreographers have a great vision and the ability to translate
that into movement or film. It is great to see films that have dance as its core
essence. It is a great opportunity for dancers also to find a larger platform
and see themselves on the big screen," Davar told IANS.
After D'Souza hit
jackpot with the "ABCD" franchise, a bevy of dance films charged up with star
power of names like Varun Dhawan, Katrina Kaif, Sooraj Pancholi and Isabelle
Kaif have been announced.
Louis feels it is all about staying in sync
with the trend.
"Basically everyone wants to make money. It is no more
just about passion. It is also because they want commercial success and it is a
big market," Louis told IANS, pointing out that the new age dance-based films
are captivating the younger lot.
Terence, who specialises in Indian folk,
contemporary and neo-classical dance forms, said "all our films are dance films
if compared to international films".
"It is not a new concept in
Bollywood," said Terence, expressing the hope of seeing better quality dancing
in the movies to come in the future.
In fact, the choreographers are
working on their own version of dance films.
"I'm in the process of
writing a dance film based on choreography. It is not in a genre of works which
happens in India but more on what happens overseas," Lobo said, sharing that it
will be about what an Indian company does on foreign shores.
The idea has
found its way into the mind of Louis as well.
"I'm always thinking about
it. It is on my bucket film. I will make a dance movie which will be a crazy
dance movie. It will not be stereotypical. I will take it into a very different
dimension."
Terence, who has choreographed international stage shows,
Bollywood shows, Broadway Western musicals and music videos, is also writing a
dance film and promises it will be very different.
But Hegde doesn't
understand what the fuss is about.
"We had 'Disco dancer', there was
Shammi Kapoor in 'Teesri Manzil' who was looking like Elvis Presley. He was a
performer. Just because our stories do not revolve around dance that does not
mean that dance movies were not there," said Hegde, known for his work in films
like "Black", "Koi...Mil Gaya" and "Khamoshi: The Musical".
He feels if a
plot is about dance, then it limits the range of the project.
"Because
someone who is 60 or 70 might not be interested in who wins the dance
competition. It might not be a universal subject for everyone."
The dance
guru feels one should not "concentrate more on making a collage of various dance
moves and various dance episodes throughout the film".
"It should be a
movie first and then dance should help the movie. It should not be about how
beautifully you have shot six dance sequences," added Hegde, who hopes to make a
movie which stays long in the minds of people.