Tellychakkar interviews Baba Yadav...the next big thing in Indian cinema

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Baba Yadav

Having started dancing from the tender age of three, when other toddlers were fondling with their toys, noted choreographer Baba (Rajesh) Yadav has never looked back. In an inspiring career graph, he has covered miles from starting out as an assistant dancer to becoming an independent choreographer.

And now, Baba, in his zest to change tracks, has taken a giant leap and helmed a Bengali action film Boss.

Tellychakkar.com catches up with the fun-loving choreographer-turned-director at his studio and sits across him for a candid chat. Excerpts:

Congratulations Baba on having become a director with Boss. Tell us something about your debut directorial film?

(winks) Well, Boss is an out-and-out action-based film that is low on emotional quotient. It is basically the story about a guy from Kolkata who has had a past in Mumbai and how he tries to legalise the mafia in Mumbai. If you take a look at Mumbai, you will see the majority of dons are either behind bars or are in hiding. Abu Salem is in jail, Arun Gawli has become a politician while Chota Shakeel is a khabri (informer) of the Mumbai police. So the protagonist of my movie wants to make mafia a legal business and will overcome all obstacles that come his way to achieve his goal.

Tell us about your lead actors?

(smiles) The male protagonist is Jeet who happens to be a very well-known actor in Kolkata; he is also the co-producer of the film. Subhasree Ganguly, who is also a popular actress in Bengal, plays the female lead. She plays the daughter of a Police Commissioner who is trapped by Jeet. Incidentally, Subhashree is currently doing a Hindi film opposite Rajneesh Duggal. My main leads share a great chemistry and I am sure you will love to see them romance on-screen.

We hear Boss is the remake of a Telugu movie Businessman. Why did you choose to do a remake as your directorial debut?

(pauses) Let me tell you a fact. This trend of remaking movies is recent in the Hindi film industry, but in the Bengal movie industry, remaking southern hits has been in vogue since a long time. And the reason I chose to direct a remake was because I was attracted towards the subject of this movie. If the subject is good, why should the movie be restricted only to Telugu or Tamil movie loving buffs? I feel it should be showcased worldwide. I am of the belief that the Bengali audience like to see more action movies though even today, a lot of Bengal films are family-oriented. I took up the action genre film because I wanted to give my audience a new variety. Having said that, I think the next time I direct, I would choose an original script.

Would we see an item-number in Boss?

No, there are none. Though we wanted to include an item-song in this movie, but with the thought that it would have got us an A certificate, we didn’t go in for that.

How did direction happen to you?

I think every choreographer has this dream of directing a film. You see, as a choreographer, we are actually directing a song of three whole minutes. That’s why we are called the director of choreography. So for me, directing an entire film was like a step ahead and a challenge that I wanted to take and have eventually taken.

We have seen famous choreographers like Farah Khan and Prabhudeva turn big directors. You are a good choreographer yourself. Did you feel some kind of pressure considering it was your directorial debut?

(smiles) As far as I know that pressure is always there. As compared to a three-minute song sequence, you are now directing a two-hour long movie and you are the captain of the entire ship. But yes, I was blessed with a very good team and their support came in really handy.

Any plans of directing a Bollywood film?

(blushes) Yes, I am aiming for that. If Boss does well by the grace of God, I will surely try my level best to direct a Bollywood film; after all I have made my name as a choreographer here. I am just hoping and waiting to get the reaction of Boss.

Now that you have turned director, would you still be open to choreographing songs of other directors?

Oh yes, absolutely. Dance is my passion, it is my life. I am very much open to choreographing songs of movies directed by someone else. Dance for me is like an anti depressant. It makes me really happy.

How was it choreographing Imran Khan who is not exactly a great dancer in Delhi Belly?

Every human being has different talents and limits, but every person has some hidden quality in him and it is for the choreographer to discover that and nurture it and turn it into a great advantage. Imran may not be a great dancer but he has a great attitude. And he has done a great job with his hip-hopish dance in Delhi Belly. And Kiran Rao was very particular about the kind of dance she wanted. All said and done, Imran did really well.

Did you learn dancing professionally?

(Smiles) No, I haven’t. I started dancing right at the age of three and was more influenced by the West then. And then when I was young enough, I joined Saroj Khan’s group and was under her guidance for seven years; she was like a mother to me. She taught me everything from Western to Indian.

We hear that it was Saroj Khan who nicknamed you as ‘Baba’?

(Blushes) Yes, it’s a name given to me by Saroj ji. My real name is Rajesh but there were about seven different men named Rajesh in her troupe and every time Saroj ji used to call out for me, all the seven used to respond. It was a funny situation seeing which one fine day she called me and said ‘now I will call you Baba’. And the name just stuck to my personality.

What would you say is your best work till date?

(Gives a thought) I think from the music videos that I have choreographed, it has to be Adnan Sami’s Tera Chehra which was the most viewed video when it released. Movie-wise, I would say Rohit Shetty’s debut film Zameen and Delhi Belly are my best works.

You have fond memories with Rohit Shetty having been the director of choreography of his first film Zameen. Now Boss is releasing alongside his Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Chennai Express. Comments?

Rohit makes movies for all generations and that is why he is the number one director today with all his films crossing the coveted Rs 100 crores mark. I feel proud to have worked with him in Zameen and am equally thrilled that Boss is releasing on the same day as Chennai Express in Bengal. Fingers crossed.

We have seen Baba, the choreographer and now Baba, the director. Will we ever see Baba, the actor?

(laughs)No no…Aap meri dukaan bandh kar denge yaar. I have never thought about that. I am good behind the camera and if I feel that I have directed an actor well, then I would consider it as a job well-done.

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Submitted by TellychakkarTeam on Thu, 08/08/2013 - 17:00

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