Evergreen Govinda goes on and on. All his early heroines like Neelam, Kimi Katkar, Sonam and Farah have long retired from films but Govinda continues to be in the thick of things. Once known as a fabulous dancer, he has reinvented himself as a senior hero and even as a character artist.
Though he seemed to have disappeared from the scene for a while, there is no stopping Govinda any more. Now he is producing films, acting as a hero and even showing up as a judge on a dance reality show on television.
Speaking on the sidelines of a press conference of Dance India Dance Super Moms , where he is one of the judges alongside Geeta Kapur (Geeta Maa) and Terrence Lewis, Govinda says that he is looking forward to the second innings of his career. “I am making my comeback on television after 14 years. I became very choosy, and there came a time when people started not choosing me. For DID Super Moms I must say that I liked the concept very much. I am very much blessed by moms, I respect them a lot and here I will get a chance to be between many of them.”
He is into film production too. “Now, I have produced a film and the title of the film is Abhinay Chakra . My wife had an apprehension that the film may not work at the box office and we could incur heavy losses. Now the film is ready and I can assure you that this is a film which the audience has been waiting for many years. This film has got everything – story, subject, screenplay and dialogue. The film is directed by Deepankar Senapati. It will be released in three-four months.”
Taking a dig at the media, Govinda says, “When I launched the film, people could not understand the name nor could they pronounce it correctly. I then told them that it is Abhinay and it means acting. They thought it was an English word.”
He is more conversant with the cultural ethos because of his mother Nirmala Devi, a classical artist. “I had the privilege of watching people like Birju Maharaj and Sitara Devi very closely because of my mother. For me a good dancer is the one who can do all the talk without speaking. The expressions are most important. I can say Madhuri Dixit is one such dancer whom I love to see dancing.”
All those early years spent in the company of the greats of Indian classical dances stood him in good stead in Bollywood where he is known as a fine dancer, somebody who can dance with great ease.
Yet he claims he did not have to work much on it.
About being a judge on DID Super Moms, he says, “Mothers represent love, caring, nurturing and strength so it is going to be wonderful to see them in a different avatar. I am floored by the sheer talent these mothers have displayed.
I noticed this while shooting a couple of audition episodes.”
On the criteria of judging the contestants, he says, “It will be completely on expressions as far as I am concerned.”
(The show will be aired on Zee TV every Saturday-Sunday at 9 p.m. starting March 28)
