Although completely disillusioned by Indian cinema’s ‘unfair’ trophy giveaways, Shiamak Davar still believes in lending a helping hand to the budding talent

In the world of Bollywood choreography, Shiamak Davar’s name is uttered with a certain amount of reverence; after all he practically pioneered the new age fusion dance movement with his work in Dil To Pagal Hai.

While he brought in traditional flavour through Madhuri Dixit’s swaying form, complex footwork and hand gestures, Karishma Kapoor’s borderline sporty steps provided for the perfect Indo-Western dance mix in the film. And before you knew it, Davar was an overnight sensation.

But like all inspiring success stories, his too comes attached with its set of nosy detractors, discouraging snags and well-meaning friends and family whose top advice is to ‘just get a real job’.

“When I was very young, I wanted to be a dancer but there was just no place to go,” recalls the choreographer to City Times. “It was a very tough time for me: there was a lot of humiliation involved and a lot of people told me that I would never make it. Most told me to become a doctor, lawyer or something equally ‘respectable’ and just get a real job. But I really felt like I had a lot of talent and just needed the right opportunity to express myself.”

It’s was this line of thinking that eventually prompted Davar to open branches of his very own dance institution - Shiamak Davar’s Institute of Performing Arts (SDIPA) - across India, Canada, Australia and the UAE.

Today SDIPA provides thousands of kids and adults with an outlet to nurture and showcase their talent, something that Davar himself felt severely deprived of during his early days.

In town for his Summer Funk Workshop, the choreographer was pleasantly surprised with the sort of reception he received: “It was fantastic! They treated me as if I was some Shah Rukh Khan or Hrithik Roshan; there were screams, shouts and absolutely everyone danced. I’m glad I brought the classes down here because the folks here are just so focused on dancing. I’ll definitely be back sometime soon – maybe in September or October,” promises Davar.

Meanwhile things are not necessarily as hunky dory on the Bollywood front for the choreographer. Though popular like no other, Davar’s nomination has often been passed up at many prestigious award ceremonies for what he believes are biased reasons.

“I used to think awards were very important, but I don’t anymore. Very often awards will be handed out for Best Choreography not because the choreography is actually good, but because the song is popular. Honestly, there’s a lot of politics involved,” notes a slightly disgruntled Davar.

The dance director also makes it a point to mention that he does not count himself as part of the rat race. Although he recently worked on Shah Rukh Khan’s Rab Ne Banadi Jodi at the request of the Chopras – something he never shies away from – Davar limits himself to working on only a movie or two every few years.

“I do not work in every single movie or every single song in a movie; it gets boring and repetitive. Recently, the dance routines for the IPL and IIFA awards kept me very busy,” comments Davar. He further notes that though he would like to work on another music album, his singing career has taken a back seat due to other priorities.

davina@khaleejtimes.com