Vaibhavi Merchant On Winning National Award After 26 Years: ‘It Feels Unreal'
Vaibhavi Merchant, renowned Choreographer, is currently on cloud nine as she has received her second National Film Award for the song Dhindora Baje Re from the film Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani. Now, during an interview, she expressed her happiness over winning the prestigious title once again after 26 years.
Not just this, Viabhavi also felt grateful to share the National Award win moment with her best friend Rani Mukerji, who won the title for the film Mrs Chatterjee Vs. Norway.
Vaibhavi Merchant On Winning National Film Award
Speaking to Hindustan Times, the choreographer said, 'I received my first national award when I was 21, and now I'm 49 years old and receiving it. I was too young to understand the magnitude of the honour the first time I got it. I was working nonstop, and eventually, I started to miss it. Then I was hoping that I was accomplishing something significant enough to merit that prize again."
She added, 'I would always wish to earn an honour that is well-deserved and not manufactured. For me, this National Award is extremely important. I'm still in surprise that I've won this after all these years, and I'm only glad for the emotions I'm having right now."
Vaibhavi Merchant On Sharing Winning Moment With Rani Mukerji
The choreographer is also thrilled that she won in the same year that her best friend Rani Mukerji won her first National Film Award for Best Actress for Mrs Chatterjee Vs. Norway. 'I'm now away from my best friend Rani, who also won it this year. But it gives me so much happiness to know that she won her first and I won my second, and I'm simply overjoyed. We've known about each other's work for all the years we've been together, and this is just too sweet. I cannot express it in words," she says.
Vaibhavi Merchant Feels Happy About Song's Creativity Getting Praised
She further added, 'I'm not sure if I'd be as happy to get it on an item song, which is the norm. It is a highly populist mindset to give the award to a popular item song rather than the choreography. So, this time, I'm pleased that the song's creativity was recognised rather than its popularity."
Vaibhavi Merchant On Her Love For Classical Art Form
'I've been doing Bharatnatyam for ten years and am still a student of the classical art form. You must understand the purity and seriousness of those creative forms, as well as what we value–our heritage and culture. There's so much we can do with what we have, and when that recognition comes from a Karan Johar platform where so many people come in to watch it in the cinema hall and you get to showcase that art form, it's incredible," said the choreographer.
Helmed by Karan Johar, the film features Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Shabana Azmi, Dharmendra and Jaya Bachchan in the lead roles.
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