Nachle Ve with Gayatri Patel

The new dancing sensation, Gayatri Patel is very excited about her up coming film ‘Lets Dance’. The actress in an exclusive chit-chat reveals her experience and expecation from the Bollywood industry. She also talks about her passion for dance and her struggle of entering this glamorous world.

Tell us something about your film Lets Dance?

Well the story is about the young girl Suhani. She is in a community dance school for a group of under privilege kids and dreams of becoming a star. She is very idealistic and hopeful girl with lot of talent but she doesn’t believe in whole adage that you must give something to get something in big fat world of Mumbai.

She wants to be a star and she gets there also but on the way of it she meets the bunch of street kids. She feels that these kinds have talent and should be given a proper platform and they should become something in life. The story is whether she fufill  her dreams and whether she teach these kids to dream.

Have you taken any formal training in dance?

I have been taking training in Khatak. In America since childhood I have learnt this dance form from various teachers. When I was 15, I came to Banglore and was trained by Maya Rao. Since I shifted to Mumabi I have been training with Vijayshree Choudhary. She has trained under Pandit Birju Maharaj in Delhi for about 10-12 years. She now trains to Miss India and actress like me and my training is still on going with her.

There are different forms of dancing in this film? Were there any mishaps while performing the same?

There were crazy moments like dancing on the top of the plane, or on a moving bus, dancing on the raft in the middle of the sea or dancing on 650 feet in the air, it could have been mishap. In fact when I was climbing on the industrial crane, we had already shot for 8 hours in moving bus; we packed up and moved on to the second location. They told me you have to climb up 650 feet on a ladder. I started climbing, when I came halfway and suddenly looked down. I was surprised to see my self so high up. I reached my hand up for the second round and I missed and I came down from a good height. There was no safety actually and it was a risky thing to do. My parents were not happy at all, after I did it they were like upset.

I am a strong girl. I got some burses but then too got back and climbed up to the ladder and completed the sequence. As I was dancing the crane was very shaky. I didn’t get hurt but was bit shaken with what had happened.

You being from us, how difficult it was for you to cope with the Hindi language?

Hindi was initially very difficult for me. When I came here, I couldn’t even read or write it. First I went to Satyadev Dubey and also sat in the rehearsal of Makrand Deshpande and finally met Veena Mehta. She has trained the cast of Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na and she has made my Hindi very fluent. In fact I have dubbed my own film also; I think I am really blessed as this will help me in a long run.

You have two new co-stars? So how comfortable you were working with them?

They are lovely, Aqib is also from London and I was from America. Both of us were new in the city. We got on really well. Ajay is very different from me, he is from Meerut. He is very experienced guy and good actor also and working with him was lot of fun also.

Your songs have been choreographed by none other than Longinus Fernandes, Rajiv Goswami, Pappu-Malu and the evergreen Saroj Khan. Did that raise the bar for you? Did these hard-taskmasters make you slog?

It did raise the bar. Saroj Khan is like an icon, a brand and everyone knows her.

Working with her was delight. About raising a bar, thank god with my dancing practise it made the work very easy and smooth. Everyone told me that they would love to work with me again. Rajiv is choreographing my music release. Sarojji was superb; she said that I was a good dancer and has not seen a dancer like this since long. I was quite speechless and I hope that I do get to work with them again and again.

There is normal amount of slogging but since I am a dancer I love it. If you make me do something 20 times I will do it. In fact Sarojji use to tell me ki Gyatri sit down aur kitni baar karegi dance. You have learnt it, now let the dancer discover it. Longinus was also saying the same. I am perfection and like doing it again and again. I think you have to be harder task learner.

Did you always dreamed of becoming an actor?

Since the age of 8, I dreamed of becoming an actor. Before that I thought I wanted to be a scientist. I use to mix the shampoo and try some experiments and use to think that I did something new.

How easy or difficult it was for you to get in this industry?

I did have to struggle to find the type I work that I was looking out for. I think that is much more about being patience and saving your self from depression. Working person is alert and happy and non working person tends to think too much which is not a good thing to do is. This is the greatest struggle.

About casting couch, my mom always said that beta if you would have gone in any field like nurse or something you would have faced it. Some senior doctor making a pass on you, it’s every where. It’s normal that’s why god has made a man and a woman, this is bound to happen. You just want to know what you want and be friendly and clear as there is no need to be rude to anyone if they make a pass.

What next after this flick?

I have two project lined up but I can’t speak about them. Ia m waiting for this film to release to see that if I have made the right choice. With god’s grace lot of things will keep happening in future.

-Rachana Trivedi/Sampurn Media