Dance show turns memorable for mentor
Priyanka Bhadani
The Asian Age
Choreographer and one of the mentors in the dance reality show Dance India Dance (DID), Geeta Kapoor, never expected that the show would become an emotional journey for her. The lady, who cries during eliminations, says that she never thought she would get so attached to the show and its contestants. "I never cried so much in my life," laughs Geeta.
Geeta didn't expect that she'd work 24/7 for the show. However, she is happy that the it has been a success. But even she faced a low phase for sometime. At one point, when all her team contestants were eliminated except one, she says, it was the worst phase in her entire life. "It came as a shock to me. I didn't want to think negative, but I was surrounded by negativity," she says, adding that she thought that she wasn't good enough.
"But now, I'm happy. I've survived with two contestants (who made a comeback with a wild card entry) for a longer time than the other mentors," she says.
Does that mean that even the three mentors are competing with the contestants? "Eventually, it has become a competition between the mentors also. But I'm neutral. I'm aware that I can't be good with all the dance forms. For example, I'm not good with contemporary, salsa, but I can add a touch of Bollywood to everything," she says, adding that she loves the honesty that Terence Lewis (one of the other two mentors) displays.
"He is an honest teacher. He is work-oriented and organised. And, I love the protection that Remo (D' Souza) provides to his contestants. Even if the person has not performed well, he defends him," she says.
Geeta says that she can't protect her contestants if they have not done well.
"Rather, I'd like them to know their weak points," she says, adding that the entire team accuses her because she highlights even a small flaw in her contestant's performance.
Now, only three weeks are left for the finale of the show and everyone is trying to guess the winner.
Geeta says that Siddhesh Pai, one of her contestants, deserves to win. "He has performed the best. Since we lost out on contestants in the early stages, he got the opportunity to perform in the solo round for the longest period," she says.
However, Geeta felt bad when Vrushali Chavan, a contestant from Terence's group lost. "In versatility and grasping, Vrushali was one of the best," says Geeta, who doesn't think that Vrushali lost because of her daring dance inspired by the Kamasutra.
"If that had been the reason, even Jai should have been among the bottom four," she says.
Unlike other reality shows, where mentors or judges ask participants to work with them, Geeta has stayed away from it.
She says that the industry is very uncertain and she would not like to make false promises, just for the sake of it. "I'd have loved to do that. But even I'm not aware that I'll have enough work to support them. Nevertheless, I'm positive that the hard work that the contestants have put in will get them enough work," she concludes.
Arjun
Anupamaa
