On International Dance Day, choreographers reflect on the evolution of dance in Hindi cinema, from classical-inspired movements of the past to today’s globally influenced choreography.
Retaining the soul of the song is important: Vaibhavi Merchant
Vaibhavi, who won National Awards for Dholi Taaro Dhol Baaje (Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, 1999) and Dhindora Baaje Re (Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, 2023), refers to songs from Guide (1965), Pakeezah (1972) and Jewel Thief (1965) as “classics”. She shares, “When I watch the songs of choreographers of the yesteryear’s be it my own grandfather B Hiralalji or Sarojji’s mentor B Sohanlalji, songs from films like Guide (1965) or Pakeezah (1972), Jewel Thief (1965), those are what I call classics. The dance competition between Padminiji and Vyjantimala in Raj Tilak (1958) is my all time favourite. The masters have done it all and we are just an extension. Now we have Jimmy Jib’s and fancy equipment to help us but retaining the soul of the song is important. Today we have directors like Karan Johar, Aditya Chopra, Raju Hirani, SS Rajamouli who put in that kind of effort to shoot songs on a grand scale, even having the budget for songs makes a big difference. It gives us directors of dance a chance to bring our vision to life. Today if someone tells me we will be shooting a song at a foreign location with foreign dancers that brief does not excite me anymore. It’s important that the song fits into the film’s narrative. I’m currently working on a film called Eetha, where I explore Lavani, even my National award winning Dhindora Baaje Re gave me a chance to explore our rich Indian dance forms.”
What we miss now is the performance of the actor, the expression, the tehrav and ada of actors: Vijay Ganguly
Vijay says, earlier the actors used to hold the frame, shots used to be long and actors used to perform. The sequences were shot on film roll which was expensive, only a certain amount of stock was availiable for the day. He adds, “Legends like Sarojji used to plan every shot and everything was on paper, how long the shot would be and which part would be filmed when. It’s easier now because we work on digital, we can shoot the whole song at a time but sometimes due to edit and cuts the actor’s performance gets hampered in the final version. What we miss now is the performance of the actor, the expression, the tehrav and ada of actors. Otherwise I feel we are getting back to that era, atleast I’m trying on my part to bring back longer shots.”
Ganguly expresses, “Earlier, people would watch Bollywood songs and whatever appeared on TV. Now, because there’s so much exposure, people are watching reality shows and dance reels on their phones all the time. For us to keep up with that and entertain the audience through dance is a challenge.” He continues, “The only way I can do that is by telling the story authentically through my songs. We find bits of the story that can be included in the song.”
Chinni Prakash: People don’t have the time and patience to watch long songs
Chinni Prakash, who won the National Film Award for the song Azeem-O-Shaan Shahenshah (Jodhaa Akbar, 2008), says, “People don’t have the time and patience to watch long songs these days. When I was actively working in the ’80s and ’90s, we would have a new dance form every 10 years, while now we have 10 new dance forms to work with each year. It’s confusing for any choreographer and dancer. By the time you learn one dance form, the trend has changed.”
The veteran choreographer shares, “Even in a four-hour film like Dhurandhar 2, you can barely see any dance moves.” Prakash continues, “Back in our days, I had choreographed songs for Prem Loka (1987) featuring Juhi Chawla; the film had 10 songs shot in two languages. Today you have the opportunity, but which platform do you show on, because dance has vanished from films, the songs that people performed at weddings, where are they? I’m afraid that in the coming times there won’t be any dance in films, it will only be limited to reels.”