Background dancers deserve better recognition, pay scale‘, laments Pachtaoge’ choreographer Rajit Dev

We often love seeing our favourite actors dancing to peppy Bollywood numbers during starry award nights. But how many of us, go beyond the actors and notice the background dancers, who in all probability, are more enthusiastic than the actors? Choreographer Rajit Dev, who is known for his work in the songs ‘Pachtaoge’ and ‘Tehas Nehas’, says that these dancers need to be cherished more. Jyothi Venkatesh

“I became a choreographer because I worked as a dancer for a good 10 years and assisted for 5 years. I’m proud to be a dancer. From the age 18, I’ve travelled to so many countries that no other profession offers. There are a lot of good things that you get by being a dancer in Bollywood. But there are few things that should change for dancers. Starting from the hygiene on the sets, dressing room. This is in a very bad condition during stage events. I believe dancers are as talented as any actor so they should not be looked down upon. In fact, the next time, after an award show, you should thank the dancers on the podium. They were the ones running the show. From rehearsals, technicals and no sleep, back-to-back work, they put in so much effort. They deserve better recognition and a better pay scale,” he says.

These props are actually heavy and it needs great skill for a dancer to make them look good on stage

Being a dancer is not easy, emphasises Rajit. “The most amount of hard work put in in an award show is by the dancers. The number of acts they have to remember are way too many. These dancers have to perform with actors, do quick costume changes and manage the props. There are huge props on stage which the dancers maneuver with great poise. These props are actually heavy and it needs great skill for a dancer to make them look good on stage. There’s no room for error. Mistakes do happen but the way they cover up, only they know. The audience will never come to know,” he says.

But the hard work that they put in can be rewarding as well, says Rajit. “Nothing is easy in Bollywood. You have to really work hard towards your goal. But seeing the hard work that Shahid Kapoor and the late Sushant Singh Rajput did and became actors from being dancers, is really inspiring. It has given confidence to many dancers that they can also become actors or take up any other work in Bollywood,” he says.

In fact, Rajit admits that having background dancers behind them helps actors too. “I think India is well-known for Bollywood and when people say Bollywood, they often refer to big Bollywood songs and dance numbers. I’ll share my personal experience. I’ve toured to more than 35 countries and every time I meet different people, all they say, ‘India? Bollywood?’ and they start dancing! So, Bollywood is all about big dance numbers with lots of Bollywood dancers. When there’s so much of backup, the actors always feel pumped and it gives them immense confidence,” he says.

I think the whole white dancers being used in a Bollywood song actually started when we started filming a song in a Mumbai studio

We also see a lot of foreign dancers today and the choreographer says that this is a good move. “I think the whole white dancers being used in a Bollywood song actually started when we started filming a song in a Mumbai studio, while, in the film, the song is supposed to happen in New York or on the streets of London. So foreign dancers were often called to work and I think it’s common now to use them in any song sequence. You can see many foreign students, tourists in India. These dancers are very well-trained dancers from all parts of the world. So, there’s always a cultural exchange of arts, which is great,” he says.