(Written by Aditi Thube) “I don’t want to be an acrobat, I want to be a dancer. Call Me Dancer.” These words from the trailer of the 2023 documentary Call Me Dancer reverberated in the streets of Mumbai when Manish Chauhan, a street dancer from the city, trained in ballet and went on to perform on prestigious stages worldwide, including the John F Kennedy Center. The award-winning feature documentary is finally coming home with a screening at The National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) on Thursday evening. Recalling his first encounter with dance, Chauhan, 30, told The Indian Express, “I was very shy. I thought dancing was for girls. I just wanted to do somersaults and flips to impress people. I didn’t even know what ballet was, but it was my only way to secure a scholarship." It wasn’t until he met Yehuda Ma’or, a 70-year-old Israeli ballet master, that his perspective shifted. "Yehuda was the first person to tell me, 'I see something in you, and I'll make you something.’” These words shaped his journey. The 184-minute feature documentary directed by Leslie Shampaine and Pip Gilmour, chronicles five years of Chauhan’s rigorous training, sacrifices, and cultural shifts. “I was a professional ballet dancer,” noted Shampaine, who also produced the documentary and whose connection with Ma’or, a central figure in the documentary, was pivotal. "Yehuda was my teacher and a friend. When he moved to India, he discovered some incredible talent and asked me to tell their story," she shared, adding that she was inspired to make the documentary after her first encounter with Chauhan. “He was an amazing, charismatic storyteller. His English has improved a lot since then, but even at the beginning, his stories were flowing out of him." The documentary presents a raw and unfiltered portrayal of Chauhan’s life, highlighting many moments of vulnerability. "It was very personal to me because in this movie, there is no actor, real parents, real sister, real teacher," Chauhan explained, adding that Shampaine's background as a dancer offered him comfort during filming. “I believed in her because I knew that she was going to show what it really is like in dancing.” The documentary is about more than just the evolution of a dancer – it is about breaking stereotypes. In India, unconventional careers are often met with skepticism. In Chauhan’s case, the challenge was not limited to cultural perception but also financial constraints and language barriers. "Ballet is in French, and I had to learn some terminology. Also, I was not good at speaking English, and my teacher didn’t speak Hindi," Chauhan said. The filming process, which spanned five years and countries such as India, the UK, Israel, and the US, had its own obstacles. "Covid was a major challenge. We had planned to return to India in March 2020, but the world shut down," Shampaine said. The documentary’s release was a cathartic experience for Chauhan whose parents always wanted him to pursue a traditional career. "When my parents saw me on Netflix in Yeh Ballet (2020) and then in Call Me Dancer, they thought that I'm doing something good and that's why I'm on the big screen," he noted. Since its release, the documentary has touched many hearts and received numerous awards, including Best of Fest Documentary at the 2024 Palm Springs International Film Festival, Directing Award at the 2023 South Asian Film Festival of Cincinnati and Excellence in Documentary Directing Award at the 2023 New York Indian Film Festival 2023. "It's an inspiring, positive, true-life story. In today's world, we need such stories to remind us of the good," said Shampaine, adding that the film is more than a documentary. “It is a story about the heart. It's about what drives someone to keep going despite all odds.” The appreciation coming their way doesn’t mean that Chauhan is living a life of comfort. Alongside working with Perry Dance, a contemporary dance company, he still takes up part-time jobs, such as serving at a coffee shop and working at a service apartment, to support his family. When asked what holds him back from pursuing other endeavours, he was quick to say: "Dancing gave me everything. Acting can happen at any age, but dancing needs a physicality that I can only afford for another five to six years. I just want to stay true to my passion.” Call Me Dancer screens at Little Theatre, NCPA, on Thursday at 6.30 pm (Aditi Thube is an intern with The Indian Express)
