Naach Basanti choreographer Akshay Jain, who hails from Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, has come a long way since being a background dancer during Salman Khan’s Dabangg Tour.
“My father owns a general store, my mother is a housewife and a passionate baker. I have two older siblings. My brother is serving in the Indian Air Force and my sister is a frontline campaigner for the cause of vitiligo. I completed my schooling from a boarding school near Indore. After that I came to Mumbai for higher studies and to pursue my passion in the magical world of dance,” he shared.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQwCs3bZp2I
He has been a natural dancer since childhood. “During my school function in class 11, I had to dance on stage to a Bollywood number. The moment I performed, I just knew that I had to pursue dance for the rest of my life. I came to Mumbai, I got mentored by Pankaj Sir and Priya Ma’am. They used to run gym classes and Bollywood classes. I learned a lot from them. After that I worked as an instructor at RSDC,” he said.
“I was a background dancer and have performed at shows such as Star Screen. I also did the Dabangg 1 tour with Salman Khan. After leaving background dancing, I went on to assist some known choreographers of the industry and assisted on movies such as Force 2, Sanam Teri Kasam and Laal Rang. My journey has been very long from an instructor to a dancer, to an assistant choreographer to a YouTuber, to now an independent choreographer,” he added.
His first break as a choreographer was the song Wada Raha Sanam, which was a remake of the classic song. “It was released on Venus Worldwide,” he said.
“As a background dancer, I did the Dabangg Tour with Salman Khan and team. I have choreographed independent shows in India and abroad with known artists and platforms. I have choreographed more than 6 songs for Venus, 3+ songs for T-Series, 5+ songs for Zee Music. My biggest work so far has been my song as a choreographer in Luv Ranjan’s production Jai Mummy Di,” he added.
His new song titled “Naach Basanti” released on 28th January. “It is a song with a very strong vibe and aura. The music is absolutely unique and we shot it in a way that matches the music which is bold and powerful,” he shared.
Akshay Jain believes that struggle is not a phase, it’s a journey. “Even what I am doing today is a struggle to do something even better, professionally and personally. But if you want an example, I’d say it was a great period of struggle for me to quit background dancing and start on my own very soon in my career. You face money crunch, work crunch, but what is life without risks,” he noted.
In 5 years, he sees himself as a very famous choreographer with multiple projects. “I say this because I believe I have it in me, just the stars need to align,” he said.
