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.
Tum Se Tum Tak
Ganesh Kartikeya
