Way back in the old days of black-white cinema and even
during the early days of colour films, the directors were truly the captain of
their ships. They took an active interest in every aspect of film-making,
naturally therefore no song or dance sequence or fight sequence was filmed in the absence of the director.
During the eighties things began to change. I learnt that the directors handed
over the reins to the dance director for the song and dance sequences and the
action directors for the fight sequence. I was surprised to learn that the
directors did not bother to be present on the sets or the location. Not surprisingly therefore, while the
song and dance sequences blended with the film’s narrative in the past, later on
and even today, the songs appear from nowhere and look more like music videos.
The dance sequences remind me of aerobic exercises.
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| My father in a song sequence in 'Shama' |
How I miss the dance sequences of my childhood. Back in my
childhood I heard names like Lachhu Maharaj, Gopi Krishna, Sachin Shankar, all
of whom were legends to whom filmmakers turned when they wanted a
choreographer. While most of the choreographers were accomplished and respected
classical dancers, there was Sachin Shankar a cousin of sitar maestro Pt. Ravi
Shankar who had trained under the legendary Uday Shankar (Ravi Shankar’s elder brother).
Shankar’s area of expertise was dance ballets and dance dramas. His shows ran to
packed houses.
