Posted:
A big thanks to everyone who replied on my earlier reviews and encouraged me to continue this. We haven't agreed on a lot of things but everyone has always been respectful of my opinion and that makes for a fun discussion. So here's what I felt for this week's performances (be warned, I've mostly been disappointed).
'Jhalak in Motion' as concept didn't make sense to me in a dance show. Props should add to the dancing not take away from it and that's what I feel happened this time. And I found myself completely opposing the judges all the time because their feedback was on the usage of props (understandably so) and mine had more to do with the dance.
Sanaya: I really enjoyed her act this week. I think Sanaya has finally bounced to her full form after her injury so I am waiting to see what she will bring next time. She seems a lot more comfortable on-stage and more 'into' her act as well. Lauren's point about not walking from position to position is the core basic in a dance performance and it's very surprising Jai didn't correct her on that during rehearsals.
Shamita: Call me biased but I enjoyed her act the most this week. The only one where they managed to stay in 'motion' yet dance aplenty. I actually felt like watching it again which is saying something considering I watched this right after DID (something I shall make sure not to repeat next week onwards). I think a time has come when I would like to see these two being more innovative in their acts. Shamita has established herself as one of the stronger contenders, she can really push herself now. Oh and I normally don't like seeing men cross-dress but Deepak makes the prettiest girl ever!
Scarlett: I know a lot of members here feel Dhiraj is not able to bring the best out of Scarlett and I normally disagree with that. But then again some of you know her potential better since you've seen her in D2D and I am stuck on Imported Kamariya. For this week, however, I would agree with that assessment. One could tell Bollywood is not his forte and the choreography was pretty lackluster. But these two exude a certain x-factor which drew me in their performance nevertheless. They're capable of much better and I look forward to them week after week.
Mohit: When they started, I was like wow I am going to love this performance. But then came the prop. I liked a few things here and there and I thought Mohit handled it really well. The 'stance' point i mentioned last week, Mohit seems to have improved there and has a lot more control over how he presents himself in his act. Based on those first few seconds, I can tell he has really come a long way and I wish he had more opportunity to showcase that.
A little out of context, but this whole 'joru ka ghulam' thing needs to stop. I love Aditi and I love them as a couple but I just don't think it's appropriate to introduce him like that.
Ashish: Like I said last week, the groove required in a Bollywood dance comes naturally to Ashish and I loved his expressions and how much he seemed to be enjoying himself. But the dance and the choreography was very thanda and unlike the judges, I actually thought the prop was the best part of the performance.
Radhika: Unlike the last two, this act didn't leave me feeling completely cold. My core issue with her is still not being addressed and I don't think it ever will so I have pretty much given up on that, no point being repetitive about it here. But this week was the closest I have come to 'liking' her performance. Didn't care much for the harness stuff though, it felt like it was put in for the heck of it.
Faisal: Okay so they interpreted the concept of 'motion' differently. Unless the 'moving prop' and 'third element' bit was specified last week, I don't think it was Vivek's or the kids' fault at all. It's actually refreshing to see someone be more creative than that. Anyway, I really loved it and I respectfully disagree with anyone who doubts Vaishnavi's dancing abilities after seeing today's performance.
Vivian: That moment I read the spoiler regarding VD's prop, this is exactly what I was afraid. All the judgements, all the praises on him basically balancing on that thing. Difficult? Yes. Commendable? Definitely. But in terms of dancing it was a very restrictive and frankly useless prop. I liked the bit they did near the judges though. His upper body is stiff but his footwork is quite powerful (another reason I hated the choice of prop). I didn't dislike his act but didn't care much for it either.
Raftaar: Very disappointing! He started with such a bang in the first week and then went phusss. I've been very clear about not being a fan of Sneha's choreography but this was bad even by her standards. It was very chaotic and I couldn't wait for it to end.
Kavita: I was actually scared in some of those things they did on that prop because it could easily backfire. The dance on the floor, again strictly mediocre. Kavita needs to sharpen her lines. Better than last week though and I know their main focus was on the prop.
Subhreet: I thought the choreography was too repetitive. Weren't they doing the same thing again and again? When the act ended, I was literally like 'Act khatam? Inhone abhi tak kuch kiya hee nahi!'. I thought it left a lot to be desired for.
I would say this was the weakest of the three weeks in terms of how much I enjoyed the performances. I also feel that if at all they wanted to come up with this challenge they should've waited a couple of weeks. These contestants are still progressing as dancers and at this stage the props just took away from that effort since they were too busy maneuvering those instead.
CID
