Katrina Kaif is like a teacher’s pet, Deepika Padukone is ‘mid-bencher who comes with a certain ease’: Vaibhavi Merchant points out differences between the two stars

Ever since the song “Leke Prabhu Ka Naam” from Tiger 3 dropped, fans cannot get enough of Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif‘s chemistry. The song and Katrina’s moves have also been compared to Deepika Padukone’s “Besharam Rang” from Pathaan. Choreographer Vaibhavi Merchant recently addressed these comparisons, and spoke about how the two characters are very ‘different’; thus, the choreography was designed accordingly. She also spoke about the differences between Katrina and Deepika as performers.

Talking about Katrina’s Zoya and Deepika’s Rubai – both Pakistani spies – she shared that the latter was a femme fatale dancing to entice Pathaan (played by Shah Rukh Khan). However, the Tiger 3 song is about a married couple celebrating their love. She also shared that since “Besharam Rang” was Deepika’s big dance number, they wanted to go all guns blazing. “There was no information about Rubai’s backstory. It was her intro song. So I just approached her as a femme fatale. She’s Bo Derek from James Bond. Deepika had also done a bunch of traditional roles, like Padmaavat. So when she came into ‘Besharam Rang’, she wanted to go all guns blazing. So I didn’t want to shoot it like a typical Hindi dance song. I wanted it to be languid like a chic fashion video. Something I did with Katrina in the Dhoom 3 title track,” she told Hindustan Times.

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As for Katrina Kaif’s song, Vaibhavi said, “But Zoya is very different from Rubai. She’s the wife of Tiger and the mother of a 10-year-old. So it’s all character-driven. Rubai is meant to entice Pathaan, Zoya is dancing with her husband. She’s just celebrating.”

The director of choreography also opened up about the two actors and their approach. She said that Katrina is like the ‘first bencher’ who is also the teacher’s pet, while Deepika Padukone comes with a certain ease. Vaibhai said, “Katrina comes from a place of anxiety. She wants to make sure she doesn’t disappoint anybody. Deepika came in as the complete opposite. She’s a quiet worker. She did her rehearsals silently. She does her homework. Katrina also does her homework, but she’s like, ‘Dekho, dekho, main apna homework karke aayi hu’. She needs a sign-off from me on everything, including her costumes. Deepika worked on her costume herself. Katrina is that front-bencher who’s a teacher’s pet. She’s very hands-on. Deepika is that mid-bencher who comes with a certain ease.”

Tiger 3 is set to release next month during Diwali.