Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 27, 2020)

After featuring in the 2016 song, “GF BF”, for which she even lent her voice, Jacqueline Fernandez is returning to the singles club with a folk song which, decades ago, had found its way into a Bollywood film. It is sung by Neha Kakkar and the music video, to be directed by Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru, will be shot in Mumbai next month. Produced by Bhushan Kumar, it also features Bigg Boss fame actor-model Asim Riaz, and releases on March 7.

“It has been turned into a peppy track through which we will be narrating an engaging story. Shabina Khan, who is choreographing it, has given me some desi steps and traditional moves but at the same time it will be modern, too,” promises Jacqueline, admitting that the song is a little out of her comfort zone, but the concept was too enticing for her to pass up. “Shabina has been helping me perfect my moves and expressions. We have been rehearsing diligently to get every nuance right and I’m really looking forward to working with Asim for the first time. It’s a passion project for me,” exults the actress, who will sport a Boho-chic look in the song.

Excited to collaborate with Jackie again, whom Bhushan describes as a “fabulous dancer”, he promises another chart-topper. “It is a traditional folk song but Tanishk (Bagchi, composer) has modernised it, giving it his own unique twist. I have always enjoyed folk songs and want the younger generations to get familiar with them,” the filmmaker informs.

Onkar Kulkarni (BOMBAY TIMES; November 30, 2019)

Salman Khan’s upcoming film Dabangg 3 is back at the centre of a controversy. This time, it is for its title track Hud Hud Dabangg. The song shows sadhus shake a leg with the lead character of the film Chulbul Pandey (Salman) on the banks of a river. While Chulbul is seen doing his signature moves, some sadhus are also shown playing a guitar. A Hindu organisation has reportedly found the content objectionable and hurtful towards their religious sentiments. They have asked the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to refuse the certification of the film, which is directed by Prabhudheva. We reached out to the CBFC to understand if there has been a conversation between the religious outfit and them, but there was no confirmation on the same till the time of going to press.

Sharing her thoughts on the issue, the choreographer of the song Shabina Khan says, “The song features sadhus dancing with guitars. Now, these are not real sadhus! These are dancers in a sadhu get-up performing choreographed steps. We shot the song in Maheshwar in Madhya Pradesh. There were a few sadhus who had just gathered to see the shoot. You can see them standing in the background in the song.”

The choreographer says that there’s nothing objectionable about the song. Giving her reasons, she adds, “Actors have dressed up as sadhus and acted in Bollywood movies even in the past. We have seen Hema Malini teasing a sanyasi in the song Chal Sanyasi Mandir Mein from the Manoj Kumar starrer Sanyasi. Likewise, Mumtaz dressed as a sadhu was seen dancing opposite Rajesh Khanna in the song Gore Rang Pe from Roti. I think there is nothing disrespectful in the choreography of the song Hud Hud Dabangg. If people scrutinise each and every move like this then how will we make movies?” The controversy has been trending on social media for a couple of days.

Earlier, during the shooting of the film, Dabangg 3 had landed in another controversy, when the makers of the film were blamed for showing disrespect towards Lord Shiva. It began when pictures of a Shivling covered in wooden plank went viral on social media.

Upala KBR (MID-DAY; April 6, 2019)

Ever since Akshay Kumar evinced interest in the remake of the Tamil hit, Muni 2: Kanchana (2011), there has been much speculation about the female lead for the Bollywood adaptation.

As is the norm with a big-ticket project, several actors - including Katrina Kaif and showbiz's current sensation Sobhita Dhulipala - were said to be in contention for the role, but both denied the reports. The past few days saw another name doing the rounds - Kiara Advani of Lust Stories (2018). In the latest development, mid-day has learnt that Advani has indeed been signed on for the horror comedy. Tentatively titled Laxmi, the film will go on floors by mid-April and is likely to be shot in a start-to-finish schedule.

Says a trade source, "While Akshay plays the protagonist who gets possessed by the spirit of a transgender, Kiara will portray the superstar's girlfriend in the movie. Although the female lead did not have a significant role in the original version, Kiara will enjoy a substantial part in the adaptation. The script too has been tweaked to suit the sensibilities of the Hindi film audience." Interestingly, this will mark Advani's second outing with Kumar after the in-the-works Good News.

The Raghava Lawrence-directed venture, the second instalment in his Muni franchise, had become a money-spinner upon its release in 2011. Its runaway success had spawned off remakes across several languages. Producers Shabina Khan and Tusshar Kapoor picked up the remake rights last year, following which the scripting team has been hard at work to give it a North Indian flavour. Lawrence will helm the Hindi offering. when contacted, Khan confirmed the story, saying, "Yes, we have signed Kiara for the Kanchana remake."

Sanah Kapur kicked off her first film as leading lady on Monday in the presence of parents Pankaj and Supriya
Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 11, 2018)

On Tuesday, Sanah Kapur, who made her acting debut in brother Shahid Kapoor’s Shaandar in 2015, kicked off her first film as the leading lady. Her parents, veteran actors Pankaj Kapur and Supriya Pathak, were present on the sets of the Abhishek Saxena-directed Saroj Ka Rishta, to watch the mahurat shot. “We were in the middle of a scene when they walked in. Like everyone else, I want to make my parents proud. I was nervous initially but once the camera is on, you are the character and I told myself it was Sanah’s parents in front of me, not Saroj’s,” the actress tells Mirror.

The film kicked off with a song and Sanah is all praise for choreographer Shabina Khan.“She doesn’t just choreograph a song, she integrates the characters in it. I’m enjoying playing Saroj because she is dabang and moohphat which is fun,” the actress smiles.

The film, which explores a father-daughter relationship, also addresses the culture of body-shaming in India. “I feel strongly about it. It’s important to be comfortable and true to yourself because every human being is unique. It’s wrong to fit everyone in one box. If we want to change it should only be for ourselves. This subject is really close to my heart,” she expounds.

The schedule kicked off in Mumbai and the team will soon head to North India. And even though it is her first lead role, Sanah insists she isn’t feeling any pressure.

“At the moment, I’m not thinking about my responsibility towards the film. That will happen during the promotions. Right now, I’m just trying to be Saroj, bring the character out to the audience and hope they love her as much as we do,” she points out.

Any advice from big brother Shahid? “He just told me to have fun and enjoy what I love doing,” she says. When asked about Shahid’s half-brother Ishaan Khatter, whose new film, Dhadak, is to hit the marquee soon, Sanah says shortly, “I don’t have any advice for anyone except for myself. One should focus on work and be honest with their craft. I do this job because I love it.”

Iulia Vantur takes on trolls, opens up about good friend Salman Khan and describing Mumbai as her home, says ‘Home is where the heart is’
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 16, 2018)

For someone who is seen way more than she is heard in the public domain, Iulia Vantur instantly registers her presence with a pronounced accent and wit. She is also strikingly articulate in a retelling of her discovery of India — walking through the streets of Rishikesh during her maiden visit, exploring art in Rajasthan, and acquainting herself with the vibe of Mumbai, which she has come to call home over the last few years. In this interview, the 37-year-old TV host-singer (she was never an actress, she clarifies after frequently being called one) talks about lesser-known aspects of her life in Romania, her equation with Salman Khan and Bollywood aspirations.

Your friendship with Salman Khan and proximity to his family has made headlines in the last two years. Is it somewhat tiring to remain silent on the subject, especially since you live in Mumbai now?
I was 19 when I walked into a newsroom for the first time. I had heard that a channel was looking for an anchor. I was going to drop in my CV and leave, when an assistant told me that the producer hated blondes and I didn’t stand a chance. I insisted on giving it a shot anyway. As luck would have it, the producer walked by right then and upon learning that I wanted to be an anchor, asked me if I’d take the test right away. I was young and hesitant but I aced it and landed the job. I worked as a news anchor for the next 15 years, writing, editing news stories and becoming an independent, working woman in the process. I was winning at life. I went on to host Dancing With The Stars for eight seasons. So, I don’t scare easy. And I don’t focus on the negativity.

Nobody knows this side of you…
Nobody knows me here. They even call me ‘Lulia’ here, when my name is spelt with an ‘I’. I am a respected personality in Romania. A news anchor receives a certain status symbol wherever they are based. Here, people don’t know of my life and journey. They don’t know my struggles and the hard work that I have put in for decades. They look at me and they see a girl with big Bollywood dreams. (Laughs) But that’s not me at all! I’ve lived the famed life, the rich life, and I don’t crave for it. I never thought life would bring me to India but I followed my heart and here I am.

Online trolls have been merciless, constantly using uncharitable words to downplay your professional achievements…
Many friends have told me that I need to have a reaction to things that are happening around me. But my life is filled with beautiful moments and beautiful people, and I choose to stick to that. I’m a single child, born to caring and protective parents, and they get really pissed off when they hear things about my private life. After I finished law school, my father was sure I’d become a court magistrate one day. And despite my foray into television and eventually music, they have supported me. It upsets them to hear negative comments about their only child. But they know who they raised at home, and I like to guard their privacy.

You’re a Hindi singer now. Do you also have plans to become a Bollywood actress?
(Laughs) I had never planned to come to India to work. There was no ambition, no fool-proof plan. Salman (Khan) is a good friend and he guided me, encouraging me to sing. I never thought that I would be able to sing in Hindi but he supported me. I started singing because of him. I had no plans to be a part of Bollywood but I also like surprises at the same time.

There is so much talk around his bachelorhood and your impending marriage…
I’m aware of the gossip. Most of it is not true. But I cannot stop people from spinning stories. I have a lot of respect for Salman. At the same time, I have no idea where life is taking me. Three years ago, I was all about being responsible and making plans, but not everything turns out the way we expect them to. Not everything is our will. What happens was meant to happen.

How did it all – the music, the rumours, your initiation into the elite circle of Bollywood – really begin?
It started from the song “Teri Meri” (sung by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Shreya Ghoshal for the 2011 Salman-starrer Bodyguard). At the time, I was in the studio, and everybody asked me to sing a Romanian song. I chose a Christmas carol that I sing to my parents every year. Himesh (Reshammiya, composer) loved it and said, “We’re going to make a beautiful song out of this.” Six years later, when he wanted to work on a music video, he thought of me, and “Every Night and Day” came into being.

You’re ready with your next single, “Harjai”…
Maniesh (Paul, who also features in the single) and I are great friends and since we’re both TV hosts, there’s a lot of conversations around that. I spend a lot of time at recording studios and Sachin Gupta, who was composing a track for T-Series at the time, heard me jam with Maneish. We were soon having fun and he asked me to join in. It was a challenge learning pronunciations of Hindi words but Sachin and director Shabina Khan helped me through it. There’s so much to learn from Indian classical music and I’d love to explore it next.

Is there an album in the works, too?
I don’t have a plan for that. My music will remain an organic journey. And Mumbai is now my home. Home is where the heart is.

So will the media be hearing more from you now?
Maybe… Well, honestly, no.

Encouraged by the actor, who believed they complement each other as singers, the duo recently shot for a music video with another favourite of the Khan camp
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 13, 2018)

It is no secret that TV host-turned-actor Maniesh Paul is one of Salman Khan’s favourites and has hosted every Da-bangg concert over the last year. Salman even gifted Maniesh a jacket from his personal collection for his performance on “Mujhse Shaadi Karogi”, among other chartbusters, during the international tour. Recently, the younger actor who’s a frequent guest at Salman’s house parties confided in him that he wanted to come out with his first music video. The 52-year-old-actor immediately got into action, pointing him in the direction of his good friend Iulia Vantur. He had launched the Romanian model-singer in mid-2016 and promised to promote her as a fine musical talent. Salman was convinced that Maniesh and Iulia would make a perfect match on screen and set about putting the project together.

Directed by Shabina Khan, Salman’s choreographer on films like Dabanng, Prem Ratan Dhan Payo and Tubelight, the romantic song is titled “Harjai”, and has been written and composed by “Doori” singer Sachin Gupta and sung by Maniesh and lulia. It was shot entirely at a city studio using rustic backdrops.

“I came on board because of Bhai. His trust in me was touching and we are looking forward to showing him the complete song. Iulia’s voice is unique which made the song really romantic. You will see a softer side to Maneish here, without his usual masti and jokes,” she smiles.

Iulia, who has been taking Hindi classes in Mumbai, has in the past sung “Jag Ghoomeya” and crooned and appeared in Himesh Reshammiya’s music video “Every Night And Day”. According to a source from the sets of the T-Series music video, Salman joked that since Iulia was already one music video and two songs-old, Maniesh could learn a few moves from the senior songstress.

The actor himself has been prepping up for the Sunday finale of his reality show, Bigg Boss. Determined to make his last act of season 11 an unforgettable one, Salman has roped in Shabina for this one too.

Speaking about her TV debut, Shabina says, “It’s an action-packed act and we have stunt guys performing with Bhai and the background dancers. It has romance, humour and his popular dialogues. Since Tiger Zinda Hai has been received so well, we wanted to give the audience a feel of the film too and that’s how the idea developed. We will be shooting it today. Since Bhai has been so busy with his upcoming film, Race 3, we barely had two days to come up with the concept, compose the music and get the act ready with the dancers, before we start rehearsals with him.”

On Thursday, after completing his shoots at Mehboob studio and Film City for the third instalment in the franchise, Salman recorded some of his iconic lines late in the night for his finale act on the TV show, before showing up for dance practise. “His energy is amazing!” Shabina signs off on a high note.

Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 11, 2017)

In conversation with Shabina Khan, choreographer of the title track of Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, every Dubsmasher’s delight
Aastha Atray Banan (MID-DAY; November 15, 2015)

"It's truly been a case of ‘ek pal mein life badal gayi',” says Shabina Khan, who choreographed the recently-gone-viral song, Prem Ratan Dhan Payo (PRDP), the title track of the Salman Khan, Sonam Kapoor-starrer. The track which released on October 14, has been Dubsmashed all over social media by the likes of Shah Rukh Khan, Sridevi and Malaika Arora Khan and taxi drivers, patients in hospitals and school kids. The first to release her Dubsmash was Kapoor, who posted a video two weeks ago, and the rest, as they say, is social media history.


“Everyone seems to be wanting to jump on the bandwagon. Corporates, kids and even old people.
I stopped counting after the first 15,000. Now, I just say countless,” says Khan, who has been working in the film industry for 21 years. “I never though this would happen. It’s been life-changing.”

The 34-year-old started her journey young at the age of 13. Though she belonged to a strict Muslim family, where even watching TV wasn’t allowed, she managed to get inspiration from Madhuri Dixit’s moves which she got a peek of on Doordarshan’s Chaya Geet. Her parents, who supported her, were told by their conservative society that “nobody would get married to her if she went down this path”. “But I started going for classes at a cultural institution where I used to  teach Urdu. It was destined to be.”

She was spotted by choreographer Ganesh Hegde, who asked her to assist him on the sets of Khamoshi, her first movie with Salman. “He is a very important person for me. He has his own style, and he makes every step you give him look unique. He never makes you feel uncomfortable. I even like it when he walks,” she laughs over the phone, returning from a concert in Dharavi for which she had choreographed a couple of slum children dancing to the same song at a Diwali event Salman Khan had organised.

Since then, she has worked with choreographers such as Ganesh Acharaya and done movies such as Jai Ho and, more recently, Khamoshiyan. But the last one-and-a-half years have been dedicated to PRDP. She was originally only supposed to choreograph two songs, but after Sooraj Barjatya saw her work, she ended up working on all eight. “His brief for the song was precise - make the words come to life,” she says. Khan decided to do just that. “So it’s a take on the aarti Ram Ratan Dhan Payo. When Sonam’s character sees what Salman’s character character (who is a version of Ram) is doing for her family, she feels like she has a gem for a lover. That’s why she thanks God with her hands folded.”

The other main requirement of the song was that everyone could copy the steps, and dance along. “When Soorajji saw the song for the first time in the rehearsal hall, he clapped and said ‘you got the meaning’. And when Salman saw it, he said ‘everyone is going to dance on this’, and that’s what happened.”

She has since been inundated with calls from the industry by people who want to work with her. “David Dhawan called and congratulated me and fellow choreographers like Bosco-Caesar and Longinus. They are all so happy for me!” she says. But, she’s also awaiting the verdict on the rest of the songs in the film. “This movie is my life, and it has made my life,” she signs off.

Shabina Khan has directed eight out of ten songs in Sooraj Barjatya's new film
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 24, 2015)

When Shabina Khan met Salman Khan for the first time to choreograph the title song of Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, she noted that he had a style of his own, which he referred to as the "janta-demand" and wasn't too keen on doing the steps she had in mind.

"Only Sooraj Barjatya sir and I were convinced about the steps in the title song, but eventually, everyone came around, including Salman sir. I was an assistant on Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. I knew if we had to get Salman to dance, we had to be ready with three-four options. He has the final say," Shabina recalls.

A total of ten songs have been recorded, out of which eight have been filmed over a year and a half in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Mumbai. "Each song takes the film forward. There are two songs in flashback, where everybody is younger, one emotional love track, and the rest are picturised on Sonam. I had worked with Armaan Kohli in Jaani Dushman and it was like getting together with family on the sets of the film," Shabina says.

Buzz is, the makers are planning to bring down the film's length from over three hours by knocking off four songs, but Shabina is quick to point out that Barjatya's past directoirals Maine Pyar Kiya had 11 songs and Hum Aapke Hain Koun topped that with 14 songs, and none of the numbers were dropped from the film.

"Sooraj ji's films have always had many songs and people have enjoyed it. The film takes me back to when I lived in a joint family and is an emotional family drama, like all of his earlier films," Shabina says.

Salman, who makes a comeback as Prem after he his last turn as the quintessential 'gharelu ladka' in Barjatya's Hum Saath Saath Hain in 1999, is called 'Prem Dilwala' and Sonam is Maithili.

"Sonam's dance moves are delicate; she is like a princess when the camera is off as well. The romantic sequences in "Jalte Diye" between Salman and Sonam has a royal touch and will leave you teary-eyed," Shabina signs off.

Meena Iyer (BOMBAY TIMES; December 11, 2013)

Shraddha Kapoor, who had committed to be the leading lady of Akshay Kumar’s Gabbar, has been asked to leave the film by producer Shabina Khan. Sources say that the actress has genuine date problems. She is currently shooting for Mohit Suri’s The Villain and Vishal Bhardwaj’s Haider. However, the schedule of the latter has gone slightly topsy-turvy. Shahid Kapoor told us that he wasn’t going to be shooting for the film through most of December and that he may even take a short vacation before he resumes shooting.

Gabbar is set to roll on January 8, 2014 with Akshay having given his producer bulk dates. At this time, Shraddha will be in Kashmir shooting with Shahid for Haider. So, she is in a soup over her dates. However, the good-natured and professional actress volunteered to accommodate Gabbar alongside her other two commitments. She even offered to somehow make adjustments. But an insider says that the makers failed to understand how she could be in Kashmir by day and Mumbai by night.

Also, Haider is being shot in winter and the weather in the Valley would naturally be affected because of the extreme cold. So, in other words, there’s a good chance that schedule could spill over. With everything being so unpredictable, Shabina apparently felt it was best if Shraddha walked out of Gabbar.

It is said that Shraddha had first committed to Gabbar and then signed Haider. However, she didn't foresee a date overlap. We messaged Shabina for her version. She replied saying, “Yes, I have asked Shraddha to leave my film. She has a date issue. And I didn’t want her to put two producers — Vishal and me — in a fix.”