On World Dance Day, Indian National Award-winning choreographer Shiamak Davar shared his thoughts about the dance scene in Bollywood today.
“Choreography has definitely become more structured and stylised. Dil Toh Pagal Hai had created a revolution in terms of introducing fit dancers doing synchronised movements. From there on, a trend started and it has moved in a positive direction,” Davar said in an email interview from Mumbai.
“But honestly, technology also has a huge role to play in it. The advantage of an editor makes it easier for stars to do one movement at a time with multiple cuts that are seamlessly joined later. Honestly, I find this very boring, I miss seeing pure dancing. When you look back, Helen ji used to dance an entire sequence effortlessly. That is dance; that was natural talent,” he said, referring to the actress Helen who has starred in multiple films starting from the 1950s.
“This isn’t a new phenomenon. The legends from yesteryears have been natural dancers and it is almost like a prerequisite for our industry. It is not so much about technique than it is about performance and being able to connect to the audiences,” he added.
Davar has been instrumental in popularising contemporary jazz and western forms of dance in India.
He has choreographed dance sequences in films such as Dil To Pagal Hai, Taal, Bunty Aur Babli and Dhoom 2.
“Most new comers attend professional dance lessons, which is very important for them to find confidence and to be able to understand rhythm and movement. From Shahid Kapoor, Sushant Singh Rajput, Varun Dawan, Sonakshi Sinha and many more came to my classes to train before venturing into acting,” said Davar.
At the moment, he is working on Jagga Jasoos and his first Marathi movie Hrudayantar.
