While the Pataudi family was not blessed with great dancing skills, they made up for it with hard work. Choreographer Vijay Ganguly—son of National Award-winning director and screenwriter Anil Ganguly—who has been on movie sets with his father since childhood, shares that he has worked with every generation of Saif Ali Khan’s family, including ex-wife Amrita Singh, Sara Ali Khan, and Ibrahim Ali Khan who recently made his debut in Bollywood with his Netflix film, Nadaaniyan.
Ibrahim Ali Khan; (right) Saif Ali Khan. Pics/AFP, Instagram, X
Although the Ibrahim-starrer was met with harsh criticisms, Vijay says that like his father, Ibrahim didn’t mind working hard and endlessly rehearsing dance numbers. “Ibrahim is not a fantastic dancer but a very hardworking one.” They met on the set of the wedding track, Tirkit dhoom. Vijay adds, “Though he comes from a Nawabi family, he is grounded. Every time he didn’t get a step right, my assistants would go out of our way to make sure he did it well.”
Anil Ganguly; Vijay Ganguly; Anil Kapoor and Amrita Singh in Saaheb
Reminiscing about being on the set with Singh during the shoot of Saaheb (1985), Vijay shares that he also played a small role in the Anil Kapoor-starrer. “I was a child artiste in the film. I met her properly during the shoot of Sara’s Zara Hatke Zara Bachke [2023] and she remembered that I had choreographed Sara’s song, Chaka chak [from Atrangi Re, 2021]. Sara would wake me up in Goa at 4am to rehearse. She is transparent and has no filters. Sometimes we have to tell her to calm down,” he added. Vijay is also designing the dance in Sara’s Metro In Dino.
Vijay shares that he met Saif for the first time during rehearsals for an award ceremony. “Saif has improved over time. He will joke about things [but still] learn his steps.” His first film with Saif was Chef (2017), followed by Bhoot Police (2021).
