Ganesh Acharya is a noted choreographer of Indian film industry, primarily working for Bollywood. He also appears occasionally on the silver screens as an actor. His prominent works in Hindi cinema which earned him recognition include Singham, Bodyguard and others. He has also been seen in a number of music videos created for movies. He has also directed a few movies.
Early Life of Ganesh Acharya
Ganesh Acharya was born in Tamil Nadu by the name Sivaji Ganesan. His father, Mr. Gopi, was a dancer and also a choreographer. Ganesh Acharya lost his father at the tender age of 10, which enclosed his family in severe financial crisis and he was forced to quit his studies. Afterwards, he moved to Cuttack, Odisha where he began to learn the art of dancing from his sister. Later he started assisting the well known choreographer Kamalji till his demise. At the age of 12, he launched his own dance group.
Career of Ganesh Acharya
Ganesh Acharya became a choreographer at the age of 19. He bagged his first Bollywood flick Anaam in the year 1992 when he was just 21 years of age. This was followed by a number of movies in which he choreographed dance sequences and established himself as a noted choreographer.
Some of his prominent films include Saajan Chale Sasural, Soldier, Haseena Maan Jaayegi, Thakshak, Joru Ka Ghulam, Bas Itna Sa Khwaab Hai, Deewaanapan, Kucch To Hai, Munna Bhai M.B.B.S, 36 China Town, Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani, Ram Leela and many more. He gained nominations in Screen Weekly Awards for best choreography in 2002 for the song `Badi Mushkil` from Lajja (2001). In the year 2005 he once again got the nominations for the song `Aisa Jadoo Dala Re` from Khakhee (2004) in Zee Cine Awards as the best choreographer. In 2007 he finally won Filmfare Awards as best choreographer for the song `Beedi` from the movie Omkara (2006). In fact the year 2006 proved to be great for his career as he worked with five big films namely Lage Raho Munnabhai, Omkara, Golmaal, Phir Hera Pheri and Rang De Basanti. Ganesh Acharya has also choreographed item songs such as `Chikni Chameli` featuring Katrina Kaif from 2012 film Agneepath. He has choreographed the famous actor Govinda in a number of films.
Following his success as a choreographer, Ganesh Acharya decided to venture in the field of film direction. In 2007, he made his directional debut with the movie Swami starring Juhi Chawla and Manoj Bajpai. The film was also written and produced by Ganesh Acharya. Devoid of any song and dance, the movie depicted the journey of a man named Swami, portrayed by Manoj Bajpai, and his wife Radha, played by Juhi Chawla. He also made a comedy flick Money Hai To Honey Hai in 2008. He marked his acting debut in the year 2011 with the Tamil film Rowthiram. He has also acted in films like Company, Ghatak, ABCD - Any Body Can Dance and Road.
Ganesh Acharya Dance Academy
Ganesh Acharya has launched Ganesh Acharya Dance Academy in collaboration with Deepak Bhattacharya who is MD of Magna events WB Pvt. Ltd, Kolkata. The institute has provided training to a number of students including teenagers, kids and adults, among which many have already started to work in Bollywood. Several actors and performers of national and Bengali television industry were the members of this institute.