KOCHI: When the global football showpiece kicks off in Mexico City on Thursday, it will carry an Indian imprint unlike any before. ‘Siir Siir’, choreographed by Rajit Dev, a Mumbai-based artist with Kerala roots, is one of the 18 songs in the official world cup album and is set to be played at the opening ceremony.
With this feat, Rajit becomes the first Indian, and the first Malayali, to be associated with an official FIFA World Cup album. Though born and raised in Mumbai, he traces his tryst with dance to his roots in Kerala.
“My family hails from Shornur. And like every south Indian family, my parents too wanted my sister to learn dance. My connection with dance began almost by accident. When my mother enrolled my sister in bharatanatyam classes, I had to accompany her,” Rajit told TNIE. However, what began as a sibling responsibility soon turned into a passion.
Rajit underwent formal bharatanatyam training and completed his arangettam. “A non-classical dancer can dance from the body, but expressions are very difficult. Bharatanatyam helped me understand that,” Rajit said.
This distinction further enamoured his enthusiasm to experiment with styles and forms, and school annual days, local Ganesh festival celebrations, and neighbourhood cultural events became his first stages. If passion gave him direction, family support gave him the confidence.
‘A chance to show what sets Indian artists apart’
“My father would accompany me to competitions across Mumbai, often taking leave from work to do so. Some of my most vivid memories are from those years. There were times when we missed the last train after a competition. We slept on a railway platform and took the first train home in the morning,” Rajit recalled.
By the time he entered SK Somaiya College as a commerce student, Rajit knew dance was more than a hobby. At 18, he landed his first Bollywood assignment as a dancer in ‘Main Aisa Kyu Hoon’, the iconic Hrithik Roshan number choreographed by Prabhu Deva.
“The opportunity placed me on a film set alongside two of the figures who had inspired my childhood dreams. It was surreal,” he said.
The years that followed took Rajit around the world. He worked with leading choreographers, toured internationally with the acclaimed stage production The Merchants of Bollywood and gained invaluable exposure. Later, a successful stint on the television reality show ‘Just Dance’ opened another door, leading to a seven-year association with celebrated choreographer Vaibhavi Merchant. During that phase, Rajit worked on major productions featuring Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan and Katrina Kaif.
His independent career too gained momentum through collaborations with actors such as Ranveer Singh and, eventually, Nora Fatehi. It is Rajit’s decade-long creative partnership with the latter that has now led him to football’s biggest stage. He said the FIFA opportunity presented a unique challenge. Featuring artists from diverse cultures, the song ‘Siir Siir’ demanded a visual language that could resonate globally while retaining a distinctive identity. “When I listen to a song, I let my body react to it. The music dictates the moves. That’s what I’ve done here as well,” said Rajit, who’s supporting Morocco. Interestingly, the choreography also draws inspiration from ‘Siir Siir’, a chant associated with Moroccan football supporters.
“I wanted to make it look global, yet the energy and soul had to be Indian,” Rajit said, adding that the project was also an opportunity to show what “sets Indian performers apart”.