Anish Rehman: Dancing into the big screen
Anish Rehman belongs to that elite club members of which could make a name for themselves by winning reality television shows.
Anish Rehman belongs to that elite club members of which could make a name for themselves by winning reality television shows. The humble beginnings from a dance show in Malayalam had pitchforked him to fame, reality shows in Tamil in particular, where he graduated from a participant to a judge and groomer. All that was many moons ago. In 2017, he is all set to don a new avatar, that of a film star in the upcoming movie Ivide Ee Nagarathil. He’ll be enacting his choreographer self in the film by debutant Padmendra Prasad.
This shouldn’t be mistaken as his maiden big screen appearance. Anish was part of Mani Ratnam’s latest Kaatru Veliyidai and Ko director K.V. Anand’s Kavan.
“Mostly, I get choreographer roles in movies. I don’t know why. Ivide Ee Nagarathil is a female-centric movie. I appear as choreographer Anish, who befriends the female lead, falls in love with her and lands in trouble thereafter. It is a prominent role. Shooting is over and I now look forward to the release date,” says Anish. He was an Air Force officer in Kaatru Veliyidai. As a child, he has had a brief dalliance in M-Town in Jayaraj movie Of the People from the For the People franchise.
In the meantime, Anish made a small screen appearance, in the prime time soap opera Manjurukum Kalam doing a cameo. He has a dance team namely ‘Eternal Dancers’ who he takes to stage shows and other programmes. He has also done choreography for certain movies. He even directed dance for a Sri Lankan Tamil movie while albums are another favourite of Anish.
From the dance scene in Malayalam television, Anish had a safe landing to the reality TV in Tamil. He won the title in Kalaignar TV’s Maanada Mayilada and Vijay TV’s Jodi No. 1. He often flies abroad where his dancing skills are utlised for the IBC channel in Tamil, broadcast from London. “In IBC Tamil, I have been a groomer and member in the judging panel. There are overseas shows where I choreograph and take part,” says Anish, who states his prime focus is movies.