Making Mallika dance

This man can dance

The name Sandeep Soparrkar may not ring a bell among Bollywood watchers.
But the man (inset) has already made the sexy Mallika Sherawat dance to his tunes.

As a choreographer, Soparrkar is yet to make his name in the industry, but he has already bagged films like the Jackie Chan-starrer The Myth and Pooja Bhatt's Holiday.

Komal Mehta finds out more about this aspiring talent.

What was choreographing for Holiday like?

Preparations began in November last year. Dino (Morea) and Smiley Suri (later replaced by Onjolee Nair) took private lessons and practiced hard for around 8 to 9 months. I didn't really have to research much because I knew what Pooja (Bhatt) wanted me to do.

Is Holiday very similar to Dirty Dancing?

It is inspired by Dirty Dancing, but has its own little Indian elements. It is India's first dance movie, and a Latino dance movie at that. I am a part of it because I want to promote Latino dancing in India, and what bigger showcase than a Bollywood movie?

What is the most memorable project you have worked on?

Recently, Holiday. That sounds clichd, but I have worked a lot on it -- seven months! I don't think any choreographer has ever done that. Dino and the other actors would come to my house at 9 am and rehearse till 12 pm daily. I'd see them again every evening and we kind of lived and danced together. It has been quite memorable, as has the controversy surrounding it.

Please tell us about the controversy.

(Smiles) it has something to do with remuneration. My fees were reduced because I was not going to do the full choreography. I was supposed to teach and Pooja Bhatt was to direct, but, after doing one song, she wanted me to direct the songs as well, and I refused. Thereafter, a lot of personal remarks were made to my assistants and there was a lot of yelling and screaming. I have worked with Shyam Benegal, Ketan Mehta, Samir Karnik and Stanley Tong, but nobody ever yelled at anybody.

Did it bitter your experience?

I was warned about working with Pooja Bhatt at the beginning. To give her credit, she was fantastic to work with, until we began shooting. There were fantastic arrangements and she gave us a free hand, which I think was very nice of her. But then, things just went haywire. I think we all are professionals and we don't need shouting and yelling to get things done. After 5-6 days, it became too much. The schedule went haywire and she said it was my fault. But it was not. It was because Onjolee (Nair) came in and had to rehearse. Anyway, I just wish her good luck for the film.

How is your relationship with Pooja now?

There is no relationship left any more. I was not called for the music launch and no credit was given to me for the dancing when it was performed at the Goa film festival. It doesn't make a difference to me. I just hope the film does well. My main aim was to make Latin American dancing popular, not to make myself popular.

How were you associated with Jackie Chan's The Myth?

It is not a dance film, but there are a few sequences I have done. The music has been mixed and matched with a lot of Latino dances. I choreographed the first song in which Mallika is introduced to Chan.

How was it working with Jackie Chan?

It was fantastic. He is super professional. Everything was managed and rehearsed well. Even while working for 12-14 hours, he would come back and rehearse. Jackie is also extremely down to earth. He was very friendly with everyone, which is not what can be said about many of our stars.

How did you land up in an international project like that?

The team that did The Rising was coordinating The Myth in India. They called and told me what the director (Stanley Tong) was looking for. We met at the location 3-4 days before Mallika and Jackie came in and planned the sequence. And, though we rehearsed for a week and shot for 10 days, all of it passed by soon. It was beautiful while it lasted and one of the best projects I worked on.

What about Sonu Nigam's video?

The director (Rajesh Mapuskar) wanted something like a Shall We Dance? kind of a look. I was a little hesitant because I know Sonu's music is very filmi and I didn't know if it would gel. Fortunately, it had some Latin beats, so we began working for it. We shot for two nights and it was good fun.

What are the dances currently popular in Bollywood?

The salsa, jive, cha-cha-cha, samba, tango and waltz are popular. But there is no place for the foxtrot, flamenco, quick step, etc.

Are stage shows and musicals more exciting than choreographing for movies?

Oh, yes! I think a stage performance of any kind is far more exciting than a film project because the excitement for a dancer is when you do it in front of people. Every stage show is different, every expression is different and there are no retakes.

You started off with hotel management and moved to modelling. You also have an MBA, and left a decent job to take up dancing. What made you do it?

I was dancing even while doing my studies. In the period between my Hotel Management degree and an MBA, modelling just happened with the Mr India pageant and that was good because it took me to Europe, where I had some free time and enrolled myself for a dance class to gain more credibility. I did take up a job after my MBA. I worked at (PR firm) Perfect Relations and headed the Pune office. I used to request a lot of days off for dance shows, and my boss told me to go ahead and do what I wanted to do. He told me I was young, so it was the only time I could consider it. Plus, I always had my MBA to fall back on. So, I moved to Mumbai and things just fell into place.

What about the future?

I don't want to go beyond ballroom dancing. And I want to open more branches of my dance school. I have three now - two in Mumbai and one in Pune. I have a lot of offers in Ahmedabad and Goa and talented instructors who can support the cause, so I want to spread out. But I won't leave Latino dancing and get into item numbers. I had a few offers after the song I choreographed for Kyun Ho Gaya Na, but I don't think I can do them.

I have signed up two new films that are also dance-based, but I cannot name them right now. It's going to be fun and I am looking forward to them. This year has begun well and I think it will be a productive one.