Star choreographer and director invites acv editor to workshop and talks about her latest film work…
RENOWNED Bollywood choreographer and director Farah Khan told www.asianculturevulture.com that star Shah Rukh Khan can simply stand in a dance video and look “fab” and that even in a love scene, he didn’t really need to do anything.
Khan was talking to acv as the song video ‘Chaleya’ from Shah Rukh Khan’s own ‘Jawan’ film dropped on Youtube this week.
It releases on September 7 worldwide and is garnering huge interest – the song video has already 34 million views at the time of going to press.
Khan also explained her dance philosophy in part while answering acv’s question about whether the magic of Bollywood had disappeared and whether ‘Jawan’ was some attempt to return to old school Bollywood.
Khan told acv and others on the UK media Zoom on Tuesday (August 15) ahead of a trip to London: “Shah Rukh Khan (SRK) just needs to stand (there) and he’ll be fab.
“He himself would say he’s he’s not a hip hop dancer.
“Like I always say, I see what ‘Sharu’ (SRK) can do and I make the dancers do that.
“The best thing about him is that he will give 200 per cent in the shot. And if it’s a love song, there is nobody like him. We used to say he can make love to a pole.”
She said Jawan should not be considered as a romance film but does have it as one element among many. It is billed as an action thriller.
Farah Khan added: “It’s not a romantic movie but there is romance in it, but I don’t think it’s a love story.”
She also told acv that she is very selective about the things that she does – movie wise as a choreographer.
“I love doing songs, I’ve cut down on a lot of work now. I don’t do it. I do very few songs and I do it only for close friends.”
She outlined the way she approaches choreography for a film song.
“There’s a lot of things to keep in mind, it’s like directing a five-minute film.
“You have to look after everything from the costume to the set design, to where is the location, how many days you have.
“It’s a lot of logistics. Oh, we have only six hours today to do this. Then you make it happen.”
She told acv that the choreography of the film has to suit the style of the movie and she takes her cue very much from that.
“If the movie is like a hardcore Indian desi movie, you don’t want to do a choreography that is a bit out of context in the song and (or very different from) the characters that are in the movie.
“So, the choreography, the songs always dictate what the movie is about, what the characters are…”
In the Zoom, she also talked about Hrithik Roshan being the best dancer in Bollywood.
She agreed that technically he was the best.
“And if they (the media) ask me who rehearses the most, it’s Hrithik. He will rehearse like mad. And that’s when you get the finesse and the perfection.”
Khan has a 20-year plus career in Bollywood and ‘Om Shanti Om’ (2007), which she directed, is one of the most successful Bollywood films of all time and she was co-choreographer on the global stage smash hit, ‘Bombay Dreams’ (2002).
Khan is hosting three dance workshops in the UK – with two in London, one tomorrow (August 18) and the other on Sunday (August 20) and one in Leicester on Friday (August 19).
At one point in the Zoom, she asked acv editor Sailesh Ram whether he was attending…
Sadly due to other commitments, it isn’t possible but maybe next time…
The film, ‘Jawan’ is being produced by Shah Rukh Khan’s own company, Red Chillies Entertainment and Farah Khan and SRK have collaborated on a number of films previously.
These are three-hour workshops which are not just about being taken through your dance steps with one of the best choreographers there is – she made her international name with the smash West End and Broadway show, ‘Bombay Dreams’ (with the music of AR Rahman) and working with another choreographer Anthony Van Laast and was recruited by Andrew Lloyd Webber himself, the creative who put the idea he had with Indian director Shekhar Kapur onto the stage.
The sessions will include a Q&A as well as learning a dance routine and having pictures with Farah Khan. She promised fun and if the media Zoom is anything to go by – it will be.
The workshops are being hosted in association with other media. Tickets were still available at the time of going to press.
‘Jawan’ releases worldwide on September 7
Chaleya