Vaibhavi Merchant at Science City for the Just Dance auditions. Picture by Aranya Sen

Bollywood choreographer Vaibhavi Merchant was in Calcutta for the auditions of Just Dance on STAR Plus. t2 caught up with the Ainvayi ainvayi mover and shaker...

How is the talent in Calcutta?

I have been absolutely amazed… I regard Calcutta as a very cultural city, extremely artistically inclined… It’s a city where people appreciate art, they understand the intricacies of art…. That I guess translates into a lot of talent as well. I have seen the range of talent here. They are not only doing just contemporary or classical or hip-hop or jazz… the dancers here have a great ability to mould and fuse various dance forms. So what we get here is a very unique, innovative and personalised rendition of a traditional form of dance. Calcutta thinks and feels its dance.

To see that kind of range, confidence and passion from even people who live on the outskirts of the city has been a very fruitful experience.

You have judged dance shows before…

For me, Just Dance is a first because I have never done a talent-hunt show where I am going to different cities. All the dance shows that I have judged previously have been celebrity-based. To be honest, I am far more comfortable interacting with a non-celebrity than a celebrity. I find it easier to identify and connect with someone who has a passion for dance and wants to make a name for himself or herself because that is exactly what I was a few years ago.

You have choreographed for Hrithik in many films and now he is your co-judge…

His strength lies in dance. He is very good at it. The country loves him for it. Farah and I have been responsible for making him look and move the way he does in his films. We have been with him through his journey. I think it’s a huge responsibility on his shoulders to find talent that is as good or almost as good as he is. This is the biggest platform any aspiring dancer could ever get — to dance in front of the Hrithik Roshan.

Just Dance apart, what else is keeping you busy?

I have just completed a song for Don 2. It’s a song that signals the arrival of the don (Shah Rukh Khan) in the film and the experience has been novel. I have also done a couple of songs for Zoya Akhtar’s Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. That’s again with Hrithik. And recently, I have done the cabaret number (Mehki mehki picturised on Sarah Jane Dias) in Game. I am also doing Ranveer Singh’s Ladies vs Ricky Bahl and it has a song that is even better than (Band Baaja Baaraat’s) Ainvayi ainvayi!

Which of your own songs have you enjoyed choreographing the most?

Silsila yeh chahat ka from Devdas, Ori chhori from Lagaan and Ainvayi ainvayi. But most of all, Kajrare (Bunty Aur Babli). It’s the song that made me what I am today. It will always remain close to my heart.

Who is the most difficult to choreograph among the new Bollywood actors?

You want names, is it? (Smiles). Well, making Sarah dance in Game was very tough because she is very raw and most models are always known to be a little stiff. Model sensibilities are always to be a little emotionless and erect. To break all of that and make her do a slow cabaret number was very difficult.

And the easiest?

Both Ranbir (Kapoor) and Ranveer (Singh) are very good. They emote a lot when they dance and that always brings something special to my moves. Among the girls I think Katrina (Kaif) is very good. She rocked Sheila ki jawaani (Tees Maar Khan).