Entertainment | Film & Cinema
A dance to inspire
Remo D'Souza's usually to be found choreographing Bollywood's mega-dance scenes. So when he took the director's chair recently, it was only natural the film would be about dance.
- By Jyoti Kalsi, Gulf News Report
- Published: 23:31 December 12, 2007
- Remo D' Souza has choreographed 150 music videos and over 100 Bollywood films.
- Image Credit: Vazhisojan/Gulf News
Remo D'Souza's usually to be found choreographing Bollywood's mega-dance scenes. So when he took the director's chair recently, it was only natural the film would be about dance.
In his decade-long career, Remo D' Souza has choreographed 150 music videos and over 100 Bollywood films including Dhoom, Kaante, Aankhen, Saathiya and Babul with stars such as Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and Sanjay Dutt.
Not surprisingly his first film as a director is about dance.
Titled Lal Pahare'r Katha (The Story of the Red Hills), the Bengali film explores the dying art form of Chhou dancing.
Set in a village in Bengal, the film tells a moving and inspiring story about a chhou performer's determination to keep his art form alive and a boy who overcomes disability to become a dancer.
The film, starring Mithun Chakravarty, had its first public screening at DIFF. We caught up with Remo for a chat.
Excerpts:
What motivated you to write and direct a film?
The idea for this story is inspired by a real-life experience. At our rehearsal venue, I befriended a boy working at the tea stall. He was born lame and mute, but introducing him to dance worked wonders. He now walks without crutches, plays cricket and is a good dancer. I am putting him through school and he is doing well. I wanted to put this story on screen for people to see what wonders dance can do.
You are from Kerala and work in Bollywood. Why did you make a Bengali film and choose chhou dancing as the backdrop?
I was looking for a unique art form that has never been seen before on screen. My co-writer Dhrubo Banerjee suggested chhou. I knew nothing about this dance but when I researched it I was fascinated. I went to Purulia in Bengal where this dance form originated and lived with the dancers and studied their unique masks and movements. But what you see in the film is my interpretation of the dance. The title comes from the red soil of Purulia region. To ring true, the film had to be in Bengali.
What is you next project?
I have been bitten by the directing bug now but I am trying to balance my work as choreographer and director. I have just finished doing four songs for Bhootnath with Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan and am working on Kidnap with Sanjay Dutt and Imran Khan and Love Story 2050 with Harman Baweja and Priyanka Chopra. But I have started writing the script for my next movie, which will be a musical in English about drug addiction.
On being at DIFF:
Finding the finance and making the film was easy and I believe that there is now an audience for such films,'' says Remo D'Souza of his directorial debut, The Story of the Red Hills. “But marketing it is very difficult. I thank DIFF for including my film in the festival because there can be no better place than Dubai to launch a film. I hope to release it commercially early next year.''
Remo on Mithun Chakravarty
"He is amazing. He was excited about the story and postponed other commitments to give me bulk dates.
Chhou [a traditional Bengali dance] is physically demanding and he got many cuts and bruises while learning the moves and performing. There were no hotels in Bandhwan village were we shot the film. So my entire unit of 108 people, including Mithun, stayed in the village school. But he never complained and was punctual even for a shoot at 4am in freezing temperatures."
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