[1]Jaise saas bina sasural nahin, Madhuri bina choli mein excitement nahin, Dhanno bina Basanti nahin, waise hi naache bina moksh nahin. Hamare Bharat desh mein no matter which festival we celebrate, what the happy occasion may be, boy ka birth ho ya girl ki wedding, no suhani sham is complete without serious sangeet and dance.
Hamari heroines toh naachti hain hi, but our heroes shake their booties even better. Dance-less films ko hum art films kehte hain. Why? Because they have a certain sukha-pan. Unmein life ka raas nahin hota, uski aesthetic dry bones hoti hain.
Ab India’s Got Talent (Colors) ko hi dekh lo. The first season was won by the Prince Dance Group and now the third season seems headed for another dance finale. I toh am betting Mr Sharmaji's new-new chaddies on Kolkata’s little Donna and little Mandal walking away with the trophy. Hai! What a delight it is to watch them.
The other delightful thing is on Just Dance (Star Plus) where, sometimes, Hrithik Roshan slips out of those two round-round buns and shakes his stuff.
But the mother of all dancing delights currently is a nanha-munna show called Footloose (Channel V). Here contestants, all serious dancers, have been taken to Dance Adda, a dance academy-cum-hostel, and split into four groups: Hot Steppers, Crusin Crew, Dancin Dawgs, Hip Hustlers. They have three judges-cum-trainers who teach them hip hop, house, bboying, popping, locking, krumping and even something called tutting. We meet the dancers on Saturdays, for a Beep Off Battle followed by the theme-based Dance Off. Then there is elimination and some rona-dhona.
Footloose is not in our midst for faltu fun. It has a very serious mission: To find India’s best freestyle western dancer. This khoj is best showcased by the Beep Off Battle where contestants take turns to dance to randomly changing music and try to out thumka each other. Ufff! What energy, what attitude, what a fun!
The show has two small problems: its screaming anchor and the dullest-ever judges' panel. Judges Uma Shankar Nair and Gaiti Nair, their CV says, choreograph item numbers for stage shows and train Bollywood’s non-dancers Dia Mirza, Kunal Kapoor, Abhay Deol, Emran Hashmi, Celina Jaitley. The third judge, Prosenjit Guy Kundu, it seems, is the international baap of house and hip-hop. Whatever their credentials, the three sit expressionless through the dance performances, and then say the most inane, boring stuff.
But thanks godji that the show is not about them. Footloose is about sweetie-pie boys and sexy girls dancing like their lives depends on it. Watch it, I say.
Links:
[1] http://archive.asianage.com/life09112jpg-392