Today is Michael Jackson's 54th birth anniversary. He was not only famous for his 'bad' moves and 'thriller' songs, but was also inspiration to thousands of singers, actors, dancers and composers, in India and worldwide. Here's a review of some of the King of Pop's work that danced its way into Indian entertainment. We've rated them as Invincible for work that's outstanding, Thriller for the good stuff and Off The Wall for tributes that were plain awful!
Prabhu Deva: Also known as the MJ of south Indian cinema, Prabhu Devi has been one of Jackson's biggest fans. He is one of the few dancers who can perfectly execute the 'moonwalk' made famous by MJ. One of his all-time hits, "Chiku-puku Railey" from the Tamil movie 'Gentleman' shows Prabhu Deva doing a pelvic thrust that Jackson would be proud of. He also brought some Jackson flavour to the Hrithik Roshan number 'Main aisa kyun hoon' from 'Lakshya'. Our take? Thriller!
Farah Khan: The director declared her love for the pop icon on the dance reality show, 'Just Dance' and added that her inspiration to become a choreographer, came from MJ and MJ alone. The proof is in the pudding, as Khan has been one of the most successful dance instructors in Bollywood. Our take? Invincible!
Chiranjeevi: The demi-god of the Telugu industry tried recreate the magic of Jackson's iconic video 'Thriller' in the song 'Golimar' in his movie 'Donga'. Unfortunately the rip-off doesn't come even close to being as classy or thrilling as the original. Chiranjeevi's green eyes and toothpick-like fangs make him look stupid, and here's an example of an opportunity wasted to make a perfect tribute. Our take? Off The Wall!
Sridevi: The siren who is all set to make a comeback bravely put her dance skills to the test by attempting a 'Billie Jean' in the movie 'Guru'. The song, 'I am a bad girl' starts off with the same beats as Jackson's famous number and goes on to sound similar in several other parts. Unfortunately, the song fails (miserably, we add) to be a clone of the massive hit. Our take? Off The Wall!
Rajesh Roshan: Hrithik Roshan's uncle tried to pull off an 'inspired' version of MJ's 'They Don't Care About Us' and comes out on top! His Hindi version, 'Ghungte mein chanda hai' from the movie 'Koyla' is a great number and many even prefer it to the original. Our take? Invincible!
Shahid Kapoor: The nimble-footed Kapur pays tribute to his dance hero in 'Chance Pe Dance' and grooves like Jackson to win a competition in the climax of the film. He also performed to Jackson's numbers at an awards show, and might we say that this fanboy can sure shake a leg ala MJ! Our take? Thriller!
Javed Jaffery: Another graduate from the 'Flexibility-meets-Grace' school of dance, Javed Jaffrey in a nod to the King of Pop, danced like a dream in 'Bol Baby Bol' from 'Meri Jung'. He also declares his love for Jackson often on his dance show 'Boogie-Woogie'. Our take? Thriller!
Shah Rukh Khan: From one king to another, it's not surprising that Bollywood's baadshah was also in awe of Jackson. He tried his hand at the legendary 'moonwalk' in the movie 'One Two Ka Four' and even though he's not much of a dancer, he definitely manged to moonwalk his way into our hearts. Our take? Thriller!
