Aanya Jatana
Tatad Tatad, Dabbang, Thriller, Ghungroo, Ek Do Teen, Zingaat and My Name Is Lakhan; these celebrated songs have one thing in common — their timeless hook steps! This World Dance Day, let’s take a look at some other iconic hook steps.
Oscar-winning, RRR’s Naatu Naatu never fails to impress. Choreographed by Prem Rakshith, it was recently performed at the 95th Academy Awards. Another unforgettable number, Kajra Re Kajra Re, starring Aishwarya Rai Bacchan, hubby Abhishek Bacchan and father-in-law Amitabh Bachchan, saw them shaking a leg to Vaibhavi Merchant’s choreography.
Big B’s quirky dance style is iconic in itself, giving us go-to moves in songs like Apni Toh Jaise Taise, Khaike Paan Banaras Wala and Rock N Roll Soniye. Farah Khan gave classic hook steps for SRK in Chhaiyan Chhaiyan and Priyanka Chopra in Desi Girl. Hritik Roshan’s effortless performances in Ek Pal Ka Jeena, You Are My Sonia and Tu Meri never fail to get us going. In the same league are Kaala Chashma and Hardy Sandhu’s Bijlee Bijlee. Reels of celebs and netizens dancing to these songs at weddings and parties send waves across the internet. Anil Kapoor made Hollywood actor George Clooney perform the energetic Nach Panjabban hook step during a virtual interaction!
Looking West
The west too has given its fair share of hook steps that we can’t help but shake a leg to. Gangnam Style by South Korean singer PSY, which released in July 2012, was the first video to hit one billion views on YouTube. Any party was deemed incomplete without American EDM group Major Lazer and French DJ and producer DJ Snake’s Lean On, whose video was shot in India.
The iconic dance sequence from the Netflix series Wednesday on the 1980’s hit Song Goo Goo Muck by The Cramps also made everyone sway and spin. From Madonna to Lady Gaga, everyone was obsessed with the eccentric Goth-girl dance piece that was choreographed by actor Jenna Ortega herself. Another TikTok sensation was a fun sequence on the Rap Song Jiggle Jiggle by Duke amp; Jones and Louis Theroux. It was named one of the top songs on TikTok in 2022. Clips of celebrities like Shakira and Camila Mendes performing the hook step also went viral. Another social media favourite was American singer-songwriter Meghan Trainor’s Made You Look.
Spring in step
But dance need not be done according to a fixed set of steps, it is also an expression of joy and freedom. Alia Bhatt’s free-spirited dance in Highway was a reflection of the same, as she swayed to the song Wanna Mash Up. Kangana’s character dances her woes away in Hungama Ho Gaya from the 2013 movie Queen.
Whether you’ve shimmied down to the dance floor or boogied the night away, there are always some signature steps that we call our own. Be it Shah Rukh Khan’s evergreen arm raise in every romantic song or Salman Khan’s towel dance; these steps will always be associated with them!