My Favourites: Well-Choreographed Foot-Tapping Dance Numbers

And so, another year has passed, with its complement of joys and sorrows, highs and lows. Some more ties have been snapped, some more losses have been endured, some more tears have been cried as we bid adieu to those whom we felt we 'knew', who have touched us in immeasurable ways through their art and their craft and their larger-than-life images on screen. It is all that is left of them, these colourful moving images, freezing them forever in some timewarp that ensures we only remember them as they used to be - young, beautiful, alive...

But life goes on, and every New Year's Eve is a time to bid farewell to the detritus of the year past, and to look forward to the hopes of a new beginning. Last year, I looked ahead and did a post on Songs of celebration. This year, I was going to end the year with the aptly named 'Songs of Farewell'. I even looked through my list of songs and began writing the post. Then I realised that not only were half the songs rona-dhona ones, but my introduction to the post was also sad and plaintive. Ugh. No. 

We have had a sad couple of years, and ties with the sort of films I usually write about have loosened with the end of every chapter. Yes, it is sad. More so for people like me who live cinema - each tie undone is one more link that is broken. (And just when I was writing this post on the 28th, came the news that Farooque Shaikh passed away. He was 65.)

That said, jeena yahan marna yahan, iske siva jaana kahan?  The show must go on; it will go on. So I scrapped that post; well, not really. I just left it for another day, a day when I am in one of my sad moods, when nothing but the most plaintive songs will do justice to the way I feel. Right now, the need of the hour was celebration, happiness, and hope.

And I wrote another post. For last year’s words belong to last year’s language and next year’s words await another voice...

While I do occasionally review newer films, especially when I'm writing about regional or international cinema, my song lists are typically restricted to the golden era of Hindi film music - the decades from the 40s through the 60s. But when it comes to dances, I need to make an exception. For one, I have done not one, but two posts on Helen and her dances. Secondly, other than the occasional dances (in Hindi films) by Sai and Subbulakshmi, the usual suspects were Vyjayanthimala, Padmini and Ragini, followed by Waheeda Rehman. Thirdly, 'group' dances as a whole were not wildly popular; so while you had an occasional Nain lad gay re from Naya Daur,  a Thaiyya re thaiyya re chhad gaya paapi bichua from Madhumati, or a Kya hua ye mujhe kya hua from Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai, most real dances were solo efforts. 

Since it is the end of the year, I was looking for the more foot-tapping variety of dance numbers, songs that make you feel, even if you have several left feet, that you just must get up and shake a leg. Perhaps the practice of inserting songs willy-nilly into a film whether the narrative demands it or not has increased my chances of finding such numbers in the more recent films. 

Certainly, I have appreciated some of the newer songs because I'm no dancer. So I often look in awe at some of the really good dancers on screen today - Akshay Kumar, Hrithik Roshan, Shahid Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai... (Can't think of another contemporary actress who can dance really, really well, actually.) 

Then there are the competent dancers, the ones who can manage their steps with a lot of rehearsals and have the natural grace to carry it off with panache - that includes three of the four Khans - Shah Rukh, Aamir, and Saif, and Rani Mukherjee, Katrina Kaif, Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone, et al. If I have to watch a gratuitous song and dance number, then I would certainly like it to be choreographed well; and danced even better.

My only criteria for choosing this list was:

a) The songs must have a beat that makes you want to get up and dance.

b) They must have reasonably decent lyrics - which automatically disqualifies One two three four get on the dance floor, however foot-tapping you may find it, because any song that has lyrics such as 'Booty shake booty shake Thappan koothu hard core' is not a song, in my humble opinion.

c) The dances, such as they are, must go beyond the typical PT exercises that were the bane of the 80s, for instance. That was one decade when Hindi cinema had hit its nadir. Or, with a nod to Nidhu Kapoor, my Punjabi colleague, I want grace, not just enthusiasm. 

There is a story behind that nod.

Back in the dark ages when I was working for a newspaper, a couple of us were shocked that Nidhu had never seen a single Sridevi film. We waxed eloquently about Sri's talent and grace, and dragged Nidhu off to watch the premiere of Heer Ranjha, to which we, as journalists, had free tickets. Let down big time by the direction, the film was no great shakes despite towering performances from Sridevi and Anil Kapoor - but Nidhu fell utterly and completely in love with Sridevi. And as we were watching one of the dances, Nidhu commented that Sri was awesome, but Anil Kapoor was 'typical Punju, all enthu, no grace!' We burst out laughing, and every time we see a hero unable to keep up with his more nimble-footed heroine, that statement is taken out of the archives and aired. 

So keeping my own peculiar (and subjective) criteria in mind, here, in no particular order, for your viewing (and listening) pleasure, are my selections for a happy and celebratory New Year's Eve. Please note that none of these are your typical 'item' songs.

1. Doli tharo dhol baaje (Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam) (1999) Kavita Krishnamoorthy - Vinod Rathod - Karsan Sargathia
Directed by: Sanjay Leela Bansali
Music: Ismail Darbar
Choreographed by: Vaibhavi Merchant

 

Easily contemporary Hindi cinema's most graceful dancer, Aishwarya Rai has never been photographed so well as she was in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. Sanjay Leela Bansali's epic ode to love and loss saw the background shift to the hitherto unseen vistas of Gujarat/Rajasthan. As is typical with the filmmaker, everything was on an operatic scale - the colours, the emotions, the song picturisations. And in Dholi taaro, he banked heavily on folk dances and came up trumps. It helped that Aishwarya was the female dancer; and Salman Khan, not quite known for his dancing prowess, proved that he could more than match steps with his nimble co-star if he chose to work hard - and obviously, he did. Vaibhavi Merchant won a well-deserved National Award for its choreography. It was her first solo effort.

2. Que sera sera  (Pukar) (2000) Shankar Mahadevan - Kavita Krishnamoorthy - Suvarnalata
Directed by: Rajkumar Santoshi
Music: AR Rehman
Choreographed by: Prabhu Deva

Just when every dance was beginning to look like every other dance, along came Prabhu Deva and his astonishingly fluid moves. Dancing alongside was Madhuri Dixit, a dancer with grace and oomph, and someone who had mastered the art of the 'item' dance in every film she was heroine. Even so, she confessed that she still needed rehearsals before she felt confident enough to dance with Prabhu Deva. Between the two of them, they took a routine song-and-dance number to a completely different level. Que sera sera was reworked from its original Kaadhal nayagara  from En Swaasa Kaatre. I must confess that this is one time when I preferred the copied version - both the song, and the choreography. 

3. Señorita (Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara) (2011) Farhan Akhthar - Abhay Deol - Hrithik Roshan - María del Mar Fernández
Directed by: Zoya Akhthar
Music: Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy
Choreographed by: Bosco- Caesar

 

Based on traditional Flamenco rhythms, the song was unique in that it was actually sung by the three protagonists, and not just on screen. This was the only song in the film that was lip-synced on screen and the director and music directors were adamant that it be sung by the actors themselves. Thoroughly Spanish in its melody and mood, the presence of a genuine Flamenco artiste (María del Mar Fernández) gave it a verisimilitude that added to the atmosphere. The dance moves were exuberant, passionate and very free-flowing, and the actors looked like they were enjoying every bit on screen. Choreographers Bosco and Caesar won the National Award for choreography for this song. 

4. Radha kaise na jale (Lagaan) (2001) Asha Bhosle - Udit Narayan - Vaishali Samant
Directed by: Ashutosh Gowarikar
Music: AR Rehman
Choreographed by: Saroj Khan

Now, this one is very, very different from the songs that have gone before. For one, this is a very traditional song-and-dance number, and while Dholi taaro was also based on the garba, it had a beat that drove you to step on the dance floor. Radha kaise na jale is a very mellow number, though remarkably choreographed. Aamir Khan is graceful as he usually is, but Gracy Singh was quite the revelation. Lagaan was a film which incorporated its songs intelligently into its narrative and  Radha kaise na jale was no exception.

5.  Dola re dola (Devdas) (2002) Kavita Krishnamoorthy - Shreya Ghoshal - KK

Directed by: Sanjay Leela Bansali
Music: Ismail Darbar

Choreographed by: Saroj Khan

Another 'traditional' song, and as was Sanjay Leela Bansali's wont, very opulently shot. Never mind that he played ducks and drakes with the Sarat Chandra Chatterjee novel, and had Parvati and Chandramukhi not just meet, but dance together. Accept that this is his  adaptation of the novel, and forget how melodramatic, over-the-top and ostentatious (and unbearable) the film was - just enjoy the sight of two of contemporary Hindi cinema's most accomplished dancers dancing up a storm. Beautifully choreographed by Saroj Khan who must have been glad to work with actresses who made everything look so easy, Dola re dola  won her a very well-deserved National Award for Best Choreography.

6. Koi ladki hai (Dil Toh Pagal Hain) (1997) Udit Narayan - Lata Mangeshkar
Directed by: Yash Chopra
Music: Uttam Singh
Choreographed by: Shiamak Davar

 

Just before Prabhu Deva came along to show Hindi audiences what they were missing, Shiamak Davar changed the way dance sequences in Hindi films were perceived in his first outing as a film choreographer. Of course, once he introduced it, we saw many variations on a similar theme. But at this point in time, the dances were fresh, they were new, they were different. With his own dance studios, Davar used many of his students as the back-up dancers in his choreography, giving a sleeker 'look' to the sequences. And of course, he won a National Award for his choreography in this film. 

7. Main aisa kyun hoon (Lakshya) (2004) Shaan
Directed by: Farhan Akhthar
Music: Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy
Choreographed by: Prabhu Deva

This list is populated by the usual suspects, both choreographers and actors. This was the Prabhu Deva - Hrithik Roshan combination, and a deadly one at that. Alone, they are at the top of their field. Together, they were devastating. The sequence, picturised as a surreal experience of a boy/man finding himself, was an experimental number that succeeded very well. The only brief given to Prabhu Deva was that the moves had to challenge Hrithik Roshan. Prabhu Deva delivered, and how! It is a triumph of a dancer's art when he/she can go over and beyond what is expected of him/her. Hrithik can truly count this amongst his best dance numbers and that is saying a lot. For a man who is so heavily muscled, it is amazing how loose jointed Hrithik is, and how easy he makes itall seem. (The only part that psyched me out in this film was how much he resembled his father in the early scenes!) This won Prabhu Deva his second National Award for Best Choreographer.

You can watch Prabhu Deva dance to the song here. 

8. Badi mushkil (Lajja) (2001) Alka Yagnik
Directed by: Rajkumar Santoshi
Music: Anu Malik
Choreographed by: Ganesh Acharya

This is the type of song that Madhuri Dixit excelled in throughout her career - an 'item' song that is inserted into the film just to capitalise on her dancing ability, which was indeed exceptional. With a director like Rajkumar Santoshi, the insertion is not quite as gratuitous as it usually is, and Madhuri has the talent, the grace and the screen presence to make the viewing experience a thoroughly enjoyable one. Manisha Koirala tries gamely to match steps but she is not a patch on her senior. What made this song different from the usual dhak-dhaks that were Madhuri's lot was that the choreography was way superior to the usual booty-shaking that passes off for 'dance' in a Hindi film. On the whole, the performance (for that is what it is) goes well with Madhuri's free-spirited and strong-willed character in Lajja.

 

9. Kajra re (Bunty aur Babli) (2005) Alisha Chinoy - Shankar Mahadevan - Javed Ali
Directed by: Shaad Ali
Music: Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy
Choreographed by: Vaibhavi Merchant

 

Now, this is an item song. A very well-picturised one, in fact. Bringing a new twist to the qawwalis of old, the music directors and Gulzar, the lyricist, added elements of a mujra, disco and folk. This was one item song where the actress was very simply made-up - lightly kohl-ed eyes and lip gloss - relying only on her expressions and the hotness-quotient of her costume and moves to make a point. (It needed an Aishwarya Rai to carry it off without looking vulgar.) Complementing her grace were the two Bachchans, the senior who rocked his trademark moves with sophistication, and Junior B, who played the bumbling younger man with perfect comic timing and elan. It was a rocking performance and sky-rocketed the song to almost cult status.

10. You are my soniya (Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham) (2001) Sonu Nigam - Alka Yagnik
Directed by: Karan Johar
Music: Sandesh Shandilya
Choreographed by: Farah Khan

Yes, Hrithik again. But there is no getting away from the fact that he has some incredible dances picturised on him, and as most choreographers admit, he makes their steps look better on screen than when they show it to him. It also shows the paucity of good female dancers because it is pretty obvious that Kareena is nowhere close to matching steps with him though she tries gamely enough. I dithered between You are my soniya and Say Shava Shava from this film, because both songs were exquisitely choreographed; besides the latter song has Amitabh Bachchan. But I must admit that You are my soniya has a definite edge to it, and Hrithik is the reason it rocks. (Of course, you need to suspend disbelief that a nightclub in London is going to have someone sing and dance to a Hindi song, and you will do fine.) 

Do keep in mind that I'm not endorsing any of these films though I have watched all of them. What can I say? I'm a film junkie. The songs, though, are a different matter altogether. I thoroughly enjoyed watching all of them.  It is no coincidence that there are three songs each featuring Aishwarya and Hrithik, and four featuring Madhuri Dixit. They are definitely the best dancers the contemporary film scene has seen. 

It is unfortunate that Sridevi came along when dances were more like aerobics classes, and there were as many pots as supporting dancers on screen. She is a fantastic dancer and could have given both Aishwarya and Madhuri a run for their money. It is the same with Akshay Kumar, who is a dancer I have always loved to watch on screen. But he too came along when dance choreography followed the same old tired steps. He was far more graceful than many of his contemporaries (witness Raveena Tandon in Tu cheez badi hai mast mast - I rest my case!) and made the steps look easier than they were, but the whole was not very appealing. 

In any case, this is my small contribution to ending the year with a bang. So, hold those who have left us in your thoughts, hope for a better year ahead, put on your dancing shoes and groove (even if you are only going to sit at home). But tell me, what songs would you add to this list?

To all my readers, a very Happy New Year, with my wishes for everything good - a new chance to start over, to make our own happiness, and to forge new paths. Quoting Alfred, Lord Tennyson,
“Hope
Smiles from the threshold of the year to come,
Whispering 'it will be happier'...”