Sandip Soparrkar is the man behind Hrithik’s sizzling hot moves in 'Kites' . The choreographer gets candid on his latest film, Hollywood vs Bollywood and ballroom dancing...
'Kites' has finally taken off and although the film did not soar as high as expected, there’s someone who’s quite happy with the choreography — Sandip Soparrkar .
“I was quite nervous just before the release of the film but I'm happy that my choreography has received good reviews,” he says.
Elaborating on how he got the offer he says, “ Anurag Basu spoke to me about it two years ago. But then, as it usually happens in Bollywood, he never got back to me. And I read in a magazine that Flexy Studios have been chosen to choreograph for ‘Kites’. But as fate would have it, Hrithik Roshan approached me with the offer again. I was quite happy. I always believed that nobody could share the dance floor with him, but Kangana Ranaut took me by surprise,” he says.
Sandip Soparrkar has choreographed two dance sequences for ‘Kites’.
What next? “I am choreographing for Priyanka Chopra in ‘Saat Khoon Maaf’,” he says.
The model-turned choreographer is also the celebrity judge on 'Dance India Dance — Little Masters 2' on Zee TV. “I have been part of at least five reality shows. The latest one has its own share of challenges because every kid is so talented and it’s hard to eliminate any, but as the format of the show goes, ultimately there can only be one winner,” he says.
The choreographer however feels that owing to dance reality shows, a lot of new dance forms are being experimented with in Indian cinema. “Dance forms like Cha Cha Cha, Jive, Latin American, African American and others are being experimented with, which is good thing. But when I compare the Indian classical with western dance forms, I will undoubtedly vouch for the former. I am in awe of Mohiniattam, Kathak and Bharatanatyam,” he says.
Soparrkar has worked with international singers like Madonna, Britney Spears and Shakira . He has even choreographed for Hollywood director Rob Marshall ’s film 'Nine' with Penelope Cruz, Daniel-Day Lewis, Nicole Kidman, Judi Dench and Sophia Loren .
“I have worked with Britney Spears for 'Womanizer'. And I have taken classes for Madonna and Shakira. Their professionalism is amazing. Once I had to conduct a session for Shakira at 6 in the morning. I reached her house at 5.45 AM. But Shakira was ready even before me. But here in India, it’s a different scene altogether. Plus, when our stars come over, they take regular chai breaks and the entire session is disrupted. The schedule here is always jam-packed; consequently there is more pressure,” he says.
Sandip debuted in Bollywood with Shyam Benegal’s 'Zubeida'. He has also choreographed for 'The Myth' and cherishes working with Mallika Sherawat . “She is very simple by nature,” he says.
A German trained ballroom dance teacher, Sandip is a thorough professional. He was recognized and honoured by the Queen of England and Prince of Wales who had written a personal letter of appreciation to him for promoting ballroom and Latin American dance culture in India.
He graduated from the Ballroom Dance Teachers Training School in Bonn, Germany. “Ball Room dancing was not so popular in India back then. The question is about awareness of dance forms. I have worked abroad and when you are a doing a racy Indian dance form, they call it a Bhangra. And here in India, when you do a western dance form, they call it Salsa, which is not always the case. Also, most western dance forms are set to Bollywood tunes, which cannot bring in the desired originality,” he says.
Talking about his projects down South he says, “I am a half Tamilian. My mother hails from the South. But I can’t speak or understand Tamil. I have done only one project down South for the Malayalam film 'Akasha Gopuram' with Mohanlal .”
Sandip is in awe of Prabhu Deva. “He is an icon and I look forward to an opportunity to work with him,” he says. “MJ is an international legend and it is a treat watching his fans imitate his steps. It is difficult to match his original moonwalk though,” he smiles.