Choreographer Kruti Mahesh says Covid impacted the shooting sequence for Gangubai Kathiawadi’s songs

Kruti Mahesh previously worked with director Sanjay Leela Bhansali on the movie Padmaavat in 2018, which marked her debut as an independent choreographer. To top it off, she received the National Award for Best Choreography for the movie’s song Ghoomar.

Presently, choreography for yet another Bhansali movie, Gangubai Kathiawadi, is also getting praise. She claims that collaborating and working with the filmmaker is never the same.

“Every day is different with him, that’s the best part of working with Sanjay sir. He constantly thinks, you have to just keep up with his thoughts. He wants the execution, and that in itself is the rewarding part of my job,” she says.

Many actors who have worked with Bhansali in the past have said that he is a taskmaster, often temperamental. Ask Mahesh whether she got to see that side to him as well, and she says, “That’s how I have been talking about him since I started talking about him. Once you start being passionate about your craft, you do get into it, that’s the only way you get to see the magnum opus he creates. Otherwise it’s going to be like any other film.”

“We were supposed to shoot Dholida on January 9, 2020, but because of Covid restrictions dancers were not allowed. We had to keep postponing the song. Jab Saiyaan required only Alia (Bhatt) and Shantanu (Maheshwari), so we shot that. It was obviously a very different experience. For the first time, Sanjay sir gave me the film’s script. Otherwise, it’s usually pre and post the song, and I would be told the emotions needed. He let me read the script, it was a big deal,” concludes Mahesh.