Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani choreographer Vaibhavi Merchant reveals Alia Bhatt met Shah Rukh Khan before shooting for ‘Tum Kya Mile’

‘Tum Kya Mile’ featuring Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh were shot in the picturesque locales of Kashmir earlier this year.

By Bollywood Hungama News Network -

August 3, 2023 - 12:57 PM IST

Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani has been receiving a lot of appreciation from different quarters where audiences are appreciating Karan Johar for retaining the quintessential Bollywood elements in the film. From women in chiffon sarees dancing against the backdrop of snow-capped mountains to the glitz, glamour, and grand sets, the film has all the perfect Dharma elements. Talking about the same, choreographer Vaibhavi Merchant recalled shooting for ‘Tum Kya Mile’ with Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh.

Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani choreographer Vaibhavi Merchant reveals Alia Bhatt met Shah Rukh Khan before shooting for ‘Tum Kya Mile’

Many have stated that ‘Tum Kya Mile’ has 90s songs feels where the melody and the shots remind us of a different era. Speaking about the same to Hindustan Times, Vaibhavi Merchant revealed that Karan Johar wanted to pay a tribute to his favourite couple Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol. And hence, the song features several elements from the iconic song ‘Tujhe Dekha Toh’ from the cult romantic drama Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. “Karan has also given a slight tribute to Aditya Chopra from Ho Gaya Hai Tujhko Toh Pyar Sajna (from Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge), where Kajol and Shah Rukh realise they've parted ways but fallen in love. This is suspension of disbelief. Karan didn't have a doubt whether it'd work or not. He was driven utterly by conviction,” said Vaibhavi.

In the same interview, the choreographer and reality show judge also confessed that Alia Bhatt decided to meet Shah Rukh Khan to understand more about shooting such song. “Alia had herself gone and visited Shah Rukh for a day to learn this, because she'd never done a song like this either, except a little bit of ‘Ishq Wala Love’ in her first film (Student Of The Year). But then how to handle the pallu, handle the sari, see the hero gush at you, maintain your hair, fighting all the wind in a chiffon sari in sub-zero temperatures. We also use the fan to counter the wind and ensure the sari flows in a beautiful way. You're even listening to the song at a faster speed, so to maintain the sanity of your expression, to emote and lip-sync in high speed… for me, that was a challenge. Because these aren't veterans of this kind of songs. You've seen Shah Rukh and Kajol do it a hundred times because it was a norm in those days,” revealed the choreographer.

She also went on to speak about how Ranveer too was inexperienced in this department as she added, “The challenge was to make Ranveer do this. He's not done this lip-sync song, except for one with Priyanka Chopra in Gunday. Otherwise, he's never done a love song where he's looking all dreamy and looking at the heroine with dove eyes. I wanted to do an exercise of rehearsals with him.”

Also Read: Karan Johar is ecstatic about the success of Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani; says, “I feel for the first time I am validated as an artiste”