Where Bollywood Comes Alive
Posts tagged choreographer
European film extra speaks
02 years ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
Evening gowns worn with hiking sandals and awkward dance movements. A field report from a European in a Bollywood studio
Anja Wasserbäech (THE TIMES OF INDIA; March 27, 2011) It is often said that the life of an actor or model is very boring, because they spend most of their time sitting around and waiting. It’s true. If you’ve ever worked as an extra on a Bollywood film, you’ll know they are right. Each of the 23 tourists standing in front of the McDonalds in Colaba was asked, “Do you wanna be in a Bollywood movie?”
We were told there would be money and food. Some were promised that they’d have their hair styled and face made up. So, there we sat sweating in a bus. We are the globetrotters and seekers of truth, the Indiainspired and Goa tourists.
For most, Mumbai is merely away station; for many the offer is tempting — not because of the meals or the 500 rupees, but for the chance to have a new experience, an experience that’s not listed in any of the tourist guides. “It’s an amusement,” as a Scot remarks. Little did I know that this was so common here. Over the next week, I was asked four more times to become an extra in a Bollywood movie.
The morning began with what we would be doing the most over the next thirteen hours: waiting. Poles, Swedes, Germans, Dutch, English and Scots, all waiting. Once we arrived at the studios in Bandra, we waited again — for our costumes. I refused to put on the very short, red frock, while the English More >
Remo D’Souza’s film is autobiographical
02 years ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
By Subhash K. Jha, March 18, 2011 – 12:50 IST
A lot of what you will see in F.A.L.T.U is based on the choreographer-director’s own experiences.
Remo is at the moment looking nervously at the release of his other directorial venture F.A.L.T.U. He describes it as an autobiographical look at the education system. “A lot of what you’ll see in Jackky Bhagnani’s character is me. I’ve made him do a lot of wild things in F.A.L.T.U. But not half as wild as some of the things I’ve done in my own younger aimless days. I was a mediocre student and my marks used to shame my parents. It took years for me to convince them that I wanted to be a choreographer.”
Remo is aware that F.A.L.T.U sounds like a carryover of 3 Idiots. “I had already started shooting F.A.L.T.U when I got to know about 3 Idiots. I immediately rang Raju Hirani up to ask. I was ready to scrap my film if it bore any resemblance to 3 Idiots. When Raju told me that my film was a different comment on our education system from what he was doing I breathed a sigh of relief and went ahead with my film.”
Now Remo will be screening the first complete print of F.A.L.T.U for Raju Hirani. “I want his opinion because he’s a terrific guy and a terrific director. And like 3 Idiots my film is also about the loopholes in our education system.”
Except that Raju never showed students drinking on campus. Remo has.
“Let’s face it. Kids today want to work hard and play hard. No point in making them do sneaky fun stuff when they More >
Deepshikha’s creating records!
02 years ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
BOMBAY TIMES (January 31, 2011)
Deepshikha Nagpal, the actress who has worked in Koyla, Baadshah, Partner, Dhoom Dhadaka etc. is gearing up for bigger things. She is likely to be in the Limca Book of Records for playing eight roles in one film; and we don’t mean eight characters. The actress who is making her directorial debut with a serious drama Yeh Dooriyan is handling as many as eight departments at a time!
She is not only directing and acting in the film, she has also written the story, screenplay and dialogue besides choreographing and producing it too. Ask her about her varied roles and she says, “I have been in the industry since long. My grandfather was a renowned personality in the silent era and has to his credit the launch of cult heroes like Ashok Kumar and Mehmood. I myself have worked with Ashutosh Gowariker, Rakesh Roshan and Abbas Mustan and have learnt things from them. My film deals with a very sensitive subject and I had to convey it to people, so I thought I might as well take up the challenge and make the film myself.”
Being a single mother herself and having a story which resembles her life, Deepshikha feels a special connect with the subject and wants to reach out to many women like her. “Yeh Dooriyan has the tag line Love After Divorce… is it a crime? And I really want to raise this question in society through my film. Women like me have to go through a lot and I hope my film opens the eyes of many,” says the More >
Yana in love with her choreographer?
02 years ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
Prithwish Ganguly | TNN (BOMBAY TIMES; December 21, 2010)
Item bomb Yana (formerly Gupta), who left Bollywood heart-broken when her marriage as well a steamy affair with Aftab Shivdasani failed, is back and it looks like in love! Never mind that she returned and immediately plunged into controversy by appearing ‘pantyless’ at a fashion event, BT is pleased to report that Yana has found happiness again. Gossip is that Yana is seeing her partner from the reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Ja, Bangalore dance choreographer Salman Khan. The two were spotted holding hands at Vijay Mallya’s birthday bash on Saturday. Yana introduced the shy Salman all around and, when asked about the status of their relationship, said, “Now that we are a couple on TV, I think we should appear together at every event possible to build the connect with the people who will vote to make us winners. I’m fond of Salman and he is a great dancer, we have grown close, but I won’t say that we are dating.”
Sonam bruised on sets of Players
02 years ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
Sonal Chawla (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 17, 2010)
It seems Sonam Kapoor is falling off time and again, which has resulted in her getting hurt. Sonam was shooting a song, choreographed by Bosco-Ceaser, with Abhishek Bachchan in Goa for Abbas-Mustan’s Players.
A source from the unit reveals, “In the song, Sonam is suppose to fall off from the stage on her hand, and unfortunately, it didn’t happen as the choreographer wanted. They made her fall off the stage over 17 times, to get the shot correctly. Result- Sonam ended up bruising her hand.”
The source adds, “Apart from falling and bruising herself, Sonam barely slept, since it had been raining all day long and that disrupted the shooting schedule. To get the perfect lights she had to wake up at 3am to deliver the shot.”
Vidya lays down conditions for her Silk Smitha role?
02 years ago
Living up to her name, Vidya Balan gave her producers Balaji Telefilms, a lesson on how she may and may not be portrayed as Silk Smitha, in Dirty Picture
Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 07, 2010)
Days after we reported that Vidya Balan was to undergo rigorous training to play Silk Smitha in Milan Luthria’s biopic Dirty Picture, the actress is seemingly nervous.
Ekta Kapoor, head honcho of Balaji Telefilms, is producing the film. And Vidya, who flew to Kolkata last week to shoot for Sujoy Ghosh film (untitled), had to sort things out with Ekta. So, hours before boarding the flight, she called for a meeting with her producers. It turned out to be a long one
Vidya had a fixed agenda for the meeting, we’re told; it was to lay down some ground rules for her portrayal as Silk Smitha in Luthria’s film. And the actress put them across in her own sweet way but she was forthright about it. The following were Vidya’s conditions:
• That there be no clear display of heaving breasts in songs
• That going backless is fine but she would not encourage frontal exposure
• That there be no camera close-ups of any of her assets
• That she is not made to wear outfits that may be explicitly exposing parts of her body.
Interestingly, Ekta Kapoor, who is otherwise considered to be quite a hard taskmaster, accepted all of Vidya’s rules.
Moreover, Vidya apparently had some rules on the way she will be choreographed in the film as well. Says a source, “Vidya told More >
Vidya Balan: Being Silk Smitha
02 years ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
Vidya Balan will undergo a month-long rigourous training under skilled choreographers from the South to get the late siren’s eye, lip and hip movements right. The film is tentatively called Dirty Picture
Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 02, 2010)
On persuasion, Vidya Balan has finally agreed to play Silk Smitha in Milan Luthria’s biopic on the actress (Dirty Picture is the working title). Apparently, the film deals with Silk Smitha’s relationship with a filmmaker. Ekta Kapoor will produce Luthria’s film.
Vidya will be training under highly skilled choreographers from the South to be able to imitate Silk Smitha’s eye, lip and hip movements. The training is expected to last for about a month. Yes, the movements are those many!
In all probability, Vidya will go down South and stay there for nearly a month for this training. Says a source, “Alternatively, Balaji will fly down a team of top choreographers from the South and put them up in Mumbai, where Vidya can train. The plan, as of now, is to go and stay in the South.”
Vidya gave her nod of consent to Ekta only last week. However, she is yet to sign the papers. A friend of Vidya’s says, “That’s just a formality. Vidya is very excited about this role. She loves to experiment with characters.”
Explaining why intense formal training is required for Vidya, our source says, “She is a fine dancer but Silk Smitha’s movements were very special. You can’t have someone doing her biopic in a More >
Sanjay Leela Bhansali the choreographer
03 years ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
Sanjay Leela Bhansali turns full-fledged choreographer for his next film, Heera Mandi, based on classical dancing
By Subhash K Jha (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 03, 2010)
// // // Life has come a full circle for Sanjay Leela Bhansali. 16 years after he started his career in cinema directing the songs for Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s 1942: A Love Story, he has once again choreographed an entire song in his forthcoming Hrithik Roshan-Aishwarya Bachchan starrer Guzaarish.
While he did provide inputs through a vital step here and a pirouette there in his various films, Bhansali has never fully choreographed a number in any of his earlier films, which had pivotal dance scenes.
Incidentally, Bhansali has also turned into a full-fledged music composer for Guzaarish.
While he became a music composer by design, choreography happened by accident.
A source close to the director says, “It happened last week while he was shooting a dance sequence with Aishwarya. Sanjay wanted her to do an impromptu and spontaneous dance. Sanjay wanted it to look as if Aishwarya was not dancing for the camera.”
But the movements that the choreographer showed them were somehow not working out. Sanjay found the whole effect too rehearsed and premeditated.
(Pic: Jitu Savlani)The source adds, “Time was running out so Sanjay finally decided to take matters into his own hands. Since he is also the film’s music composer, he understood the song’s core rhythm and soon began More >
Guzaarish’s last leg to be shot at YRF
03 years ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
Sanjay Leela Bhansali makes peace with Aditya Chopra; to shoot the last schedule of Guzaarish at YRF studio for some much-needed privacy
By Subhash K Jha (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 10, 2010)
// // // Two of Bollywood’s biggest filmmakers Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Aditya Chopra had a serious misunderstanding last year when Chopra ended up using the Punjabi exclamation ‘Hadippa’, a registered by Bhansali’s production house, for Yash Raj Films’ Dil Bole Hadippa! While the incident left a bitter taste in Bhansali’s mouth and the director had vowed to not go anywhere near the Yash Raj banner, the acrimony has now faded.
Bhansali for the first time will be shooting from February 21 at Yash Raj Studios, and that too for the crucial last schedule of the Hrithik Roshan-Aishwarya Rai starrer Guzaarish.
A source says, “It is the final lap of shooting and Sanjay needs to be absolutely relaxed. He weighed the pros and cons and decided to let bygones be bygones and approached Yash Raj. Mr Yash Chopra and his son Aditya have happily extended all facilities at their swanky studio to the director who hopes to shoot in peace and without any guests dropping in.”
“A drawback in shooting at one of the other major film studios in Mumbai is that guests can drop in any time. Despite giving clear instructions to his actors and technicians that no visitors would be allowed on the sets of Guzaarish, Sanjay regularly had to deal with VIP guests on the sets and he had to politely turn More >
Movie Review: CHANCE PE DANCE by FENIL SETA
03 years ago
Ken Ghosh is back with a film after almost 6 years. His first, Ishq Vishk, was a runaway hit and it was a dream launch for Shahid Kapoor. His next, Fida, also with Shahid, was a smashing thriller although it failed at the BO. Now Ken is here with his third film, Chance Pe Dance, and this one also features Shahid. However, unlike his previous two films, Chance Pe Dance fails and falls at several points. The only saving grace is Shahid. In fact, the talented young actor takes the film to dizzying heights in several sequences!
The story of the movie: Since 3 years, Sameer (Shahid Kapoor) is in Mumbai and is waiting for that one golden opportunity which will make him a Bollywood superstar. He gives auditions wherever he can and earns a living by doing odd jobs. He has faced rejection at many points but still doesn’t give up. His dad (Parikshit Sahni) is calling him back to Delhi but Sameer has no plans of quitting. Finally, Sameer gets a break as the lead actor in a musical film to be made by the famous director Rajiv (Mohnish Behl). Also he finds a new friend in Tina (Genelia) who is the choreographer in that very film. Everything was going fine for Sameer when came a big blow for him.
There isn’t any problem with the film’s first half. The story doesn’t move in the first hour but still one doesn’t find any reason to complain as it is laden with many interesting sequences. The film starts with the energetic number ‘Pe..Pe..Pepein’ followed by the More >