American choreographer, Frank Gatson Jr. is currently in India, directing Aishwarya Rai Bachchan on her grand song in her upcoming, Fanney Khan. The movie has got a lavish song and Aish has to perform a great deal on it since she's playing the role of an international pop sensation in the film.
The choreographer and director is known for working with Beyonce for over 15 years and also directing some of her big hits like Crazy In Love and Run The World among others. In an interview with an leading daily, Frank opened up on working in India and why he thinks strongly about the celebrity culture. He said he believes, "Divas aren’t talented, they just got lucky. I refuse to collaborate with artistes who don’t want to work hard. I’d rather work with talented performers who don’t settle for mediocrity".
Talking about directing Aish in the song, he said, "You cannot give Ash dance steps that look too young. She is not 19, she’s a woman and a mother. I had to make it likeable. She was so happy with the way the sequence shaped up, she hugged me and introduced me to her family".
Frank also revealed how he actually made up his mind to work on Fanney Khan in India. He mentioned it was a challenge for him since he realised he will have to work on Indian beats whilst making the entire feel of the song look international. He revealed, "I was to visit India from Dubai in April but couldn’t despite having an entire day to spare as there were visa and paperwork issues. So, Atul flew to Dubai for three hours to watch me work and hang out. It was clear that the film was important to him and I decided to give it my all".
He added, "Music is supposed to tell you what to do but this song’s beats were essentially Indian, and I wanted to stay true to the culture. However, it’s turned out to be an international number".
The teaser of the film, produced by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, has already won praises. The movie, which also features Anil Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao, is slated to release for August 3.
