Ganesh Acharaya hit the public eye with his vigorous dances. Those who saw him on television often wondered about the source of his agility as Ganesh Acharaya defied his girth to come up with the most complex of moves with ease. Soon he carved out a reputation as a choreographer and an actor; few have forgotten “Aesa jadoo dala ra” in “Khakee” or the more recent in “Singham” and “Bodygyard”. He sprang a surprise by turning to direction early in his career. Lately he has been in news for his wonderful work in the film “Bajirao Mastani”, for which he has got the Lux Zee Cine Award 2016 for the Best Choreographer.
On the sidelines of the ceremony he took some questions from The Hindu in Mumbai.
Excerpts:
Tell us about your feelings on winning the award?
An award means praise for your work. I have been awarded because the audiences liked my work which means a lot to me. I am very happy and also motivated to do better. I have to keep up the good work.
You have won the award this time but in the past you have been nominated for many other awards but failed to win. How do you not winning an award?
Bollywood is a very competitive industry. It keeps you on your toes every time. There were times when I could not win it but that does not make you sad or think of partiality. It only inspires to do better work and work even harder.
You turned to direction a few years ago with Swamy. It surprised your fans because it did not have songs and dances.
“Swamy” was my first film and, if you have seen it, there was no place for a song or dance. It was a beautiful story. As far as my selection of a story with no song and dance goes, I wanted to start with a good subject and also surprise the audience as they would be expecting a film with lot of songs and dances and I am very much the satisfied with the result.
Any particular artist with whom you are comfortable working with?
I have my own style of working. I enjoy my work be it with Salman, Akshay, Katrina or even a new comer. So far I have never experienced working with any artist too difficult.
After the award and “Bajirao Mastani”, what’s next?
I am working on 2-3 films, my next release will be “House Full-3”. Then there are likely to be two-three more releases soon after. The names of other projects I cannot disclose at the moment. What I can say is that it is going to be busy year for me.
