JDJ3 Articles Corner:No Comments - Page 16

JDJ: What's the latest

This week's episode of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 3 showed most of the contestants putting on great performances on the dance floor. And for footballer Baichung Bhutia, the show proved special as he scored a full 30 points for the third time. We take a look at how he and the other contestants fared on the show.

Hard Kaur and Savio
Hard Kaur performed the Paso dance style with Savio on Pyar Ki Yeh Kahani Suno from Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. Savio's choreography was wonderful, especially his smooth lifts. Hard Kaur too executed her steps with ease, proving that she is as professional a dancer as she is a singer. They got 30 marks.
Indya Rating: 10

Karan Grover and Nicole
Karan and Nicole went disco as they danced to Jawani Janeman Haseen Dilruba from Shaan, starring Parveen Babi. Karan looked like a rock star and his efforts were clearly visible in the superb steps. The duo's chemistry was amazing as well and they scored 27 marks.
Indya Rating: 8.5

Monica Bedi and Javed
Monica and Javed performed on Naye Nahi Hai Baat from Parinita, originally featured on Rekha. The judges were not impressed with their performance. The last time Monica danced, she scored full marks so the judges had high expectations from her. Sadly, she was the lowest scorer of the evening with 23 marks.
Indya Rating: 6

Gauhar Khan and Himanshu
She reentered Jhalak last week through the wildcard entry so everyone expected Gauhar to wow with her performance. And though her expressions and the execution of her steps were good, hers and Himanshu's overall routine, performed on Tun Tunak Tun from Hera Pheri, was unremarkable. They scored 25 marks.
Indya Rating: 7.5

Shilpa Shukla and Nishant
Shilpa's and Nishant's concept was out of the box. They performed a cat dance combined with Salsa steps. The song they danced to was Shakalaka Baby but although their routine was based on a cat theme, their costume and steps didn't match. However, their attempt was good. They got 24 marks.
Indya Rating: 7

Baichung Bhutia and Sonia
They did a contemporary dance on Bas Ek Pal's title song. In the routine, Sonia played a girl who has been ditched by her boyfriend. Her expressions were amazing and so was Baichung's posture and moves. He complimented her well and all the judges were teary eyed by the end of the performance. They scored a full 30 marks.
Indya Rating: 10

Parul Chauhan and Deepak
After receiving a lot of flak from the judges, Parul finally managed to impress with her performance this week. She and Deepak did the unique dance form of bachata on the song Aaye Mehrbaan from Hawra Bridge, originally featured on Madhubala. It was one of Parul's best performances and they scored 28 marks.
Indya Rating: 9

http://www.indya.com/news/newsDetails.aspx?xfile=2009/April/News_20090425_115

source: http://www.nowrunning.com/news/bollywood/sharing-stage-with-saroj-khan-a-privilege/22843/p-all/story.htm

Monica ousted from Jhalak

After two months of hard work, Monica Bedi was eliminated from Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa on Saturday night. Monica was doing pretty well on the dance reality show but as the competition gets tougher, even participants slightly lacking get cut loose.

LAST week Monica and Javed performed on Kaise Paheli Hai Ye… from Parineeta and were the second lowest scorers according to the votes. Chak De actress Shilpa Shukla, who performed on Shaka Laka Baby with her choreographer Nishant, also had the lowest votes and she and Monica had to battle it out in the face off round.
This was the second time that Monica was among the bottom two scorers. Shilpa however, has performed in the face off four times yet has been fortunate enough never to have been evicted.

Shilpa, who is always full of energy when it comes to her performances, displayed the same drive in the face off round. And judges Saroj Khan and Vaibhavi Merchant voted for her because of her enthusiastic act. As for Monica, her performance was weak in dancing and choreography.

And Bedi was not shocked at her eviction. She said, "I participated on Jhalak to change my image and learn dancing. I've been successful in both. I don't regret getting eliminated at this stage, when I know that all the other contestants are amazingly good."

She also had a long list of people she wanted to thank for contributing to her successful journey, saying, "I had never learnt about dance earlier but now, after learning with a wonderful choreographer like Javed, I can proudly say that he is my guru."

Now that Monica has been eliminated, the six finalists are Gauhar Khan, Hard Kaur, Bhaichung Bhutia, Karan Singh Grover, Parul Chauhan and Shilpa Shukla.

Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa airs every Friday and Saturday at 9pm on Sony TV.


http://www.indya.com/news/newsDetails.aspx?xfile=2009/April/News_20090427_124

Baichung Bhutia: Having A Ball

Baichung Bhutia has fans all over India. They know him for his prowess on the football field, but no one expected the sportsman to gain fans for his dance moves as well. The footballer surprised judges as well as viewers of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa with his superb performances. However, Baichung isn't surprised himself; in fact he expected to do well.

He says, "My main motive for participating in Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa was to learn how to dance well. I expected to do well on the show. I always give it my best. I have been learning things every week here. I don't bother about marks but I listen to the comments. I am happy when my performance goes well and the judges like it."
Baichung credits part of his success to having a great choreographer. He adds, "Sonia is the best choreographer so I do not mess with her steps! I try my best with the time I have to practice and I do get tired. I have to finish my matches so it becomes tough to manage."

The footballer also claims he has an advantage over the other contestants, "As a sportsperson, I have that ability to grasp things quickly. I just have to give my 100% to the steps given to me by Sonia."

And now, he is approached in public not just for the sport he plays but also for his routines on Jhalak. He says, "Now, whenever I hang out, people come up to me and compliment my performance. My family as well as the audience is very supportive. I have never danced before. Whatever little I did was in clubs or after winning matches."

Baichung would like to dance to a folk number next. He says that because of his profession, he is used to performing under pressure, adding, "I still remember the compliment Sarojji gave me. She said that I have the potential to perform well but I need to be more expressive. Even my co-contestants tell me that I look very confident performing. I have been competing for many years so this is not new to me. Everyone is better dancer than me here."

As for the wildcard round, Gauhar Khan was not his choice of entrant. Baichung says, "I wanted Mohinderji to come back."

Baichung now recommended dance to everyone, saying, "It's not easy but it's a very good way to keep fit. You can also have fun. For me, it is nice way of exercising."

Next week, Baichung will perform to O Haseena Zulfon Wali, which, he admits, he is struggling to lip sync.


http://www.indya.com/news/newsDetails.aspx?xfile=2009/April/News_20090429_134

Ali Asgar gets Jhalak's judges on the dance floor

Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 3's upcoming episode is going to feature the contestants dancing to old melodies. The special attraction, however, will be the guest appearance of Ali Asgar. The hilarious actor used his stint on the show to mimic Raj Kumar and Aamir Khan. And it didn't stop there: he even did an act pretending to be Basanti from Sholay!

A source from the show tells us, "Ali brought his comedy on to the show. His acts were hilarious. And for the first time ever, Saroj Khan actually danced with him when he imitated Raj Kumar! Even Vaibhavi Merchant and Juhi Chawla could not help shake a leg. It was a good performance and a lot of fun to see all the three judges dancing together."
Asgar was included on the show because, as there are only 6 contestants left, there was a lot of spare time to be filled. "However, from next week onwards, all the contestants will perform on two songs instead of the usual single performances," says the source.

The highest scorers of the episode were Hard Kaur and Gauhar. They scored 29 marks. The source adds, "Hard Kaur has been consistent with her performances and this time too, she received many compliments. Gauhar performed nicely as well. Parul Chauhan, Karan Grover and Baichung Bhutia also managed fine performances."

The lowest scorer of the evening was Shilpa Shukla, upping her chances for elimination. The source says, "For the past four weeks, Shilpa has been among the bottom two contestants. So, this time, there are high chances of her getting eliminated from the show."

http://www.indya.com/news/newsDetails.aspx?xfile=2009/May/News_20090501_1

Sonali Joshi/Hill Road Media

Friday, May 01, 2009

Savio: Hard Kaur is my best friend

In a short span of time, Hard Kaur and Savio have managed to gain immense popularity with audiences. That popularity has translated into a good amount of votes for the dancing duo as they compete for top place on dance reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa. We caught up with choreographer Savio to who tells us the secrets behind their consistently brilliant performances.

How did you get into choreography?
I started 5 years ago with Danny and Kunjan. As a team, the three of us choreographed for Manish and Poonam on Nach Baliye 1. We were rewarded for the best choreography too. After that, we participated in Zee Cinestars Ki Khoj 2, then Dhoom Macha De and we also choreographed the finale of Zara Nachke Dikha. In addition to this, we have choreographed for all the Band of Boys videos and for Femina Miss India in 2004.

What forms of dancing have you mastered?
I've not studied dancing. I've learnt it by watching international dancing and a lot of international stage shows. I've worked with Asha Bhosale and AR Rahman for five years. I've only learnt by watching various CDs and different shows. By God's grace, I've a very good grasping power and that has helped me a lot career wise.

Who is your guru?
Danny and Kunjan have been my inspiration as they are far ahead of me… They are my gurus!

How were you approached for Jhalak?
In November, while we were doing some show in Dubai, the BBC called us for Jhalak. We immediately agreed to do it. We had been approached for the last two seasons of Jhalak too but had other commitments at the time so we couldn't follow up.

What is it like working with Hard Kaur?
Our coordination has been great! The very first time I met Hard Kaur, she told me, 'I am open to everything'. That's what made me try so many different forms of dancing with her. She is excellent and we really understand each other. Work wise or other wise, we just rock together!

Off screen, how is your relationship with her?
We are best friends and I am very happy that through Jhalak, I met Hard Kaur. She is a fun loving girl. That's the reason she has made so many friends in such a short span of time. We are friends when we are not rehearsing but once we are in the rehearsal hall, she is a student and I am her teacher. She respects that.

What's it like teaching her?
May all choreographers get a student like her! She understands rhythm very well and is very easy going. If I tell her that we have to perform on a particular dance form, she will patiently watch it three or four times. She is so committed to her work that it becomes easy for her to grasp steps.

What have you learnt from Hard Kaur?
She is very dedicated and her concentration level is good. I've adopted her positive attitude because it has got us this far and promises to take us even further.

She is known to have a tomboyish personality, is that reflected in her dancing as well?
I agree that she is a tomboy but when it comes to work, she's 100% dedicated. When we were supposed to do the rumba to Pehla Nasha, I thought it will be very difficult for her to perform those slow moves but she literally shocked me! She looked so feminine. We got a good score of 29 too.

Does she give you inputs for the routines?
She does give her suggestions. She is very talented and is a great pop star so I do take her inputs. Ultimately, we have to perform together as a team.

Which is your favourite form of dancing?
My favourite form is Jive, which is very similar to Lindihop. I like it because it's a very fast form of dance and very enjoyable too.

What do you think are your chances of winning on Jhalak?
Frankly speaking, I never think of winning. I'd rather prepare week wise and concentrate on each performance. We try to grow with every performance. Ultimately, the public and the judges decide who deserves to win. Even so, I am confident that Hard Kaur and I will reach the finals.

Who would you like to compete with in the finals?
Personally, I would love to compete with Karan and Nicole as well as Parul and Deepak because both Parul and Karan are good performers.

Who is your toughest competitor?
I would say Parul and Deepak because everyone knows that Deepak is one of the best choreographers; he won Jhalak 2 with Prachi Desai.

http://www.indya.com/news/newsDetails.aspx?xfile=2009/May/News_20090501_4

Vandana Shukla/ Hill Road Media

Friday, May 01, 2009

Shilpa Shukla: I wish there was a wild card

Shilpa Shukla didn't expect to be eliminated last week. She thought that Parul Chauhan, who was with her in the bottom two, would be shown the door. But the Chak De actress's luck ran out on Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa and she had to bid adieu to the grand platform.

Shilpa performed in the dance off for the fourth time last week before she was finally evicted. We caught up with the actress who talks about her surprise at being eliminated, what she's learnt from the show and why she'll never do another reality again.
How has your journey on Jhalak been?
It has been a beautiful journey. It has changed my life in many ways. It took me a long time to prove myself and now I am glad that people know me pretty well. I've proved myself as a dancer too.

Do you think that you got sufficient time to prove yourself?
Actually, I think of it the other way around…I think I got too much time to prove myself! I've learnt quite a lot with every performance with regards to dance. I am pretty happy but I wish there was a wild card; I would have surely been back!

What do you think went wrong?
I wasn't eliminated because of my performance. If that was the case then I would not have reached this level of the contest. Even on the elimination day, my performance wasn't really weak; it's just that it wasn't my day. But at the same time, I feel very free and happy because I have taken all the good comments I got on the show with me.

Were you expecting your elimination?
No, not at all! When Parul and I had to perform at the dance off, I thought Parul would be eliminated. But she is very expressive. In fact, after her performance, I told her that it was her best so far and that she didn't deserve to be in the dance off.

On the show, you have had to perform in the dance off round four times. What do you have to say about that?
Performing in the dance off round for the fourth time was very stressful. It requires a lot of energy and hard work to perform in the dance off because we shoot for the next episode on the same day. Every time I've been there, I've danced as if it was my last performance. Did you get along well with your choreographer Nishant?
Yes, it was superb working with him! I think we were the best together. Nishant has groomed me with every performance. Apart from being professional, we were more like great buddies. We used to also work on the concepts together.

Did you ever break any rules of the Jhalak house?
No, in fact, I was the most disciplined one. I know every corner of the house because I was always the first one to arrive.

From start to finish of your stint on Jhalak, how would you now rate yourself as a dancer?
I was a 5/10 earlier and now I would rate myself a 9/10.

What forms of dancing have you learnt?
I've learnt jazz, rumba, Bollywood and folk. I am pretty confident about these styles.

Apart from dancing, what have you learnt from the show?
Jhalak has made me learn more about the fighter in me. I could see more of this with every performance.

Who do you think deserves to win?
Hard Kaur without a doubt! She is very energetic. When she comes on to the dance floor with Savio, they just rock. They have never got the lowest scores and have never even come in the dance off till now. Also, Hard Kaur has a heart of gold and the ability to win everyone's affections. I hope they win.

Will we see you participating in other dance shows in the future?
No, not at all… no realities, no daily soaps… I am an actor and I am already acting in Rajuben on Sony. Some of my movies will also release by the end of this year. So no realities for sure!

Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa airs every Friday and Saturday at 9pm on Sony TV.

http://www.indya.com/news/newsDetails.aspx?xfile=2009/May/News_20090504_16