Vicky Kaushal's Tauba Tauba fever: Why hook steps are dominating social media and promotions?

Amid Tauba Tauba fever, we speak to choreographers and influencers to understand how Instagram reels have opened a new way to market films via hook steps.

Scroll through Instagram and one struggles to find a reel that does not either show or emulate Vicky Kaushal go Tauba Tauba. On the one hand there are reels showing the actor ace the moves, on the other there are influencers and even influential cats dancing to the tunes of the hook step from Kaushal’s recently released film, Bad Newz. The popularity of the hook step goes back decades, from dance performances by actors like Helen to Hrithik Roshan in Ek Pal Ka Jeena in Kaho Naa...Pyaar Hai or sequences in Kajra Re in Dhoom to the more recent Naatu Naatu and Jhoome Jo Pathaan.

A still from the song Tauba Tauba

The popularity of the hook step is changing how dancing in Bollywood is perceived and the rise of Instagram has opened a new way to market films. “The brief on a hook step is that it should be easy so that everybody can pick it up,” says Bosco Martis, the choreographer who created the magic of Tauba Tauba. For Tauba Tauba he says, “Everybody is trying to do it. It’s not a step that everyone can do, yet people are trying.” He adds that choreographing a hook step does form part of his process now.

A still of Jr NTR and Ram Charan from the Oscar-winning song Naatu Naatu

Asked how the hook step is changing the lives of choreographers, Martis says, “The rising popularity of the hook step has made choreographers more visible. In the celebration around the hook step both the star and the choreographer get attention. It’s a great thing for us.”

Origins of the hook step

Choreographer Mudassar Khan says the popularity of the hook step “started with actors like Salman Khan, Govinda and Madhuri Dixit who had their unique dancing styles.” What contributes to the popularity, is ease, according to Khan. “Every person is not a born dancer. Not everyone can dance like Michael Jackson or Prabhudeva. People liked these dance performances because they found it easy to groove on. That is why the trend started picking up on social media,” he adds.

Khan, who has choreographed dance sequences such as Hud Dabang, Humka Peeni Hai and Dhinka Chika says, “When I entered the industry, I thought I would make everyone dance like Prabhudeva. But things turned out differently. People told me ‘Why are you making people do something so hard, make them do easy steps, a hook step.’”

A still of Salman Khan and Asin from the song Dhinka Chika

Khan says he has since incorporated the hook step into his choreography and bases the more difficult steps around the hook step. Sharing an anecdote about when he met Salman Khan for the first time, Khan says, “When I went to show a choreography sequence for the first time to Salman Khan, I thought he would not like the hook step but the more difficult parts. But he liked the hook step the most.”

What makes a hook step

Khan says considerations of virality have now become an important part of choreographing a sequence. Asked if there is a formula to creating a hook step, Khan says, “I would like to again cite Salman Khan for this. Salman Khan says if you can incorporate things people do in their everyday lives like scratching their head, tying their shoelaces or tightening one’s belt into music, that itself creates a hook step.”

He adds that the music that goes with the hook step is as important as the hook step itself. “The music has to be as attractive as the hook step. If the music is average, however good a hook step you put, it does not become catchy. A hook step becomes popular only because the music blends with the choreography.”

A still from the song Jhoome Jo Pathan

Goal: To go viral

While hook steps have been popular for decades, the brief for choreographers has changed now, says choreographer Punit J Pathak. “Earlier the brief used to be: ‘Make a hook step to which chacha chachis can dance to at weddings’, now the brief is to make a hook step that people will put up on Instagram and make it viral. Earlier it was about reaching people’s homes, now it’s about reaching people’s phones.”

“Hook step is as old as music and is important for every song. That is what created legends like (late) Saroj Ji and Ganesh Master Ji. As a choreographer, I want my hook step to become popular,” Pathak adds. One of the problems with the reels-based virality of hook steps and dance sequences, according to Pathak, is the limited timeframe of virality. “Right now ‘Tauba Tauba’ is going viral. A week ago something else was. Steps are becoming viral but not iconic,” he says further.

A still from the song Laal Peeli Akhiyaan

The influencer perspective

For influencers, dancing to hook steps in reels helps build engagement, says digital content creator Vrushika Mehta. “I love to take part in hook step challenges because they are fun, they help me connect to my audience and allow me to show off my dancing skills. Plus, they keep me up-to-date with trends and let me join the latest social media conversations,” she says.

Asked what makes a hook step go viral, the influencer echoes the sentiment of choreographers: “A hook step goes viral when it is simple, catchy and easy for people to replicate. The music, popularity of the song and the timing also play crucial roles. As an influencer, I promote films by performing these hook steps, sharing them with my audience and encouraging them to participate which helps spread the word.”

Digital content creator Anushka Hazra agrees that creating reels with the latest tunes and hook steps boosts engagement on influencers’ profiles. However, she boldly asserts that choreographers’ deliberate efforts “to simplify dance routines for songs, so that the audience can easily recreate it and make reels, has taken away the essence of a good dance routine in films.”

However, Mehta thinks “hook steps are very effective in promoting films on social media.” “They create buzz, engage audiences and make it easy for people to share and participate, which increases the film’s visibility and excitement,” she says. “Instagram reels and other social media platforms have simplified choreography by popularising short, eye-catching routines that are easy to share and replicate, fostering creativity among choreographers,” she ends.