The actor on his journey to becoming a dancer which started only after his idol Michael Jackson’s demise in 2009, and on the Karan Johar film that has been postponed for now
Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 29, 2017)

While shoot for Tiger Shroff’s finale song, “Beparwah Jhoomega” from his upcoming film, Munna Michael, has been on since a week on a grand set in Film City, today, it coincides with International Dance day, and the actor says he is happy spending it doing what he loves best. “I am lucky enough to be shooting for one of my most challenging songs, which is also the biggest one in this film today. I’ve been focussed on doing my best impersonation of Michael Jackson. Choreographer Ganesh Acharya has some fantastic ideas and director Sabbir Khan is making the song larger than life,” Tiger, who’s paying a tribute to his childhood idol, Michael Jackson, told Mirror.

In the Viki Rajani production, Tiger’s titular Munna is a participant in a dance competition. The 27-year-old actor reveals that in real life, he’d been a part of many such contests before becoming a star, which has helped him understand what people in such situations go through. “I used to be big on sports growing up. I was very competitive but would get nervous before every competition. Those nerves are what drive you to greater glory. Before every concert, Michael Jackson had a ritual where he would round up his band and they would do a chant and scream just to fire each other up. That’s something I follow with my team before each performance. I stand in the middle with the bunch of boys I train with, they start hitting me and screaming and that works for me, I feel I can take on the world then.”

Tiger also reveals that he wasn’t as interested in dance growing up as he is now. “I didn’t start dancing when I was a child. When Michael Jackson passed away (2009) that’s when I started watching his videos and live shows and I couldn’t stop myself from being inspired to choose that path. He controlled so many people through his movements, voice and expressions. I wanted that power and that’s how I started dancing,” he reminisces.

Besides Munna Michael, he has been in the news ever since he got on-board Karan Johar’s sequel to Student Of The Year, which will be directed by Punit Malhotra. While reports have claimed that he was to kick off the film in May with a schedule in Kashmir, there seems to have been a change of plans. “My next project will be Baaghi 2. It is set to start in June-July, after Munna Michael’s promotions are over. I’ll be training in China for the role before shooting commences. Student Of The Year is postponed for now,” Tiger signs off.