Not just one but the list of the 15 best all-time dancers of Bollywood
The art of dancing has been practiced since time immemorial, it is a great way of self-expression for the performer and entertainment for the audience at the same time. Dancing is an integral part of our culture, no celebration is complete without dancing with your friends and family.
Bollywood is known worldwide for the songs and dances in its movies, we are so habituated to watching our favorite actors groove on screen that without these dance numbers, movies will be incomplete. Since we have established the importance held by dance and dancers in Hindi Film Industry, let’s look at the top 15 dancers of all time ;
Sridevi
A natural dancer in the truest form of the art, delivering grace, rhythm, and expressions mesmerizingly. When Sridevi is on the stage, you can’t take your eyes off her. Hypnotizing expressions, along with innocence, oomph, and sparkle, is a rare combination that Sridevi was blessed with. ‘Hawa Hawai’, ‘Dance of Range’, ‘Morni Baaga Maa Bole’, ‘Mere Haathon Mein ’, and ‘Navrai Majhi ’ are some of her phenomenal performances.
Madhuri Dixit
Madhuri Dixit is one of the few dancers in Hindi cinema who has performed various dance forms with equal grace, energy, and sensual appeal. She taps into the emotions of the music so beautifully, and her phenomenal expressions are the cherry on top. Her Bollywood dance numbers like, ‘Jungle Mein Sher ’, ‘Mera Piya Ghar Aaya ’, ‘Laila Majnu ’, ‘Ankhiya Milao Ankhiya Churayu ’ are as incredible as her classical performances in ‘Devdas’ , and ‘Sanson ki Mala ’ tandav. Her unmatched versatility as a dancer is proved by her energetic dance numbers like ‘Saari Saari Raat ’, ‘Badi Mushkil Baba Badi Mushkil ’, ‘Chak Dhoom Dhoom ’, her Western dance performances like ‘Are Re Kya Hua ’, Idlee Doo’, and her sensuous dance in ‘Dhak Dhak Karne Laga ’, ‘Payal Meri Jadu Jagati Hai ’, ‘Yeh Khoobsurat Badan’.
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
Ever since Aishwarya debuted in Mani Ratnam’s Tamil film ‘Iruvar’ she has left us mesmerized with her acting and footwork. Former Miss World has done it all by dancing in the rain or performing Tango. Her top performances include, ‘Nimbooda Nimbooda ’, ‘Kahin Aag Lag Jaave ’, ‘Silsila ye Chaahat ka’, ‘Salaam’ , ‘Crazy Kiya Re ’, ‘Dhoom Again ’, and ‘Kajra Re’ among others. Aishwarya is also a trained Bharatanatyam dancer; now we know the reason behind her elegant moves in Umrao Jaan and Devdas.
Hrithik Roshan
With dapper looks, acting chops, and dancing skills, Hrithik Roshal nails this formula for a successful career in Hindi cinema. If there’s a dancer who leaves his audience wanting more while making it look effortless, it’s him. He floored the critics and audience with his dance in, ‘Ek Pal ka Jeena ’ in his debut film, ‘Kaho Na… Pyaar Hai’ and as they say, the rest was history. Hrithik gave back-to-back amazing dance performances, some of them are, ‘Bumro Bumro ’, ‘You are my Soniya ’, ‘It’s Magic ’, ‘Main Aisa Kyun Hoon ’, ‘Dhoom Again ’, ‘Bawre’ , ‘Senorita’ from Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara , ‘Tu Meri ’, and ‘Ghungroo’ .
Katrina Kaif
From ‘Sheila ki Jawani’ to ‘Chikni Chameli’ (from Agneepath ), Katrina has given many sizzling performances in nearly two decades of her career in Bollywood. Kat’s fluidity in even the most complex dance steps is a testament to her hard work and strive for perfection. She has single-handedly delivered some of the best and most memorable dance numbers in the last decade. ‘Kamli’( Dhoom 3 ) , ‘Kala Chashma ’, ‘Swag Se Swagat ’(Tiger Zinda Hai ), ‘Ishq Shava ’(Jab Tak Hai Jaan ), ‘Zara Touch Me ’, and ‘Mashallah’ are some of her breathtaking performances.
Govinda
“Govinda is Bollywood’s best male dancer and definitely the fastest learner. And the reason he stands out from the crowd is that his face expresses exactly what his moves demonstrate”, says Remo D’Souza about Govinda, whom he has choreographed in a song in Shikhari, two songs in Do Not Disturb and G Phaad Ke. With dance numbers like, ‘Ankhiyon Se Goli Maare ’, ‘Kisi Disco Me Jaye ’, ‘Aap Ke Aa Jane Se ’, ‘Husn Hai Suhana ’, ‘Sona Kitna Sona Hai ’, ‘Ek Ladki Chahiye ’, and ‘Soni De Nakhre ’, Govinda rules the 90s.
Shahid Kapoor
During the shoot of ‘Le Gayi’ in Dil To Pagal Hai, Karisma Kapoor was irritated as they had to take 15 retakes because of a background dancer, and she apparently asked, ‘Kaun hai ye?’, that background dancer was none other than Shahid Kapoor. From being a background dancer who required 15 retakes to the best dancer in today’s generation of actors, Shahid has proven hard work and perseverance are all it takes to make it big. ‘Mujhpe Har Haseena Marti Hai Kyu ’, ‘Pump It Up ’, ‘Gustakh Dil Tere Liye ’, ‘Ae Pappi ’, ‘Mauja Mauja ’, ‘Dhating Naach’ , ‘Tu Mere Agal Bagal ’, ‘Bismil’ , ‘Gulaabo’ , and ‘Gandi Baat ’ are some of his memorable performances.
Malaika Arora
The Chaiyya Chaiyya girl is a trained jazz and Bharatanatyam dancer. With her first performance on a moving train with Shah Rukh Khan on Chaiyya Chaiyya, Malaika mesmerized the critics and audience with her moves and grooves.
It didn’t take for the industry to acknowledge her capability as a dancer to not only burn the dance floor but also add the required elegance and sass to every dance number. ‘Maahi Ve’, ‘Hoth Rasiley’, ‘Kaal Dhamaal’, ‘Munni Badnaam Hui’, and ‘Anarkali Disco Chali’ are some of her unforgettable performances.
Tiger Shroff
An actor, action performer, and dancer, Tiger Shroff is an all-in-one entertainer. Undoubtedly being counted among the best dancers in his generation of actors, Tiger mostly does acrobatics and stunts in his dances. He is highly flexible and ensures a smooth flow of moves, even in the most complex dance steps. ‘Ding Dang’, ‘Mundiyan’, ‘Beat Pe Booty’, and ‘Jai Jai Shivshankar’ are some of his astounding performances.
Deepika Padukone
Her enchanting looks, unparalleled acting skills, and amazing dancing skills are some of the reasons that make her the reigning queen of the Hindi film industry. With her thumkas, transfixing expressions, and grace, she surely knows how to make the audience dance to her tunes. ‘Dhoom Taana’, ‘Love Mera Hit Hit ’, ‘Mit Jaaye Gham’ , ‘Nagada Sang Dhol ’ (Ram Leela ), ‘Lovely’, and ‘Ghoomar’ are some of her notable performances. Her latest song, ‘Besharam Rang’ from Pathaan with Shah Rukh Khan was received with mixed reactions from the audience, we just couldn’t take our eyes off the beauty queen and her moves.
Ranbir Kapoor
Ranbir Kapoor is one of those actors who makes it evident in his. dancing style how much he enjoys dancing. His face gives his carefree style of dance away, you can literally see the pleasure of dancing on his face. Over the years he has time and again delivered some incredible dance numbers, some of these are, ‘Balam Pichkari ‘, ‘Dance Ka Bhoot’, ‘The Breakup Song ‘(Ae Dil Hai Mushkil ), ‘Badtameez Dil ‘, ‘Dilli Wali Girlfriend ‘(Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani ), ‘Main Tera Dhadkan Teri’, ‘Galti Se Mistake’, and ‘Tai Tai Phish’.
Ranveer Singh
A tall, dark, and handsome guy who can also dance, is a dream guy for most Indian girls, and Ranveer Singh checks all the above boxes. His electrifying energy not just leaves us drooling but also makes us groove along with him when he hits the dance floor. ‘Ainvayi Ainvayi ‘, ‘Dum Dum ‘, ‘Tattad Tattad ‘, ‘Aadat Se Majboor ‘, ‘Thug Le’, ‘Tune Maari Entriyaan ‘, ‘Malhari’ , ‘Nashe Si Chadh Gayi’, and ‘Khalibali’ (Padmavat) are some of his majestic performances.
Priyanka Chopra
Priyanka Chopra is one of those actors that picked up the skill of dancing only after entering the industry; unbelievable, right? Once a filmmaker told her on the set of her initial films that she can’t dance and being the perfectionist that she is, Priyanka went on to train for western classical and Kathak. She is the same girl who gave us ‘Desi Girl ’, ‘Tune Maari Entriyaan ’, ‘Ram Chahe Leela ’, and ‘Pinga’( Bajirao Mastani ) . Former Miss World has been ruling the hearts of the audience ever since she joined with her acting and dance moves.
Varun Dhawan
Varun’s meticulous yet carefree and energetic street style of dancing reminds us of Govinda. Unlike Hrithik and Tiger, his dance moves are imitable. His performance in ‘Tamma Tamma ’, ‘Badri Ki Dulhaniya ’, ‘Jaanemann Aah ’, ‘Saturday Saturday ’, ‘Palat Tera Hero Idhar Hai’, ‘Manma Emotion Jaage ’(Dilwale ), and ‘Chunar’ is a testament to his amazing skills as a dancer. In an age where the ‘Naach Gaana’ concept is slowly losing its charm and Bollywood is slowly trying to get rid of it, Varun somehow reassures our faith.
Helen Ann Richardson Khan
Helen has entertained the audience with her presence in over 700 films, she is referred to as ‘The Iconic Dancer of Indian Cinema’. Her charisma and facial expressions put meaning to the lyrics of the songs she performed as opposed to mere lip sync. O Haseena Zulfonwale Jane Jahan’, ‘Yeh Mera Dil’, ‘Mera Naam Chin Chin Chu’, ‘Mehnbooba Mehbooba ’, and ‘Aao Na Gale Lagao Na ’.
