Profile of backup dancers has changed for the better

Today,most backup dancers in a video are trained as part of a choreographer’s troupe. Many of them are handpicked from various dance reality shows and are stars in their own right,hence adding credibility to the profession. “Earlier,there was little respect for a backup dancer in the industry—they were often daily wage earners trying to get by. And though a song-and-dance sequence had always been of importance in a Bollywood film,it was the star in the foreground that mattered. Today,however,many of them go on to become actors and models,” says Ahmed Khan,who is famous for his association with nimble footed Bollywood star Shahid Kapoor. Incidentally,Kapoor,who trained with dance guru Shiamak Dawar,has also featured as a backup dancer; one will especially remember him in Taal,dancing right behind Aishwarya Rai.

This change did take some time to come about and Khan says it was triggered by the fact that production houses began to take production quality more seriously. He recounts his experience from his first assignment,Rangeela. “I hired my college friends as backup dancers because the older lot was not trained enough to carry out those moves. And suddenly,before we knew it,producers were ready to spend a major part of their budget on shooting one music video.”

Then came the stage when,suddenly,in the middle of a film otherwise based in Mumbai,you would have the hero and heroine singing and dancing in the Swiss Alps. That trend stuck and foreigners became a mainstay in our songs. Both Khan and Bosco admit that they are often requested by the producer to hire foreign dancers. But producer Ramesh Taurani argues: “Unless the film is based abroad,we don’t shoot a song with foreign backup dancers.” This assertion contradicts the video of the song Jab Pyar Hota Hai from Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani,which has been produced by Taurani.

Govinda,one of the first actors to dance with blondes,is quick to explain. “With so many channels,the viewer will not pause to see your music video if the production quality is compromised,” he quips,“It makes perfect business sense because music videos today are great marketing tools.”

The foreigners—often from Russia or the South American countries— too find the working conditions here a great lure. Often they are part of the choreographer’s troupe and hence draw a regular salary. There are also those who are students or hold day jobs and moonlight as extras in films. And then there are others,who are merely vacationing in India but find the role of a Bollywood extra exciting enough to add to their itinerary of must-do things in Mumbai. But,as opposed to the daily wagers of the ’80s,who used to make no more than Rs 100 for all the aerobics that they would do in the name of choreography,the foreign dancers bring to the table their skill in international dance forms like belly dancing and take home a few thousand rupees over the two or three days that they shoot for.

Jennifer Mayani,who is leading an item number in Jag Mundra’s forthcoming Apartment,came to India from Chile five years ago to get married. She hasn’t found a match yet but,she explains,“Cameos in films like Om Shanti Om,and the prospect of more item numbers in the future have me excited enough to stay back.”