Naved Jafri on Boogie Woogie returning to small screen after 3 years

Boogie Woogie is our baby and the moment the call came,we dropped everything and decided to work on it wholeheartedly.

This is the first dance reality show of the country and it was on air for 17 years. Now,that we are back after three years,we realise things have changed. We will try our best to stand out in the clutter. The show worked at that time because of the way the three of us presented it,and because of the fact that everything was genuine. We didn’t have any extra drama,nothing was doctored or scripted. And that’s exactly how it will be even this time. For us,it’s all about having real fun. This is the common man’s dance show. You’ll see us interacting with children and their families while keeping the comedy intact.

We don’t feel or fear competition. The audience loved us for 17 years. We are just presenting talent and if it’s good enough,people will watch the show and like it. There is space and place for everybody on television. My motto for the show is simple. I don’t care what others are doing because all that matters is that I am happy with whatever I am doing.

Also,I believe that it’s a wonderful thing for the contestants that there are so many other dance reality shows on TV. ‘Agar idhar nahi hua toh udhar ho jaayega’. In our country there is a lot of thriving talent and more such shows are needed.

For this season of ‘Boogie Woogie’,we travelled across the country — from Ranchi,Bhopal to Delhi,Mumbai and Kolkata,apart from other cities. We must have auditioned 10,000-15,000 children and have finalised 15 of them.

During these auditions,some of these children came with their mothers who had participated in Boogie Woogie some 13-14 years ago. Those were lovely moments. ‘Tab laga ki buddhe ho gaye hai’.

Dancing has really evolved in India over time. When ‘Boogie Woogie’ started off,there was no internet and the participants learned whatever they could from TV. Now,children impress us a variety of styles. In this season,we are experimenting with everything — Indian and international dance styles.

The look and feel of the show will be different. Back in the ’90s,we rented costumes,now we get them stitched. It’s a really small example but it shows that the industry has really changed. We can hire whatever equipment we want to for the show,and that makes the quality better. We love this change.

Naved Jafri