Exclusive! Alia Bhatt undergoes rigorous Kathak training for a duet with Madhuri Dixit in 'Kalank'

Madhuri Dixit-Nene will share screen space with younger actors like Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan for the first time in Kalank. In fact, Madhuri and Alia will even dance together in the period saga. Says a source, “An elaborate number featuring the two will be shot soon. The team is working on getting everything in place for the shoot. It’s a classical song, which will reflect the era that the film is set in.”

While Madhuri is a trained Kathak dancer, Alia had to undergo training. “She needed to learn the dance form as she has never done something like this before,” adds the source. The Raazi actress devoted a chunk of her time to pick up the mudras. “Though she has been learning Kathak since a year, for the last two-and-a-half months, she underwent rigorous training as this is integral to her role.”

Alia also got a chance to learn from Pandit Birju Maharaj, who is Madhuri’s guru and has choreographed her numbers like Kaahe Chede (Devdas, 2002) and Jagaave Saari Raina (Dedh Ishqiya, 2014), for a few days. The 25-year-old is currently shooting abroad for Brahmastra and will soon return to India to film the song.