I don't like the word 'difficult' being associated with dance : Urmila Matondkar

She may proclaim herself to be ‘the Mallika Sherawat’ but allegedly her tantrums got out of control and so the channel had to hurriedly look for a replacement. So in walked Rangeeli Urmila Matondkar as she takes over judging Chak Dhoom Dhoom on this Friday as she judges the show along with Javed Jaffrey and Terence Lewis. Interestingly, last year Bigg Boss winner Vindoo was also replaced by choreographer Pony Verma in the same show. Though at that time, it was stated that Vindoo was a misfit amongst the other judges. Despite the official version (that the split was amicable), there is no reason to feel it is so! TellyChakkar spoke to Urmila whose earlier TV outings include hosting Waar Parivar and judging Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa. What was your first reaction when you got this offer? Did it catch you unawares? Not really. I have seen in my career that work becomes repetitive and boring often and we crave for some change. So when the makers of Chak Dhoom Dhoom came to me, I thought it was different. This is the first time someone was coming up with a group dance format which is quite interesting and challenging for the contestants. For me, dance is everything. I am very passionate about it. To judge them is going to be very tough. When you are judging one person's performance, you know what to look for, but judging a group is going to be tough. There will be two more judges with you. How will you work as a team? What will be your criteria for judging? I guess we will all have similar criteria. When we are sitting on a judge’s chair, we have certain responsibilities. You have to shoulder them with knowledge and a connection with the participants. You need to observe every movement of theirs. We three will judge them, teach them and also praise them whenever they perform well. For me, the facial expression and body language will be very important. The oomph and aura created by the participants will also be of great significance. You have also been a judge on Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa where you had to judge celebrities. You needed to be diplomatic there. Here is it a different ball game? I agree. With celebrities, you have to choose your words because they are popular in their spheres. It is tough, no doubt. How is your equation with fellow judges Javed and Terence? I know Javed; he is a fabulous dancer and very witty. With Terence, I have done a few shows and he always tries to push you further and further to get the best out of you. I remember once he had choreographed one of my acts for an international award function and had incorporated everything -- salsa to jazz to Bollywood to western style. And he really worked hard to make sure I got my movements right. Terence is also known for his special form of choreography so I am eagerly looking forward to work with the duo. From Rangeela to Chamma Chamma to Kambaqht Ishq you have been doing all kind of dancing styles. Any particular style you still want to learn? There are so many! There can be never an end to learning any form of dance. Once I start with this show, I will try to get into the details of the various dancing forms that I am not aware of. I hope to learn new things. In your career, have you faced difficulties while performing any song in your films? I don't like the word 'difficult' associated with dance. I remember once I was doing this song 'Mehbooba mehbooba' from Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag. I had to perform in water, move my toes, sway my legs and my hips in a particular fashion. My whole body was moving from one direction to other and it was very challenging. It took me a couple of days to learn the steps and get them perfect but I did it. At the end of it, I was satisfied. In a reality show participants hardly get time to rehearse for their acts. But in a film song, actors get a lot of time to rehearse. What to do you feel about this? If you ask me, I have never rehearsed for any of my songs. Let me share an incident with you. When I was doing Chamma chamma , I was doing double shifts between Filmalaya and Mehboob studios. And this song was picturised in Juhu. So I went to see the rehearsals and you won't believe I almost got a cardiac attack! (Smiles) I thought this is so difficult, how will I do this? And I had to shoot for the number the next day. I was wearing heavy jewellery in the song. It was so difficult for me to perform. So it is not that different from what happens in a reality show. I think you should just take it as a challenge. You can't complain. But at the same time, I must say that when you are performing as a group, it is a much bigger challenge. Is there anyone in the industry whom you will be nervous performing with? Without thinking, I can say Prabhu Deva. I have danced to his choreography with Kamal Hasan in Hindustaan. It was such a nice piece of choreography. He just takes you to a different level. In recent times, Prabhu Deva has made Salman (Khan) dance and I was impressed that he could make Salman dance like that! According to Urmila who is the ultimate dance master of the industry? I am not being diplomatic but I have worked with mostly all of them. Saroj Khan has choreographed some of my best songs, Ganesh Hegde has done Kambaqt Ishq with me which is my favourite. I also love Ganesh Acharya who choreographed Chamma Chamma. And honestly speaking, I really think this song is totally path breaking in the history of choreography where there was only dance, no gimmicks. Is it challenging to be on television? Yes, certainly. It's about yourself and your image! I always believed that if you are cool about your image, if you are a confident person, then you connect with the audience. I have also noticed that whenever I am on television my fans and audience always appreciate me. I have always got instant reactions. People have loved me as a judge too and nothing ever went unnoticed. Who is putting together your wardrobe for the show? Manish Malhotra. He has also a designed a special look for the show. It's a very glamorous show with both my co-judges being very glamorous and fashionable. So I will have to double ensure I look glamorous in front of camera as well! For some special episodes I will wear saris but it will be westerns that I will wear. We heard you are performing in your first episode… Yes. I will be performing in my first episode of Chak Dhoom Dhoom. People have always seen me in my popular songs from my films, so I have selected some other songs which I wanted to perform in. So there will be a mixture of both – my songs and other songs. It will be a medley. I hope the audience likes it. When are we seeing you back on the big screen? Actually in the past, I have done many films and done almost every genre. So if I do something now it has to be very special and different from the rest. If you ask me whether I want to do a comedy or a dance oriented film, my response will be that I will take a call after going through the script. What do you watch on television? I love to travel so I mostly watch all the travel-based shows on television. I love to watch Discovery Channel also because I am an avid reader and traveller. I am not into saas-bahu drama!