Hrithik,Ranbir are a dream,I can make them dance on anything: Remo D’Souza

“It’s getting quite confusing now…they are all doing great,especially the girls,Mukti,Sana,Drashti and Sonali. It’s getting tough,” says Remo,during a break from the shoot at Filmistan Studios in Mumbai.

Remo doesn’t take his job lightly. Since he is the dance expert on the reality show,his comments have to offer ‘that something more’ for the contestants,something that they can take home. He always gives feedback on technique,posture,flow and rhythm.

His own process is simple but he thrives on nervous energy. “Every time I do a song,I don’t sleep the night before. I am nervous,jittery,excited and sceptical of what I will do,” he says. But it all goes away when he is on stage.

“Once I am on the sets,my worries vanish. I find myself in a zen like space. I never shout and instead,keep everyone positive. People are scared of me because I am strict and push them to deliver their best,” says Remo.

A self-taught dancer,Remo started off by assisting Bollywood choreographer Ahmed Khan,and got his first film,Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar in 2000.

“I had to make non-dancers like Manoj Bajpayee,Tabu and Saurabh Shukla dance,which is a choreographer’s true test. But I believe that anybody can dance. As a choreographer,it is up to me to find their rhythm,style and make them comfortable in that form,” he says.

The approach seems to have clicked for him. While Manoj Bajpayee gave into a baaraati style random dance with Sanjay Dutt,Remo delivered one of the biggest dancing hits of his career with Ishq samundar in Kaante. With Hrithik Roshan and Ranbir Kapoor,the story is different.

“They are a dream because I can make them dance on anything,” he says.

However,it’s not that he gets his way in every film. “I’ve learnt the most from directors such as Anubhav Sinha and Karan Johar but then there are also some directors who interfere. In such a scenario,I switch off and let them do what they want to,” he adds.

As a choreographer,he approaches every song by first visualising it as a potential chartbuster. Then he conceptualises the steps and rehearses it with his assistants. “I always practise in the dance hall. There is no formula to dance,one has to go with the flow. I make my assistants repeat my steps and observe whether they are enjoying it or not,” he says. Remo insists upon his team to be vocal about their thoughts,in order to become a sounding board for sharing honest opinions. Though his style varies,Remo ensures he puts in a signature step,to maintain originality. He cites the example of the Disco Deewane clap move from Student of the Year and the recent twist to Badtameez Dil in Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani.

Although dance is his passion,filmmaking catches his fancy. “I always wanted to become a director. When I started dancing and saw talents like Salman Yusuff Khan,Dharmesh and Prince on Dance India Dance,I decided to make a film on the subject,” he explains. And so he made ABCD: Any Body Can Dance,India’s first 3D dance film.

“The idea was to show the world that Bollywood is not only about running around trees. We too can make a high level dance film,” he says.

But he’ll continue dancing. His choreography will be seen in Krissh 3,Gori Tere Pyaar Mein,Ungli and Mental.