Dance
and music are two inseparable parts of Indian films – no Bollywood flick or
Tollywood drama is complete without a few jazzy dancing numbers, songs and
dance. Given and combined in the larger tradition of the country, that with
native forms of dance, forms of celebration for different occasions and
festivities, it is not a surprise that the media produced here have embraced
and reflected this social- cultural phenomenon of song and dance. Every region
in the country has its own unique dance form, Bhangra in Punjab, Bharatnatyam
in Tamil Nadu, Bihu in Assam, Dandiya in Gujarat, Kathak in the north and many more. It is a globally accepted and
adored Bollywood feature – people in the screen just bursting into dance for no
reason. This essentially is their appeal as a total entertainer and it emerges
from the early theater of the masses.
Although
dancing appears in every Bollywood film, unlike Hollywood where films like Footloose, Step Up ,or even more serious
ones such as Black Swan, have been
made and appreciated world over, there have been a very few in India that have
explored the field of dance or portrayed it as a career, a field acknowledging
its ‘mainstreamness’, its existence as a valid career option and its presence
in the country beyond the scope of film stars’ dancing stints, their ways to
weave romance or just to side pop from the plot.
In 2013 renowned
Indian choreographer Remo D’Souza, known to the masses through his work in
reality shows, created the Indian equivalent of Step Up or Footloose, called ABCD: Anybody Can Dance that was widely viewed
and accepted. The film earned positive reviews from the audience as well as the
critics as it featured some unique dance sequences, even though with a very
basic plot line, the dance numbers were to be relished and it also brought
together some big names in the industry such as D’Souza himself, and ace
choreographer Prabhu Deva. It gave the audience an opportunity to view dancing
in a light different from what they have always known and it worked.
The film starring prominent dancing names
such as Prabhu Deva, Ganesh Acharya and also Kay Kay Menon in lead roles also had the
participants of Dance India
Dance, whom the audiences
recognize and have loved in these reality shows, like American Lauren
Gottleib who earned national acclaim in India, appear in supporting roles. A Tamil and Telugu dubbed version titled Aadalam Boys Chinnatha Dance and ABCD respectively were also released along
with, the makers and actors remaining true to their origins.
The story revolves around dancer Parbhu
Deva who after having a bitter disagreement with his friend and manager
Jehangir Khan played by Kay Kay Menon about the latter's blatant misuse of his
authority and influence to wrongly win a dance competition called Dance Dil Se for his team Jehangir Dance
Company, decides to leave his job as the choreographer of the dance company.
Out of work and unable to pursue his passion ,he spots some street boys in
Mumbai doing great dance moves and decides to train their raw talent into
something worthwhile with his dancing expertise. Their dance lessons are
interrupted by their differences and tiffs. And despite many obstacles,
personal differences etc the team manages to overcome these and defeat
Jehangir’s team in the prestigious dance competition with a glorious dance performance.
The film features different types of dance, a wide variety with contemporary
dance and street dance etc.
The film also made a sequel, ABCD 2 that was less liked even though
it had a bigger cast, acting names involved. The film explored the career journey
of Suresh and Vernon of the ‘fictitious dance crew’, who went on to win the
World Dance Championship in Las Vegas. The merit of this film was that it
featured a vast variety of dance styles, from Hip Hop to Krumping and Kathak, freestyle
dance, popping, and other contemporary dances as well with the dancers
showcasing some dazzling fusions and dance moves.
Dance centered films in India are a
definite upgrade and are to be appreciated. Earlier too films like Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Dil To Pagal Hai,
Naache Mayuri, Nach Le, Chance Pe Dance have explored the themes of
dancing, choreography, dance competitions, but lacked the centrality and
directness of this production and they are lesser in sync with the current
forms.
Eshita
Tiwari
