Choreographers turn directors

Bollywood choreographers have not had much luck directing films. In the 1960s, dance masters (as they were then called) Hiralal and Gopi Krishna never thought of taking up direction. Star choreographers Saroj Khan and Chinni Prakash, who dominated the 1990s, didn't get down to directing a film either. 1970s veteran Kamal made an unsuccessful switch as director to launch son Irfan Kamal.

Fast forward to 2003, and three prominent Bollywood choreographers make their directorial debut.

B H Tharun Kumar's Nayee Padosan (Rahul Bhatt, Vikas Kalantri, Anuj Sawhney, Aslam Khan, Mahek Chahal) is ready for release. Produced by Nitin Manmohan (Prithvi, Shool, Deewangee), Nayee Padosan is a remake of Jyoti Swaroop's Padosan (Sunil Dutt, Saira Bano, Kishore Kumar, Mehmood).

Ahmed Khan's film will star Sunny Deol, Suniel Shetty, Sohail Khan and John Abraham. Deol's role is an extension of his character Arjun Malvankar in Rahul Rawail's Arjun (Dimple Kapadia, Paresh Rawal, Anupam Kher).

"I am game for new directorial talent. Whether it is an action director like Tinnu Verma or a choreographer like Ahmed Khan, everyone stands a fair chance as long as they are familiar with the process of making films," feels a supportive Deol.

Suniel Shetty, who is working with both Ahmed Khan and Farah Khan (Main Hoon Na), finds them equally adept at their work. "I k now what they are capable of. It is very exciting to watch technicians from other fields cross over to direction," he says.

The most eagerly awaited choreographer-turned-director debut is Farah Khan's. The opportunity to direct a film came her way when close friend Shah Rukh Khan liked her script. SRK produces and stars in Main Hoon Na, which also stars Sushmita Sen, Zayed Khan, Amrita Arora, Boman Irani and Suniel Shetty in a negative role.

Farah is not intimidated about working with such a big cast. "On the contrary," she says, "I am at an advantage because I am familiar with the technicalities of cinema including editing. Most of the stars are my friends. I know how to handle them."