'Rowdy Rathore' goes to Badami

There are high chances of you bumping into Akshay Kumar or Sonakshi Sinha if you drive down to Badami or Hampi any time over the next few weeks. No, they aren’t holidaying in the temple town but shooting the climax of their forthcoming film, Prabhu Deva’s Rowdy Rathore. Apart from a very vital sequence of the film, the crew will also be shooting a song, Chikni kamar. The last time a Hindi film was shot in these locales was Mani Ratnam’s Guru.

“After a lot of recce, we decided on Badami and Hampi because it’s remained pretty untouched by Bollywood films and moreover, the tough locales evoke curiosity,” explains choreographer Vishnu Deva. The folk song, pretty fast paced, required a lot of rehearsals in Mumbai. “Sonakshi is extremely hard-working and her expressions are to die for. Akshay is one person who picks up dance steps very easily and one doesn’t really need to keep pursuing him much,” informs Vishnu.

Of course, having master dancer Prabhu Deva around has its pros and cons. “I’m always under pressure to give it my best,” confesses Vishnu, adding, “It’s a little unnerving with Prabhu around always — I keep wondering if there’s anything wrong with the steps or the moves — something that he has noticed and I haven’t. But his suggestions are constructive and we work well together as a team.”

These days, most actors are good dancers, thanks to all the training they come armed with, feels Vishnu. “Moreover, they are dedicated and enthusiastic — that’s a great plus,” he states. Ask him to name a few natural dancers in the industry and he says, “Hrithik Roshan is very flexible and easy with his movements while Salman Khan’s attitude is his signature style. Among the women, Aishwarya (Rai Bachchan) has a lot of poise and grace.”

Surprisingly, Vishnu says there’s no competition in his profession. “We are all masters of various forms of dance — then how do we compete with each other?” he signs off.