“It was an honour to direct Terence Lewis Sir”, says Dancer-choreographer Saurabh Prajapati
~Shot ‘Tu Hai Toh’ in 6 hours~
Bollywood’s youngest dance director and choreographer Saurabh Prajapati, who has worked with some of the biggest names in Bollywood, recently directed a music video called ‘Tu Hai Toh’ starring Terence Lewis and Digangana Suryavanshi , sung by Ash King and Palak Muchhal, composed by Palaash Muchhal on Pal Musics YouTube channel. Saurabh’s journey in dance started at a very young age and by 15 he had graduated in dance, learning from various international choreographers. Post which, Saurabh joined Terrance Lewis’s dance academy, completed his diploma and then started working independently as a choreographer and dance director.
Talking about his experience of directing and choreographing his mentor, Saurabh said, “Life has come by in a full circle, this will always be one of my most cherished works, as I got to choreograph and direct my mentor Terence Sir. The melody of the song is sweet and playful, so the direction and movement had to be more candid and natural. Directing ‘Tu hai toh’ was challenging amidst all the limitations but we all gelled well as a team and everyone had the same vision. Shoot on sets was quite smooth and we finished the entire shoot in 6 hours.”
The song which has already crossed 2 million views has been loved and appreciated by all. Saurabh added, “This is my third video out in a month’s time and I loved exploring a different side of me while not just choreographing but also directing the music video. I am so glad to see the response my work has been getting and everyones loving the look and feel of the music video. The music video is flowy, smooth, has a lot of emotions and the flavour is very catchy. “
Appreciating Saurabh Terence Lewis said, ‘ I’ve known Saurabh when he was only 15 years old and had come fresh to Mumbai, starry eyed to make it in the city of dreams !
After completing his Diploma in Dance for Professional training at our Institute with flying colours he was selected to join the company and get hands-on training and experience in the field ! His passion and commitment to dance coupled with the hunger to always learn, set him apart from the rest!
I’m so proud to see his prolific and exponential growth in such a short time from a dancer to an assistant to a choreographer to a music video director in just 5 years !”
Talking about his experience from the sets of ‘Tu Hai Toh’, Terence added, “I was taken by surprise when he approached me to feature as the main lead in the music video! It was such a pleasure to work with my student now turned choreographer and Director and the roles being reversed where he was calling the shots and giving instructions! I felt proud seeing him take charge on the set and having absolute confidence in what he was doing! It’s a huge responsibility to be the Music Video Director on a Set and we had tremendous pressure to shoot this Love Ballad sung brilliantly by artist Palak Muchal and Ask King for Pal Music!
As a Choreographer and Director myself, I’ve always been behind the camera so this experience of being in front of camera and being the artist was an exciting and fulfilling one! It was like coming back to a circle, where a student was now directing the teacher !
I feel like a proud parent seeing his son come of age so soon, so effortlessly to take charge and shoulder this responsibility so well!
In the last 20 years of running my Institute and giving the industry some of the finest well trained dancers and choreographers, Saurabh is our prodigious child with whom I share a paternal bond and mentorship and seeing him rise to the occasion has made me and our Institute super proud.”
The young and talented 21 year old choreographer has been basking in glory in the amazing feedback and reviews for his two other plum projects- Presented by T-Series the artistic contemporary dance to the romantic track ‘Kandhe Ka Woh Til’ featuring dancers Salman Yusuf Khan & Zaara Yesmin , Sung by Sachet Tandon and ‘Tere Bagair’ sung by legendary singer Udit Narayan and performed by Aditya Narayan. Saurabh was also an assistant choreographer for the Nora Fatehi Starrer song ‘Pachtaoge’
