Arindam Ganguly, OP
Bhubaneswar: In recent times youngsters from smaller towns of Odisha have made their indelible mark in dance and film industry. Dancers such as Mandakini Jena, Harihar Dash, Nainika Anasuru, Maraju Sumanth, Prince Dance Group and others have impressed the industry through hard work and dedication to the art.
Sunit Kumar Das is a name to reckon with from Berhampur. Sunit had worked in soon to-be released film Race-3, starring Salman Khan and Jacqueline Fernandez, in which he had worked as an assistant to choreographer and director Remo D’Souza. Sunit came to limelight in 2009 after his Prince Dance Group emerged winner of India Got Talent.
Sunit told Orissa POST that he was fond of dance from his childhood and used to watch dance videos of Prabhudeva and Michael Jackson. “My father Jagabandhu Dash has a garment shop at Berhampur. He wanted me to pursue education to get a decent job and did not encourage my dancing.”
After completing hotel management course Sunit gets a job in Mumbai. But his passion for dance forced him to quit his job. He believed that winning and losing depends on the risks a persons takes in life. “If you win you, can lead and if you lose you can guide,” he avers.
Sunit took the risk to quit his job for dance and devoted his time dancing. He appeared for numerous studio auditions and got rejected every time. Then he started teaching dance and trained youngsters at a fitness centre. After initial struggle, he finally got a call from Bosco Caesar Dance Academy, Mumbai. Sunit attended the audition. Choreographer Bosco-Caesar was quite impressed by his moves and invited him to his studio. After that, he never looked back.
Sunit has worked with choreographers Bosco-Caesar, Remo D’Souza Ahmed Khan and others in movies such as Tamil movie VIP 2, which is his first film as a dance artiste, Fukrey Returns, Baagi 2, Jagga Jasoos and Race 3.
Sunit said as assistant choreographer his duty is to ensure that actors practise dance steps according to shooting needs. He had worked with stars Shah Rukh Khan, Govinda, Tiger Shroff, Diljit Dosanjh, Mika Singh and many more. He had also worked as a choreographer in TV serial named Jeth Ji.
Sunit’s ultimate dream is to work with his dance idol Hrithik Roshan. He was impressed by Tiger Shroff’s commitment towards dancing while working with him. He gives 200 per cent effort for dancing, he adds.
Sunit hopes to carve out a niche for himself as a leading choreographer in the industry. He has several movies in kitty such as Yamla Pagla Deewana 3, Thugs of Hindustan and Genius.
“I want to be a top class choreographer and create a name for Odisha in the industry so that more artistes from the state will get a chance to prove their mettle in the showbiz industry,” asserts Sunit.