Poor Jacqueline has been trounced royally for the damp squib remake of ‘Ek do teen’… The girl did try – you have to give her that – but there was simply no matching the magic of the original…

Lethal Moves

Saroj Khan composed the steps for ‘Ek do teen…’ in 25 minutes flat but, as the veteran choreographer herself had revealed, “Madhuri rehearsed for 17 days because she was not famous at that time; it was that song that made her famous.” Saroj had shared, “When you do a film, you cannot predict its fate at the box office. You just try and give it your best shot. That's what exactly happened with Tezaab. I feel the film became a blockbuster because of its intensity, the chemistry between Munna and Mohini and the ‘Ek do teen’ song.” She maintained that the film was a big milestone of her career and so was the song.
“Tezaab changed my career completely and there was no looking back. I became so popular that actresses started fighting over me!”

Dancing Diva

Saroj had shared, “Madhuri Dixit is one actress who gets all the moves right, she moves right, she smiles at the right time.” Mads, as she was fondly called, did all that and more in the song. With her innocent expressions and sizzling dance style, she aced the song and how! Later, she had shared, “I never could have imagined that the ‘Ek do teen’ number will become one of my most popular songs. I remember having rehearsed for it for 16 days with Saroj ji (Saroj Khan, the choreographer). The shoot went on for almost seven days. On the last day, we shot for the entire day and night. It was quite draining.”

The Voice

The high-pitched voice of Alka Yagnik was a perfect match for the song. She had been facing tough competition from the existing singers in Bollywood. ''It's true I was written off by the media. I was alleged to be too young to sing for leading ladies in Bollywood.” Seven years later, Lady Luck smiled on her and Laxmikant Pyarelal gave her the song 'Ek do teen'. “Since it was picturized on Madhuri Dixit I took extra care to give my best shot and to my luck, the song became almost a national anthem. It fetched me my first Filmfare award and rest is history,” she beamed.

Consequences

Post ‘Ek do teen’ every producer wanted Madhuri to do a dance number in his or her film! Suddenly her positioning in films that were being shot also changed. “We were shooting a song for Tridev. There were three actresses including Sonam and me. Sonam was a bigger star and so, she was made to stand in the centre for half the song. But as soon as ‘Ek do teen’ became a hit, the producer changed our positions. I was in the centre. It was quite funny!” she recalled.
Mads and Anil Kapoor also became the new hit pair in town.

Benchmark

The song was such a huge phenomenon, that the Filmfare Best Choreography Award was introduced for the first time in 1988, and was given to Saroj Khan!

Sorry Jacqueline and team, that ain’t gonna be happening this time around!