Salman convinced Remo to choreograph Rafta Rafta

Salman Khan who had once singled out Dharmendra as the most handsome actor, adores Dharmendra and considers the senior actor his only role model. When Dharmendra expressed the wish to do a music video to promote his new film it was Salman who roped in Remo.

The Rafta rafta music-video featuring  the multi-star cast of Dharmendra, Salman Khan, Rekha, Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol, Shatrughan Sinha and Sonakshi Sinha, is unarguably the biggest non-feature-film blockbuster seen on the internet.

It starts off with Dharmendra and Salman Khan jiving with a bunch of firangi chorus dancers to the sound of Rafta rafta dekho ankh meri ladi hai, the chartbusting tune  composed by Kalyanji-Anandji in 1973 for the Dharmendra-Rekha starrer Kahani Kismat Ki.  Midway through this fun-fest, Sonakshi Sinha begins her own little joyful jig to the sound  of  R D Burman’s Oh mere sona re fromTeesri Manzil which, if we must know, has nothing to do with Dharmendra. But how does it matter? It’s  a masti binge for these stars.

Anything goes. The eternal Rekha joins in with her husky voice reciting the celebrated lines from her iconic number Salaam-e-Ishq (again not related to the Deol family) Ishq walon se na puncho ke unke dastan kya hai…She then does a beautifully designed Kathak jig from Salaam-e-Ishq to the accompaniment of a bevy chorus dancers  dressed in pristine white. This portion of the video, clashing as it does with the kitschy colours of the Dharmendra-Salman Rafta rafta portions in the video,  is a visual treat.

It ends with all the stars of the video being joined by Dharmendra’s two sons Sunny and Bobby Deol as the entire ensemble of stars bursts into a dance to the accompaniment of the iconic Dharmendra song Main Jat yamla pagla deewana ho rabba from the superstar’s 1975 hit Pratiggya.

One has seldom had more fun watching a music video.

“And it was great fun to shoot it,” says Dharmendra, “It’s all thanks to Salman who loves me like a son. He  got his friend Remo d’ Souza to choreograph this video.”

Dharam ji says getting the truckload of stars on board was easy. “Salman was part of it from the start with me and my sons Sunny and Bobby. The minute we asked Rekha she agreed. She was not only my co-star the original Rafta rafta song in Kahani Kismat Ki but also one my most favourite co-stars in many other films. Rekha is very close to both me and Hema. Sonakshi also agreed in a moment. She is my dear friend Shatughan Sinha’s daughter and also one of my favourites colleagues. We did two of our best films Dost and Blackmail together. Shatru also sportingly made an appearance in the video with his famous ‘Khamosh’.”

Chuckles Dharam ji, “The video has become a bigger muti-starrer than our film Yamla Pagla Deewana Phir Se which it is meant to support and promote. It just shows the goodwill that I have in the film industry. If I am loved so much, it is the greatest blessing I have received from God.”