Katrina Kaif can move, and how! The Britain-born actress might have taken time in perfecting her Hindi accent, but Bollywood's latka-jhatkas is something she has mastered, and proves with her latest item song ''Chikni chameli''.
Industry members are smitten with the song. They feel it will definitely be a USP of Karan Johar's remake of his father's classic "Agneepath", and overshadow "Munni", "Sheila", "Shalu" and "Jalebi bai" item numbers.
Composed by national award-winning duo Ajay-Atul, the spicy song, sung by Shreya Ghoshal, is the Hindi version of their own Marathi hit "Kombadi palali".
The lyrics of the number, penned by Amitabh Bhattacharya, are as cheesy as they could get, but the rhythm is extremely peppy and catchy. And Katrina's vigourous moves and sensual expressions, choreographed by Ganesh Acharya, go in total sync.
The 26-year-old had set a benchmark with "Sheila ki jawaani" last year, but with this song, she has surpassed it with her killer desi look.
"Agneepath" director Karan Malhotra is all smiles and believes Katrina has done full justice to the song.
"I think the way the song was made, it was so wonderful, that only a topmost actress could have done justice to the song. And as far as Katrina is concerned, her USP is that she has never been seen in any film in that kind of zone that 'Chikni chameli' is in...which is why she also stands out in that atmosphere and that is why the song is catching a lot of eyeballs," Malhotra said at the music premiere of "Agneepath".
As much as he avoids talking in media about Katrina, even Salman Khan, her former beau, couldn't stop raving about the song.
"I love the song! I saw it a few days back and I am completely smitten by it. A lot of hard work has gone behind it and it is visible on the screen. Hats off to Katrina. She has come a long way," Salman said at a recent event in Mumbai.
A 30-second promo of the song was first launched, followed by an over two minutes-long video on YouTube. The video has registered over 3 million hits so far, and producer Karan Johar is ecstatic.
"The nation is singing and dancing to 'Chikni chameli', so I am really excited about it. It is already an established big hit song," Johar said.
According to Atul Gogavale, "Katrina spent eight days in rehearsal before starting to shoot the song. It took nine days to finish the shoot, and her energy levels never saw a dip."
"This song has a very high tempo and requires speed in steps. Even if I or someone else wants to dance to it, you cannot match up to the tempo for more than two minutes. But Katrina just took it to another level. She has left us speechless," he said.
Celebrities from the film fraternity feel Katrina has raised the bar of item numbers with her energetic dance steps.
Writer Milap Zaveri tweeted: "Katrina's dance steps in 'Chikni Chameli' are too brilliant and energetic! But there should be a disclaimer saying 'Don't try this at home!'"
"'Chikni chameli' from 'Agneepath' is just outstanding. I have never seen an actress dance like Katrina does - she raises the bar to another level," tweeted Ritesh Deshmukh, who recommended Ajay-Atul as composers for the film.
Even choreographer Vaibhavi Merchant, who has choreographed item numbers like "Kajra re" says she is in awe of Katrina's effort.
"Katrina is looking very good in 'Chikni Chameli' and I told Karan (Johar) about it. I really loved it and whenever Katrina comes and does a song like this, you know what the effect is," she said.
The action-drama slated for a Jan 26, 2012 release, features Hrithik Roshan as Vijay Dinanath Chauhan, originally played by megastar Amitabh Bachchan in Chandan Barot's directorial venture of the same name.
Priyanka Chopra, Sanjay Dutt and Rishi Kapoor will also be seen in key roles in the movie.
