Sandeepa Dhar: 'Chattis Aur Maina' allowed the dancer in me to flourish

Sandeepa Dhar discusses wrapping up the shoot of five songs in seven days as the pandemic shortened the schedule of 'Chattis Aur Maina'

After years of training in Bharatnatyam, contemporary dance and jazz, Sandeepa Dhar is thrilled to finally get an opportunity to showcase her skills in Disney+Hotstar’s new series, Chattis Aur Maina. But filming the dance sequences in the Shardha Pasi Jairath-directed series was easier said than done.

As per the original plan, Dhar was to shoot five different dance forms, including  Kathak, belly dance and Bollywood, over a 10-day schedule in March. However, the rising Covid-19 cases in the city and the looming fear of an impending lockdown compelled the director to rework the schedule, and wrap up the stint much earlier than planned. It left the actor with only a week to pick up the steps, and shoot the sequences. “As we were shooting during the pandemic, time was limited. Belly dance and Kathak were completely new to me. I barely had two to three hours to learn the [routine] and techniques. One cannot afford to do a sub-standard job with an Indian classical dance form. It was a task to get the hand movements, chakkars and expressions right within the time frame,” says Dhar, who shot the routines at a Mumbai studio.

Sandeepa Dhar and Vikram Singh Chauhan in 'Chattis Aur Maina'

Despite the strenuous schedule, the actor — who shares screen space with Vikram Singh Chauhan in the 15-episode mini-series — is not complaining. “'Chattis Aur Maina' allowed the dancer in me to flourish in full stride. Learning the basics of new dance forms and shooting them back-to-back was hectic, but it also gave me immense satisfaction.”

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