Like a dancer

Feroz Khan, Bollywood choreographer and judge of “Dance India Dance” on Zee TV, talks about what he would be looking for in contestants

Feroz Khan.

What’s in a name? There is plenty if you answer to the name Feroz Khan in our industry. One Feroz Khan in the ’70s was a dashing, debonair hero. The other is a noted theatre and film director. And now comes the third Feroz Khan. He is not very young, has been in the industry for almost two decades now but it is only during the last few years that he has earned recognition as a choreographer. Now seen as a judge on Zee TV’s Dance India Dance Season 4 , Feroz has assisted popular choreographer-director Farah Khan for many years. However, he came into his own with hits like Maa Da Laadl a from Dostana and Move Your Body from Johnny Gaddar. His other projects include choreographing for Agneepath , Ra.One , Aisha and Anjaana Anjaani . Now, he is ready to judge young contestants of DID Season 4 .

Speaking to the media in New Delhi, Feroz outlines the qualities he would look for in a contestant. “Contestants doing the average common dance forms will not be entertained unless they are exceptionally good and have the hunger to learn.”

The show incidentally has participants from all parts of the country, including a village called Singapore in West Bengal. The village is said to be so remote that it takes three days to reach Kolkata from there. “The kids today are hard working, takes dance as a profession, are eager to learn and can go to any distance. A young contestant came to the auditions in Kolkata and told us that he was from Singapore but to our surprise he told us that it is a village with no electricity and Internet connection and it took him three days to reach Kolkata after covering some distance in a bus, then walking a long distance and even had to cross a river on the way. This is what we call commitment,” he says.

Feroz says he did not bag the contract for

DID Season 4 just like that. He had to undergo rigorous training for it and learnt from foreign masters to have a wider perspective of the medium. “The three of us — me, Mudassar Khan and Shruti Merchant, had to attend a two-month-long international level workshops before joining DID . We have learnt a lot of new dance forms which have never been seen before. We have also attended workshops with international choreographers to maintain the high standard of DID. ”

Feroz assures that the show will be different from others in the past as the judges share a warm chemistry with each other being in the industry for quite some time. The core idea behind DID Season 4 is to look at dance as a means and an outlet to express one’sinnermost feelings. DID , as a platform, “has always stood for celebrating dance. This season, it goes one step further and creates a movement of dance across the country by showing audiences how to channel their energies positively through dance. DID is sending out a strong message to its viewers — ‘Dance It Out!’”