Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 15, 2017)

On Tuesday, Sonakshi Sinha paid tribute to guest judge Sridevi on her dance reality show Nach Baliye, grooving to her iconic Mr India chartbuster, “Hawa Hawai”.

The senior actress was persuaded to shake a leg with Sona who in last year’s release, Force 2, had recreated another one of Sridevi’s hit numbers, 'Kaate Nahi Katate', from the same film. “When we were discussing who will perform on which song, I already had my answer down pat. It had to be 'Hawa Hawai',” Sona told Mirror.

She informed that as a child she always went for fancy dress competitions dressed up as Sridevi and mostly it was in the now-familiar golden gown with the baubles and the crown.

“It is a special memory associated with my childhood, I’ve won many competitions as Miss Hawa Hawai,” she laughed, describing Sridevi as one of Indian cinema’s most iconic actresses who still has a spellbinding presence on screen. She went on to reveal that she would be overwhelmed every time she met the diva as a child, thanks to dad Shatrughan Sinha.

Sonakshi’s co-judges, director Mohit Suri and choreographer Terence Lewis, performed on other Sridevi chartbusters. While Mohit danced to the title track of Chandni, Terence flaunted his moves to the 1983 comedy-drama, Himmatwala’s “Taki O Taki”, which was picturised on Sridevi and her then-frequent costar, Jeetendra.