Glitter and glamour ruled the evening at LPU!
National Award winning choreographer Prabhu Deva was at LPU yesterday, with actors Sonu Sood and Tamannah Bhatia, and singer Malkit Singh. It was an enchanted evening of dance, music, beauty, charm, and verve. LPU audiences went wild cheering, grooving, and applauding. It was an experience no one, the celebrities included, will forget for a long long while.
Prabhu Deva, always a delight to watch on the screen, was awe inspiring to behold in person. His moves, his passion for dance, his wide knowledge of various Indian and western dance forms were at once humbling and inspiring. The great dance guru shared a few tips with the students on his favorite styles of dancing, that included, most surprisingly, the ancient classical form of the ‘Bharatnatyam’. The star who has won a whole bevy of Filmfares and Star Screen awards, and holds an honorary lifetime membership at the International Film and Television Research Centre of the Asian Academy of Film & Television, was candid in his interaction with his LPU fans. When a student asked him the source of his boundless energy and flexibility, Prabhu Deva told him that it was a legacy from his father and, of course, a great gift from the Almighty.
Recalling a severe muscle pull while shooting a dancing-sequence for his forthcoming film “Tutak Tutak Tutiya”, Prabhu Deva asked students to be careful while trying out new dance steps, “I have been pushing the boundaries of dance, trying out new steps all the time, but now I feel I need to be more careful. Though I am back on my feet, my body movements took time to become normal. My predicament is a warning to all those who push themselves beyond endurance. Please don’t overdo anything. Nothing is worth one’s health.”
Renowned actress of Telugu and Tamil films, Tamannaah Bhatia is best known for her performance in the blockbuster ‘Bahubali’. Talking about working in various film industries across the country, Tamannah asked the students to always keep striving for perfection, telling them that it wouldn’t be easy but that anything worth achieving never was. Sonu Sood, who has given hits in five different Indian languages, shared his filmmaking experiences with the students, “My aim is always to do quality cinema, and for that I work very hard. My forthcoming film is in three languages, and we didn’t dubb anything. All the characters had to act and deliver dialogues thrice, in three mediums-Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu, for differently titled films ‘Tutak, Tutak, Tutiya’, ‘Devi’ and ‘Abhinetri’, respectively. This endeavour of mine is a great lesson for students connected with film production.” Popular Punjabi singer Malkit Singh said that he was very happy to work for a film that brought the North and South of India together. He reminisced about the filming, when on the sets, all the actors and technicians worked together in harmony, beyond the boundaries of regions and languages.
Madhu Deva, a final year student of Journalism & Film Production, who witnessed the event, shared his view, “We really enjoyed a lot with the legendary stars…. We were thrilled to dance in the company of the ‘numero uno of dance-the dance icon’ on the big stage of our university. It is indeed a memorable day for all of us…”
