Her last Salman Khan’s song for Prem Ratan Dhan Payo was a chartbuster. That was the title song and now Shabina Khan, the Mumbai-based choreographer, is in the news again for making the superstar dance in a way that justifies his character in his much talked about Tubelight .
Coming up with an interesting sequence of steps was a taxing exercise. She had to make Salman Khan dance in Naach Meri Jaan even though his character had to look gullible and in certain portions imbecile. As the film is based on a certain period with distinct topography, she had to struggle to get right reference points. All this entailed rummaging through books, research papers in libraries.
Sharing experience of working with Salman, Shabina, who worked with him in Khamoshi: The Musical and Jai Ho as well, says: “Working with Salman is always a learning experience. Every time I get to work with him, I feel that he is more energetic, more expressive and a better dancer. Each day on the sets, he brings a fresh wave of energy. I feel that we should all learn from him; how he is able to focus so much. His good grasping power can be seen from the fact that he is able to understand the task and do it in mere two minutes.”
On his TV shows, Salman has made self deprecating comments about his dancing skills. “I think it is his humility which makes him make such statements. If he was not a good dancer, then he would not have been able to dance with two or three rehearsals. He has made his own Salman Khan dance style. Dance is in Salman’s blood.”
SHOWING THE WAY Salman Khan with Shabina Khan
The veteran, who has strong likes and dislikes, does improvisation with his own signature steps. “ Jab zaroorat hoti hai tabhi. If he feels it is the perfect step, he does it immediately. Whenever he comes up with a new step, the entire song look beautiful and aesthetic. His energy and expression are mind blowing. In Nach Meri Jaan , Salman simply loved the step and did it so nicely, gracefully. When he does that step, the entire village joins him.”
However, this special song came with a challenge as Salman’s character was not the usual hero like. “Kabir Khan had written his character in a manner that it was different from the ones Salman has essayed so far. To make this character dance in a way that it looked believable and realistic to the audience was demanding.”
“It was not a normal dancing song; it introduced his character and took the story forward. It had to show that both brothers love each other; what kind of relationship they shared had to be highlighted. We have basically shown everything in the song.”
Arduous journey
The song has been shot in Kullu Manali in freezing cold temperature. “Shooting had to be done on 12,000 feet. Daily we had to travel on road for one and a half hours. Inclement weather made the unit people vomit during the arduous journey. Working condition was inhospitable - sometimes the sun vanished or the whole place where we had made the set was enveloped with fog.”
Summing up how choreography is done in dream factories of Bollywood, Shabina, who has assisted Ganesh Hegde, Saroj Khan and Prabhudheva, says even if an actor is not a good dancer they make him do. “Height and physique do not come in the way of training an actor. Today Amitabh Bachchan has his own aura. Similarly, Salman has his own aura. Govinda is the best dancer even today. Hrithik Roshan is tremendous,” says Shabina.
