Malaika Arora brings back ‘Chaiyya Chaiyya’ magic with iconic moves

Dubai: Malaika Arora has brought back the magic of her iconic ‘Chaiyya Chaiyya’ performance, proving that some Bollywood dance numbers never go out of style.

The actress and dancer shared a video of her latest performance on Instagram, captioning it, “Some things never get old”, along with hashtags including #ChaiyyaChaiyya and #Evergreen.

The video begins with Malaika getting her hair and makeup done before she steps out to perform to the much-loved track. Dressed in a colourful outfit, she performs the song’s signature hook steps alongside television actor Aman Verma.

‘Chaiyya Chaiyya’ featured Shah Rukh Khan and Malaika in the 1998 film ‘Dil Se’. Composed by AR Rahman, with lyrics by Gulzar and vocals by Sukhwinder Singh and Sapna Awasthi, the song became one of Hindi cinema’s most recognisable dance numbers.

Malaika’s energetic performance, filmed aboard a moving train, became a defining moment of the song and helped establish her as one of Bollywood’s most recognisable dancers.

Interestingly, choreographer and filmmaker Farah Khan had earlier revealed how Malaika landed the role during an appearance on the chat show ‘Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai’.

Farah recalled that the makers had struggled to find someone for the song even a week before filming was scheduled to begin. She said she eventually called Malaika despite not knowing whether she could dance.

“I did not even know if she could dance. But I knew that her look was right. She looks beautiful,” Farah said.

Malaika went on to make the performance her own, and decades later, her signature moves remain associated with one of Bollywood’s most enduring songs.