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Choreographers have the toughest job
Can SRK and Ash recreate the magic of Big B and Rekha? It all depends on choreographers, writes Bhawna Gera.
Can you recreate history? Difficult, but there are a few who are attempting to do just that. With remakes of hit Bollywood classics being the order of the day, choreographers in the industry seem to have the toughest job.
After all, if there was anything that stood out in Don, it was a sexy Helen seducing Big B with Yeh mera dil. In Umrao Jaan, all that you can remember is a sultry Rekha in In aankhon ki masti.
In the new versions of these hits, choreographers now have to recreate this magic — as portrayed by Helen in Yeh mera dil (Don) or Mehbooba mehbooba (Sholay), Amitabh Bachchan in Khaike paan (Don) and Rekha in In aankhon ki masti in (Umrao Jaan). And that is not easy. After all, how do you retain the essence and yet make it look fresh? Comparisons are inevitable.
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| Shahrukh Khan in a still from Farhaan Akhtar's Don. |
Indu Mirani, trade analyst, says, “It is a difficult job for everyone — the actors, actresses, musicians, lyricists and also choreographers. They have to live upto the expectations and at the same time create something that is extraordinary.”
Getting into the groove:
That is where some good homework helps. The first and the foremost lesson — don’t watch the old version to get ‘inspired’ because it would create mental blocks.
Says ace choreographer Saroj Khan, “I did not watch old
Umrao Jaan
or
Don
when I accepted these films. It would have in some way or the other affected my work. Despite my best efforts to be original, it would have looked like a copy.”
Music director Ismail Darbar, who composed music for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s
Devdas
, says, “I watched Dilip Kumar’s
Devdas
after our film was released.” Did it help? “Of course, it did. I interpreted the film the way I wanted. It’s not right to copy everything. Where’s your creativity?”
Making a song and dance about it:
While some filmmakers have no qualms about copying the lyrics from the older versions, there are others like JP Dutta, who chose to change the entire format. His
Salaam
bears little resemblance to the inimitable
In aankhon ki masti
. “The new song is my imagination and my attempt was to make it look different. After all, the song is not an exact copy,” says Saroj.
Yes, true. Only the situation is similar. “It’s better to take such songs as completely new assignment,” adds choreographer Farah Khan. As Indu says, “Tamper only when you are sure to come out with something better.” So, copycats beware!
