Jun 05, 2026 2:55pm IST
Vijay Ganguly on ‘Love & War,’ ‘Alpha’ and Ahaan Panday’s Next (EXCLUSIVE)
As Bollywood gears up for a crowded slate of big-budget films, franchise entries and star launches, choreographer Vijay Ganguly has quietly become one of the creative forces working across some of the industry's biggest upcoming releases. In recent months alone, Ganguly has choreographed material for Sanjay Leela Bhansali's "Love & War," Yash Raj Films' spy-universe film "Alpha," and Ali Abbas Zafar's upcoming Yash Raj Films action-romance starring Ahaan Panday and Sharvari.
Speaking to Variety India, the choreographer discusses collaborating with some of Hindi cinema's most influential filmmakers, offers a rare update on a sequence featuring Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt and explains why he believes choreography has become unfairly reduced to a few seconds of social-media-friendly movement.
Beyond the Hook Step
"What happened is that if the hook becomes popular, people may want the song to become popular. That is a myth, I feel. But again, that's how the times are and that's what the youth want. They want to make reels and they want to recreate steps. But the term choreography has become about hook-steps now. Which actually is about the entire song."
The comment is telling, coming from a choreographer whose recent work has consistently found its way into social media culture. Ganguly believes choreography has increasingly been reduced to a few seconds of movement, while the larger craft often goes unnoticed.
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"I've seen people have to understand more that choreography is not just about hook steps. It's about choreographing the entire camera, the person, the actor, the crowd, the world, all of that."
It's a philosophy that appears to have shaped his work across a slate that includes some of Bollywood's most closely guarded productions.
Inside Sanjay Leela Bhansali's ‘Love & War’
Among them is "Love & War," Bhansali's ambitious period romance starring Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal. While details about the film remain tightly under wraps, Ganguly offered a rare glimpse into the creative process behind one of the industry's most anticipated releases.
For the choreographer, the experience of working with Bhansali has been unlike anything else. "He's someone who will give you everything that you need. If I need five days, he will let me take six. So it's like you get everything with him. And creatively, he is involved in every small little process. So it's just a dream to work with someone like that."
A Rare Glimpse at Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt's Collaboration
More significantly, Ganguly revealed that he recently completed a major sequence featuring Kapoor and Bhatt. "We did a piece with Ranbir and Alia. It's not a song, but it's a piece. What we did was magical because what he (Sanjay Leela Bhansali) came up with as an idea, what we did, what Ranbir added to it in the process. I mean, when you see it, you will know."
For a film that has generated enormous curiosity since its announcement, the comments represent one of the first meaningful creative updates from someone directly involved in the production.
Building the Next Phase of Yash Raj Films
If "Love & War" represents the industry's established star system at its grandest, Ganguly's current work with Yash Raj Films points firmly toward its future. The choreographer confirmed that he is presently collaborating with filmmaker Ali Abbas Zafar on Yash Raj Films' upcoming action-romance starring Ahaan Panday and Sharvari. The project arrives at a crucial juncture for Panday, whose breakout success with "Saiyaara" transformed him from a debutant into one of Bollywood's most closely watched young actors.
For Yash Raj Films, the Ali Abbas Zafar film starring Ahaan Panday is widely seen as a significant next step in shaping Panday's trajectory as a mainstream leading man. For Ganguly, it marks another major collaboration within the studio system that has increasingly become a creative home. "I'm working with Ali Abbas Zafar right now. And I've worked with Shiv Rawail recently and with Vijay Krishna Acharya earlier."
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On ‘Alpha’ and the Aditya Chopra Touch
That relationship extends to "Alpha," the first female-led installment in the YRF Spy Universe starring Alia Bhatt and Sharvari. While Ganguly remained careful not to divulge details about the film, he spoke enthusiastically about the experience of working within the Yash Raj Films ecosystem.
"I did a film called 'Alpha' recently with Alia and Sharvari. Working with Yash Raj Films is, I mean, just fabulous." His praise was particularly reserved for Aditya Chopra, whom he credits as one of the key creative forces behind the studio's consistency.
"Aditya Chopra is involved in every film, including Ahaan's upcoming project. He's someone I always turn to and ask, 'Aditya sir, watch what we've done and tell us what you feel.' What he brings is incredible clarity. He'll point out something very specific, sometimes even a single word or movement and suggest a completely different way of approaching it. Those insights often elevate the work and help make it stronger."
For Ganguly, the value of that involvement lies not in oversight but in refinement; an additional creative layer that helps elevate the final product.
Choreography as Storytelling
As Bollywood increasingly attempts to engineer viral moments, Ganguly remains focused on something more fundamental: storytelling. "I read the entire script and I want to be a part of a film entirely."
Ganguly's upcoming work spans a broad range of projects, from Bhansali's "Love & War" and Yash Raj Films' "Alpha" to the studio's upcoming Ahaan Panday-Sharvari film and the "Cocktail" sequel. Across those productions, he says his focus remains on serving the larger narrative rather than creating standalone dance moments.
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