Rani Mukherjee goes belly dancing in 'Aiyyaa'

With item numbers being a rage in Bollywood, the latest to join the bandwagon is actress Rani Mukherjee, who has performed not one, but three item numbers including a belly dance in her upcoming film Aiyyaa.

All the three songs – a south Indian dance number, a lavani (Marathi dance form) and a belly dance - are distinct and planned to go with the flow of the story.

"The songs come in her dreams. All songs are part of her fantasy. Sachin gave us an opportunity to do three songs. They are different. To everybody it may seem like item songs but they are very important songs in the film and part of the narrative," Rani told reporters here last evening, during the official launch of the south Indian song Dreamum Wakeupm.

The over-the-top dance number is a fantasy song, a dream sequence between Rani and her south Indian fantasy man Surya, played by south actor Prithviraj.

"Dreamum Wakeupm is a south Indian song. Thanks to my hottie hero Surya, she (my character) goes into his world and that is what her imagination is," Rani said.

For her second item song in the film, Rani had to learn belly dancing.

"Aag Bai Halla Machae Re song will come out in two weeks. Sachin wanted to talk about a woman's fantasy and how she lusts for a man. Choreographer Vaibhavi Merchant added her touch to this song by asking me to learn belly dance for it," Rani said.

Considering Rani is playing a Marathi girl in Aiyyaa, she has also performed a lavani.

"Sachin wanted a lavani number as my character Meenakshi Deshmukh is a Marathi girl. So Sachin wanted that introduction in a lavani number and hence that song. Vaibhavi researched a lot on lavani steps and gave her own touch," she said.

Produced by Anurag Kashyap and Viacom 18, the film releases on October 12.