Mumbai: Shammi Kapoor`s son Aditya Raj Kapoor is following his late father`s footsteps…literally. He danced to his father`s popular ‘Baar baar dekho’ number from the film ‘Chinatown’ and received compliments from none other than Hema Malini.
"Now I made my debut with the most fabulous Renuka Shahane, in dad`s most memorable `Baar baar dekho`. A Salsa tribute. Like me, Renuka is also a student with Sandeep Soparrkar and we have been rehearsing for the past few days," he said.
Aditya performed at a lounge here Tuesday and added: "We debut with other acts at the Sheesha lounge, Juhu with the worlds oldest dancer Tao Porchon-Lynch. She is 94 and still doing Ballroom.
"Hema Malini complimented both me and Renuka. I enjoyed myself! It was my deepest desire to dance to dad`s songs as any kid likes to copy his parents. Sandeep helped me in realising my dreams by including me as a salsa solo act, with my partner of course, rather than in a group dance, which I had already done three times before with the Studio," he added.
Though Shammi Kapoor was known for his dance, Aditya feels his father didn`t take dancing seriously enough.
"It always bothered me that had dad taken dancing more seriously, he would have made a professional stage dancer, internationally. I often told him that after I joined Sandeep Soparrkar`s Ballroom Studio and took up Salsa," he said.
While learning to dance, Aditya realised he possessed his father`s body language.
"As I moved up the levels and Sandeep himself took personal interest in removing the nonsense in my steps, I realised that I was standing in the same pose as dad stood, often at the beginning of the song. Right leg straight, left leg crossed, a typical Salsa basic men`s step! As the teachers at the Studio went on to improve me at my age, I realised that my DNA was Salsa and I often remarked to dad that he must have been a Cuban Salsa dancer in his last birth," he said.
IANS