In 2013, when ABCD Anybody Can Dance was about to hit the theatres, many cynics thought Remo D’ Souza believed that anybody can direct. The fact that the noted choreographer had only Faltu in his kitty made the perception sound all the more real. Even UTV’s logo in the backdrop didn’t help much. However, when Remo’s team of newcomers, drawn from reality shows that he used to judge, was led by Prabhu Dheva on stage, the critics had to eat their words. The film went on to become a surprise hit and Remo proved that he could blend dance with emotion and that the euphoria for dance is not just limited to the small screen.
Two years on, Remo is back on stage with a sequel in 3D that is bigger in scale and has Disney as the producer. Remo says apart from the dance moves, the original had a certain innocence which connected with the young audience. “The scale is something that the story demanded but yes it is because of the confidence in me that the industry supported. To me 3D literally provides the third dimension to dance and brings the audience closer to the performance. The sequel has a different story. It is inspired by the true story of a dance group called Fictitious from Nalasopara. The group rose from the small town near Mumbai and went on to compete in an international dance competition in Las Vegas,” says Remo, who also struggled for a long time in the hierarchy-driven industry, where one has to assist a choreographer for a long time before breaking free. “I don’t suffer from insecurity. I want my assistants to get as many opportunities as possible. I keep the windows open. Anybody can come and see when I choreograph,” says Remo.
Varun Dhawan plays Suresh, the leader of the dance group. “The film’s tagline is dance to express. Usually, in our films, dance is to impress. So I needed an actor who could dance. Varun brings both the qualities.” There were concerns when he signed Shraddha Kapoor opposite Varun because she is not known to be a dancer. “She was not, but then that was the whole idea. She was like clay whom I could mould the way I wanted. Today she can shift from hip hop to krumping with ease.”
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With Varun, he had to work more. “He had a style. So I had to break it first but the fact that he understood the requirements made my task easier.” As for the music, Remo says it is not just driven by sound. “You will get to enjoy lyrics as well. Mayur Puri has done a good job.” Coming back to scale Remo says the highlight of the film is a song shot at Grand Canyon. “Every song has been given a different treatment according to the difficulty level of the competition. The main dance form is hip hop but there is a definite Indian touch. I hope the audience will get the nuances.” One reminds him that Disney films are usually targeted at teenagers but Remo insists that the film will appeal to people in all age groups.
Remo says Hindi cinema has a history of dance-based films. “There was a time when V. Shantaram used to make films where the script revolved around the dance. Films like Navrang,Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje and Jal Bin Machhli, Nritya Bin Bijli can’t be thought of without total dedication towards dance. I am working towards reviving the tradition of dance-based films.” For now it seems he wants to stick to western dance forms. “For now yes, but I am thinking about incorporating Indian dance forms, particularly folk forms, as well,” says Remo, who made a Bengali film on Chhau, the tribal dance form of Orissa and West Bengal. “Despite the presence of Mithun Chakraborty, the film could not get released. So one has to create an atmosphere where such subjects are accepted by mainstream audience.”
Among the young crop of actors, he feels Tiger Shroff has the best dancing talent. No wonder his next,
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