EXCLUSIVE: Saiyaara choreographer Vijay Ganguly reveals: “Ahaan Panday was a NATURAL from day 1; lip-synched to other film songs during workshops”; explains aesthetic approach behind Aneet Padda’s bikini shot: “We wanted the romance to be felt by the audience and not go into a sexual zone” 1 : Bollywood News

The highly talented Vijay Ganguly is on cloud nine as his choreography in the songs of Saiyaara has received a marvelous response. The reputed choreographer spoke exclusively with Bollywood Hungama about his process for the Mohit Suri-directorial and a lot more. He also confessed about unexpected comments that came his way, “Some wondered, ‘what was the need for a choreographer in Saiyaara? Isme choreography kahan hai?’ I don’t know how should I explain to people that choreography doesn’t just mean dance steps (laughs)!”

EXCLUSIVE: Saiyaara choreographer Vijay Ganguly reveals: “Ahaan Panday was a NATURAL from day 1; lip-synched to other film songs during workshops”; explains aesthetic approach behind Aneet Padda’s bikini shot: “We wanted the romance to be felt by the audience and not go into a sexual zone”

How did you come on board for Saiyaara?
When I met Mohit sir for this film, he told me that this film doesn’t have a dance number, but the songs are a very integral part of storytelling. With every song, the story moves forward. Hence, his requirement was that someone should be on the set for a long time for song choreography. We usually take 4-5 days to shoot a song. But here, they needed 25-30 days from me. I realized that it was a bit too much. Nevertheless, I decided to give it a try. The minute I went on for the shoot, the vibe, the honesty and the way Mohit sir was making the film were so lovely that I decided to present on set at every given opportunity.

For these songs, which were not typical dance numbers, how did you prep the actors (Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda), more so when they are newcomers?
Normally, there are rehearsals for the dance songs. For Saiyaara, Adi sir (producer Aditya Chopra) told us that we should get the actors to lip-sync. The girl doesn’t have to lip-sync, but he insisted that she also understand what lip-syncing a song means, in case we get such a requirement. Accordingly, we did workshops mainly with Ahaan but also a bit with Aneet, as he had to sing. At that point, the songs were not ready. Hence, we used to make Ahaan lip-sync to songs from other films. We had to get this bit right as the film was the story of a singer. It had to look believable, for which we did extensive workshops.

Ahaan was a natural from day 1. Meanwhile, Mohit sir knew what he wanted. He had already prepped the actors in terms of his requirements, body language of the characters etc. That made our work easy.

The song ‘Tum Ho Toh’ features Aneet in a bikini. It looks classy and aesthetically shot. I am sure that was the intention…
100%. If love stories are not honestly made and if you add certain shots for the heck of it, then it won’t look like a genuine effort. Thankfully, Mohit sir’s approach was very honest. Also, the best part about working with newcomers is that they come with a clean slate. And yes, we wanted the romance to be felt by the audience and not go into a sexual zone. We can realize it only once the film releases and looking at the feedback, I think we got it right.

Kudos also goes to Aneet Padda along with Ahaan. She was quite amazing in the film…
Oh yes. She has done a very good job. Again, credit goes to Mohit Suri. Since this was not a typical dance number, there were a lot of montages. I used to observe him direct and I could see that he was sure about where we were going over the top and where we needed to underplay. At times, I would add my bit but Mohit Suri would give a different suggestion. Accordingly, I would also make a suggestion as per his vision. Hence, the process was so lovely that we knew that the film was going to work. Lekin itni chalegi yeh nahin pata tha (laughs).

Also Read: Saiyaara star Aneet Padda’s old LinkedIn profile goes viral; sparks fascination

More Pages: Saiyaara Box Office Collection
, Saiyaara Movie Review

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