A Bollywood film is never complete without a song or a dance sequence. And the audiences have always enjoyed watching their favourite actors dancing on screen. On International Dance Day, HT City lists five popular dance films of Bollywood.
Navrang (1959): This film is a quintessential favourite with all cinelovers especially during Holi. Sandhya's impeccable dance moves, both as a boy and a girl, in the hit Holi song, Are Ja Re Hat Natkhat, sung by Asha Bhosle and Mahendra Kapoor in this V Shantaram film, is still considered one of the most intricate dance numbers ever picturised in Bollywood. C Ramchandra's music still reverberates in our ears. Navrang, says choreographer Geeta Kapoor, is one of her favourite dance movies. Directed by T Rama Rao, this film is partly based on the life of actor-dancer Sudha Chandran, who lost one of her legs in a freak accident in 1981. However, Chandran, an accomplished Bharatnatyam dancer, never lost hope and continued dancing with a Jaipur leg. The film's story revolves around Bharatnatyam dancer, Mayuri, played by Chandran, who too loses her leg but continues dancing with an artificial limb. The film was a remake of hit Telugu film, Mayuri (1984), which too had Chandran in the lead. National award-winning choreographer Ganesh Acharya says that Naache Mayuri remains one of his all-time favourite dance films.
This was one of the first Hindi films that revolved entirely around dance. Filmmaker-actor V Shantaram directed wife Sandhya and dancer Gopi Krishna in this classic. A young 17-year old Shivkumar Sharma too was heard playing santoor in this National award-winning film. This was also the first time santoor was used in Indian cinema. Magnificently shot in Technicolor, the film is considered a classic with hit songs such as Jhanak Jhanak Baaje Re More Palaliya, Jo Tum Todo Piya and Murli Manohar. This too remains one of Ganesh Acharya favourite dance films.
This was one of the first Hindi films that revolved entirely around dance. Filmmaker-actor V Shantaram directed wife Sandhya and dancer Gopi Krishna in this classic. A young 17-year old Shivkumar Sharma too was heard playing santoor in this National award-winning film. This was also the first time santoor was used in Indian cinema. Magnificently shot in Technicolor, the film is considered a classic with hit songs such as Jhanak Jhanak Baaje Re More Palaliya, Jo Tum Todo Piya and Murli Manohar. This too remains one of Ganesh Acharya favourite dance films.
This Subhash Ghai film, where Though Aishwarya Rai played a singer, had quite a few intricate dance sequences. AR Rahman's music was the perfect icing on the cake. Songs such as Kahin Aag Lage, Ramta Jogi, Ishq Bina and Taal Se Taal, are still a hit with the audiences. The film also helped Aishwarya prove her mettle as a dancer.
Choreographer Remo D'Souza put on director cap and churned out a surprise hit in the form of ABCD. Instead of having Bollywood A-listers Remo decided to cast contestants from the popular dance-reality show, Dance India Dance. He also roped in choreographers Prabhu Deva and Ganesh Acharya, who were seen in important roles. Remo is also directing a sequel to the film, which releases this June. However, this time he has managed to rope in Varun Dhawan and Shraddha Kapoor. Prabhu Deva will once again be seen the sequel. Both Ganesh Acharya and Geeta Kapoor count ABCD among their favourite dance films.
International Dance Day is celebrated on April 29.
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