Waacking — a dance form that originated in Los Angeles in 1970s and is characterised by rotational arm movements, posing, and emphasis on expressiveness — now finds its way to screen with Waack Girls.
Directed by Sooni Taraporevala — who also directed the 2020 dance film Yeh Ballet and whose pen has produced Mira Nair-directed winners like Salaam Bombay, Mississippi Masala and The Namesake — the series, which is now streaming on Prime Video, is set in and shot in Calcutta. It brings together six girls in the city who defy all odds to form their own dance group and express themselves through waacking.
t2 caught up with Sooni Taraporevala, actor Rytasha Rathore and Calcutta girl Mekhola Bose — a popular face in the city’s dance circuit and who leads the ensemble in Waack Girls — for a chat.
Sooni, what made you want to make Waack Girls?
Sooni Taraporevala: The starting point for Waack Girls was simply seeing Mekhola (Bose) dance in Yeh Ballet. I didn’t even know what she was doing — but it looked so beautiful and powerful. I spoke to her afterwards. I found out what waacking is and I was very interested and intrigued. Before that, I had no idea about the existence of waacking.
Mekhola, why is waacking not so well known yet?
Mekhola Bose: Beats me! It is very popular in my world. But it hasn’t had that kind of exposure, the right kind of exposure, in the 10-15 years that it has existed in India. I think through these mediums, especially Waack Girls, audiences will get educated about street dance forms.
Sooni, what was the experience of shooting in Calcutta like?
Sooni: It was brilliant! We had such a good time on and off set; we found some wonderful locations. The main location is Mekhola’s character, Ishani’s, house. It is this old Rajbari in Belgachhia. What excited me about it was it's a very Satyajit Ray kind of setting and then putting these modern ‘waack girls’ in that setting. Shailaja (Sharma, production designer) spent a small fortune ageing the walls. We also shot at the flower market, which was a beautiful location. Rytasha (Rathore), who plays the character of Lopa, lives with her family in this beautiful bungalow on the banks of the river where you can hear peacocks singing.
As a visual person, I just adore Calcutta. We also had some challenges like shooting the race course scene. We shot on race day and we only had that afternoon to finish everything. That was the biggest challenge for me and for the crew but everyone came through magnificently. It was really planned to the T and, most importantly, we did not startle the horses (smiles).
Mekhola, how similar is Ishani to you? And Rytasha, what was the biggest takeaway from playing Lopa?
Mekhola: Ishani is definitely a part of me. I can relate to her as a younger version of myself, in a sense. But there are many differences too. In the show, we only show one layer of Ishani in the first season.
Rytasha: Lopa and Rytasha share a few similar personality traits. But what is amazing about Lopa, which I lack, is her persistence, perseverance and commitment to going after what she wants. Rytasha is a bit lazy, loves to procrastinate, take it easy... but Lopa is like all guns blazing all the time, the ‘Come on, let’s go’ type. I love that about her.
Has Lopa inspired you to pick up some of her qualities?
Rytasha: Little bit, little bit. In small instalments. I am drinking Lopa’s serum every day! (Laughs)
Do you think that waacking is as much an attitude towards life as it is a dance form?
Rytasha: I would say ‘yes’ and I am not even an expert in the dance form. It makes you anchor yourself in your own truth, which I love.
Sooni: I agree. It is about expressing yourself and being whoever you want to be.
Mekhola: Waacking is about celebrating yourself and your best life. It is an emotional dance. It empowers people to come into their own light and not be afraid to be themselves.
Dance and food are not really mentioned in the same breath, but food and Calcutta definitely are! Sooni and Rytasha, did Mekhola guide you on a gastronomic binge through the city?
Rytasha: We had no rules... anyone could eat as many carbs as they wanted! (Laughs) The crew certainly ate a lot and for very long. I put on weight while shooting in Calcutta for sure... I found my jeans had become tighter when we came back for the Mumbai schedule.
The food was great, we were spoilt by the production team and Calcutta too spoilt us rotten. We were there during Christmas, so that was another experience. Once, I remember I had decided to eat one rosogolla, but I quickly wolfed down four without any guilt! I was standing at the counter and I was like: ‘I’ll take another, I’ll take another!’
Sooni: Our second camera (unit person) was staying very close to Park Street. During Christmas, he went for a haircut and when he came out he couldn’t walk an inch... there were so many people packed into that street! There was not even a centimetre between people. So we have had all kinds of experiences. It has been a lovely shoot.
Sooni, what is it about waacking that made you decide that it needs to be popularised in the mainstream?
Sooni: For me, working on Waack Girls was as intriguing as adapting Abraham Verghese’s book My Own Country, which was his experience as a doctor treating people with HIV in America when it first emerged. There was so much fear, people didn’t know what it was, and so much tragedy. For me, that was very intriguing... its history. I got the same feeling while working on Waack Girls. Also, I love the way the dance form looks. It comes across as very strong. It is so direct and very engaging to watch.
Mekhola and Rytasha, what were the biggest learnings of being on a Sooni Taraporevala set?
Mekhola: Everything. We keep telling each other that we want to grow up and be Sooni! I have never seen someone so calm, so sure and so honest. Someone who follows her heart through and through and has so much clarity about her vision. That was really inspiring, as was the fact that she treats the cast and crew with so much love and respect.
Rytasha: Plus one to everything Mekhola said. Sooni puts a lot of love and trust into the people she works with and truly believes in collaboration. The main thing I want to take away from her is this collaborative energy and just trusting the people you are with to give their best.
Besides the entertainment aspect of it, what would you want the viewer to take back from Waack Girls?
Mekhola: If I have to sum it up, I think the message here is if there is a will, there is a way.
Sooni: I just want people to have a great ride. I want them to race through all nine episodes and not know that nine episodes have passed and then process the show afterwards.
Rytasha: The message is to be fearless.