Shah Rukh Did Dance Stunts That Even 25-Year-Olds Would Think Twice Of Doing: Ashley Lobo

Ashley Lobo says choreographing Shah Rukh Khan was a delightful experience, as the actor is full of ideas and even adds interesting nifty movements of his own. While directing him for a song in filmmaker Imtiaz Ali’s Jab Harry Met Sejal, Ashley was pleasantly surprised to witness the fearless side of the actor.

“It was my first day on the set and there was this shot in one of the tracks, where the table is about 3.5 feet high and it required Shah Rukh to take two steps and jump on the table. Imtiaz and I felt it would be nice if Shah Rukh could do it but considering he’s had injuries in the past, I was sceptical about him doing it,” recalls Ashley.

But the choreographer was surprised how Shah Rukh smoothly went ahead and performed the stunt. He later came to know that after Imitiaz casually mentioned Shah Rukh about the same he readily agreed to do it. “Before I could even realise, Shah Rukh took three steps back, swiftly jumped and was on the table. If I had to ask one of my 25-year-old dancers to do it, they’d think ten times. But then I suddenly remembered — since I know Shah Rukh for a long time — he was a gymnast and a soccer player. So all of a sudden it dawned on me that I should have expected him to do it,” says Ashley, who has choreographed a few songs in the film, while the rest have been done by Vaibhavi Merchant.

Ashley is also full of praises for actor Anushka Sharma, who plays the lead opposite SRK. “I always enjoy working with her. Having worked with Anushka for an extended period in Bombay Velvet (2015) I know how good a dancer she is. This time around it was great too as she is receptive, ready to take challenges and quite professional,” adds Ashley, who recently choreographed for the Sushant Singh Rajput starrer Raabta .