‘RRR’ to ‘Beast’: Why filmmakers are creating a hook step

Audiences no longer want to just watch in awe as a star dances. Now, they want to do it too.

“Hop a little, jump a little,” goes the nursery rhyme. Now, Vijay, considered one of the best dancers in the industry, is doing just that — dance steps that are literally child’s play.

In the recent Tamil track 'Jolly O Gymkhana' from Beast, composed by Anirudh, the actor hops and jumps, keeping steps simple and easy to imitate. The result? 40 million-plus views on YouTube, partly powered by hundreds of Instagram Reels' users trying out the steps.

A few months ago, everyone was imitating the actors of 'Naatu Naatu' ( RRR). And before that, it was 'Vaathi Coming', 'Butta Bomma', 'Tum Tum' and 'Rowdy Baby'. All these superhit songs have one thing in common: the hook step.

Choreographers and directors are increasingly looking out for simple, easy-to-do dance moves, like tapping your thigh or rotating your shoulder, which audiences can recreate in the comfort of their homes. Audiences no longer want to just watch in awe as a star dances, now they want to do it too.

Nelson, the director of Beast, says that a hook step has become an integral part of today’s cinema. For instance, in ‘Arabic Kuthu’, which has Vijay and Pooja Hegde grooving to catchy music, the moves were meticulously planned. “The reason we wanted a song like that in the first place was to ensure that everybody dances to it,” says Nelson. These steps, choreographed by Jani Master, have inspired audiences, from film stars like Varun Dhawan and Rashmika Mandanna, to cricketer Venkatesh Iyer.

Director Lingusamy is currently trying to crack that formula for his upcoming Tamil-Telugu bilingual The Warriorr, with the help of dance choreographers Sekar Master and Jani Master. "Kamal Haasan once told me about how popular producer Thevar (of Thevar films) selected his songs: he would listen to a track, and gauge whether his body moved to it. He used to give a go ahead only to songs that he himself moved to," says Lingusamy, "Similarly, today, the fate of a song depends on its popularity on social media; so, we work on steps that are easy and simple."

In sync with each other