Upala KBR (MID-DAY; March 29, 2019)

In the days since Kalank’s latest song First Class dropped online, Kiara Advani has been appreciated for her graceful moves. While the actor has previously featured in a few dance numbers, the Abhishek Varman-directed venture gave her the opportunity to explore classical dance for the first time. A self-confessed fan of Madhubala, Advani turned to the legendary actor — celebrated as much for her poise as for her nimble feet — for inspiration.

“Madhubala is one of the iconic actresses of Indian cinema. When I was offered to do this special song, she served as the reference for my look and persona,” gushes Advani. What followed was a series of discussions with fashion designer Manish Malhotra as they curated a look that was an homage to the late star. “I also watched many of her songs to pick up her nuances,” she adds.

The track, also featuring Varun Dhawan, has been choreographed by Remo D’Souza with the stars being trained by his assistants, Shazia Samji and Piyush Bhagat. Samji tells mid-day that the youngster trained with her for several weeks before joining Dhawan on the set. “Kiara had already perfected the adaa before she started our rehearsals. She also watched many videos of Madhubala, including Jab Pyaar Kiya Toh Darna Kya and Mohe Panghat Pe [Mughal-E-Azam] .”

Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 6, 2016)

Sajid Samji, one half of the writer-filmmaker duo Sajid-Farhad whose last directorial outing, Housefull 3, released recently, may soon have to launch his daughter, Shazia, a dancer and budding choreographer who's currently busting out quite the moves on Remo D'Souza's reality TV show, Dance+ 2, and has made it to the top 12. "I wanted to be on TV the moment I turned 19. It was also my dadi's dream so when I got to know about the Dance+ auditions I sent across my video," she told Mirror.

The 19-year-old began dancing when she was three and has mastered Bollywood, Jazz and contemporary styles. She began training in hip hop and jazz funk at 17. "With this show I got a chance to explore one dance style. Many experienced people have noticed my work now," Shazia adds. And while her dad routinely teams up with Remo for choreographing his films, Shazia admits that she only knows the choreographer-filmmaker casually. "I find Remo extremely hot and am a big fan. I plan to take up choreography like him very soon," she beams.