ZEROING IN ON...
The spirit-caller Shiamik Davar
Aditi Tandon

YOU don’t feel like striking a conversation with Shiamak Davar unless you have probed into the meaning of his name. And you are happily taken aback when the star sounds excited about the question. "Names are meant to serve as extensions of identity. They should make you conscious of your being. And my name underlines my identity too well. Read the letters carefully and you will know what I mean. The word Sh-iam-ak is home to the two most important words in my life: I-am. That is all I know about my name and that is all I want others to know."

Name just serves as a starter. In fact, everything about this ace dancer, choreographer, actor, singer and now director is highly intriguing. Behind his very unassuming façade lies a person, who believes in things that have no room in the world of logic. Years ago, Shiamak spotted an unidentified flying object. He, however, chose to remain silent about it because he knew no one would believe him. After encountering things strange and supernatural for years, Shiamak talks about all of them today, not because he thinks people would trust him now, but because he no longer cares if they would.

"There are souls; there are spirits; there is certainly a life beyond death. I say all this by experience and I can narrate sequences to prove all this to you. But since these things are related with faith, I feel we should not try and prove points to people who cannot understand and respect them. Those who can identify with my occult experiences are welcome to come over and share them. I have been inviting spirits and talking to them. I have been helping people make conversations with those who have departed. I still do that," says Shiamak, making a strong reference to his spiritual guides, the Bhavnagris, who have authored a book titled The Laws of the Spirit World.

For this man apparently wedded to glamour, spirituality has always been a great anchor, especially after he came in contact with the Bhavnagris, who have been talking to their dead sons through the technique of automatic writing. "I never chose anything. Things happened on their own. I was destined to meet my spiritual guides and gain experience through them," said Shiamak. And whereas not many people know, Shiamak actually derived the inspiration from the Bhavnagris to do his chartbuster video Dil Chahe all by himself. He explains, "I did everything — the music, the choreography, the costumes and even the video direction. I had never thought of direction earlier. But when Dil Chahe happened, all famous people were busy with other projects. Everything was ready to roll, but there was suddenly this big stumbling block. That was when I communicated with my spiritual guides. They inspired me to take control. Everything fell in place."

Having tasted the fruits of faith, Shiamak now regularly devotes time to meditation. He prays before every performance, draws energy from the element of fire and takes up charity work. At the Shiamak Davar Institute for the Performing Arts (SDIPA), which he set up in 1992, he teaches the mentally and physically challenged children. He holds classes for children of sex workers. Very lately, he has been involved with an American agency to help AIDS patients. All this is a more important part of Shiamak’s life than his film choreographies or his stage performances. And though he admits being an exhibitionist during his childhood now, he says, he is highly reserved about his personal life. "At school I was mad after attention. So I would start singing an Elton John or a Billy Joel song in the middle of a class or I would act like a clown or start playing the piano or do any such stupid thing. I was being drawn towards dance and music, although I belonged to a family of academicians. Both my parents are professors."

Shiamak, however, is essentially a performer who believes that dances, songs and acting are products of a collective effort of the mind, body and the spirit. It is this faith in dance, as an expression of the soul, which Shiamak uses to beautify other aspects of his life. No wonder he chooses to do his own things—right from declining to choreograph Dilwale Dulhaniya le Jayenge to deciding to spill his magic on the big screen in Dil To Pagal Hai….