I hope ABCD brings back trend of dance films: Remo D`Souza

New Delhi: As his dream project `ABCD - Any Body Can Dance` hits theatres this week, choreographer and director Remo D`Souza hopes that it helps bring back the trend of dance-based films in Bollywood.

The man with multiple hats on his head is keeping his fingers crossed for the film`s success, saying that the long lost trend of dance-themed films like `Navrang` and `Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje` needs to return. "Earlier `Navrang`, `Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje` and `Jal Bin Machhli Nritya Bin Bijli` were such beautiful films based on dance. But nobody took dance seriously after that. I want that trend to come back. I hope ABCD film works and people make more films in this genre," Remo told PTI in an interview. Being a successful choreographer in Bollywood, it was Remo`s dream to make a film on dance. But his debut directorial `FALTU` turned out to be a take on the education system. "I wanted my first film to be based on dance, but that didn`t happen. It was about the education system, but worked for me because the film was successful. Now my second directorial is my dream project. I always wanted to make a film on dance, ever since I became a dancer. So here it is in the form of India`s first dance film in 3D." Remo laid down three conditions in front of his producers before making this film - first, that Prabhu Deva would play the lead, second that it would be made in 3D and third, contestants from reality show `Dance India Dance` would get a chance to act in it. "I told UTV that I won`t make this film without any of these," said Remo, who has been a consistent judge on the dance reality show for a few years now. Though convincing Prabhu Deva to play the lead wasn`t tough, shooting the film in 3D came with its own set of hurdles. "He was busy making `Rowdy Rathore` when I approached him and said `I want to make a dance film with you`. He said yes, it was that simple. "But shooting the film in 3D was really tough. It takes so much more time, patience and money to shoot in 3D. But the dance moves look amazing. The audience will feel they are inside the screen with the dancers, and be a part of them," said Remo. The film is an underdog story of a man who has been thrown out of a company which he built and shows how he makes a turnaround with the help of a bunch of street dancers. Remo said that the film has an array of dance forms on display. "You will see all the dance forms in the film, be it crumping, hip hop, folk, Kathak or Bollywood style. It`s going to be a treat for every dance lover." The film also stars Lauren Gottlieb of `So You Think You Can Dance` fame, whom Remo terms as a rare combination of "a superb dancer with a beautiful face". He is all set to write a book on the history of Indian dance and also has plans in place for a sequel to `ABCD`. "My third film will be on something else and then my fourth will be the sequel to ABCD. Prabhu Deva will definitely be in that film, but the rest of the cast I am yet to decide." PTI