Bollywood Superstar Disney Series Dance Instructor Choreographers

Lakshmi Iyer
India Post News Service

Indian girl Mira, detective of the fictional kingdom of Jalpur, royal family, is ready to inspire millions of children on Disneys, the upcoming new animated series, Mira, Royal Detective.

The series is scheduled to air on March 20 on the Disney Junior channel, and the interesting part is: it will feature Indian dances. Imagine watching animated characters perform the latest Bollywood or Bhangra moves! The person who makes it all happen is Nakul Dev Mahajan, the most famous dance teacher and choreographer of Bollywood in the United States.

Born in Agra, Mahajan emigrated to the United States with his parents at an early age. He opened the country's first Bollywood dance studio – NDM Bollywood Dance Productions and Studios Inc. – in Artesia, California. He contributed to famous shows such as So You Think You Can Dance as well as to the AR Rahmans Jai Ho world tour and helped the Native American Nina Davuluri in the talent segment of the Miss America contest – she has finally won the title.

An epic highlight of his career was instructing a dance group at the White House for former first lady Michelle Obamas, a Bollywood dance workshop during Diwali's celebration on November 5, 2013 .

This correspondent had the opportunity to chat with Mahajan.
(Interview edited and paraphrased)

India Post (IP): How did the Disney opportunity come about?
Nakul Dev Mahajan (NDM): In short, my name appeared as a Bollywood choreographer. I was called for an interview and I was blown away by what they shared. I am fortunate to have the opportunity to be part of this project.

IP: How does the choreography for animation work?
NDM: Each episode (of Mira) has a special song that allows the viewer to follow. In Bollywood movies, songs help the viewer navigate what is going to happen and is part of the storytelling process. I have phone calls with them (Disney) and then I choreograph the dance sequences in my studio. I send videos of me dancing. There are many nuances and details. Basically, it is I who teach a class and I am sending this video to Disney.

It is quite spectacular what they do and they send back animatics – it is what they call (the animated version of human actions). I then send them my notes and comments and they work more on it. The team behind is so talented, and I see these characters dancing.

IP: Isn't this something new … something we have never heard of?
NDM: It is the first of its kind in America. I grew up watching the animation and have never seen anything like it. You could intersect … I could be wrong in this .. I don't think there is anything like that on this planet.

IP: What was the hardest part to compare with regular choreography?
NDM: The hard part was keeping my eyes dry. It is so touching and personal. I grew up in America without having this kind of representation. The hard part is to stick to my integrity, to my knowledge of my trade, to tell the story and not to get lazy with the choreography.
I resume these projects as if it were the first and the last time. I say, this is your gift … give it the best.
This is how I approach each episode. There's the pressure to make sure I'm doing a good job. I feel like Mira (the main character) is my own daughter and her friends are running down the street. I'm protective of this and I have to make sure that my choreography matches their character.

IP: Wow… it’s such a touching thing, when you said Mira is your own daughter and her friends are running down the street
NDM: It was a gift that I received in 2018. The characters and their voices are like a family. In my studio, each child is my family. I am their dancing dad.

IP: Do you also work with other dance styles?
NDM: This is a big question. I learned when I was taking steps – it's choreography.
I did not know what I was doing (it was called choreography). A Bollywood choreographer is someone who has not only tried different forms of Indian dance, but also world dance. It (Bollywood) is a form of fusion dance.
I was raised in Kathak, and as a Punjabi, Bhangra is part of my life. Having grown up in America, I was influenced by Janet Jackson and Paula Abdul. Hip-hop, ballet, African dance, any type of dance that I am ready to try. In each season of Mira … you will see a few categories of Bollywood – traditional, jazzy … you will see Ghoomar, Bhangra … There has never been a platform like this for Indian dance.

IP: Tell us about your trip. Was it one of your childhood dreams to become a choreographer?
NDM: I used to dance at the age of four in my room to the songs of Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha. I would be in trouble because the boys don't dance. My parents wanted me to be a lawyer / doctor / engineer. At the age of sixteen, I acted in a Diwali function. It was when my parents said that they never knew how talented I was. They said that from there, I had 110% of their support to become a Bollywood choreographer. I wanted to bring something to our community that I didn't have.

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