Yeh Ballet

From Mumbai Streets to Center Stage: The Real-Life Inspiration Behind Yeh Ballet

Sooni Taraporevala’s Yeh Ballet (2017) is a rare Bollywood film rooted in the gritty, unglamorous reality of Mumbai’s ballet scene. The Netflix original follows two working-class boys, Manish and Amiruddin, as they trade slum life for the disciplined world of classical ballet, defying stereotypes and financial odds. But how much of the story is real? latestnetflix.com's read is that and what did it take to bring their journey to screen?

The True Story That Started It All

Taraporevala didn’t stumble upon this tale. The film is loosely based on the lives of two real-life ballet dancers, Manish Chauhan and Amiruddin Shah, who play fictionalized versions of themselves. Chauhan, a former street kid from Mumbai’s Dongri neighborhood, and Shah, a Muslim boy from a conservative family, were discovered by Taraporevala while training under famed ballet dancer Yehudi Menuhin’s protégé, Simkin. Their raw talent—and the societal barriers they faced—became the film’s backbone.

The director, known for her work on Salaam Bombay! and The Namesake, spent years embedded in their world, even funding Chauhan’s training in Russia after seeing his potential. “I wanted to show that ballet isn’t just for the elite,” Taraporevala said in an interview, emphasizing how the boys’ backgrounds made their achievements even more extraordinary.

A Netflix Gamble with Bollywood Heart

Produced by Roy Kapur Films and Netflix, Yeh Ballet marked one of the streaming giant’s early forays into Indian originals. But the road to release wasn’t smooth. The film’s 2020 premiere (despite its 2017 production date) came after delays, and its reception was mixed—garnering a modest 6.2/10 on SensCritique and a sparse Rotten Tomatoes page that lists Julian Sands and Danish Husain among its cast (though their roles remain minor).

Critics praised the film’s authenticity but noted its uneven pacing. Some reviews highlighted how the movie balanced the boys’ personal struggles—family resistance, financial strain—with the physical demands of ballet, though others felt the emotional beats were too predictable. Still, for a film about an art form rarely explored in Indian cinema, Yeh Ballet stood out.

Controversy and Copycats

Taraporevala’s commitment to the story didn’t end with the film. In 2021, she publicly accused Deepika Padukone’s team of plagiarizing Yeh Ballet’s premise for a commercial, calling out similarities in choreography and narrative. The incident underscored how rare—and valuable—stories like Manish and Amiruddin’s are in an industry often dominated by formulaic plots.

Where Are the Real-Life Dancers Now?

While the film’s fictionalized version of their lives took center stage, the real Chauhan and Shah continued to dance. Chauhan, in particular, has spoken about how ballet gave him a second chance, though the film’s release reignited debates about class and access in Indian arts. Shah, meanwhile, has largely stayed out of the spotlight post-Yeh Ballet, with little public update on his career.

For Taraporevala, the project was about breaking barriers—whether in ballet shoes or Bollywood’s rigid storytelling mold. As she put it: “These boys didn’t just learn to pirouette. They rewrote the rules”.