Not the right move

, on NDTV Imagine, anchored by the Indian film industry's ace choreographer, Saroj Khan, seemed like the perfect dance step, a move which was all set to succeed.

It made me yawn. And unfortunately, I can't understand how the channel got it all wrong, not when everything looked so perfect.

Khan is one of the veteran choreographers in the industry today and Shweta Salve, the co-anchor, who was to lead, and learn, along with a bunch of other amateurs, is one of the best dancers, if not in films, in the television industry, at least.

The idea of the show was to prompt even the audiences to shake a leg after learning moves in a very nuanced, gradual manner, from a choreographer who has taught Bollywood how to dance over the years. Point taken.

But let's face it, audiences, especially those belonging to the "couch potato" category, would like to snuggle into a blanket, or sit comfortably in a chair and maybe sip cups of hot tea, instead of throwing away the remote, getting up on their feet and seriously listening to the choreographer. And it doesn't matter even if she's the great Khan.

I'll admit, I even tried it. For someone who loves dancing, I invariably dreamt of a show that would teach me, step-by-step, some of the greatest dance movements that emerged from our film industry.

So whether it was Madhuri's "Ek do teen" from Tezaab (that I learnt during one of the summer vacations, after endlessly rewinding and playing a bulky video tape on the VCR), or the more recent "Kajra re", I was keen to catch the onscreen steps and attempt them on my own.

With a wedding (complete with the song-and-dance routine) scheduled in the family, Nachle Ve, in that sense, was exactly what should've been prescribed. But it fell horribly flat within seconds as I watched and attempted some of the steps that Khan had taught screen diva Madhuri Dixit in one of her more popular dance numbers.

With just a "dhol" beat in the background, Khan concentrated on the leg movements, followed by the hand movements. I tried it for a minute before calling it quits, not because the movements were difficult but because the process of it got so boring and was so unappealing.

That said, the saving grace of the show, ironically, is Khan herself. She has an honest presence, unlike many other anchors we see on the telly today, a glimpse of which one sees especially when she gently reprimands her students on the show.

What also works for the show is the 60-year-old talking about her experiences in the industry and some of the most interesting stories behind path-breaking songs from different Indian films.

Signature steps in Indian films, she mentioned in one of the episodes, for instance, was introduced by her mentor in the song "Jhumka gira re", from the 1966 film Mera Saaya. But Nachle Ve, on the whole, isn't electric and flickers just once in a while.

Nachle Ve has the right moves, NDTV Imagine needs to make it visually exciting, kicking it off in the right style before the audiences kick it away.

abhilasha.ojha@bsmail.in