Gayatri remembers Jackson’s moonwalk

Bollywood’s new dancing sensation Gayatri Patel made her debut in ‘Lets Dance’ last week, gaining widespread acclaim for her twinkle toes and polished performance.

The US-born-and-bred girl had been following Michael Jackson’s moonwalk since childhood and was shocked at his demise. “When someone called me at 4am this morning to tell me about it, for some time I just couldn’t understand what the person was talking about. It was unbelievable. It took me a while to gather myself and realise that the King of Pop was no more!”

“This is heart-breaking and a loss to performers worldwide. I was so excited to hear about his upcoming tour and now we'll never get to see the legend sliding across the stage doing his classic moonwalk. In fact, there was a rumour that he'd invented a new moonwalk for the upcoming shows. Michael may not perform every again, but his music, style and legacy will live on.”

‘Gayatri Patel is the best dancer since Madhuri Dixit’

Some films take a roaring start with awesome initials and some grow on the audiences and get better known with word-of-mouth publicity. ‘Let’s Dance’ falls into the second category.

Continuing its streak of good reviews, the film has now received glowing comments from the popular US-based magazine, India West. In his review, film critic Rajiv Vijayakar calls ‘Let’s Dance’ “a crisper, far smaller but emotionally gripping and superior product to ‘Aaja Nachle’, which had a similar theme.”

He points out that the film “is marked by decent music, some fabulous choreography and dances by debutant Gayatri Patel and overall good performances from the entire cast.” “Technically upbeat, the film also has a sweet message… It might do decent business, as it deserves to,” Vijayakar adds.

The reviewer further praises the lead actress, stating, “Gayatri Patel is the best dancer we have seen since Madhuri Dixit, and that’s no exaggeration despite her humble status today. Her climactic Bharatanatyam dance is the highlight. As actors, she and her twin leading men Ajay Chaudhary and Aqib Afzaal act well… Among the kids, child actor Aabhaas Yadav dances like a dream and plays to the gallery, and yet it is diminutive Nikuunj Padaya as Ali who stands out as an endearing presence.”

Giving the film three-and-a-half stars in his review, Vijayakar prompts his readers to go watch it, terming it “heart-warming”. In his conclusive lines, he states, “content-wise, ‘Let’s Dance’ is a welcome first shower after a long spell of qualitative dry fare.”

That’s quite some praise for a film with modest beginnings.

‘Let’s Dance’ compared to ‘Jaane Tu…’, ‘Slumdog… and ‘Rock On’

After a slow start, petite debutante Gayatri Patel’s film ‘Let’s Dance’ has picked pace, mostly with good reviews and strong word-of-mouth publicity.

'Let’s Dance’ has “the understated romance of ‘Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na’, the fleeting emotions of ‘Slumdog Millionaire and the mood of ‘Rock On’,” states film reviewer Martin D’Souza in Glamsham.com. The film is gathering appreciation with kids and dance fans and has got the newbie Gayatri some rave reviews for her dancing abilities.

“Gayatri is a fine actress and her dancing skills catch your attention,” says film critic Taran Adarsh in his review of the film. Rajshri.com describes the film as the “first monsoon drizzle after a terrible dry spell of movies.” The Times of India reviewer Nikhat Kazmi says, “The film is actually sweet and sensitive and gently tugs at your heart with the recognisable stories of the dreamers who make up the fabric of Mumbai.”

Surprisingly, even a hardcore tabloid like Mumbai Mirror has some good words for Gayatri. In her film review here, Meena Iyer writes, “The dusky, petite girl, with her curly hair and chocolate complexion, has twinkle toes.” She adds, “Gayatri Patel is to dance what Ashwini Nachappa was to running.” That’s some compliment.

While another reviewer Udita Jhunjhunwala mentions that the actress “makes an assured debut,” Piroj Wadia in her review in Free Press Journal says, ‘Let’s Dance’ is “a fresh-looking, commendable first film.” Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express feels the film has some “spirited climactic song-and-dance” and Gaurav Malani of IndiaTimes.com calls Gayatri “a flexibly fabulous dancer and a confident actress.”

Janhvi Patel of Hill Road Media finds Gayatri “a joy to watch” while the SmashHits.com film review reiterates that she’s “an excellent dancer” and “the USP of the movie.” In its review, the IANS news agency says, Gayatri “lights up the screen every time the music plays and one is hooked on to her dancing steps that are quite fresh and extremely engaging. Also, she is not just a dancer because even as an actor she makes a good debut.”

With so much praise flowing in, the spirited girl is thrilled to bits. “I am overjoyed to get so much love from the industry and public alike,” she says and adds, “I aim to do many more movies and grow with them. Hope the success of ‘Let’s Dance’ helps me further my little dream.”

Gayatri is the dancing diva of GenX, says Malaika

When the gorgeous Malaika Arora graced the ‘Let’s Dance’ music release with her friend and the film’s co-star Aqib Afzaal at JW Marriott this week, she might not have expected much of the event. But after she saw the film’s heroine Gayatri Patel give a scintillating live dance performance, she was spellbound. When she came up on stage to release the music, Malaika was all praise for Gayatri and even went on to state, “she’s the dancing diva of GenX”.

These complementary words from the ‘dancing diva’ were the most mellifluous for newcomer Gayatri, who has earlier been termed a ‘dancing tornado’ by her National Award-winning director Aarif Sheikh.

Prefixes apart, the music launch saw Smilie Suri, Shaad Randhawa, director Manish Gupta and singing star Himesh Reshammiya gracing the occasion, as Siddharth Kanan anchored the event with wittiness personified (he had the audience in splits with his wise cracks).

The other cast and crew of the film including Ajay Chaudhary, Sugandha Garg, Asif Basra, Abhaas Yadav, Nikuunj Padaya, Paras Arora and Anjan Srivastav was also present.

Having music by Vipin Mishra and another National Award winner Tarali Sharma, her movie’s songs have been choreographed by none other than Longinus Fernandes (of “Jai Ho”-‘Slumdog Millionaire’ and “Pappu Can’t Dance Saala”-‘Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na’ fame), Rajiv Goswami (of ‘Veer-Zaara’ and ‘Dhoom’ fame), Pappu-Malu (of ‘Saawariya’ fame) and the evergreen Saroj Khan.

The US-born-and-bred Gayatri, has done jazz, hip-hop, filmy, Kathak and Natwari dancing in the film. She plays a simple but determined dance teacher, who on her path to fame, changes course, to motivate a group of underprivileged kids. Gayatri is trained in Kathak and is also a pro at Yoga. A lethal combination this, it helps her attempt the most daring dance steps, breath-taking whirls and swirls and some awesome splits.

Produced by Dr Arvind Patel, Let’s Dance is all set to hit the cinema halls on June 19. So put on your dancing shoes and get set for the fun. And don’t be surprised if Malaika joins in!

‘Kites’ and ‘Let’s Dance’ heralds a new season of dance

It seems we are entering a dance season. While Hrithik Roshan gets into his dancing shoes for ‘Kites’, on the other hand, there is newbie Gayatri Patel, a US-born-and-bred girl who makes her debut in ‘Let’s Dance’ playing a dance teacher.

 

Releasing on June 19, ‘Let’s Dance’ is directed by popular film editor Aarif Sheikh. Aarif, who makes his directorial debut with this one, has been a National Award-winner for ‘Samay – When Time Strikes’. He has also been the man behind the edits of acclaimed movies like ‘Makdee’, ‘Maqbool’, ‘Taxi No. 9211’, ‘Parzania’ and ‘The Blue Umbrella’.

 

Terming Gayatri a ‘dancing tornado’, Aarif is all praise for the girl. “She’s sparkling,” he says and stresses that when it comes to dance, she can beat all the current Bollywood heroines hands down.

 

Having music by Vipin Mishra and another National Award winner Tarali Sharma, the movie’s songs have been choreographed by none other than Longinus Fernandes (of “Jai Ho”-‘Slumdog Millionaire’ and “Pappu Can’t Dance Saala”-‘Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na’ fame), Rajiv Goswami (of ‘Veer-Zaara’ and ‘Dhoom’ fame), Pappu-Malu (of ‘Saawariya’ fame) and the evergreen Saroj Khan.

 

“I've done jazz, hip-hop, filmy, Kathak and Natwari dancing in the film and I’m pretty excited about it all,” informs Gayatri. “I’m discussing other movies now and I’m here to stay,” she quips with a smile.

 

Now let’s see if the twists and turns and whirls get Gayatri near her goals. We wish her the best. 

Gujju girl Gayatri gallops with groovy gyrations

Though Gujaratis have dominated the business community and also a huge part of Bollywood trade in the past, we have hardly seen any Gujju heroines from the last few years. Most of our glam beauties like Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone, Aishwarya Rai and Bipasha Basu come from cosmopolitan backgrounds.

 

Now a true-blue Gujju girl Gayatri Patel is all set to make her mark in the upcoming dance extravaganza ‘Let’s Dance’. Born-and-bred in America, the girl has been ‘Miss India Georgia’ and also the first runner-up at ‘Miss India USA’.

 

She’s trained in Kathak and is also a pro at Yoga. A lethal combination this, it helps her attempt the most daring dance steps, breath-taking whirls and swirls and some awesome splits. No wonder, this petite dancing tornado aims to make everyone groove to her gyrations.

 

“Dancing doesn't have to be done only on fast, racy numbers, but even on slow soothing tracks. Just listen to the beats and they will be the guiding force in how you move your body,” says Gayatri.

 

“Of course, experienced dancers can also dance in the space between beats. Once you get your groove on, you can try to dance off-beat too. It's an art in itself,” she adds.

 

Directed by National Award-winning editor Aarif Sheikh, ‘Let’s Dance’ will hit the theatres on June 19. Let’s see if Gayatri can make us dance to her tunes.

Tare Tod Ke La 'Let's Dance' 90 second promo

Taare Tod Ke La 'Let's Dance' 15 and 30 second teasers

National Award-winning editor directs dance extravaganza

Popular film editor Aarif Sheikh, who won the National Award for ‘Samay – When Time Strikes’ and who has been the man behind the edits of acclaimed movies like ‘Makdee’, ‘Maqbool’, ‘Taxi No. 9211’, ‘Parzania’ and ‘The Blue Umbrella’, is making his debut as a director with ‘Let’s Dance’ releasing June 19, 2009.

 

“Although dancing is the DNA of the film, I was very sure that my story needed to be solid. It needed to hold on its own. Although I was working with mostly new artists, I never had any trouble extracting performances, as all my actors were perceptive,” says Aarif.

 

Introducing the US-born-and-bred dancing sensation Gayatri Patel, the film has the debutante playing a simple but determined dance teacher, who on her path to fame, changes course, to motivate a group of underprivileged kids.

 

“Gayatri is simply fab in dance and that’s why we call her ‘the dancing tornado’. I couldn’t have had a better dancer than her for a film like this,” quips Aarif.

 

Shifting base from US to Bollywood to pursue acting, Gayatri first spent time taking tips from theatre top-guns Satyadev Dubey and Makrand Deshpande, did an acting workshop with Veena Mehta and played the role of Ophelia in Neeraj Kabir’s play ‘Hamlet’. She also did three music videos for Venus opposite Inder Kumar and Jugal Hansraj, till one day, Aarif decided to launch her as the lead in his directorial debut.

 

Produced by Dr Arvind Patel, the film co-stars Ajay Chaudhary, Aqib Afzaal, Sugandha Garg, Asif Basra, Abhaas Yadav, Nikuunj Padaya, Paras Arora and Anjan Srivastav.

 

“I'll never forget ‘Let's Dance’. It's imbedded in my soul. Every shot, every scene, every creative decision of mine,” says an excited Aarif.

Synopsis

‘Let’s Dance’

Director: Aarif Sheikh

Producer: Dr Arvind Patel

Music: Vipin Mishra and Tarali Sharma

Cast: Gayatri Patel, Ajay Chaudhary, Aqib Afzaal, Sugandha Garg, Asif Basra, Abhaas Yadav, Nikuunj Padaya, Paras Arora and Anjan Srivastav.

 

Introducing the US-born-and-bred dancing sensation Gayatri Patel, ‘Let’s Dance’ (releasing June 19, 2009) has the debutante playing a simple but determined dance teacher, who on her path to fame, changes course, to motivate a group of underprivileged kids.

 

Suhani (Gayatri Patel) is a passionate young dancer, who has dreamt of being a star her entire life. She lives with her best friend Anoushka (Sugandha Garg) and teaches dance at a rented hall owned by Sharmaji (Anjan Srivastav).

 

Meanwhile, fourteen year old street kid Aftab (Abhaas Yadav), also a gifted dancer, has never dreamt of being anything in life. While Suhani can see nothing beyond starring in a music video, Aftab cannot see beyond spending his life on the mean streets of Mumbai with a gang of kids, including his brother Ali (Nikuunj Padaya) and closest friend Kallu (Paras Arora). Suhani is moved by the talent these street kids possess and wants the world to give them their due.

 

Enter Neil (Ajay Chaudhary), who not only falls head-over-heels in love with Suhani but also decides to help her realise her dreams of becoming a dancing star. The only thing that’s stopping Neil from winning her love is popular video director Rehaan Jones aka RJ, who is more determined to make Suhani the next superstar.

 

The heroine of ‘Let’s Dance’, debutante actress Gayatri Patel (who has been ‘Miss India Georgia’ and also the first runner-up at ‘Miss India USA’) is no novice to the world of dance. She is trained in Kathak and is also a pro at Yoga. A lethal combination this, it helps her attempt the most daring dance steps, breath-taking whirls and swirls and some awesome splits. No wonder, this petite dancing tornado aims to make everyone groove to her moves.

 

Shifting base from US to Bollywood to pursue acting, Gayatri first spent time taking tips from theatre top-guns Satyadev Dubey and Makrand Deshpande, did an acting workshop with Veena Mehta and played the role of Ophelia in Neeraj Kabir’s play ‘Hamlet’. She also did three music videos for Venus opposite Inder Kumar and Jugal Hansraj, till one day, National Award winning editor Aarif Sheikh decided to launch her as the lead in his directorial debut ‘Let’s Dance’.

 

Produced by Dr Arvind Patel, the film has music by Vipin Mishra and another National Award winner Tarali Sharma. The numbers have been choreographed by none other than Longinus Fernandes (of “Jai Ho”-‘Slumdog Millionaire’ and “Pappu Can’t Dance Saala”-‘Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na’ fame), Rajiv Goswami (of ‘Veer-Zaara’ and ‘Dhoom’ fame), Pappu-Malu (of ‘Saawariya’ fame) and the evergreen Saroj Khan.

How it all started...

For all of you who don't know me, haven't seen me perform, haven't remotely had even one random, off the wall conversation with me- I've wanted to be an actress since I was eight. 

Now it wasn't really a burning self consuming desire until I was about twelve. At which point I went to bed every night asking God 'to please let me be an actress when I grow up'. 

It all started when I performed at a local indian dance competition in Dothan, Alabama. I had decided that I wanted to win. That was it. I still remember getting up on stage with my runny nose and all and performing to 'Radha Nachengi' from Saudagar. If you see the home video my dad recorded of that performance- it's anywhere but aimed on me- his hands were shaking so hard. I won that year- and I was on a high. The next year I started rehearsing six months in advance for 'Jab Se Mile Naina' from 'First Love Letter'. I remember Lina Patel helped me with that song. She was so sweet to take time away from her college classes to help me come up with steps for the number. I ended up winning that year also. And the year after that. Unfortunately they stopped the competition after that. 

But my performances didn't stop. I performed everywhere. Weddings, cultural shows, events. You name it. And my parents would drive from 2 to 6 hours to get me to my destination. 

I used to go tom-tomming about how I was going to be an actress when I grow up. Once an aunt told me that my parents were just indulging me and weren't really serious about me pursuing acting. I remember telling her straight to her face- 'my parents never lie- and if they say I can be an actress, then I can be'. My parents have till date never backed away from their word. They've believed from their very being that I can be anything I want to be and they're belief has feuled my desire to be here. 

'Let's Dance' has been perfect for my first film. Surprisingly, I’m not really a hip hop or western dancer, but in ‘Let’s Dance’ that’s what I have done. Growing up I was more into lyrical, contemporary dancing, but with my choreographers’ help it all turned out beautifully. 

This film is about dancing for your soul, dancing because you’re passionate about it, dancing to focus you energies in a positive direction. Kyunki dance karne ke liye- ‘Bas ek bahana chahiye!’

Luv,

Gayatri

One hell of a day!!

Hey Guys!!

 

All my friends and family from the states have been incessantly asking me about my experience while shooting Let's Dance, so despite the fact that I'm neck deep in figuring out media plans, hoarding plans, and music release logistics... here we go.

 

The first promo that has been released is the Song Promo of the Let's Dance title track. The film opens with this number, but this was actually the third song we shot.

 

It's been shot in Kandivili on the streets in the scorching sun. Now let me tell you that is quite a task.  Longinus Fernandes (of Slumdog Millionaire - "Jai Ho" and Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na - "Pappu Can't Dance" fame) choreographed it.

 

I think when we watch films from afar; we always think that the actor or actress has rehearsed for days prior to a touch dance sequence - in my case we rehearsed for max two days before the shoot- sometimes for only two hours a day each.

 

For Let's Dance in particular I rehearsed alone two days before shoot, but one day prior to shoot I was shooting for another part of the film, so I rushed to rehearsal at 8 pm after shooting the whole day and then rehearsed with all the dancers for the sequence.

The actual shooting of the street portion of this song was hot (as in sweltering scorching, can't breathe hot), but breezy as we had at least rehearsed twice.

 

And Longy (as we fondly call Longinus) was extremely particular about me going back to the Vanity Van after each take so I wouldn't tire myself out. We shot the street portions for two days. 

 

After a break of one day we shot the Cabaret and Qawwali portions of the song.  That turned out to be a catastrophic day.  I arrived on set and my director and I discovered that the outfit my dress designer had made for me paled in comparison to the lavish set which had been put up.  In fact, it even paled in comparison to what the dancers were wearing.  Immediate chaos prevailed- it was 8 am and no stores were open and no tailor could make an outfit in a record time of 2 hours.  So we stalled shooting.  At eleven o clock- Longy took me to a store and we picked up the outfit.  By the time the outfit was chosen and fitted it was 1 o'clock! After makeup and hair it was three! So you can imagine how short on time we were! I went on set - Longy taught me the moves and we wrapped up this section at 8 pm.  So when you see me in the blue dress with the cabaret set up as a backdrop- that's the part this all happened in!

 

I then rushed to the van to change into the qawwali outfit- I had been told there would be no dancing in this sequence- so I was pretty calm as my stylist and make up artist transformed me into a dancer from the era of the moguls.  At 10 pm I stepped onto a beautiful qawwali set to discover that I actually was going to dance and I must learn the sequence in 10 min. as we had an 8 am shoot the next day. I put my brain into super alert mode and focused to get all the moves in record time.

 

When we finally packed up it was 1 am and there was a collective sigh from the entire unit!  One hell of a day!!

 

The final portion in the Let's Dance Song has been shot in a club.  The choreography for this part has been done by Rajeev Goswami (Vaibhavi Merchant's ex-assistant).  We shot this portion actually 2 months before the rest of the song and it culminates into the Let's Dance song beautifully!

 

So there's the shooting of the title track of 'Let's Dance'!! Hope you all enjoy it.

 Luv,

Gayatri

 

'Let's Dance' title track 90 secs promo

'Let's Dance' promo

Introducing Gayatri Patel, the dancing tornado

Bollywood’s new import from America!

 

Since time immemorial, Bollywood has had icons known for their dance and styles. Be it Neetu Singh, Vaijayanti Mala, Padmini, Helen, Waheeda Rehman, Asha Parekh, Hema Malini, Madhuri Dixit, Karisma Kapoor, Shilpa Shetty or Urmila Matondkar, we’ve idolised their dance. But it’s been quite a few years now, the industry has seen a new dancing sensation.

 

As if to fill in the void and rock the floor, here comes US-born-and-bred Gayatri Patel, all set to storm Bollywood with her debut movie ‘Let’s Dance’ releasing on June 19. The film has the girl playing a simple but determined dance teacher, who on her path to fame, changes course, to motivate a group of underprivileged kids.

 

This petite dancing tornado aims to make everyone groove to her moves. She can, as she is no novice to the world of dance. Gayatri is trained in Kathak and is also a pro at Yoga. A lethal combination this, it helps her attempt the most daring dance steps, breath-taking whirls and swirls and some awesome splits.

 

“I could have very well been a doctor like my father, rather than an actress, had I not started performing on stage at the age of eight,” she reveals.

 

At the tender age of seven, Gayatri went to a local Indian dance competition in Dothan,Alabama and decided that she was going win the trophy the coming year.  She did win the next year and the year after that and the year after that, till they stopped the competition as she had none. Now that’s something!

 

While in the United States, the spunky girl graduated from high-school and went on to study at the acclaimed Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Here, she also won the ‘Miss India Georgia’ title and later emerged the first runner-up at ‘Miss India USA’.

 

“Around this time, I realized that I loved theatre, dance and acting, more than studying science,” she quips. Finally, her family decided she shift base to Mumbai to pursue acting. Reaching here, Gayatri spent time taking tips from theatre top-guns Satyadev Dubey and Makrand Deshpande, did an acting workshop with Veena Mehta and played the role of Ophelia in Neeraj Kabir’s play ‘Hamlet’. She also did three music videos for Venus opposite Inder Kumar and Jugal Hansraj, till one day, National Award winning editor Aarif Sheikh decided to launch her as the lead in his directorial debut ‘Let’s Dance’.

 

Having music by Vipin Mishra and another National Award winner Tarali Sharma, her movie’s songs have been choreographed by none other than Longinus Fernandes (of “Jai Ho”-‘Slumdog Millionaire’ and “Pappu Can’t Dance Saala”-‘Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na’ fame), Rajiv Goswami (of ‘Veer-Zaara’ and ‘Dhoom’ fame), Pappu-Malu (of ‘Saawariya’ fame) and the evergreen Saroj Khan.

 

Produced by Dr Arvind Patel, the film co-stars Ajay Chaudhary, Aqib Afzaal, Sugandha Garg, Asif Basra, Abhaas Yadav, Nikuunj Padaya, Paras Arora and Anjan Srivastav. “I've done jazz, hip-hop, filmy, Kathak and Natwari dancing in the film,” informs Gayatri.

 

So here she is, urging one and all to don their dancing shoes. Now let’s see, if ‘Let’s Dance’ helps Bollywood find its new groove.