Salman Khan is ‘easy but not laidback’, Shah Rukh Khan ‘believes he’s a bad dancer’: Vaibhavi Merchant on differences between the Khans

Choreographer Vaibhavi Merchant, who recently worked with Shah Rukh Khan on Jawan and Pathaan, and with Salman Khan on Tiger 3, spoke about the difference in their approach to dance.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | Updated: October 31, 2023 10:00 AM IST

Vaibhavi Merchant listed out the differences between Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan.

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Choreographer Vaibhavi Merchant holds the unique distinction of having worked with the biggest Bollywood stars. In the last year alone, she was worked with everyone from Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan to Deepika Padukone and Katrina Kaif. In an interview, she opened up about the different working styles of SRK and Salman, with whom she worked on the YRF Spy Universe projects Pathaan and Tiger 3.

She said in an interview with Zoom Entertainment that Salman is a more relaxed presence on set, but because Shah Rukh has convinced himself that he is a bad dancer, he works extra-hard to deliver the goods. Describing Salman as ‘easy’ but not ‘laidback’, she said that he is quietly focused on getting the job done. “Whereas Shah Rukh, I feel, is an ambidextrous human being,” she said. “He is of another level. You pull him from a scene to a song to action, and without breaking the code he will go from one to the next.”

Also read | 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

She continued, “He’s made of a genius cloth. Kuch aur hi hai (He’s something else). Again, with Salman, he’s a hustler. He’s doing all that also, but he’s not making you feel like he’s coming from a (different land). You’ll feel he’s not there, but he’s all there.”

Vaibhavi said that Shah Rukh has ‘psyched himself into believing that he isn’t a good dancer’, which is why he puts in so much effort. “He’s an entity of his own. He comes from a place of a lot of discipline. He’ll practice. He psyches himself to believe that he’s not a great dancer, and then he creates his process. He jokes also, he’ll say, ‘Dekh maine kar liya hai practice, ab tu sambhal lena (I’ve done my job diligently, now you handle it).”

Vaibhavi got her start as an assistant choreographer and gained recognition for her work on the song “Dhol Baaje” from Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, which won her a National Film Award. She gained further recognition for the song “Kajra Re,” and has also appeared as a judge on dance reality shows on television.

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