Source: Rediff
Among the things that stood out in Farhan Akhtar's Dil Chahta Hai were the well choreographed song sequences.
Remember Saif Ali Khan's Woh ladki hai kahan?
Just as music is an integral part of Farhan's films, so is the choreography.
In Lakshya, though, it will not be first cousin Farah Khan choreographing the sequences the way she did in DCH. Lakshya boasts of three choreographers: Prabhu Deva, Vaibhavi Merchant and Bosco Caesar.
Find out more about how the songs were choreographed.
Prabhu Deva
Farhan Akhtar contacted me a year ago and asked me to choreograph a song featuring Hrithik Roshan for his new film. Because the director was Farhan, I agreed to do it.
Had he asked me to choreograph more songs, it would not have been possible. I had started the preliminary work on my directorial debut. I did it only because I had given the dates long ago.
Mein Aisa Kyon Hoon was shot in December 2003. When I gave Farhan the dates, the song was not recorded. But when I heard the song, I liked it very much! Just by listening to the music, I knew I could choreograph it well. As I have seen many of Hrithik's songs, I knew it would come out very well. Everybody knows he is a very good dancer.
Once we started rehearsing, I found he was even better than I had imagined. He is a superb dancer and grasps whatever you tell him in no time. While choreographing a song, you have to keep the actor and his abilities in mind. You can only ask them to do what they are capable of. I knew Hrithik was a very good dancer, so I gave him difficult steps. He did it superbly. He had no difficulty grasping the movements. We finished the song in four or five days.
If you were to ask me if there was any difference in choreographing that song and the other songs that I have done before, I would say, there was no difference at all. There was no difference in my commitment. The difference is in the dancer. Because he did it wonderfully, everybody is talking about it.
The costumes also were very good. Initially, I was not sure whether the dance was good. I feel that way about all my dances. Only after watching it a few times, I felt it was okay. You never feel totally satisfied; you feel it can be done better. I like it when people accept it wholeheartedly, because I like what people like! After all, we do everything to entertain people.
I enjoy my songs for the first three months. After that, if I see that song, I feel I would have done it better. Now, when I see a song that was a big hit ten years ago, I feel I could have done it better. I don't know how I will feel about Main Aisa Kyon Hoon after a while.
People tell me that Hrithik's movements remind them of mine. That is because he danced exactly the way I asked him to!
Vaibhavi Merchant
I was working on a film, Dil Ne Jise Apna Kaha, with Preity Zinta, Salman Khan and Atul Agnihotri -- which never got released -- when Lakshya started. Preity jumped at the idea of me choreographing a song in Lakshya. She loves my sensibilities and the way I understand characters, actors and aesthetics. I do not include jhatkas just for the heck of it.
Hrithik Roshan, which whom I had worked with in Na Tum Jaano Na Hum, had also recommended me to the filmmakers.
So [producer] Ritesh Sidhwani called me.
I had heard a lot of stories about how adamant and what a slave driver Farhan was. But he is one of the coolest directors we have. He has a GREAT sense of humour. I would fall off my chair laughing at his one liners. He's very sedate and very Generation Next. He understands the other person's passion towards his or her job. Whatever people say about Farhan being shrewd is rubbish!
He's a great director and technician. I've choreographed the song, Agar Main Kahoon, picturised on Hrithik and Preity. It's a very narrative, interactive and funny kind of song. It's almost like the song has dialogues. We shot it in five days in Delhi. I chose the costumes. They had to be casual, as they were also part of a scene.
Since I did Na Tum Jaano Na Hum with Hrithik, it was a kind of reunion for us. He is one actor who rehearses a lot even though he doesn't need to. He would be petrified before performing each shot. He's full of nervous energy -- he excels in it. Nervous energy does wonders for him, though it won't be good for his health!
I have made them do lengthy shots in that song. Brilliant actors can carry off lengthy shots. And that's what really works. I haven't played with the camera or shot the MTV way.
The setup matters a lot, too. I was looking forward to one where you just take over the song. I was very comfortable with this unit. I was not in any pressure though I was the newcomer on Farhan's sets. For an outsider, it was cool!