COLOUR ME BLACK: Choreographer Shiamak Davar?s dance troupe during the special tribute to Black at an awards night in Mumbai.

The latest to be bitten by the Black bug is Shiamak Davar. The choreographer-dancer-singer-actor was so moved by the Sanjay Leela Bhansali film that he presented a special dance ballet titled Tribute To Black at the MAX Stardust Awards.

Held in Mumbai recently, all dance items at the ceremony were choreographed by Shiamak, but it was the Black tribute which stood out, compelling even Amitabh Bachchan, aka Devraj Sahay, to say: ?I was engulfed!?

For Shiamak, the Black act was almost cathartic. ?I?ve been working with HIV-infected, physically and mentally challenged kids for several years now. We teach them through our dance therapy. That?s why I fell in love with Rani (Mukherjee) ? it was a mind-blowing performance in Black.

?Their facts are correct to the core and they have completely researched this plot. I am saying this because my father is also in the same stage of brain damage as Amitabh has been shown in the second half of the movie. Sanjay?s detailing in the movie is so good... So from my heart I felt that I needed to pay a tribute to this movie.?

Taking off from the Black theme, Shiamak improvised and innovated.

?I not only choreographed the dance but also composed the music, the sounds and noises over water for this dance along with Zubin Balaporia (pianist and sound composer). I wanted it to actually look just like the movie. I wrote out a story graph that freezes the movie into a 12-minute song in sign language. The only problem was, I was paying a dance-ballet tribute to a film which had no music in it. So I used Gayatri Iyer?s song, Haan maine chhoo kar dekha hai,? adds the man behind the moves of Taal and Dil To Pagal Hai.

The reaction to Shiamak?s efforts says it all. Bachchan SMS-ed him the next day saying: ?Last evening was incredible, I was moved to tears, you created magic, thanks to you and your boys. They were simply marvellous!?

As for Bhansali, he just said, ?You?re a genius, the interpretation was beautiful.?

Apart from the Black magic, Shiamak called the moves for all the acts by top stars like Kareena Kapoor, Bipasha Basu, Priyanka Chopra, Urmila Matondkar, Aftab Shivdasani and Ritesh Deshmukh.

While Kareena careened to Balle balle, Bipasha swung to Jadoo hai nasha hai.

?My favourite was the act by Bipasha, because it represented the futuristic woman of Hindi movies,? says Shiamak. ?The music was a mix of Bollywood and English. Bipasha?s act was the perfect foil for the woman of future.?

If Priyanka looked stunning in a sexy outfit, Urmila did a daredevil stunt hanging in mid-air. ?Urmila?s act really frightened me,? admits Shiamak.

?I mean, there she was, hanging from around 80-90 feet in the air, suspended from one single chain from a 100-foot crane in an iron frame of a large clock that had lights, branding, everything. And she stayed up for a good 10 minutes before the crane came down and she could perform. I enjoyed choreographing with her. One can do a lot with her as she is a trained dancer ? very good and very classic.?

Of the men who shook a leg, it was Zayed Khan who stood out for the dance master. ?He is today?s biggest teen heartthrob,? says Shiamak. ?Zayed put in such a high-energy performance. I guess he was just himself ? cool, suave, full of high-voltage energy and passion. You know, he?s quite a natural.?

?Ritesh Deshmukh, too, surprised me. He?s one of the most hardworking guys around, without any airs. And Aftab was as full of beans as usual. Their act was styled on the lines of heroes of the past, and the audience loved it,? he adds.