Sonil Dedhia in Mumbai
'Item numbers' have been a part of Hindi cinema for a long time but of late, they seem to have become essential.
Until two decades ago, it was the vamp in the film who danced suggestively, usually before a male audience.
But in the last few years, the item girl has gone upscale, with some of the biggest stars in the business happily gyrating to specially choreographed numbers.
The latest addition to the list of item girls is Chitrangada Singh. The actress will dance to Farah Khan's choreography in Kafirana in Shirish Kunder's Joker.
She tells Sonil Dedhia why she decided to step out of her 'serious' image and try out a sexy item number.
'I am not trying to change my image'
Chitrangada claims that she has no plans to change her image by doing an item number. "I am not trying to change my image, nor am I going to fit into anything. I think one just gets put into a box in which one has to live and be comfortable in it," she said.
"I am just trying to do something out-of-the-box. It is a chance and risk that you take. Sometimes you fall flat on your face. Sometimes you don't. But I think it's worth taking the risk," she explained.'Madhuri is the item girl I look up to'
The actress says she is inspired by dance diva Madhuri Dixit and took her as the reference point.
"Madhuri is the item girl I look up to. When I was getting ready for the song, I was very excited. But when I reached the sets and saw the scale on which they were going to shoot it, I got nervous. Overall it was overwhelming."
She admits she had never imagined doing an item number. "I had never thought I would ever do an item song as such. Song and dance has always been an integral part of our films. Indians enjoy it a lot," she said.
Chitrangada, who is married to golfer Jyoti Randhawa, says her husband is appreciative of her effort. "He really liked it. He said I really look good in that whole ethnic, rustic look."
She added that she doesn't "really discuss my career with him."
'The word 'fakth' was changed to avoid controversy'
The lyrics of the song were criticised, especially the use of the word 'fakht'.
Explaining the situation, Chitrangada said, "People objected to the word fakht (which means 'only' in Marathi). Later it was changed to avoid controversy."
The 36-year-old actress says double meanings and suggestive lyrics are not new in films. "We recently had a song DK Bose and I have seen people listening to it. Our song had a lot of Marathi lines. I was told the meaning of the word, so I thought that's fine. Had it been a Punjabi song, you couldn't take away anything because that's the quality of that language."'I really think song and dance is very important'
Chitrangada is open to more item numbers.
"I don't mind some song and fun, but there will always be a mix. I really think song and dance is very important. Hindi films always had it and we Indians enjoy that.
"So, if there is one song that is extra special, shot really well, and if the girl is hot, it becomes an extra bit in the film," she said.
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