Prabhudevastill in lovewithdance
Choreographer film maker say she has a pure relationship with his art form
Prabhudheva, who has made his mark as an actor, dancer, choreographer and filmmaker, turned 45 onTuesday. He says dance is an extension of his personality. “There is nothing that I can imagine without dance,” he said. “I see the visual first. I approach dance in a very rawway and then I ama bundle of emotions. It is a very pure thing that happens betweenmy emotions and physical movements, and nothing comes in between.”
He added: “Everything changes when I dance. I ama taskmaster there, I amthe creator, I amhigh on dance, my expression, body language. I amlike a fire.”
FromMuqabla, Urvasi Urvasi andKay Sera Sera, Prabhudheva has choreographed several songs in Hindi cinema as well as in the southern film industry.
FromKajol to MadhuriDixit, Salman Khan toVarun Dhawan, he hasworked with stars of different generations. Which star gave him a tough time?
“You see, if anyone is callingmeto choreograph a dance, they knowmy style and they knowIama taskmaster. Theywant to present themselves as a good dancer before their fans, and that iswhy they wantmeto choreograph. So Iwould say no one givesme a tough time,” he said.
“Yes, they might be doing more rehearsals than that of a regular dancer, but I do not mindworking hard with stars.”
He continued: “For instance, in Kay Sera Sera forwhich Madhuri and I danced together... She is a great classical dancer andmy style is different. She kept on practising until she felt confident to go for the final take.
“I think she did more than 20 rehearsals. But I think that is howthey achieve what they achieve. One cannot achieve that level of perfection without this amount of hardwork.”
Speaking about the element that keeps the audience hooked to his performances, Prabhudeva continued: “I think if you people liked allmy dances it is because of the element between what it looks like and what it actually is. That is the magic.”
“You see, as an audience whenyou watch a dance, youwant to see it like an easy dance that anybody can try and do successfully. While that madeyou try out the step, you cannot get it perfectly because it is slightly twisted, slightly different and rather difficult for a commoner,” he added.
Apart fromdancing, Prabhudheva has tried his hand at acting and directing with films such asWanted, RowdyRathore, Ra mai ya Vast avai ya and Action Jackson.
Asked if he imposes his starpower as an actor, Prabhudheva said: “With experience, I have becomemore focused and I have no problem taking instructions. WhenIwork in a film like an actor, I do not interfere or try to use my seniority or impose anything on the filmmaker. That iswrong. Unless I agree upon a director’s vision, I will not sign a film. If I signed it, I should followhis vision.”
However, he said he is a completely different personwhen he is directing and dancing.
“These two are two differentworlds. Imay ormay not be successful as a film director, butwhen I direct a film, I am telling a story theway Iwant to say it. There Iamlooking into every matter that is coming before the camera,” said the actor, whose film Mercury is releasing on April 13 in India.
It is a silent film directed byKarthik Subbaraj.
“Iwanted towork withKarthik. He is a very good filmmaker and everyonewants towork with him. WhenI signed the film, I did not think too much about the story or themessage of the film. If it is silent or a talkie... all these are additional elements, andmy bonus towork withKarthikwho has a strong vision,” he said.
The film addresses the effect of industrial is at ion on mother nature.
“After 10 minutes of the film’s start, you will not feel the silence. The audience will not miss the dialogue because it engages the audience visually. At the end of the film, during the climax, onewould sit on the edge of the sofa andwatch. One shouldwatch it to experience what I am trying to say,” he said.—
“Everything changes when I dance. I ama taskmaster there, I amthe creator, I amhigh on dance.”