Masaba Gupta on her surprise Kesari 2 dance song Khumaari: ‘Manifested this when I watched Samantha Ruth Prabhu in Oo Antava’ | Bollywood News

Yes, that was Masaba Gupta that you saw dancing in Kesari Chapter 2: The Untold Story of Jallainwala Bagh. Invoking the cabaret dancer within, she shook a leg to the vocals of Kavita Seth, and the tune of Kavita and her son Kanishk Seth. Khumaari is juxtaposed against a tense conversation between Amit Sial’s character trying to lure retired lawyer Neville McKinley (R Madhavan) to get back to the court to fight a case represented his legal adversary, C Sankaran Nair (Akshay Kumar).Clearly, it’s a track that plays in the background. But Masaba ensures it’s not blink-and-miss. In an interview with SCREEN, Masaba talks about how she bagged the dance number, how she prepared for it, and whether she’s open to doing more ‘item’ numbers.
How did you land Kesari 2’s Khumaari?
So, I actually got a call from Panchami Ghauri, who is the casting director for the film, I think a week before I was getting married, back in 2023. I remember thinking that it was such a bizarre request to come my way. And she said that the director, Karan Tyagi, had this thought in his head, because when they were thinking of this song, it was earlier meant to be a burlesque number, and then of course it was cabaret and set in a period backdrop. And I just said yes, because I’ve been a dancer my whole life actually, and I’ve always wanted to do something like this. I did a very short version of it in Masaba Masaba. I think this was the perfect opportunity, and it was backed Dharma.
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This was your big screen debut. Does it hit differently from all the streaming projects you’ve done?Yes, and I haven’t done too many. I think there’s a certain power of going to a movie theatre and seeing something play.
How did you perfect the dance? Any help or suggestions from colleagues, friends or family?I rehearsed for about two-and-a-half days and luckily I had Vijay Ganguly as a choreographer, who I’ve actually trained with at Shiamak Davar’s institute in my earlier days. He’s also done a song for Masaba Masaba so there was that equation. For some reason in my head, I was trying to reference Catherine Zeta-Jones from her performance in one of the films and a more toned down version of it, of course, because that’s what this one demanded. I spoke to Karan at length about what he envisioned and he had a very clear picture in his mind about how this would pan out.
The song is set in the 1920s. Did you have any inputs for your costume design? How did you bring the flavour of that era?I didn’t have any inputs as such in the costume design. I believe that when I come on to set, if it’s a song of this nature or even if it’s a small ad, I am the art on that set and I let other people do their job. Of course, I will give some feedback, but I understand that it’s not my territory so I let people do what they know best. I like to really shut off the designer brain. Sheetal (Sharma) did the costume, he’s done Gangubai Kathiawadi as well so there’s a lot of trust and faith in the fact that he will do something absolutely bang on, and he did. As you can see, the costume really lifts the whole performance.
The last time we spoke, you said the way you look will always be a constraint to get meaty parts in India. How did you overcome that with this song?I think it will continue to be a issue in terms of the way I look because I don’t look like a conventional Indian heroine. It will continue to be an issue to get meaty roles, but the fact is that whatever is my disadvantage is also my biggest advantage. Because one, I don’t look like anybody else. Two, I can do much more than everybody else. Three, I believe that I may not get 10 commercial parts, but I will get one meaningful part like this song, which was barely 60 seconds, but it will make the impact in a two-and-a-half-hour long film. I think that to me is a meaty part and that to me is what a performer should aim for. My agenda when Masaba Masaba did well was that I will never have an ego about the size of the role that I get. I will always be very clear and have an ego about the impact of that role. That has been a game changer because it’s automatically made me more open to doing things differently and viewing things very differently.Story continues below this ad
Were you ever concerned that this may turn out to be an ‘item’ song? How did you deal with that?
No, I was not concerned that it would be an item song. One, because I had heard about the script. Karan took me through the g of the storyline and I knew that it was an interesting, impactful, courtroom drama. So the base was set as something not frivolous already, right? Secondly, anything that you do which has a period nuance attached to it, automatically in my head, is elevated from being an item song. Having said that, I don’t have an issue with item songs but the item song has to stand for something. I was very impressed with Samantha Ruth Prabhu’s “Oo Antava” (Pushpa: The Rise), and I’ve always wanted to do something like that. In fact, when I saw that song, I manifested this number in my head  because I wanted to do what Samantha did and I wanted the impact to be similar. I thought the song had such a strong message that it really surpassed being just another item song. If an item song is done tastefully, there’s nothing wrong in being a part of it.
Do you think an ‘item’ song objectifies women? Or does it allow them to celebrate themselves?I’ve always been entertained certain item numbers and I’ve been not so entertained certain item numbers. When I think of a “Pinga”, which was with Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone in Bajirao Mastani, I think of that as the most beautiful form of a number that anybody in the country can do. When I think of “Dola Re Dola” (Devdas), I think of the same thing. Having said that, I was thoroughly entertained with Katrina Kaif in “Chikni Chameli” as well, but in today’s day and age, in today’s climate, maybe we have to be a little bit more careful of what we’re really trying to say. But people forget that the arts have a certain entertainment value to them and one should keep that filter in mind whenever they are judging something in that manner. Objectifying women is not something I would ever stand for, but I do think that it’s something that one has to be extremely careful about. When I heard Khumaari, I thought it was so beautiful. It’s about lost love and it’s about longing and it’s not really about anything beyond that. So it’s a performance, it’s hardly a dance number in that sense.
How did your mother Neena Gupta react to your performance?My mother was actually very shocked because she was like, when did you do this and how did you do this and what’s happening, but she was very happy because she always thought that I would dance. So I know that there was always this wish that I do something in that space as well. I actually performed this and shot it pre-pregnancy and I’m postpartum now, so it’s quite a pleasure to see something that you shot two-and-a-half years ago come to life.Story continues below this ad
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Are you open to doing more songs in films? Or you still crave for meatier roles?I will do anything that comes my way which has meaning and which is lucrative enough for me to even take my eyes off my business for one second. I am an entrepreneur first.  meaning. I don’t have an ego about how big or how small something is.