Michael Jackson and his many Munna fans

Borivlis FAMOUS crew loves Bboying but still looks up to Michael Jackson for his unique styleWhen he was taunted for dancing like a girl actor Tiger Shroff had this to say in a magazine interview The concept of femininity and masculinity is stereotyped To criticise the way I dance is to criticise Michael Jackson Shroff who plays Munna in Munna Michael has been open about his fascination for the legendary dancer The film is about a crazy MJ fan from the streets On May 16 Shroff posted a video on Instagram to mark the day Jackson first performed the moonwalk hashtagging it daytheearthwitnessedmagicIts not just Shroff who remains obsessed with what Jackson gave to the world even if its been a decade since he died Be it with his music which we listen to as we write this piece or his smooth moves which no dancer has been able to top Jackson continues to inspire Mumbai which was the only city where Jackson performed when he came to India in 1996 is still under its spellMelvin LouisMumbai boy and wellknown dancer Melvin Louis whose Instagram dance videos show off his unique style says that the ever since he heard of Jackson in the 90s mdash thanks to two elder brothers who were obsessed with the pop star mdash he read and researched everything about the King of Pop There were very few people who were allinone like him And that finesse he sighs But what really caught Louiss attention is the detail that went into every dancing project that Jackson took on It was about taking what exists to another level He aimed for perfection Look at the videos He was always pushing himself to go beyondMelvin LouisIn the 2009 documentarystyle movie on Jackson This Is It a scene shows his group of backup dancers standing around cheering Michael as he goes from one move to another Them wide eyed and gaping he in the groove never missing a step until he stops and says in his iconic sugar voice You should have told me to stopNoel Athayde 28 once part of Ashley Loboled The Danceworx and now a freelance professional dancer said it took him a whole day to get the moonwalk right But my alltime favourite is watching MJ dance under the spotlight to Billie Jean in Budapest in 1992 he says For the softspoken Athayde what Jackson taught him to transform into a beast on stage I wanted to be like him in that way mdash calm off stage and then someone else entirely on stageNoel AthaydeJaison Mathew 36 assistant artistic director at Danceworx Mumbai agrees In 1983 when he danced the moonwalk at a live performance of Billie Jean he created what we call the Jackson style See a boy in a hat with a white glove and you know whats going to happen He didnt just dance He created productions What inspires dancers is his maturity and his dedication In one scene in This Is It director Kenny Ortega asks him But Michael if you are facing the audience how will you know when the dancers are on stage He replied I will sense themJaison MathewIn 2008 with the release of Step Up 2 The Streets which put focus on the dance crew the world of dance changed forever Forms such as locking popping bboying all underground forms until then became mainstream Crews around Mumbai who got ample opportunity to showcase themselves in mushrooming TV reality shows were all experts at these forms But even at a time when the dance world evolves every day crews swear by Michael JacksonIndrajit Kumavat in a Michael Jackson video FAMOUS madeAbhishek Deepak Anita Das 27 leader of the popular FAMOUS crew from Borivli says his father took a loan in 1996 so that the family could attend the MJ concert MJ was sent to Earth to do this I have read interviews where his musicians talk about how he knew all the chords all the tempos by heart He was the same way about dance Das wanted a Michael Jackson impersonator in his crew and chanced upon Indrajit Kumavat at Thakur College Kandivli He is currently with Cirque du Soleil But he is the best impersonator and Ive got him Eighteenyearold Tushar Mohite from the Phenomenon Dance crew in Hanuman Nagar Kandivli sums it up when he says MJ hamesha alag sochta tha His steps are clean and the way he picks up the beat is the best But more than anything through dance woh kahani sunata hai Thats why he still matters