What’s cooking? Not food

We wonder how it must be for an entrepreneur running 45 restaurants across 10 countries to dance to someone elsersquos tunes Zorawar Kalra 45 seems to be doing it willingly for the last six weeks He is a contestant on the current season of popular dance reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa which aims to team up nondancer celebrities with trained choreographers But the managing director of Massive Restaurants Pvt Ltd admits over a phone call from the showrsquos Goregaon set where he rehearses five hours all seven days a week with choreographerpartner Suchitra Sawant that this is a new experience because up until now ldquoI have always been my own bossrdquoApart from an internship 20 years ago and during a season of MasterChef India where he appeared as judge Kalra has never received a paycheck ldquoI have always been the one signing them Itrsquos been new to mould my schedule around someone elsersquos and to accept the conditions that come with being a contestant including surrendering your phone while shooting I have never been without my phonerdquoThe first episode of the show which aired last week saw Kalra having fun as he performed to a PunjabiBollywood choreography to the track Jug Jug Jiyo before a judges panel led by Madhuri DixitNene Karan Johar and Nora Fatehi ldquoBut truth to be toldrdquo he says ldquoI said no when the show was offered to me When it comes to dance I am a novicerdquo The only dancing Kalra had done was at a friendrsquos sangeet ldquowhere it was okay to forget my stepsrdquo And sometimes he says he has shaken a leg at a club ldquoWhen I was 22 and in Boston pursuing an MBA degree we all went to a pub to party I canrsquot remember the occasion perhaps a semester had ended I danced with abandon after a few drinks This is a different ball game altogetherrdquo he says of the competitionKalra is pitted against nine contestants most of them television actors who have had far better experience with stage presence emoting and dancing He says it took a second attempt by the production team for him to take the proposal home for a discussion ldquoMy son Fateh Kalra obviously petrified at being embarrassed in front of school friends said lsquono donrsquot do it at allrsquo laughs But Dildeep wife was very supportive She said lsquoYou have always been the person who takes on new challenges you should definitely do itrsquordquo He admits he was also apprehensive about how his staff would react to his decision ldquoHow will I look to them Will I be taken seriously I have to go back to my normal life after the show But they have been supportive Staffers I havenrsquot met sent me messages to say they are proud and that they are cheering for me with their familiesrdquoDiscussions done Kalra has a new challenge to tackle The pandemic had put a stop to his gymming and golf sessions ldquoDance is a physical challenge There is so much movement involved in just a two or threeminute performance you feel like you have sprinted It is physically taxing Dancers ought to be flexible which Irsquom not I donrsquot intend to suddenly change my lifestyle and become super flexible In fact I injured my knee quite seriously at the start and this despite warming up well before every rehearsal session Thankfully it wasnrsquot a ligament tearrdquoKalra says hersquod pick starting a new restaurant over a dance challenge any day That he and Sawant would dance in front of ceiling to floor mirrors meant that he could see exactly what his body was not doing ldquoSometimes I thought I looked weird doing those steps Every performance has multiple sequences and itrsquos also difficult to memorise them If I had known it would be this hard I would have bounced But I had committed and I donrsquot quitrdquoOver the weeks he said he learnt to practice long enough for muscle memory to kick in The good bit His cardiovascular health is improving and the recovery time between exercise sessions is improving He gives the credit for this to Sawant ldquoShe is the reason I am able to perform decently She has been working very hard on me and I feel responsible She intelligently comes up with acts that suit me and those I will enjoyrdquo says Kalra who in the week we spoke to him was getting acquainted with tutting a street dance style involving angular movementsldquoToday I woke up at 6 am and by 9 I had finished half the dayrsquos work to make time for rehearsalsrdquo Good habits are bringing him the benefits A partying ban is on he sleeps early to allow his body to recover and is mindful of what he eats Low carb highprotein diet packed with vegetarian food and lean protein is what he is practicing ldquoBut I do end up drinking a lot of coffee to feel energised I have a competitive personality but I am also a realist I know I canrsquot win the trophy I am here to represent the nondancer and have people believe that itrsquos okay to get out of your comfort zonerdquoKalrarsquos father and the man known as the czar of Indian cuisine chef and restaurateur Jiggs Kalra passed on in 2019 How would he have reacted to his sonrsquos decision ldquoMy father was a quiet cheerleader He wouldnrsquot ever boast about his son but he wouldrsquove been happy that I showed some courage He wouldrsquove watched every episoderdquoFood and danceKalra says that cooking and dance are both expressions of human art and the spirit What food is for the body dance is for the soul Obviously we need food to survive But dance too has existed since the beginning of human civilisation