HOT STEPPING HEROES
Akshay Kumar is doing a Travolta in his next'Action Replay', while Shahid was a dancer in last.Here is the story of Bollywood dance,by male lead actors,down the ages-

Its 4 a.m. at Clark Quay, by the Singapore river.DJ Harvey is playing to a full house at the Rupee Room. The crowd is a mixed breed of Asians and Europeans; the song - ‘koi kahey kehta rahey’, from Dil Chata hai.

“Weekends are always jam packed”, says Dhruv Luthra, 23, a regular here” my friends and I love teaching the enthusiastic firangs Bollywood dance steps. Our favourite is,’Go-Hrithik’ a combo of Govinda and Hrithik’s steps. Everyone always joins in.”

Since circa 1935,Bombay, when K.L.Saigal ran around the trees, singing to his amour, to Danny Boyle in L.A., acknowledging Slumdog Millionaire’s choreographer (our very Bandra boy Longinus Fernandes) in his Oscar acceptance speech,Bollywood dancing has surely come full circle. Male leads in Indian Cinema have often shot to fame by the mere magic of their moves.

Magic of Imagination-Kalpana….

Dancing on celluloid by a lead hero, was first taken seriously when Indian critics sat up and noticed Shri Uday Shankar’s,’Kalpana’ (1948).The entire movie was in ballet form, depicting a dancer’s dream of setting up an academy.Shankar, sitar maestro Ravi Shankar’s elder brother, had shot for this in Gemini studios, with his wife Amala.He was known world wide for his Hindu ballet troupe and performance with Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova.

‘We were shown’ Kalpana ‘at the SDCI, it is an outstanding piece of work, ‘votes Vaibhavi Merchant, Bollywood’s ace choreographer,’ Udayji has depicted dance and music through his body, for the audience’s imagination.’


Yahoo! Chahey koi mujhey junglee kahey……
“Dance has always been an integral part of our leading men in cinema, “states Jaaved Jaaferi,” we have had it in classical and folk forms, in Gopi Krishna and Bhagwaan dada, in the facial expressions and body language of Raj Kapoor ji. While movements of other matinee idols like Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, and Rajesh Khanna were accepted because they were popular for their acting, Shammiji had an original style of dance, with stylish feet movement and the way he would jerk his head.”

Nicknamed ‘Rebel star’ by film publicist Bunny Ruben; Shammi Kapoor in his avatar of a cross between James Dean like looks and Elvis Presley like steps broke all norms of the then prevalent 'gentlemanly behaviour'. Dressed in tee shirts and leather jackets as per his wife Geeta Bali's advise.He started getting jiggy with it, gleefully tumbled down hills, raised arched brows above flirty eyes, made his heroines and audiences melt. Crooning away on screen, as the face for Rafi Saab’s voice. Numbers brilliantly composed by O.P.Nayyar and R.D.Burman for super hit Nasir Hussain played a major role for this hot stepper to set a cult that continues till date.

Taa thayya taa thayya ho…..

Few people know that Jeetendra’s first movie was as Sandhya’s double in Navrang, at the age of 17.Later,when he danced in a tee shirt and legendary white shoes, in Farz,to,’Mast baharon ka main aashiq’ he began his journey as ‘Jumping Jack.’

“My dance master, Shri B.Hiralal, was a very hard task master, but fabulous at his work.I owe him all the credit. A student is just as good as his guru is. The white shoes in that song were just incidental because I like to team the colour of my footwear with my trousers “Says young tarang Jeetendra who continued to enthrall audiences with dance performances; through 70’s, Caravan, to Tohfaa in the 80’s, often accompanied with dozens of extras and props.
Kaml Hassan who shook a talented leg in Sadma and Ek dooje ke liye on ta thayya beats ,too,was grace personified.

I am a Disco Dancer…….

Armed with a B.Sc degree in Chemistry and one from the Film and Television institute, Gouranga Chakraborty aka Mithunda won the National award for Mrigayaa and critical acclaim for Hum Paanch. It was Disco Dancer that made him the hero of the aam janta.

Dance show Boogie Woogie’s finalist, Ritu Gupta, 34, claims,’ when we mummies were asked to perform to male hero numbers, I was thrilled to be given Mithunda’s number .I have grown up watching ‘auva auva koi yahaan naachey ’and all the gals and guys at college always danced in Mithunda’s style.

The pioneer of the very sexual pelvic thrust in India, Mithunda points out,’ I loved watching Fred Astaire and Elvis Presley .I mixed my own style to theirs to create a unique one. These days, since everybody simply copies and follows western steps, dance has become monotonous, without any distinct style.


Bol baby bol, rock and roll……

Breaking the mould in the 1980’s, as a negative lead in Meri Jung, came Jaaved Jaaferi.Dancer par excellence, he brought trained, clean lines. In a combination made from ballet, jazz, martial arts, side thrusts and body control while refraining from facial expressions.

“Bandra was the place to be in,’ reminisces Jaaferi who also co produces India’s pioneer dance show on television-Boogie Woogie.My brother Naaved and I would watch videos of our favourite-Fred Astaire.Later, Saturday Night Fever and Michael Jackson numbers on VHS were available and very inspirational. Travolta brought the whole disco revolution and pelvic involvement in dance and sexuality in it with,’you should be dancing tonight’. Men started strutting after that. We would practice for hours and go to the discs and perform our thing by adding our own steps to memorized moves.”

Govinda aala re aala………

Chichi, as he is fondly called, means ‘little finger’ in Punjabi, but this ‘Virar ka chora’ turned out to be a big package. Inspired by Travolta, he made a VHS of himself, showing his groovy dance styles and circulated it to producers. When given a chance, his movies and moves made the upper stall go hopping haywire.

“I did not like the idea of sitting outside offices for long hours, dwindling my thumbs and making small talk.I concentrated on what would make me stand out from the others. My gurus Raam masterji, Saroj Khanji taught me well.I tried my best to please them. Worked hard to improve on what I was taught.Shammiji is my most favourite Bollywood dancer, rare is the ‘umda noor’ (superb illumination) that he had, amongst the industry.”

Stalwart Saroj Khan smiles as she talks about Govinda ,”When one enjoys dancing, it comes out in the pure form.Govinda has that quality ,where people who watch him ,feel like getting up to dance as well. No one can beat his expressions and timing.”

Kaho naa pyaar hai……….

Known to be the perfectionist when it comes to dance moves and grooves, Hrithik Roshan is the universal favourite.Since his debut, his Hotstepping moves are on the hot list of every dancer worth his grooves.

Famed choreographer, Terence Lewis points out,’Hrithik is the rare star who dances better than the chorographer. He takes a simple step to the next level and turns it to poetry in motion. There is such precision and clarity in his moves there is no confusion or awkwardness, however difficult the step. Generally it’s difficult for people with long limbs to dance so gracefully, he is an Ace.”

Yogen Bhagat, 35, Director of Bollywood Step Dance, in Los Angeles, U.S.A. notes,’Hrithik has a very strong connect with the audience. All our students want to learn to dance like him. While working with him for his moves, for the ‘Heartthrobs ‘world tour, I learnt how hard he works, giving more than a 100 %.There was a time when Indians learnt from foreign artists. Now, Hollywood wants to learn from Bollywood.”

Ba ba ba bhangra se le ke pop tak…….

A protégée of the Shiamak Dawer dance institute, his story reads like what every dancers dream would .First seen on screen as a background dancer to Aishwariya Rai in Taal and Karisma Kapoor in Dil Toh Pagal Hai. Shahid Kapoor’s dream debut in Ken Ghosh’s Ishq Vishk Pyaar Vyaar not only won him critical acclaim but also the Filmfare best debutante award. Besides, the film was a perfect showcase for him to show his talent at dance.

It’s Dil Bole Haddippa, from bhangra beats in Jab We Met, freestyling in Kaminey, Fancy footwork in Kismet Connection, or the recently released ‘Chance pe Dance’, Shahid’s skills are in his smooth serenades and he never fails to impress with the same.

All lead choreographers from Saroj Khan to Ahmed Khan agree that he is very sound in technique.

Popular choreographer for male leads in Bollywood, Ceaser of the Bosco Ceaser team couldn’t agree more.”Shahid is an excellent, fabulous and perfect dancer. He is very versatile and can do full justice to any kind of dance. He has no hassles and moves freely. He is smooth with traditional steps as well as modern technique. Since his core is very strong, be it B boying, krumping, pop and lock, he can synchronize it all to perfection and make it look great on screen.Definatley ,the dancing super star ”

PAPA KEHTEY HAI-



Bachna ae haseeno-The charming Rishi Kapoor had girls going crazy with his moves in movies that had foot tapping chartbusters; popular with the youth.Son Ranbir Kapoor has inherited lineage of Kapoor showmen with superb sense of rhythm and timing.


Kajrarey Kajrarey-From the bulb lit bodysuit in Yaraana to Auro’s infectious prance, from fun loving hip hop in Bluff Master and ‘Rock n roll soniye’, to perfect comic timing in Bunty and Bubli, the AB duo is hard to beat.


Hai muscular,hai popular…….but Pappu cant ….Dharampaji with all his good looks and kind nature, failed to over come two left feet as did son Sunny Deol, who would rather break limbs than the dance floor.
Box-2

Jaaved Jaaferi’s Jukebox-

TOP 5 Hollywood Song n dance numbers-



1. Singing in the rain make em laugh Donald O Conner-funny



2. Blue Skies Putting on the Ritz Fred Astaire.-classy



3. Moonwalker Smooth Criminal Michael Jackson.-trendy



4. West side story Cool Group dancing.-best group number



5. Singing in the rain Singing in the rain Gene Kelly.-best baarish number ever.


Jaaved Jaaferi’s Jukebox

Top 5 Bollywood song n dance numbers-


1. Teesri Manzil O haseena zolfonwali Shammi Kapoor.



2. Hum kisise kum nahi Competition medley Rishi Kapoor.



3. Chik puk chikpuk and Muqabla Prabhudeva.



4. Jis desh mein Ganga rehta hai, Prem jaal mein phans gaya mein toh, Govinda.



5. Lakshya Mein aisa kyun hoon? Hrithik.



Vaibhavi’s Merchandise (Ms.Merchant’s comments on the hot steppers)



Amitabh Bachhan-Abundance of talent, great sense of music, extremely gifted.


Shah Rukh Khan-Overcame his drawbacks as dancer via hard work and immense energy.


Hrithik Roshan-Was very conscious, is very sensitive and emotional feels a call to music, tireless.


Aamir –Application actor, performer. Puts in lots of effort to be the character to bring in that aspect of personality of the role played.


Salman-Really stylish, very lazy, like a baby needs to be pushed. Excellent once he believes in doing it.


Saif Ali Khan-Intelligent metro sexual .Has to mentally prepare to overcome awkwardness, but comes along and delivers.


Shahid Kapoor-Exceptional has come of his own. Very well trained and quick learner. Capable of holding longer beats. Balances face and body language perfectly.


Ranbir Kapoor-Born for the camera, great potential, natural dancer, very talented.


Abhishek Bachhan-Brat, wonderful timing, reads the move very well, understands work, trusts his choreographer.


Farhan Akhtar-Very new, very stylish, knows good moves, has come out of his shell.