| | The judge of that:
Malaika Arora Khan | Mihir Misra and Maninee De are out of Star One's Nach Baliye, but not without controversy. Their choreographer, Darren Das, had a showdown with judges Malaika Arora Khan and Saroj Khan (during the fourth round), which was chopped off at the editing table.
Das was disgusted with Malaika's remarks over Mihir and Maninee's performance in the Remix round, aired last Thursday. Not mincing words, he accused her of not knowing her job. According to sources, "Das strongly felt that Malaika had been partial to Varun and Rajeshwari, and overtly harsh with Maninee and Mihir." Malaika's benchmark
When contacted, Das did not deny that he had a tu-tu, main-main with Malaika. "Malaika praised them no end and gave them seven points in the first round. On the other hand, she criticised Varun and Rajeshwari in the fourth round, stating that they were short on choreography, costumes, chemistry and concept, yet gave them seven points. In the same round (the fourth, where she also criticised Mihir and Maninee) she coughed up only four points for them. What kind of benchmark has she set?" demands Das. | Belle and beau:
Mihir Misra and Maninee De | Ghagre ka golmaal
Das also feels that Saroj Khan was unjustifiably critical about the fact that Mihir pulled off Maninee's ghagra during the Pardesiya song. Complains Das, "Saroj does not understand that it was a remix round. Remix means MTV culture. Agreed that Maninee was a village belle dancing to Pardesia (from Mr Natwarlal), but when you say you want a remix, there has to be certain boldness involved.
I had spoken to Star One and the director, asking them if they were apprehensive about it. They were quite cool about it. How can I show a village belle covered from head to toe in a remix round?"
Das feels that the points format was wrong. "The judges are generally reserved and conservative in allotting high marks to the first two or three couples. Even if they find some performance remarkably good, they don't go more than seven, simply because they feel they need to leave room for couples who come later." Didn't get his act right
Saroj Khan was unavailable for comment, but Malaika shot back, "Darren is talking rubbish. He didn't get his act right. He needed to train his dancers well, which he didn't. And if he is comparing his dancers to Varun and Rajeshwari, well, I really don't know what to say. Varun and Rajeshwari are far superior dancers, though they may have their bad days."
When contacted, Maninee would only say, "Darren has a viewpoint as a choreographer and I do not discount that. But at the end of the day, I don't want to precipitate this. I have several sweet memories of Nach Baliye. Plus we go back into the show in the tenth round, so let's not rake it up." |
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