Music composer Lalit Pandit fondly remembered Salman Khan’s fun-loving nature as he looked back at the making of the Dabangg chartbuster Munni Badnaam Hui, which featured Malaika Arora. Speaking to ANI, Lalit Pandit, who composed the song, revealed how Salman approached the dance with an instant sense of joy and thoroughly enjoyed creating his own steps for the part, finding an unexpected inspiration after watching his driver and cook dance.
“Munni Badnaam mei Salman ne kya masti wala dance kiya tha…Jab woh gaana record hua tha (Salman was full of fun in Munni Badnaam Hui dance…When the song was recorded), he took his driver, his cook, and everybody to his farmhouse. Salman is a very friendly guy. He has got his own character. Woh hamesha masti mei rehte hai. Raat mei unhone bonfire jalaya aur in sabko bola nachne ke liye. Aur sabko ko thoda thoda pila diya. Driver bhi nach raha tha, cook bhi, and waha ke locals bhi. He noticed and unke steps hi kiye hai. Gaane mei haath upar karke nache hai woh unke driver ka step hai (He is always in the mood to have fun. At the farmhouse, he lit a bonfire, made them have a few drinks, and asked everyone to dance. His driver, cook and even the locals were dancing. Salman picked up their steps. The particular step which Salman performs with his hand up in the air, it was his driver’s step),” the music director said.
Lalit also opened up on how the actor was keen to include his portion in the song, which was originally meant to be filmed only with a female performer.
“He added so much to the song. He was the one to bring himself as an addition to the song. Munni Badnaam was originally a female song but then he said ‘Isme mera hona zaruri hai warna gaana hit nahi hoga (I should be in the song or else it won’t be a hit).’ It was then when we added another antara (part). Salman even suggested the action portions when he raids the place, turning the situation into a comedy sequence,” he added.
Having achieved tremendous popularity upon its release, Munni Badnaam Hui was a part of the first Dabangg film. With lyrics and composed by Lalit, it was sung by Mamta Sharma and Aishwarya Nigam.
The item song was choreographed by Farah Khan and is still remembered as one of Malaika’s iconic songs. On the other hand, Salman, as the fearless yet corrupt police officer Chulbul Pandey, received much love from the fans, prompting the makers to create the sequels.