Jackie Shroff spun Urmila Matondkar so aggressively in ‘Hai Rama’ she got a bruise, recalls Ahmed Khan: ‘I was too young to…’ | Bollywood News

Ahmed Khan’s breakthrough as a choreographer happened with Ram Gopal Varma’s 1995 blockbuster romantic film Rangeela. One of his most memorable songs from the film was “Hai Rama,” filmed on Jackie Shroff and Urmila Matondkar. Ahmed recently recalled how in a dance sequence, Jackie lifted and spun Urmila so aggressively that she even got a bruise.
“Jaggu da makes it look very rough, but he’s not. He’s a soft man. But the way he held her, he got Urmila in one or two places. We were shooting their catfight sequence in Mehboob Studio. He had to turn and spin her. He really spun her because that’s the moment we wanted her to take a full pivot. That’s when she got a bruise on her arm,” recalls Ahmed on the inaugural edition of SCREEN Spotlight.
“Jaggu da told me, ‘Bhedu, tu tension mat le. Main sab sambhal loonga.’ And I was very young to tell him to hold the girl passionately. How would a 19-year-old teach it, that too to Jaggu da? I still remember Jaggu da had a water spray in his hand. He sprayed water on his hands and started rubbing his hair. He said he’d look a little aggressive with that. But what he did meant nothing. He was just trying to put an effort that I’m with you, don’t get scared. That kept me going,” adds the choreographer-turned-filmmaker.
Ahmed Khan reveals that Urmila Matondkar did tell him a couple of times, “He’s pulling me too hard.” But then she realized that was the demand of the sequence. “I was just following instructions. I don’t know what was happening, but I was doing what I was told to. Ram Gopal Varma would get very excited after every shot. Like a kid, he’d just stand up and clap. That used to boost me. He’s never told me to push my limits because he gave me a break. So, it was almost pampering. That’s why everything just flowed out without fear.”

The choreographer-turned-filmmaker also reveals it’s been years since he has met Urmila. “We used to stay in the building. She was my neighbour for years after Rangeela. But Urmila and I have a special bond because we’re both child arts. And we’ve had two mentors — Shekhar Kapur and Ram Gopal Varma. The universe has attached us in these two ways. We’ve grown up together actually. When I think of Urmila, it brings a smile to my face because the memories are brilliant. And we share a success story,” adds Ahmed.
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As a child art, Urmila Matondkar starred in Shekhar Kapur’s 1983 cult family drama Masoom, while Ahmed Khan played one of the kids in Kapur’s 1987 blockbuster superhero movie Mr. India. Eight years after that, they both got their breakthrough as adults in Ram Gopal Varma’s Rangeela in 1995.