Reza Noorani (BOMBAY TIMES; July 21, 2018)

From being a contestant on the dance reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa where he was judged by Madhuri Dixit, to judging Dance Deewane alongside the Dhak Dhak girl four years later, choreographer Tushar Kalia has come a long way. Ask him about his journey from a contestant to a judge, and he beams, “It was an unbelievable moment for me. I was extremely nervous when I met Madhuri during the shoot of the promos of Dance Deewane. I was constantly reminded about the time when I was on the other side of the panel four years ago, but she made me comfortable.”

On her part, Madhuri Dixit says, “Tushar has a great career ahead of him. He is a very talented choreographer and a good dancer. He is doing a wonderful job and I wish him all the best for his upcoming endeavours. Sharing screen space with him on the show has been fun.” Director Shashak Khaitan, who has worked with Tushar in Dhadak, says, “He is gifted. On the set of the reality show, he has mostly been silent, but at the same time, focused on doing his job as a judge. Over time, I have seen him getting chattier and opening up with people around him. He has really grown as a person. He is not just talented, but also a great human being.”

Hailing from Delhi, Tushar trained for 12 years in various dance forms, including Mayurbhanj Chhau, Kalaripayattu and contemporary dance. Ever since he gained popularity with reality shows, the artiste has continued to grow professionally. Karan Johar gave him his first big Bollywood break as a choreographer in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016). Since then, Tushar has choreographed for films like Ok Jaanu (2017), Half Girlfriend (2017), Qarib Qarib Singlle (2017), Hate Story 4 (2018) and a song in the recently-released Dhadak. Currently choreographing a big-ticket project that stars Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff and Rani Mukerji, Tushar is also continuing his stint as a judge on Dance Deewane.

While he has established himself as a choreographer, his eyes are set on directing a film eventually. He feels that direction and choreography are similar. He shares, “When we choreograph a song, we get to know how to play with the characters, the camera angles and how to extract emotions from the artistes, which is the most important thing.”

He cites the song Channa Mereya from Ae Dil Hai Mushkil as an example and explains, “In the song, we only had a basic hook step. But the character goes through a journey, so you have to move the story along and explore the emotional graph of the characters. That way, I am not just giving them steps, but actually directing the song. Dance sequences are easy because you know where to give the cuts. Emotional scenes are not, but I enjoy the challenge. So, I feel that directing is the next logical step for choreographers.”