Answering questions with his smile

Everything is positive unless your film works. Once your film doesn’t work, your choreography also suffers.

It was the scariest moment of my life when F.A.L.T.U was about to be released,” confesses choreographer-turned-director Remo D’Souza who was recently in the City to promote his upcoming film ABCD - Anybody Can Dance, the first Indian film on dance in 3D.

“I would have been nowhere had my directorial venture failed. But now when people say they liked F.A.L.T.U, I feel I had done a good job. So, I am more than satisfied,” he admits and elaborates, “I had my fans from reality shows to fall back on but I had to do good work in order to be honest to the audiences.”

But for the ace dancer, this was just the beginning. “F.A.L.T.U was my baby steps and ABCD is my dream direction (sic),” says the elated director who is, “very excited” about his upcoming venture. “I never thought this project will turn out to be such a big one. I never thought anybody would support me in my dream to make a 3D film. It so happened that I got not just big producers but also great dancers and a female lead from LA, Lauren Gottlieb (a finalist in the American dance show, So You Think You Can Dance)!” It was now time for Remo to work hard.

But the hard work was more exhaustive that he thought. “3D is very difficult. You need to have loads of patience for it takes a lot of time, money and hard work. It is not like how Prabhu(deva) Sir shoots - at a fast pace!” While Prabhudeva plays the lead, the cast also includes choreographer Ganesh Acharya and actor Kay Kay Menon. “I had limited time for the technicians were from US. So I shot the whole movie very fast, which meant a lot of physical exertion. I didn’t sleep until the next day’s planning was done!”

Who supported him through the tough time? “All of them. I had about 30 choreographers on the sets. At times they used to ask, ‘Why are you taking so much stress?’ and then console me saying, ‘Don’t worry we will give you more dates if required.’” But among the well-wishers, the one who kept Remo engaged the most was, “Dharmesh (of Dance India Dance fame). He was the naughtiest kid. He used to initiate mischief, then sit quietly but I realised that he was behind it all.”

Having realised the nitty-gritty of producing a 3D film, Remo is confident about the medium, “If I can pull off dance in 3D, then I can explore any genre in it!”
For the rest of the questions, his impish smile said
it all!