<img class="left" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2015/dec/paromita-vohra.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="53" />So, I'm absolutely loving this song Beat pe Booty from The Flying Jatt. Tiger Shroff usually creates a sense of anxiety in me. What will happen to this boy who seems entirely constructed from protein shakes, body makeup and special effects and whose best friend as per a recent interview is, um, his dad? (Aiyyo why Tiger? Why?).
<img title="Actor Tiger Shroff in Beat Pe Booty from the film The Flying Jatt" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/aug/28Tiger-Shroff-1.jpg" alt="Actor Tiger Shroff in Beat Pe Booty from the film The Flying Jatt" /> Actor Tiger Shroff in Beat Pe Booty from the film The Flying Jatt
At first, watching this song I felt some stirring of hope. Like many Sachin-Jigar songs, this one's a full foot-tapper &mdash; infectious rhythm, smart -though rather sexist - lyrics (please note: Fibonnaci wala spiral). The picturisation of the dance is amusing too, as it remixes Jennifer Lopez's video landscape of Waiting for Tonight with Hrithik Roshan's moves in Kaho Na Pyar Hai, an inspired combination which I enjoyed - though that effect may be unintentional.
But soon, those Tiger Shroff anxieties resurfaced. There was such a fundamental mismatch between the rambunctious quality of the song and the modular experience of the dance. Don't get me wrong. These gym-perfect bodies, Tiger Shroff's every, perfectly executed step, Jacqueline Fernandes' confident and obedient swaying of booty &mdash; none of this is easy to have and do and so, it is very impressive and must be noted.
But, after some time, it is somehow not, dare I say it, sexy or even really fun. There is something so disciplined and dutiful about these bodies on the screen. Something so hard working about the moves and acquisition of this physical self which is the primary communication of the video. Their scanty dress is not sexy as much as serving to display how well they have done their body-building homework.
The dance feels technical. There is flexible skill,but not connection or sexual sizzle between the actors. Displays are enjoyable in their way &mdash; I am no purist on this count &mdash; but can also sometimes feel like you are missing the fun. The lyrics might say 'tu girl hai one in a million' but everyone, male and female, must now be one of a million in the similarity of these bodies and moves. Eventually it feels rather sanitary, almost goody-goody &mdash; all the booty, mechanically marching to the same beat without any bhava, more aspirational than sensational.
Clearly someone else somewhere felt something like this because on cue, the internet has been stormed by a mashup version of Beat Pein Booty, featuring a scene from the 2003 film Aanch, recut to the beat of the song. Here, Nana Patekar puts on sneakers and ghungrus below his dhoti and pleased with the feel of them, starts to dance. Paresh Rawal and the other men look on with indescribable disbelief. Nana at some point also flicks his dhoti flirtatiously across Paresh Rawal's face, creating even more hilarity.
There is irreverence, maza, masti and connections between characters that make the video hilarious but also, in some way sexy. Without malice, this mash-up takes down the earnest self-involvement of the original video. It ought to be incongruous &mdash; this song of the urban club and the rustic context and quality of the Nana Patekar video, but somehow in their mutual zaniness they fit better, feel less sexist. Maybe also Nana Patekar's rugged masculine beauty, completely inside the dance, make us feel Beat Pe Booty is ok, but Beat Pe Beauty is a whole other move.
Paromita Vohra is an award-winning Mumbai-based filmmaker, writer and curator working with fiction and non-fiction. Reach her at www.parodevipictures.com

So, I'm absolutely loving this song Beat pe Booty from The Flying Jatt. Tiger Shroff usually creates a sense of anxiety in me

Paromita Vohra: Booty and the beat

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Paromita Vohra: Booty and the beat

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