Bollywood aerobics are a hit with many Indiansliving in the USA

Sunday, November 28, 2004

Bollywood beats rock the USMonica Uppal Popli

A group of 40 women and men is gyrating to the pulsatingDhoom macha le in an elegant dance studio. So what’s new aboutit? The class is Bollywood aerobics and the venue —Milpitas,California.

With its fulgent glory and international appeal, Bollywood ismaking forays into the fitness world in America. It’s literallymaking people dance to its tunes in Hollywood. The popularity ofaerobics classes with a Bollywood tag is a gauge of Hindi cinema’splenary influence, particularly on Indians away from India.

With easy access to avant-garde gyms, plethora of exercise-oriented classes and home workout videos by fitness mavens,people are thronging the Indian Community Center at Milpitas andneighboring Sunnyvale to attend the Hindi-movie-inspired workoutclasses. All nine classes a week, each with a capacity of 40, arecurrently full. The halls cannot accommodate more, so newapplications are being rejected.

In the class at Milpitas, 13-year-old Neel seems to just let hisbody move to the rhythm of Dil Chahta Hai’s Koi kahey whilesweaty Anu Dugyala is being pushed by the instructor to keepgoing. She keenly looks in the mirror on the wall facing her. GopaParameswaran is relishing the workout on Chaiya chaiya from DilSe and Hitendra Dutt is punching forcefully to Baghban’s Chaliishq de hawa.

In the cool-down segment, Nishi Misra is obviously pooped out but as she stretches her arms over her head,she begins moving gently as the lilting Bahon mein chaley aayo tries to sooth sore bodies. She startsoscillating her head as Adnan Sami’s Kabhi to nazar mila comes on.

The reasons for joining Bollywood aerobics are myriad: It is a fun workout, a calorie incinerator, a body toner,mood elevator, stress buster, a connection with one’s homeland, an introduction to a new culture, a vicariousexperience and an interesting way to socialise. Bollywood music, obviously, is the big red cherry on top.

For Liz, an independent consultant in the software industry, it is the unalloyed passion for all things Indianthat drew her to Bollywood dance and Bollywood aerobics classes. A visit to Pondicherry sparked her interestin India. Like many Americans, she is fascinated by Indian food, shimmering clothes, ornate traditions andceremonies depicted in Hindi movies.

“I watch Showbiz India (a TV program based on filmi songs) every week and love rava dosa with the hottestchutney,” says an effervescent Liz whose face is glowing after the workout.

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She stumbled upon the Bollywood aerobics classes through an Internet search. Bored with regular aerobics,she found the class invigorating. It is a convenient way to keep fit and stay connected to the culture shewants to imbibe.

“I go to pubs where bhangra music is played often. I needed to learn steps to be able to appropriately danceto it. So I joined Bollywood dance and aerobics at Sunnyvale.”

For clinical dietician Prerana, who also attends both classes at Sunnyvale, it’s the best way to stay connectedto the roots. Having grown up in Juhu, Mumbai, in the proximity of movie stars, the lure of Bollywood is butnatural. “In India I used to listen to western music, but after staying here for 17 years, my first choice now isBollywood music. I tried jazzercise which I found too repetitive. Bollywood aerobics revs up metabolism. Themind is so engrossed in the peppy music that sometimes I don’t realise I am working out,” she says.

For Sharmila Udiavair, the timings are an added attraction. Also, the Indian Community Center environmentgives her the feeling of being back home.

Bollywood aerobics and Bollywood dance classes were introduced by Mona Sampath at the Indian CommunityCenters in the towns of Milpitas and Sunnyvale. Three other instructors work under her to meet the rush.

Winning an all-India intercollegiate competition five times in a row, dancing in international shows of KarismaKapoor and Akshay Kumar and donning the cap of assistant choreographer in an A.R. Rahman concert, gaveher enough dance acumen to start dance classes.

An M.B.A. from Philadelphia University, where she also won the Best Choreographer of the Year Award for2001, she came to the Silicon Valley for a job as a marketing manager. As a part-time job, she startedteaching Bollywood dance at the Milpitas Community Center. The president and co-founder of the centreapproached her with the idea of Bollywood aerobics.

A certified aerobics instructor from YMCA, she structured a total body workout with moves from hip-hop, rockand roll, jazz, funk, simplified classical and folk dances — all the staple ingredients of filmi jhatkas andmatkas.

An exhaustive workout might tire a beginner but the music is a definite pick-upper. The one-hour class hasfour segments: stretches (10 minutes), cardio workout (25 minutes), abs workout (20 minutes) and cooldown (5 minutes). Racy medleys and slow-paced songs from the Shammi Kapoor era to the hottest chartbusters are used in the backdrop. The target is shaving off a whooping 500-700 calories per workout whileproviding salubrious entertainment. To sustain the vim and vigour of the students, different music and movesare used in each class.

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