Dance plays a key role in our lives, even though some of us don't actively participate in it. It is evident in the way that we get engrossed whenever we see a dancer put on his moves. That feeling of awe strikes an inspiration not only to the budding dancers but also to those that have never moved their hips. The feeling of accomplishment is what prevails.

“Dance is the hidden language of the soul.”- Martha Graham

Now, a prominent personality in the showbiz business, Remo D’Souza, knows the hardships that come before tasting even a little bit of success. His chain of dance academy helps the young dancers perfect their moves. In 2017, he released a mobile app – RD’s World all to help those young, novice dancers.

Born With Dreams

Remo as we know him today, actually named as Ramesh Gopi and was born to K. Gopi and Madhvi Laxmi in Kerala on 2nd April 1974. His father served as a chef in the Air Force of India and he was educated in the Air Force school of Jamnagar in Gujarat. The HSC board exams seem to be a pivotal point in his life and It was during these examinations that Ramesh realized that he had absolutely no interest in studies. 

In fact, he wanted to become a dancer, but, as fate would have it, his father had other aspirations for him and wanted him to join the AirForce. His stubbornness and his mother's support gave him the courage to pursue his dreams in Mumbai. This was his first big step in becoming the renowned dancer, choreographer, and director today we know him to be.  

Fight with Struggles

The struggle has always been a part of Ramesh’s journey. Despite not receiving any formal training on the art of dance, he has successfully established himself as a dancer. Sometimes, dance is just ingrained in your DNA, and this is what proved to be true for this supremely talented dancer. He made himself learn the dance moves from music videos and movies and it's his creativity and willingness to learn and adapt that paved his way for success. But, all this was not possible without multiple rejection and this soon made him fall into depression at a very tender and young age. 

The rebel inside him and his sheer adamance in making a name for himself gave Ramesh the will to continue his efforts in Mumbai. Perhaps, the opening of his initial dance academy – Super Brats was the first step towards his unflinching success. With the support of his three friends, he was able to establish more such batches. Can anyone ever imagine that the Remo D’souza slept night after night without food and strived for work and money. No one, right! This fight against time and fate, instilled in him a different kind of fire, that still to this day, burns brightly.  

“Success depends in a very large measure upon individual initiative and exertion and cannot be achieved except by dint of hard work.” – Anna Pavlova

Exploring the Dance World

Despite having skills, Remo D’Souza was rejected due to his dark complexion and looks, but his first break came when he attained the opportunity to be featured as a background dancer in the film Rangeela in 1995. His audition for the dance group of Ahmed Khan came through after he pleadingly requested the renowned choreographer’s sister, Sunita, to give him a chance. He later went on to become the assistant of Ahmed Khan.

When Remo decided to part ways with Ahmed Khan and move onto choreographing music videos, Anubhav Sinha proved to be somewhat of a lucky charm for him. Choreographing Sonu Nigam’s Deewana in 1999 proved to be a milestone for the dancer. 

Later, he wished to change paths and foray into the world of film choreography. Here, too Anubhav Sinha came to his rescue and offered him Tum Bin, which was an absolute hit. He now has more than a hundred films under his belt that he has choreographed in his whole career. 

A versatile personality as we can see, Remo has not only strived successfully as a Choreographer in Bollywood movies but also has earned fame as a Judge of Dance reality shows. His transition into a judge for shows like Jhalak Dikhla Jaa, Dance India Dance, Dance plus, etc. gave him the recognition he rightly deserved. It made him a household name. This also gave him the platform to help the sincerely talented but underrated dancers that came onto the show. He gave them multiple opportunities and the support that he never quite received.

“We have a lot of raw talent hidden in this country capable of taking on the world dance stage by storm.” - Remo D’Souza

Director's Take To Talent

His love for dance made him step into the world of direction. His directorial debut was a Bengali film called Lal Pahare’r Katha in 2007. The film starred Mithun Chakraborty and had gained recognition and awards but, sadly, it did not have a national effect. In the year 2011, an opportunity came once again, now in the form of Jacky Bhagnani. Despite the advice and wishes of the people around him, Remo, accepted F.A.L.T.U which turned out to be yet another cornerstone for the man. 

He brought the genre of dance films to the limelight and his fresh idea and the support of Siddharth Roy Kapoor and Ronnie Screwvala helped his dream to become a reality in the form of “ABCD” which was released in 2013 and inspired thousands to achieve their dreams. This is the time when he got a chance to repay to the industry as well as his real life gurus, Saroj Khan and Prabhu Deva. Then came “ABCD 2” in 2015 and in 2020 his third movie as director caught everyone’s eye, the “Street Dancer 3D”. 

Conclusion

“Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance. Great dancers are great because of their passion.”- Martha Graham

He easily relates to the kind of struggle that he had to endure due to the lack of platform or connection and this makes him empathize with other striving dancers. He aims to provide as many opportunities that he can for these upcoming dancers and choreographers and they have already become an extended family for him. His dance academies help the interested in honing their skills in a professional setting, grooming them for their bright future. 

The spectacular tale of the transformation of an eager Ramesh Gopi to the never-stop-trying dancer Remo D’Souza is nothing short of inspiring. His struggle and thereafter, success no doubt speaks to the thousands of citizens that sometimes lose all hope and accept defeat. This gives us hope, motivation, and the need to rekindle the fire that can lead us to new heights of accomplishments and satisfaction.