Bollywood’s Choreographer Duos Who Made Stars Dance To Their Tunes
Posted On: 06 May 2024 | Last Updated : 06 May 2024 | Views : 878
It was music directors who were known for coming in pairs, then came the jodi of writers followed by director duos, and finally we have choreographer duos. Till the late 80s, Bollywood’s so-called dance directors or dance masters never got their due until Saroj Khan went vocal and demanded that their contribution to a song be as important as that of the actor/actress, singer, musician and lyricist. Choreography has finally come of age in Indian cinema not just making a song look mesmerizing but also making non-dancers shake a leg and set the silver screen on fire. Including Bollywood other language industries house some of the best dancing talents that have made the world take note of us, especially with their hook steps. The last couple of decades has seen a good number of choreographer duos who have made the audience lose their hearts to their ‘latkas’ and ‘jhatkas’ by giving some of the most amazing signature steps to our favourite actors. Here, we list Bollywood’s best choreographer duos who made stars dance and groove to their tunes!
1. Vijay – Oscar
Vijay – Oscar probably were Bollywood’s first choreographer duo who were not just choreographers, but stars in themselves. Vijay went by his first name while Oscar’s full name was Oscar Unger. The duo initially started as background dancers by assisting veteran choreographer Surya Kumar before getting their big break in Mahesh Bhatt’s Manzilein Aur Bhi Hain (1974) and choreographed for over 100 films in 70s, 80s, and 90s including Dharmatma (1975), Inkaar (1977), Shalimar (1978), Do Aur Do Paanch (1980), Qurbani (1980), Kaalia (1981), Disco Dancer (1982), Kasam Paida Karnewali Ki (1984), Janbaaz (1986), Ilzaam (1986) and Dance Dance (1987). The duo was credited for bringing tango, salsa, rock-n-roll, break dance, hip-hop and ballroom dance to Bollywood.
2. Chinni Prakash – Rekha Prakash
If someone asked who was one of the top 10 choreographer duos of Bollywood in the 80s, 90s and 2000s, it has to be the husband-wife choreographer duo of Chinni Prakash and Rekha Chinni Prakash. Chinni Prakash started his career by choreographing the songs of Pyaar Karke Dekho in 1987 and later paired up with his wife Rekha Prakash to deliver hit songs including Hum (1991), Saajan (1991), Khuda Gawah (1992), Khiladi (1992), Mohra (1994), Main Khiladi Tu Anari (1994), Sabse Bada Khiladi (1995), Coolie No. 1 (1995), Gambler (1995), Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi (1996), and Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (1998). He later joined the club of choreographers turned directors of Bollywood by directing Ghoonghat in 1997.
3. Bosco – Caesar
Bosco Martis and Caesar Gonsalves are currently one of the highest paid choreographer duos in India who have choreographed over 200 songs since making their debut in Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Mission Kashmir in 2000. The award-winning choreographer duo has choreographed some amazing songs over the years including Lakshya (2004), Swades (2004), Bunty Aur Babli (2005), Jab We Met (2007), 3 Idiots (2009), Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011), Bang Bang! (2014), Dil Dhadakne Do (2015), Dangal (2016), Jab Harry Met Sejal (2017), War (2019), Pathaan (2023) and Fighter (2024). Bosco Martis turned director with the horror comedy Rocket Gang in 2022.
4. Piyush – Shazia
One of the best Bollywood choreographers jodis ruling the roost is that of Piyush Bhagat and Shazia Samji who are better known as Piyush – Shazia. Their collaboration has not just made filmmakers take notice of their work but also made them a lucky mascot for many top actors and actresses. In a short period of time, the dancing duo has done some outstanding body of work in songs from Nawabzaade (2018), Roohi (2021), Liger (2022), Bhediya (2022), Freddy (2022), Bad Boy (2023), Ganapath: A Hero Is Born (2023), Fighter (2024), Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya (2024), Crew (2024), and others.
5. Uma – Gaiti
One of the top 10 Bollywood choreographer pairs that we cannot afford to miss is that of Uma Shankar Nair and Gaiti Siddiqui who are famous as Uma - Gaiti. Their claim to fame has been the mandate to the party starters with 'Baby Doll' being declared in the list of Top Item Song of 2014 and 'Pink Lips'. The dance director duo of Uma – Gaiti have showcased their versatility with a varied body of work by choreographing 'Uff Teri Adaa' (Karthik Calling Karthik), Rockstar, Satyagraha, Ghanchakkar and Oye Lucky Lucky Oye to name a few.
6. Vijay Ganguly – Dimple Ganguly
If not the best then arguably one of the best Indian choreographer duos in Bollywood is the pair of Vijay Ganguly and Dimple Ganguly aka Dimple Kotecha. Son of director Anil Ganguly, Vijay has been trained in salsa, contemporary, jazz and hip hop and is married to Dimple Ganguly. Though Vijay has been credited solo but Dimple also gets due credit. Vijay started as assistant choreographer in films like Bunty aur Babli, Taare Zameen Par, Yuvvraaj, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag before turning full-fledged dance director for ‘Nachenge Saari Raat’ from Junooniyat (2016), ‘Mere Rashke Qamar’ from Baadshaho (2017), and ‘Galti Se Mistake’ from Jagga Jasoos (2017). The duo's notable works have been in films like Badhaai Ho, Kesari, Bala, Bhangra Paa Le, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, Bhediya, Zara Hatke Zara Bachke, Sam Bahadur, Pippa, Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya, and many more.
7. Ravi D'souza - Shampa
The list of Bollywood dance director duos remains incomplete without the names of Bertwin Ravi D'souza and Shampa Gopikrishna. The famous choreographer duo from Mumbai is trained in various Indian styles like Kathak, Bharatanatyam, Odissi, folk forms besides Garba, Bhangra, etc., and many western forms like Hip hop, commercial African, Latin dances and contemporary. The duo were assistant choreographers for Goliyon Ki Raasleela: Ram Leela, Dhoom 3, What’s Your Raashee? and Akira before turning full-time dance directors for Bajirao Mastani (2015), Neerja (2016) Tum Bin 2 (2016), Padmaavat (2018), Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas (2019), Ghoomer (2023), and dance-based gems like Heartbeats (2017), etc.
8. Pappu - Maalu
Pappu–Maalu or Pappu–Mallu is one of the best Bollywood choreographer pairs that one can ask for. Pappu aka Zahur Sheikh and Kavita Gandhi better known as Maalu, started as background dancers at a very young age and made dancing their passion and a way of life challenging the status quo of various dance techniques in choreography. Despite collaborating on many musicals, the pair of Pappu and Maalu has done films such as Devdas (2002), Xcuse Me (2003), Saawariya (2007), Aap Kaa Surroor (2007), Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic (2008), Besharam (2013), Sanam Teri Kasam (2016), Veerey Ki Wedding (2018), and others.
9. Pratap Shetty – Harish Bhatt
Slowly and steadily coming up the ranks and making a mark for themselves is the choreographer pair of Pratap – Harish. Pratap Shetty and Harish Bhatt debuted in Bollywood by choreographing the songs of 1920 London (2016), Sweetiee Weds NRI (2017), and Bengali film Podmo Patar Jol (2015). The duo has a few interesting films coming up, watch out for them.
10. Raju – Shabana
Choreographers Raju Khan & Shabana Khan have been around for a while and have worked in Hindi, Bhojpuri, Gujarati, and Punjabi language films. The husband-wife choreographer duo has done a handful of films including Mashooka (2005), Turning Point (2018), My Dear Babuchak (Gujarati) (2019), etc.
11. Samir Tanna - Arsh Tanna - Tamanna Tanna
Rather than calling Samir Tanna – Arsh Tanna – Tamanna Tanna Indian choreographer duos it would be appropriate to call them Indian choreographer trios. It’s been a rollercoaster ride for the Gujarati choreographer trio who are still new but surely are on the way to making it big in the coming days. The trio has already made a mark by doing some exceptional work in Goliyon Ki Raasleela: Ram Leela (2013), Raees (2017), Patel Ki Punjabi Shaadi (2017), Hellaro (2019), Hoon Tari Heer (Gujarati) (2022), Aum Mangalam Singlem (Gujarati) (2018), and Dukaan (2024), etc.
