Actor Aditi Rao Hydari’s scintillating ‘gaja gamini’ walk from Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s OTT debut ‘Heeramandi’ has been grabbing headlines lately. The walk features in the show’s much-loved song ‘Saiyaan Hatto Jaao’, and now Aditi has mentioned that she did not anticipate such a reaction to the walk. Nonetheless, several things from the world of ‘Heeramandi’ have caught the attention of audiences, and one of them majorly has been Aditi’s ‘gaja gamini’ walk, which is also known as the swan walk. 

Thanking Sanjay Leela Bhansali for helping her ace the move, Aditi, in an interview with Connect Cine, revealed how the filmmaker was involved in it along with choreographer Kruti Mahesh. She said, “I am thanking everybody. That walk, just that little tukda from thumri, it is all over the internet. I really didn’t expect that and Sanjay sir did say, ‘Ye chaal bahut important hai (This walk is very important).’ He has so much knowledge so he was very much involved in the making of the song.”

The actress further reflected on Sanjay’s passion for perfection, and said, “Kruti Mahesh was there choreographing but he was completely involved in every detail of the choreography and he was very particular about this walk and how it should happen, how will the dupatta fall, how will the waist move, exactly when will the ‘chan’ sound will be heard…it was quite incredible”.

In the viral clip from the song, ‘Saiyaan Hatto Jaao’, Aditi’s character Bibbojaan is performing for Nawab Wali, played by Fardeen Khan. It is during her performance that she does the ‘gaja gamini’ walk, and then looks back, only to start walking like that again.

Reacting to her walk, one person commented, “The usual kinds of seduction we see in songs are over the top like twerking with skimpy clothes but in Bhansali films, it is always subtle and coy”. Another one wrote, “It’s the way she turns back and does those neck and face movements.”

As for ‘Heeramandi’, the show released on Netflix on May 1, and is set against the backdrop of pre-Independence Lahore.