What Makes Dance Reality Shows Such a Big Draw on Indian TV?
Reality dance shows are becoming big crowd pullers thanks to celebs, drama and incredible talent.
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Friedreich Nietzsche once famously said “We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once.” That’s an unexpected quote from someone who is known for solemn philosophy theories, right? But Bollywood gets that. We once made a film, with barely a wisp of a plot line, and it became a super-duper hit because it had 15 songs and dance sequences-Hum Aapke Hain Kaun!
‘Dance like no one is watching.’ Now, that might be great advice but most Indian TV channels would scoff at that. ‘Cz everyone tunes in religiously to watch the supremely popular dance-reality shows. And here’s why they’re such crowd pullers-
By the Way, Not Everyone Can Dance, But It’s Still Entertaining!
Dance reality shows are like the Indian thaali. They’ve got a bit of everything, from sweet and savoury to bland and spicy. Jhalak Dikhla Jaa and Nach Baliye, both glitter and shimmer with a horde of TV and film stars. While Jhalak teams up a celebrity with a professional dancer, Nach Baliye brings together star jodis and even real life couples. And not all of them can dance. But isn’t that where the real entertainment is? Remember Sangram Singh, the Commonwealth Heavyweight Champ shaking a leg with his wife Payal Rohtagi? He was a sport but couldn’t dance to save his life, or his wife! Nevertheless, the Big Boss contenders made for some good laughs on Nach Baliye.
Celebs, Glitter and Drama- What’s Not to Love?
Grand sets, Bollywood numbers, glittering costumes and celebrity judges, what’s not to love? Not only as judges, Bollywood stars these days get on stage to promote their upcoming films and what not. Interestingly, judges get way more footage than the actual dancers. The way they give scores, crack jokes and poke fun at each other makes for TV a ton of fun. Their disagreements of course are most intriguing. They even flirt a bit with each other and sometimes even the audience or the participants! Don’t you wish you were there too?
The Reality of Dance
Nach Baliye routinely has more drama. There are tears of joy and sorrow in slow-mo. Real life partners Nandish Sandhu and Rashmi Desai (the famous lead pair of Uttaran) had a rough patch in their marriage and had separated for a bit. On the show they revealed that dancing together was really the last chance they needed to give their fragile relationship. Writer Sharad Tripathi and his actor girlfriend Mrunal Thakur also came on the show and asked their respective parents to bless them with the permission to get married. Apparently both parents objected to their caste differences. These personal stories sell more than dance itself! Funny, huh!
What’s Reality Without Tears?
Dance Plus a new show on Star Plus seems to be a winner in the sense that it features participants who’re seriously interested in dancing, and that alone. The show’s premise- three professional dancers have chosen talented boys and girls, who are driven by their passion for professional dance. They’re ranked by a single judge, choreographer Remo D’Souza, who is also the producer of the show. Their back-breaking rehearsals, often shot in public parks, since they can’t afford anything else, really display their agility and talent. The pure delight on their faces while performing is precious and infectious! There are tears and stories of struggle here too, but more genuine ones. If you watch the show, you’ll know why a motley crew of incredibly talented dancers calls themselves the Bomb-Fire Group, why Remo renamed a boy called the Kachra (garbage) Boy as the ‘Golden Boy’, after watching him perform on the show. You can’t beat this interesting mix of drama, emotion and dance.
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