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Tell
us about the song you are currently doing
I
am doing such a song after a gap of one and half year. 'Vaa Vaa'
[a song in Mahesh Babu - Arti's Bobby] is a very good mass song.
This song would not have many mass steps, but I am sure everybody
would enjoy this song because it has some good class steps with
expressive body language.
How
did you get a chance to become a choreographer?
It
was Superstar Rajnikant who blessed me to join the film industry.
He paid Rs 10,000/- on behalf of me to the Dancer's Association
and bought the dancer card for me. Now, the price of card is Rs
15,000/-. I came to the film industry with the recommendation
of Rajnikanth. I joined as a dancer for Shiva Shankar master for
one year and then I worked for Prabhu Deva master for 5 months.
I am the first and only dancer to become master with in two years
of entering the field as dancer. After seeing my phenomenal rise,
the dancers' union passed on a new rule that a dancer should have
a minimum of 5 years of experience to become a dance master.
I
worked as choreographer for six months for low budget films. Then
Chiranjeevi spotted me and offered me the film Hitler. With my
dance numbers clicking in Hitler, I never had to look back.
What
are the things you consider while choreographing a song?
I
keep the hero in mind while composing dance moves. Each and every
hero has a style. I don't force my dance movements on them. Instead
I study their body language and compose steps that suit their
body language perfectly. I also keep the fans of that particular
hero in mind and accordingly compose steps that exhilarate those
fans.
You
have not made appearances on the screen after Paravasam. Any specific
reasons?
Recently
I acted as hero in a Supergood Production's Tamil film that was
released on the 12th of September. I am currently doing another
film called 'Style' in Tamil. I am also open to do item numbers
(special songs) in films. But I want to do item numbers that have
very good mass punch in them.
Your
'Veena Step' in Indra for 'Daayi Daayi damma' is a rage now. How
did you manage that?
As
I told you earlier I compose songs to the strengths of the hero.
But Chiranjeevi goes that extra mile to get the best effect for
the steps I conceive. He practiced that Veena step for 9 hours
in New Zealand. I am happy that 'Veena step ' clicked in a big
way.
Don't
you think it's very costly for a dancer wannabe to pay Rs 15,000/-
to become a dancer?
Actually
half of the members are sitting idle now. Only few producers can
afford group songs. Earlier we used to have many dancer masters.
But now there are only 3-4 prominent choreographers. When we have
so many qualified dancers sitting idle in industry, I don't recommend
fresh guys/girls to join as dancers by taking membership, as their
money would be wasted.
There
is one accusation on you that you have a separate group of dancers
from Chennai and you do not encourage local lads from Hyderabad.
Any comments?
I
must admit that the Hyderabad dancers were not up to the mark
when I started my career. But now they have improved a lot. Earlier
I used to have 3 dancers for a group of 10 in my team and now
it has increased to 6. Nobody is a born dancer. Everybody needs
good amount of systematic practice. Ultimately, it's my commitment
to the producer to give maximum output.I feel really great that
producers are considering me that way. But I would like to honestly
admit that it's the teamw
Do
you have any ambitions in life?
I
am a big devotee of Lord Raghavendra Swamy. My only ambition that
is unfulfilled is to build a temple for Sri Raghavendra Swamy.
One day, I will definitely fulfill it.
Do
you have any suggestions for dancer wannabes?
One
should have self-confidence. He/She should not be bothered about
the lack of a helping background in the industry. One should always
believe in his/her talent and the ability to work hard. I am a
live example for that. I started as a small time dancer and came
to this level now. God is always there to do justice to our hardwork.
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