Tiger Shroff to replicate Michael Jackson's move for Sabbir Khan’s musical

At a studio in Mulund, three massive sets representing Mumbai’s nightlife have been created. Inside, 400 dancers with choreographer Ganesh Acharya leading the merry band, are viewing videos designed by Los Angeles-based dance directors, featuring some of Hollywood’s finest background artistes. And over the last two weeks, our desi dancers are trying to replicate the moves of their American counterparts.

It’s hard to spot him in the strobe-lit darkness but in their midst is Tiger Shroff, in a pair of hip-hugging jeans, shirt flying open to reveal an enviable eight-pack. He's holding Michael Jackson’s trademark black hat in place, synchronising his moves to a rather difficult track.

On Sunday, the song sequence which opens Sabbir Khan’s upcoming musical romance, Munna Michael, featuring a street kid who dreams of becoming the King of Pop, finally kicked off. “The song was recorded in Mumbai and sent to LA, where a team of American choreographers created dance videos which our Bollywood team and Tiger have recreated here. It’s brilliant!” exults Sabbir who is re-uniting with Tiger for a hattrick after Heropanti and Baaghi.

Tiger who played the naive Bablu in his first film and the fierce Ronny in the action-packed follow-up is now trying to become the endearing Munna over the next 30 days. “We’re keeping all the quintessential elements of Hindi cinema — heroism, music, dance and action — intact while trying to raise the bar,” asserts Sabbir.

Speaking to Mirror between shots, Tiger admits that this ode to his “King of Entertainment” has been the toughest act to date. “It’s a new journey and I hope you’re watching, MJ!” exclaims the 26-year-old-actor, quick to add that if his idol was watching him, he'd order him to “not stop till you get enough… those who reach for the sky, touch the stars”.

There’s a smile of pride as he quotes the legend. Tiger adds with a laugh, “That would be followed by the sound of me fainting.”

Produced by Viki Rajani, the film has Tiger imitating MJ’s iconic dance moves, including the ‘crotch grab’, ‘moonwalk’, ‘toe-stand’, ‘feet shuffle’, ‘MJ spin’, ‘anti-gravity lean’, ‘sideslide’, ‘circle-slide’, ‘the bad train’, ‘jacket throwback’ and the ‘robot’. Debutante actress Nidhhi Agerwal has also been undergoing rigorous dance and acting workshops with Tiger before she starts filming.

“MJ’s the greatest and this entire film’s dedicated to him,” says Tiger, pointing out that apart from the dancing, he’s also looking forward to some great action.

The film also features Nawazuddin Siddiqui in a never-seen-before avatar, dancing alongside Tiger. In an candid chat with Mirror, Nawaz had pointed out that he’d have to work extra hard to keep up with his enthusiastic costar’s agility and fluid grace. Tell this to Tiger and he beams, “Nawaz sir is one of the greatest actors of all time. If he can change his body language from dark and brooding to fun and quirky, then dancing will be a piece of cake for him. I have a lot to learn from him.”