International Dance Day: How has Bollywood dance evolved over the years – Times of India

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Dance is a language that goes beyond words, a piece of art that directly tugs at your heartstrings! Bollywood has, over the years, come up with its own unique dance form. From Bhagwan Dada’s soft and supple dance movements to Hrithik Roshan’s moves, Bollywood dance, which borrows from India’s many dance forms, has put India on the global stage too. Today, on International Dance Day, ETimes explores how Bollywood dancing has evolved over the years.

An overview

While it may not seem like it today, Bollywood dance is an amalgamation of many dance forms. We cannot even completely deny the dominance of the Western culture in Indian cinemas. A case in point is the very first hit dance number by Sitara Devi from 1942 film ‘Roti’.

Indian Choreographer Longinus Fernandes, who is acclaimed for his work in the Oscar-winning film, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’s closing credit song, explains, “Bollywood has derived from two words, Bombay the city of dreams, and Hollywood the land of films; till date it is known as the amalgamation of the best. By and large, We have witnessed a fascinating fusion of many folk and classical dances with elements of jazz, hip-hop, aerobic and Latin. It’s a known fact that earlier Bollywood classics were based on classical and folk dances from various parts of India, like Kathak, Kuchipudi, Bharatanatyam, and Bhangra to name a few. Heroines like Geetanjali, Sandhya, Helen and Mahipal, with their outstanding energy and performances, mesmerised the audience. The first fully choreographed movie was the 1948 film ‘Kalpana’. In 1951, the showman Mr Raj Kapoor gave Indian cinema a different dimension and showed that songs can look larger-than-life in dream sequences and I am sure he did a brilliant job of filling in songs very evocatively in the black-and-white era. Through the song ‘Ghar aaya mera pardesi’, he proved that Nargis can move her feet to the beat. In the ’60s, we made way for a man who changed the dimension of dance with his unconventional style. Shammi Kapoor had a swanky way of dancing that looked mesmerising. As time passed, there were people like Bhagwan dada and V Shantaram, who designed dances and made animals/fishes move in sync. Cabaret was replaced by disco, and when we talk of disco, we cannot think of anybody other than Mithun Chakraborty, who stole the show. Amitabh Bachchan, too, had his own charm in the song, ‘Ye Saara Jamana’. In the ’80s we got another sensation called Govinda. He actually showed the entire nation what freestyle dancing and dancing for the masses is all about. In the new millennium, we have Hrithik Roshan, who dances as smooth as silk. Every move of his is to die for. We also have Tiger Shroff, who is razor-sharp. In today’s times, we are very lucky due to technology. While nothing that has changed in the dances, the technique, and style of filming songs makes it look very eye-pleasing.”

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Down the years…

As described above, in the ’50s and ’60s, Bollywood was blessed with some great dancers. Those were the days when Kathak and Bharatnatyam were the soul of dancing, and formidable dancers like Geetanjali, Sandhya, Vyjayanthimala, Padmini, Ragini, and Mahipal took Bollywood dancing to another level. Their outstanding energy and performance cast a spell and how! V Shantaram’s ‘Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje’ was the first Indian film in which Kathak was introduced by great classical dancer-choreographer, Natraj Gopi Krishna. This was followed by Dr Vidya’ and Sandhya’s ‘Navrang’. These films still holds a special place in Bollywood dance history.

Bollywood dancer-choreographer and daughter of ace choreographer late Natraj Gopi Krishna, Shampa says, “Bollywood is a mix of a lot of dance forms. So, I can’t say that it’s a structured dance form in itself. It is a mix-and-match of a lot of influences and has its own identity in the world. So, like others, even Bollywood dancing has evolved. ‘Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje’, which featured my father Natraj Gopi Krishna was the first dance film and my father actually got Kathak form on the screen. So, again, it was the need of the hour and we cannot say it was Bollywood dance. It was pure classical Kathak used in a film. Nowadays, all over the world, everyone is mixing everything like Bollywood-Kathak, Bollywood fusion etc. but that is fine as Bollywood dancing is ever-evolving and we cannot restrict it. If we restrict it, it will be the death of the form”.

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At a time when classical dancing was at its peak in Indian cinemas, Raj Kapoor drew the audience’s attention with dream sequences. Group dances were introduced in films with larger-than-life sets, props, and dramatic costumes. Then came the iconic Bhagwan dada, who introduced a new appealing style of dancing. Later, the cabaret-style of dancing came in, and Helen ruled the roost. In the ’80s, cabaret was replaced by disco, which became synonymous to Mithun Chakraborty, the OG disco dancer. With western dance forms taking over mainstream Bollywood, classical dance forms took the back seat.

When asked, Jaaved Jaaferi, who is a prolific dancer himself, shares, “I was the one who brought the transition in film dance as Mithun da, Govinda, and Prabhudheva came much after me. I kick-started this athletic, technical style of dancing which involved doing kicks, spins, and jumps. My kind of dance required slightly more skill and precision.”

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When talking of dance, it’s imperative to mention ‘Nache Mayuri’ Sudha Chandran. “I will not say Bollywood dancing has changed, it has just evolved. If you see Bhagwan dada and Mr Bachchan dancing, you will see a fine refinement in the movement. You can see a lot of Bhagwan dada in Big B when he dances. See Govinda, and you will see a lot of Dada Kondke in him. Mithun is obviously the dancing star; he was the John Trovolta of our time. We were absolutely ‘flat’ for Mithun da when we saw him dancing! Yes, dancing has evolved over time but it has been a prominent part of films. If you see Hollywood reality shows, Bollywood dancing actually occupies one whole round and Indians won the title. We have set our parameters. So this evolution we have only brought in. Vyjayanthimala gave so much grace to classical, Helen ji gave so much dignity to cabaret at a time when Indians thought cabaret was vulgar. Even today you can sit with your family and enjoy her cabaret. She took the dance form to another level. We have so many dancing stars here in India and I am very proud to be a dancer and also proud of my dancing fraternity”.

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The ’90s was the era of hook steps with phenomenal dancers-actors like Madhuri Dixit, Sridevi, Govinda, Jaaved Jaaferi perfecting a step that would become synonymous with the song. Freestyle dancing was then introduced and led to the Bollywood style of dancing as we know it now, complete with ‘latkas’ and ‘jhatkas’. Urmila Matondkar, Juhi Chawla, Karisma Kapoor, Raveena Tandon headlined this new era in Bollywood dance.

The present is bleak?

We contacted Mona, who had been associated with late choreographer Saroj Khan for over 14 years. She feels that there cannot be a dancing guru like Saroj ji and shares how dance has changed in Bollywood over the years. “Earlier there was easy dancing–the steps were so easy that anyone could catch them, but nowadays dancing is not everyone’s cup of tea; it needs special training. These days exercise has turned into dancing. Earlier there was no contemporary dancing, there were only Indian folk, classical and western dance forms. People have forgotten their roots and have copied more of Western culture of dancing whereas foreigners are learning Indian dance forms.”

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Not many may know that Arshad Warsi, who is also known for his dancing skills is a former choreographer and has directed a song for Sridevi and Anil Kapoor-starrer, ‘Roop Ki Rani Choro Ka Raja’. “Dance has lost its grace. It is getting funnier and funnier day by day, which is the sad part. There are various dance forms like jazz, cha-cha-cha, disco, break, but somewhere we mix hip-hop in our Hindi dance form and that looks funny. But I still enjoy dance forms like the ones we see in Sanjay Leela Bhansali films. Or when I see Aishwarya Rai or Madhuri Dixit dancing on ‘Dola Re Dola…’ or when Deepika and Priyanka dance on ‘Pinga’; I enjoy that. Because that is beautiful, graceful and that is dancing. Mostly otherwise it is a lot of pelvic movements, so the whole concentration has gone somewhere else. I know I sound like an old man but never mind. I like dancing to be graceful, that’s my choice,” opines a disappointed Arshad.

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Bollywood dance is in the right hands


While classical dancing was very much part of Bollywood films, Madhuri Dixit, Karisma Kapoor, and Shah Rukh Khan-starrer, ‘Dil Toh Pagal Hai’ brought in a new style of dancing to Bollywood, thanks to Shaimak Davar, who introduced contemporary jazz and Western forms of dance to India. The early 2000s gifted Bollywood with a sensation called Hrithik Roshan who, with his masterful dancing skills, wowed millions of his fans right in his debut film ‘Kaho Na Pyaar Hai’.,

Choreographers PappuMaalu, who were the first Indian choreographers to be invited to work for Cannes, where they choreographed Shilpa Shetty’s performance, have their own opinion on how dance has been treated in Bollywood. “The dancing in Bollywood is improving. Earlier it was just classical but now Bollywood dancing is a mix of all forms of dance. Earlier we had actors like Govinda, Sridevi, Madhuri, Meenakshi, Shilpa Shetty, a few more who were born dancers but now everyone is learning to dance. Earlier, there were no techniques, actors used to dance from their heart. Now there are a lot of techniques, and a lot of rehearsals are done to finally get the perfect frame,” relay the choreographer duo.

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Over the past few years, Bollywood has seen a transition in the style of dancing. With more and more reality shows coming in, new forms of dancing styles are experimented and introduced by aspiring choreographers that include a mix of all forms of dancing and that is what Bollywood dancing is all about these days. Bollywood style dancing reached another level of success in 2020, when the first Indian 3D dance movie was released. Choreographer-director Remo D’souza, who was at the helm of the film, says, “Bollywood dancing has evolved a lot. The last decade has brought a major transition in Bollywood dancing. The reason behind this is reality shows. With these shows, even normal people came to know the meaning and forms of dances. Initially, laymen were not aware of what styles of dancing exist and what is hip-hop, what is jazz, but now everyone knows what is locking and popping and many other forms. Moreover, these days actors know these styles of dancing. And that is how I could make the first 3D dance movie. So keep dancing, be happy,” concluded choreographer-filmmaker..

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