For her upcoming film Leela, Sunny Leone has shot a song, which is a reworked version of the chartbuster Dholi taro dhol baaje from Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Salman Khan-Aishwarya Rai starrer Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.

“Bhushan Kumar, our producer, already had the rights to the song. It was his idea to rework the song and he got the Meet brothers to do it,” says Ahmed Khan, who has choreographed the song for the film which is being directed by his brother Bobby Khan.

A massive set was erected in the dunes of Jaisalmer. A crowd of over 500 dancers assembled for the shoot that lasted for a week.

The temperature was a scorching 48 degree Celsius and the heat melted the leading lady’s make-up. “But we refused to compromise. Dholi taro is an iconic song,a Sanjay Leela Bhansali song, so not even a strand of hair could be out of place. Sunny’s personal stylist worked on her wardrobe for over a month before the shoot,” reveals Ahmed.Why this song in particular?
“It’s something that has stayed in the public memory for 16 years. We’ve modified the tune.And it isn’t a Garba set-up, we’ve turned it into a Rajasthani dance,” adds Ahmed who earlier choreographed Sunny’s Laila for Shootout at Wadala. “It was an easy number for her as it didn’t have any complex moves but regular folk dance steps.”Isn’t he worried about comparisons with the original song and Aishwarya in particular? “Not really. There is no denying that Ash is the prettiest face in the industry and a terrific dancer. But Sunny is no less,” he asserts. Sunny was trained by veteran choreographer Saroj Khan before she stepped into Ash’s shoes. “But we wanted to quickly finish the song so the training was limited but the result is spectacular!” he exults.Has he shown it to Bhansali? “God, not yet, I hope he likes it!” Ahmed worries.