Khiladi Kumar talks about his upcoming show Dare 2 Dance and what makes it so unique in an exclusive tete-a-tete with Bombay Times.
What is unique about this show?
It is the world's first reality show, which has a combination of both dance and action. World's first show where you are dared and challenged to dance in extremely difficult outdoor environments, using different elements of nature, be it dancing underwater, on ice, in mid- air or with fire. For instance, the contestants were on a platform 500 feet above the ground and there was no sun. At that height, there was a lot of breeze, but yet they performed and the same has been carried unedited. Indian contestants will compete with contestants from across the world.
Akshay's contribution to the show
It was initially meant to be just another dance show, till Akshay suggested that they do a different format where participants are dared to dance in difficult outdoor situations. Therefore not on a stage inside the studio, but for instance on a stage hung 500 feet above the ground or underwater amongst many others. One girl was petrified to dance underwater as she did not know how to swim. But Akshay told her how she did not need to know swimming, as she, in fact, had to drown and dance at the bottom of the water, learning only to breathe, be calm and concentrate on dancing.
Akshay was originally only the anchor, but during the course of the show turned mentor, stuntman (taught them stunts), danced, creative director (idea of taking it out of the studio), cameraman (photographed the contestants sitting on the helicopter), part composer and also singer of the theme song.
Most interesting questions addressed to Akshay at the launch press conference:
1) Where do you get so much himmat from? From eating chawanprashJ. I enjoy doing things like this and if your work is your passion, you automatically get energy for it.
2) What time did the participants have to wake up in the morning given that you wake up as early as 5 am yourself? They had to wake up at 4 am, eat their breakfast, warm up, practise and be ready for me to come.
Dare 2 Dance is a first-of- its-kind reality show in the world, which mixes dance and action together in a unique format. The Life OK team has aptly chosen the Khiladi Kumar, who is also a great dancer as its anchor. While so far, Indian television has landed up only insourcing successful television formats from across the world, this time Ajit Thakur from Life OK told us that he has already received his first query from a European production house to outsource this format, given that it is a first ever. Akshay confesses that he has always been most attracted to action and that he attributes 80% of his success in life to it. He obviously meant it when he says, 'Jiski life mein dare nahi, uski life ki khair nahi.'
Excerpts from a conversation with him:
It's one thing to do stunts at the beginning of your life. But given the
risk it involves, don't you feel scared doing it with your wife and
kids?
My father was a wrestler and over time, taking risks has
become a part of my DNA, but you just spoke to my wife and you know how
she has given up on me. She once called me when I was hanging upside
down from a height, saying the driver had not come. I just told her,
'Can I talk to you later?'
Twinkle told me that she feels concerned that you sometimes don't even use a harness (something akin to a seat belt that holds you so that you don't fall). Why?
Sometimes I don't. For instance, if I am in the chopper, I didn't wear one. The pilot was asked to go over 30 feet i.e. 3rd floor. I know that I am flying over water and sand. Suppose if a wind gush comes or something happens to the helicopter, my life is dependent on that. If I fall, I have calculated in my mind that I can take the fall. However, if I was flying 500 feet above the ground, then I would surely wear it. Stunts are basically science. You have to keep on calculating in your mind. For instance, even if I have to jump from just sitting in my car on the ground that is just 2 feet below, I have to calculate. I have known actors who have had hairline fractures in their legs doing this, because they have not thought before they have jumped and have landed wrong.
Are you trained for stunts?
Of course. All my life, I have done just this, be it learning martial arts or doing outdoor sports like skating, under water, mountaineering, rock and rope climbing amongst many others. Also, your experience counts. The biggest stuntmen have died doing small stunts. It is not the big stunts that kill you, as you are careful there. There is something in your body called good cholesterol and bad cholesterol. So, there is something called 'Good Fear' and 'Bad Fear'. Like, if I have to jump from my car on to the ground, I should have Good Fear. Fear is good when it makes you calculate what will happen. The science part is Good Fear. Even in Hollywood, if they have to jump down from the 7th floor and the wind is not proper, they will say, 'Cut stunt,' tomorrow. As there is a science. I remember I have jumped down many times from a chopper. There was an actor who did that and broke his leg so badly that he could not walk for three years. When there is air pressure, you will fall diagonally and not straight and therefore, you need to plan how you will jump, otherwise despite there being an air bag below, you will get hurt.
Have you got used to doing stunts or still face fear?
I always have Good Fear. If I feel it is wrong, I will stop and say,
'Nahi nahi, yahaan se nahi, wahan se.' I will change the angle even if
it is a small jump or I will say, 'No, my shoe is not okay. I want the
other solid shoes, not the heeled ones, as I can twist my foot.' Even if
the director will feel at that point that I am being fussy, I will
still calculate and do it to the way I feel it is safer, using science
and my experience.
Have you made a mistake that you regret?
I made the biggest mistake of once picking up The Undertaker (the famous WWF wrestler), who is 420 pounds and landed myself with a slip disc that will remain with me for life. Till today, I regret it as it never goes away. So I have to exercise my core and make the surrounding muscles strong, so that they don't affect your working.
Do you pray before a stunt? Yes always. There is never a stunt when I don't pray. Not just stunt, but everytime I sit on an aircraft or drive a car, I pray. You can try this. Put a camera without people seeing it when they take off or land in a flight, and you will find that many people have shut their eyes and are praying that time.
What makes you do TV apart from the money? I jokingly keep saying that I am doing this for money, but in reality, even if I stop working and my son doesn't work all his life, we have the money, but that is not the point. The honest thing is the passion that makes me get up in the morning. I get excited every time I get into a new character. I am so lucky to have a profession where I have so many dimensions in my life and get to play so many characters. I don't drink, I don't smoke, I want to sleep early to get up early morning to start my day and work. I came to the industry to earn money, but now I don't need the money. Last 10 years, I just enjoy my work and I don't think I will be able to survive without work. I have become so used to work. In fact, I think I will grow old if I don't.
Does age worry you in any way?
I personally think if you take care of your body, treat it nicely, oil it properly and your body will give you 10 years more service.
Why have you decided to not eliminate contestants in each episode in this show?
I went to my son's school and there, they don't have rankings when kids race. Every one just participates. I did the same thing in the show, where I keep giving them red and green cards if they need to be given a warning or if they have performed well, but we don't eliminate till they have been given a red card a number of times. I appreciate that the Life OK team did not control me on who I wanted to keep or eliminate, that is quite often the case, and I could decide freely.
Any particular contestants you want to talk about?
I was very much scared for the contestants as I had put them under a lot of dare. For instance, one of the contestants Scarlett was scared of heights and yet, I had to make her jump with me from a height. Even though there was an air bag below, I know that there is always a risk, but once she jumped and landed she wanted to do it again. It's like when you get off a moving bus for the first time, it is scary, but then when you keep doing it, you get used to it. I don't give up ever, but I learnt to never give up once again from these young contestants. I specially want to name a boy called Sanam. He was so sincere and honest and reminded me of myself, who wants to do so much for their family. Usually on reality shows, every contestant hates the other. But I saw that each time someone was going to do a very daring act, he would catch his hand and say a small prayer with him. I know that it was honest as they would themselves call him to do it if he forgot anytime, as they knew that he was doing it truly.
Launch of a new show titled: Dare 2 Dance
Type of show: Reality
Channel: On Life OK
Starts: Today Timing: 8:30pm to 10pm
Days of the week: Every Saturday and Sunday
No. of Weeks: 8 weeks (every week a new challenge)
Anchor: Akshay Kumar
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