Fresh from the triumph of Aamir Khan‘s 200-crores Ghajini, British actress Jiah Khan is now working hard on Yahoo with Shahid Kapur and – no mean dancer herself – has been raving about his dancing. In the movie, Shahid is seen practicing a form of urban dance called krumping. Justin Timberlake’s choreographer, Marty Kudelka, had been roped in to teach him the steps. “I remember the first day of rehearsals with Justin’s choreographer Marty,” says Shahid, “Suddenly I started getting sweaty hands and became nervous. I was feeling that it’s very nice to see the videos of people and say that we too can dance like them. But when you actually get down to doing it, it does make you feel a little nervous.”
Jiah is a committed member of PETA and has been campaigning against the use of glass-coated manja used in the strings of traditional kites in India. When the manja falls on trees and poles, birds get tangled up in it and it is said that thousands suffer from cut wings every year. The campaign coincides with the festival of Makar Sankranthi when kite-flyers fill the streets. “Glass-coated manja is a public health hazard and causes excruciating death for birds who get tangled up in it”, explains Jiah, “We’re asking participants in the Makar Sankranthi contests and all kite-flying competitors to immediately stop using glass-coated manja and to conduct their sport in a way that isn’t deadly to humans and wildlife.”
Jiah is currently looking forward to working on Housefull with Akshay Kumar, Deepika Padukone and Riteish Deshmukh.
