Chaiyya Chaiyya is one of Shah Rukh Khan’s most iconic songs. And with reason, I mean it became so popular at the time that ultimately, the song was branded as a defining moment from the 90s. And part of the reason it became so popular was Malaika Arora’s brilliant dancing talent. But apparently, she was not the first choice for the song!

Chaiyya Chaiyya, Malaika
Credit: Indian Express

According to Malaika Arora’s upcoming web-series, Moving In With Malaika, Farah Khan said that they’d approached Shilpa Shetty, Shilpa Shirodkar and a few other celebrities for the song, but they’d all refused to do it.

And then the make-up person, mentioned Malaika and how great she was at dancing and that’s how she was chosen for the song!

Chaiyya Chaiyya, Malaika
Credit: Hotstar

And she clearly did a stellar job at executing the choreography, because hello? Not only did she dance well, she danced well on top of a moving train.