"It is always wonderful working with him. It is a big thing for me to choreograph a star like him and I feel proud. He is a down-to-earth person with a golden heart. He gives a lot of respect to women. When I was an assistant, he used to call me by my name but now he addresses me as madam. I like his manners."
How easy or difficult is it to choreograph Salman Khan? Shabina, who has earlier worked with the actor in movies like "Jai Ho", "Dabangg" and "Prem Ratan Dhan Payo" replied: "It is not difficult to choreograph Salman Khan if you know him. As I have been working with him for a long time, for me it is not so difficult because I know his style. He has a certain body language which is different and has a great style. He does not rehearse much. I go to the set with several options of steps and show them to him. He will rehearse on spot for ten minutes and then gives the shot."
Shabina added that among the options she offers him, if Salman likes a step, he will follow it without further questioning. She said: "He does improvise but if he likes a step, he completely follows it. I always go to him with at least 4-5 options for a step . If he likes a step, he says let's do this. If he feels something better can be done, then he chooses from whatever options I offer him."
The choreographer further revealed that creating steps for the character of Chulbul Pandey took time. Because she is a woman, she needed time to get into the macho male character.
"While creating dance steps for Chulbul Pandey, I had to keep in mind that it is a very popular character. He has certain mannerisms of walking, talking and looking. Being a female choreographer, I had to learn the body language of that male character. It took me two days to get into the character of Chulbul Pandey. People used to get surprised on the set when I started walking and talking like Chulbul Pandey," recalled Shabina.
The choreographer who has assisted Prabhu Deva earlier in her career, was also a little apprehensive whether the dance legend, who is the director of "Dabangg 3" will approve her steps or not.
She said: "I created almost 10-15 steps for the song 'Hud hud Dabangg' and it took time. Prabhu(dheva) sir is the director of the film and I have earlier worked with him as an assistant. He is a legendary choreographer. So, I was a little scared about whether he will like my steps or not. We finally used three steps in the song and the one in which he (Salman Khan) is rolling up his sleeves, everybody loved it."
The song "Hud hud Dabangg" recently courted controversy after netizens expressed anger over the video which shows saffron-clad sadhus dancing with guitars in their hands. Calling it "maligning" and "insulting" Hindu sentiment and culture, netizens demanded an apology from Salman Khan while the hashtag #boycottdabangg3 trended on Twitter.
Directed by Prabhudheva, "Dabangg 3" stars Salman Khan, Sonakshi Sinha and newcomer Saiee Manjrekar. The film, which is the third instalment in the successful "Dabangg" franchise, is slated to hit theatres on December 20.
( With inputs from IANS )