Priya Mani is a very popular name down the South. She came into the limelight in Bollywood with a dance number in Chennai Express where she got a chance to shake a leg with Shah Rukh Khan.
Priya Mani after working with SRK in Chennai Express got another chance to work with him after 10 years in Jawan. Jawan is the highest grossing Bollywood film till date.
One Two Three Four song from Chennai Express became an instant chartbuster and Priya Mani’s dance moves made the track extra special. It is a dream of every actor to work with King Khan and then there is Priya Mani who has already worked with the legend not once but twice.
Priya Mani recently appeared in 2 Bollywood films, Article 370 and Maidaan. She received a great appreciation for her role in both the films.
We at Film Window got a chance to do an exclusive interview with Priya Mani.
We asked her about Shah Rukh Khan, Chennai Express and Jawan and have a look below at what she has to say about it.
Q] While shooting for Jawan, did it remind you of Chennai Express days?
Priya Mani – “Zinda Banda was the first song which we shot for Jawan. There were over 500 dancers from everywhere. There were people from Hindi Industry and all the 4 different South Industries. There were girls from many age groups. First we all used to come in and rehearse our steps and we had a stand in for SRK. SRK used to rehearse at a different place and then he used to come on the sets with his costume. I was standing back behind the master’s (choreographer) assistant, and there were 2 girls forward and more 2 girls in the front line as per the placement. We started our rehearsals and SRK saw me and asked, What am I doing here? I said that the master asked me to stand here and he said that this won’t happen. He caught my shoulders and put me next to him. He said, ‘She is my dance teacher and what she will do, I’ll do the same.’ He said the same thing I had followed during the Chennai Express too. He remembered everything from the Chennai Express days. When we met for the first time, he gave me a warm hug and thanked me for doing this film. He doesn’t need to say this, but he said this to me. During Zinda Banda, he called Atlee sir and Shobi master, and told them that I will be standing next to him in the whole song. I think he wanted me on his left. He said what Priya does, I will follow and I don’t want her anywhere else. He used to tell me to do the step and I used to say that, sir there is slight change in our steps. He used to see everyone’s dance step. He is very hardworking and took extra effort to learn his steps. He used to look at our steps and then did his steps accordingly. Now if you see in the entire song, I am on his left and Sanya Malhotra is on his right.”
Watch the exclusive interview below:
