Why 'Prem Ratan Dhan Payo' choreographer Shabina Khan is on top of the world

Itrsquos truly been a case of lsquoek pal mein life badal gayirdquo says Shabina Khan who choreographed the recentlygoneviral song Prem Ratan Dhan Payo PRDP the title track of the Salman Khan Sonam Kapoorstarrer The track which released on October 14 has been Dubsmashed all over social media by the likes of Shah Rukh Khan Sridevi and Malaika Arora Khan and taxi drivers patients in hospitals and school kids The first to release her Dubsmash was Kapoor who posted a video two weeks ago and the rest as they say is social media historyChoreographer Shabina Khan directing Sonam Kapoor on the sets of Prem Ratan Dhan PayoldquoEveryone seems to be wanting to jump on the bandwagon Corporates kids and even old people I stopped counting after the first 15000 Now I just say countlessrdquo says Khan who has been working in the film industry for 21 yearsldquoI never though this would happen Itrsquos been lifechangingrdquo The 34yearold started her journey young at the age of 13 Though she belonged to a strict Muslim family where even watching TV wasnrsquot allowed she managed to get inspiration from Madhuri Dixitrsquos moves which she got a peek of on Doordarshanrsquos Chaya Geet Her parents who supported her were told by their conservative society that ldquonobody would get married to her if she went down this pathrdquo ldquoBut I started going for classes at a cultural institution where I used to teach Urdu It was destined to berdquo She was spotted by choreographer Ganesh Hegde who asked her to assist him on the sets of Khamoshi her first movie with Salman ldquoHe is a very important person for me He has his own style and he makes every step you give him look unique He never makes you feel uncomfortable I even like it when he walksrdquo she laughs over the phone returning from a concert in Dharavi for which she had choreographed a couple of slum children dancing to the same song at a Diwali event Salman Khan had organisedSridevi and Shilpa Shetty do the Dubsmash left as do a couple of tiny tots source instagramSince then she has worked with choreographers such as Ganesh Acharaya and done movies such as Jai Ho and more recently Khamoshiyan But the last oneandahalf years have been dedicated to PRDP She was originally only supposed to choreograph two songs but after Sooraj Barjatya saw her work she ended up working on all eight ldquoHis brief for the song was precise make the words come to liferdquo she says Khan decided to do just that ldquoSo itrsquos a take on the aarti Ram Ratan Dhan Payo When Sonamrsquos character sees what Salmanrsquos character who is a version of Ram is doing for her family she feels like she has a gem for a lover Thatrsquos why she thanks God with her hands foldedrdquoThe other main requirement of the song was that everyone could copy the steps and dance along ldquoWhen Soorajji saw the song for the first time in the rehearsal hall he clapped and said lsquoyou got the meaningrsquo And when Salman saw it he said lsquoeveryone is going to dance on thisrsquo and thatrsquos what happenedrdquo She has since been inundated with calls from the industry by people who want to work with her ldquoDavid Dhawan called and congratulated me and fellow choreographers like BoscoCaesar and Longinus They are all so happy for merdquo she says But shersquos also awaiting the verdict on the rest of the songs in the film ldquoThis movie is my life and it has made my liferdquo she signs off