Choreographer Vijay Ganguly says tonight’s National Awards is a family milestone
Vijay Ganguly has won the National Award for Best Choreography for Tonight from Stree 2. He said this honor is special as it brings the third National Award in his family.
Choreographer Vijay Ganguly is still in the process of winning his National Award for Best Choreography Tonight From woman 2. had an exclusive conversation with India Today, Ganguly recalled the moment he learned about the honour, credited the team behind the hit song and talked about carrying forward his family’s National Award legacy.
Ganguly said, “I am still processing it. I have just spoken to my mother, my sister Rupali and my partner Nandini. I am just trying to process the fact that another National Award is coming to our house. It is an amazing feeling.”
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The choreographer admitted the honor came as a complete surprise, especially after missing out on Tonight’s major awards last year.
“Actually, not at all. Last year when Tonight Coming out I felt we did a good job. We all liked the song. But it did not win any awards that year. I was a little disappointed, but I told myself it was okay. It is an integral part of this profession. We will work harder and create more work. Then Dhurandar Came, prank It happened, and life went on,” he recalled.
Recalling how he learned about the win, Ganguly said he was initially surprised by the flood of congratulatory messages.
“I was out of network coverage. As soon as I came back into range, my phone was filled with congratulatory messages. Someone congratulated me for Tonight, And I thought it was an old message. I was wondering why people were suddenly congratulating me for that song. Then my sister called and sent me the video of the announcement. I was stunned for five minutes,” he said.
Soon after, Ganguly spoke to filmmaker Amar Kaushik and producer Dinesh Vijan to celebrate the achievement.
“I first spoke to Amar Kaushik. He was watching a film, so he came out and called me back. We are all very excited. I also spoke to Dinesh Vijan sir. It’s a win for Maddock Films too. I messaged Tamanna and she was also very happy,” said the choreographer.
Ganguly immediately credited Tamannaah Bhatia and the entire team for the success of the song.
He said, “Credit also goes to Tamannaah. If she had not given such a brilliant performance, if she had not done what she did on screen, the choreography would not have looked the way it did. The choreography is as good as the artiste. She did a fantastic job. Everything fell into place. The boys dancing in the background worked very hard even in five degree temperatures without T-shirts. Everyone contributed; the DOP, everyone contributed to make this happen. It was really a team effort.” Added.
The award holds additional significance for Ganguly as it continues the family legacy.
“First of all, I just want to process it. Once that’s done, we will organize a big family function to celebrate. This is the third National Award to come to our house. My father had won two National Awards in 1974 and 1975 blank paper And penance. It’s the third, so the whole family will celebrate together,” he said.
Asked if the honor brings additional pressure, Ganguly said he sees it as a motivation to push himself further.
He said, “There are two ways of looking at it. There will always be pressure. It depends on how much pressure you want to take. For me, this award will motivate me even more. It will motivate me to do better work, create better pieces and achieve more than what I am doing right now. It is a big motivation.”
Tonight, Starring Tamanna Bhatia and Rajkummar Rao, was one of the biggest chartbusters woman 2. The song dominated music charts and social media, with its hook step and choreography becoming widely popular.