Jaaved Jaaferi says even ‘conservative people’ didn’t object to women participating in Boogie Woogie as it wasn’t vulgar

Jaaved Jaaferi, who was a judge on the 90s dance reality show Boogie Woogie, has said that the show deserves credit for influencing how dancing was perceived in Indian society. Boogie Woogie aired on Sony TV for seven seasons and had Jaaved, Naved Jaaferi, and Ravi Behl as the judges. It was the first dance reality show on Indian television and was among the first ones to start special championships that catered to different age groups. Also Read| Jaaved Jaaferi says he would love to be a part of Takeshi’s Castle reboot, but hasn’t been approached yet

Jaaved recalled that they did not even have a reference point when they started the dance show. He also noted that the show was very real and had earned  reputation for its respectable, due to which conservative families felt more comfortable.

He recently told Mashable India that he believes the show worked for them because they understood the roots of India. He explained, “Boogie Woogie was a very honest and respectful show. People are conservative in India, especially in small towns– they won’t ask their wives to go on a public platform and dance. Kahenge ki ‘nachegi kya hamari bahu’ (they will exclaim how can women in our house dance). But they would allow it (on Boogie Woogie).”

Jaaved added, “Several people told me that the values and the respect that you have in this show, wo bilkul chhichhora nahi lagta hai (it doesn’t seem vulgar). That’s why we let our wives and daughters go to this show. This was a matter of pride for us.”

Jaaved had previously said that there are a lot of sob stories in the reality shows these days that appear contrived and fake, contrary to Boogie Woogie which was ‘organic real, from the heart and not scripted. He had told Indian Express, “Whenever someone would narrate a story, our reactions would come naturally. We paid attention to it but knew that it was a show, a platform to showcase talent.”

Jaaved’s latest release is Escaype Live, a science fiction thriller web series that started streaming on Disney+ Hotstar on May 20. The show, which tackles a unique concept–how far will one go on social media to achieve their dreams and get rich, also stars Siddharth, Shweta Tripathi Sharma, and Swastika Mukherjee, among others.