Desi MJ?

Bollywood is going to have its very own Michael Jackson. Choreographer Ganesh Hegde has ambitious plans to sing, dance, and direct, a la Wha...

Bollywood is going to have its very own Michael Jackson. Choreographer Ganesh Hegde has ambitious plans to sing, dance, and direct, a la Whacko Jacko.

If the name doesn8217;t ring a bell, think Kambakth Ishq, Khallas and Mitwa. And the latest addition to his sizzling kitty is Adnan Sami8217;s music video Kabhi Nahin featuring Amitabh Bachchan.

8216;8216;I8217;m very picky about the songs I choose,8221; says the 29-year-old who looks more wannabe actor than choreographer. 8220;I listen to the song and only if I think I can do something exciting with it, do I take it on.8217;8217;

8216;8216;I hardly do more than three songs a year,8217;8217; he says, sitting languidly in a chair, mid-rehearsal for a world tour. He exudes an air of nothing-can-stop-me-now confidence.

The revelation seems less surprising when one learns he works nearly five months for each song, and handles everything from conceptualisation to promo-editing.

Hegde8217;s affair with dance started when he was a school boy at Umaid Bhai Patel School in the Mumbai suburb of Malad, and there8217;s been no looking back. He8217;s never had any formal training, he just worked with a troupe of boys in college, starting winning awards and one fine day found himself directing a song for Sanjay Leela Bhansali8217;s Khamoshi.

He8217;s ambitious, determined and a perfectionist. A complete go-getter. But that doesn8217;t mean that he8217;s no fun to be around. Judging by the way he horses around with his troupe, you know he isn8217;t as tough as he8217;d

like to appear.

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Competition, for him, doesn8217;t come from his contemporaries in the industry. He aims much higher8212;to direct songs that meet international standards. 8216;8216;Part of Kambakth Ishq was inspired by Madonna8217;s Human Nature, but I think I did a better job. Madonna must have worked for six days on the box sequence, I finished it in four hours,8217;8217; he claims.

For Hegde, the buck doesn8217;t stop at dancing. He is working on his very own music album, which will, again, be a one-man show. Having already composed and recorded two songs, the as-yet untitled album will seek to establish him as an all-rounder. With a penchant for racy, fast-paced rhythms, he wants his music to be different from the current fare.

8216;8216;Nobody in the industry can sing and dance. I8217;m also working on my own film. It8217;s a musical comedy

and I8217;ve already scripted it,8217;8217; he says.

While all this may seem a tad egoistic, he is quick to talk about the performers who have inspired him. He can only hope to someday match Amitabh Bachchan8217;s larger-than-life dialogue delivery, Kishore Kumar8217;s magical voice and of course, Michael Jackson8217;s gravity-defying moonwalk.