The Chennai dancers’ choreography for the favored Bollywood quantity has garnered over 15 million views, and is a social media superhit
When Prithviraj and Rani Mukerji grooved to Dreamum Wakeupum in 2012, it created fairly a stir because the incredibly-catchy ode to the ‘80s found a perfect match with the actors’ outrageous expressions and strikes.
Now, virtually a decade later, the tune is trending once more, thanks to 2 Chennai dancers who’ve captured the creativeness of Instagram customers with a 30-second Reel.
Priyanka Nair and Sindhuja Hari had no concept that their video (that Priyanka conceptualised the choreography for) would lead to over 15 million views — and counting — after they determined to pay tribute to the jaunty tune from Aiyyaa, which was composed by Amit Trivedi.
“We noticed that Dreamum… was suddenly making a comeback with dancers on online platforms. So we decided to dress up in sarees (we actually had someone help us, because we didn’t know how to drape them!) and I came up with a quick choreo. The main idea was that it should be easy for others to follow,” says Priyanka, who co-founded the YouTube channel Bollymadras, together with Sindhuja.
The duo has been posting YouTube dance covers since 2019
Sindhuja, who additionally runs the studio Urban Dance Academy, says that their model going viral was actually surprising. “More surprising has been the number of videos that have popped up of other female dancers recreating the moves, and crediting us,” she beams.
However, the Reel’s recognition has additionally include its share of criticism too, as some followers have expressed that the steps could also be a tad too flashy.
“Honestly, the choreography was conceptualised in a very normal way, but maybe some have interpreted it differently than we imagined. The original song is risqué, yes, but we want to emphasise that when it comes to dance, the focus is only on the dance and nothing else. We have heard feedback from several women that they felt confident enough to pull off these movements, without being concerned about their body image, after watching our video. We are thrilled at being able to motivate them to give it a shot,” explains Priyanka.
The two Chennaiites, who’re of their 20s, met by way of a mutual pal in 2019, and have been posting dance covers since, of fashionable movie numbers like O Saki Saki, Nakka Mukka, Butta Bomma, and so forth. “But it was our dance video of Verithanam from Bigil that got us our big break. Fans of Vijay loved it and shared it extensively all over. Our careers as YouTubers really took off after that,” they add.
“Now, our goal is to move beyond Chennai, and hold workshops, teach people all over India and globally. We’d like to emulate Team Naach, who first started off like us and now have a worldwide fan following. If not for COVID-19, we’d have grown bigger, but we relish the challenge,” says Sindhuja.
Next up, their cowl of Nadiyon Paar from Roohi is already racking up the views, and so they have massive plans to maintain entertaining social media. “The Chennai dance scene is actually quite competitive, which is why we put so much effort into our costumes, make-up and choreo to stand out among the many crews on YouTube. It all comes down to the work we put in, and we love doing what we do,” they log out.
