"I had to tell Kylie to throw tantrums on the sets" - Farah

She came, she shot, and she (apparently) broke quite a few hearts. If there has been one personality from the world of glamour who managed to divert media's attention from Slumdog Millionaire to something else in the week gone by, it was Kylie Minogue. In the country for the shoot of a song and dance sequence in the multi starrer Blue, she was quite comfortably the 'woman of the week'. However, she wasn't the only woman who was the center of attraction since there was one more lady who was pretty much in the limelight as far as the B-town was concerned. The name was Farah Khan.

Calling the shots six months after choreographing 'Desi Girl' [Dostana], the director-choreographer made sure that her dance moves mattered once more as she got together Kylie and Akshay Kumar on the same dance floor. As Kylie flies back to Australia after completing her shoot for the song, Joginder Tuteja catches up with Farah Khan and knows from her about the shoot, alleged throwing of tantrums by Kylie and her reunion with Akshay Kumar.

Kylie, Kylie and more Kylie. Now what is so special about her entire song? Please, can you let go of the veil?
This is a night club number which is supposed to be set in Bahamas. However, we have replicated the same setup in Mumbai itself. The song has an international setup to it and why just Bahamas; it could have suited even New York or Miami.

When you say the song has an 'international setting' to it, what exactly do you mean?
It means that we are not making a 'bhel-puri' by bringing in an international artist like Kylie and then making her turn into a Bollywood dancer. She is supposed to be what she is in real life and hence retains her international appeal. It is with the arrival of Akshay Kumar in the song which brings in an Indian element. A.R. Rahman has come up with another great track where the first half featuring Kylie is in English with a Western tune while the second half has Sonu Nigam coming behind the mike for the 'bhangra' portion.

So does the song belong to Kylie or Akshay?
The song belongs to both of them. They both have equal footage in it. While the first half has Kylie in it, the second half has more of Akshay.

Where does that leave the remainder of the cast i.e. Sanjay Dutt, Lara Dutta and Zayed Khan?
All of them feature in the song as well though it's at a little later stage. Zayed Khan comes first followed by Lara and then Sanju. In fact Sanju's character in the film is the kind that doesn't get into a jig at any moment; hence his dance steps too are restricted. So yes, in a way, the song is mainly a Kylie and Akshay number.

What have you made Kylie wear?
Well, first and foremost I want to let everyone know that she is not wearing a 'bindi' or a 'ghaghra' as some are speculating out there. She is wearing a short Western dress; the kind that she could have worn even at an international platform like say, MTV awards. As I mentioned earlier as well, she maintains an international appeal in her costume, dance and body language.

And how much does the audience get to see of Kylie? Her butt has earned her millions of fans worldwide!
Please, no butt show here in our song. We have restricted the show to her legs!

Well, we will live with that. How about her tantrum throwing on the sets? Appears there was a 'No Entry' sign board, literally, on the floor where the song was being shot!
What rubbish! People will write what they want; you can't go and stop them from doing that. Leave aside the celebrities, every dog and cat was allowed to enter; there was no restriction of any sorts. The production people may have got a little hassled about the presence of an international celebrity amongst them and hence become a little strict in their screening of visitors. But no, she didn't declare war on visitors, as is being said by some people.

But on the sets, she did throw tantrums, right?
Why do you have to believe in hearsay? Come on, on the contrary I was telling her that she should behave like an international celebrity, throw a tantrum, or two, make her presence important, have people around her in a little awe. She is such a sweet woman to work with. She used to be on sets from 8 AM to 8 PM without any complaints whatsoever; have her pictures clicked with the dance troupe and others. It was a dream come true to have worked with her.

Didn't you two know each other?
We hadn't interacted ever. I of course knew about her body of work while she too had seen Om Shanti Om. She was also aware about my musical Bombay Dreams so that kind of helped the ice to be broken.

And what about Akshay?
What about Akshay? Well, he is always a pleasure to work with. I have directed him earlier, albeit for a short duration, in Om Shanti Om and it was one amazing shoot that I can never forget. Moreover, it was close to two years after choreographing him in 'Mast Kalandar' [Heyy Babyy] that I was having him on the dance floors for Blue. With him and Kylie around, we had great fun throughout the week that the song was choreographed.