Bharti Singh cried in pain during one practice session of JDJ, 5.
She was nursing a neck spasm, had a stiff back and was unable to move. But her choreographer, Savio had very little choice. Bharti’s performances were getting the TRPs and her mere presence was drawing the audience towards her. So, Bharti was called to the studio to exercise and practice for a split! “When Savio told me about a full body split, I thought he was joking. Was it even possible for someone who weighed over 90 kg to attempt a splitIJ,” she says. But owing to the pressure of performance, Bharti agreed to do it. “Air cycling 200 times daily to loosen up the thigh muscles. It was hurting but I knew I had to push myself. After the air cycling came ball rolling at the back. Then Savio made me do 50-60 continuous step ups. It took us three weeks to get that one step right. Imagine what I must have gone through to do an entire performanceIJ,” she says.
For 43-year-old, Jayati Bhatia, contestant of JDJ,6, the suffering began the very first day she returned home from the studio. “I had just attempted a floor contemporary to a very romantic number, yet the body ached. To get the leg stretch and upright back posture was killing me from the inside. I thought I had a slip disc. But my partner assured me that with practice, my body would get used to the routine. That the stiffness would disappear. Three weeks down the line, I was still struggling to keep my hands and toes tight. It was painful to just go through the exercise. Then there was an acting schedule to catch up to. It was energy sapping,” the veteran TV actress says. She tells you that contestants with formal training in one or any dance form had an added advantage. For a non-dancer it was nothing short of a nightmare. “I have learnt my lesson — it is not easy to dance on a reality show. Even the latkas and jhatkas can be painful if not done the right way,” she says.