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Here's a lowdown on what some of the choreographers experienced while making the celebrity couples shake a leg

With just 10 days to go, the final countdown of the much-awaited, 'Nach Baliye. Dus Mashoor Jodiyan. Ek Anokhi Jung' has begun. Here's a lowdown on what some of the choreographers experienced while making the celebrity couples shake a leg

"It has been a blast," exclaims choreographer Al, of Al & Mel who have jointly choreographed Sachin and Supriya. "Though the oldest couple in the competition, they are young at heart.

Being seniors, I was apprehensive if they'd take me seriously. But I was surprised when not only were they willing to learn, but also mastered each step no matter how difficult they found it to be."

Unique in its conception of presenting real life partners competing together, there are various aspects they've all had to deal with.

"That's true," seconds Danny, having choreographed Poonam and Manish Goel, along with Savio and Kunjan. "Poonam would get the steps faster than Manish. Whenever she'd lose patience, we would pacify the two.

But since he is hardworking, he would get the steps soon enough and ironically, Poonam would help him," he reveals grinning.

When given a relatively tough step to practice, Shilpa (Saklani) would... get protective about Apurva (Agnihotri) since he's not much of a dancer.

"Dancing for the love of the art and waltzing with someone you love most is magical," believes Jeet, like his mentor,Remo. And that's the vibe he got while choreographing this couple.

"Their chemistry shows and hence makes the whole presentation likable even if they're not putting their best foot forward each time."

Time constraints, thanks to their overtly busy schedules, has been a major concern. "One can't expect much from a completely exhausted actor at 10 in the night.

And then Mihir was bed-ridden for about a fortnight with a bad back," divulges Darren Das. Choreographing wife, Maninee hasn't been much of a task, but Mihir's got the right attitude. He has given his best," he states admiring his tenacity.

All choreographers felt it wiser to make the couples dance to steps they were comfortable with, rather than giving tough moves.

"We're not here to show our capabilities," articulates Rajeev Surti, choreographer of Rajeshwari & Varun. "She is a good dancer, while Varun isn't, but he has a good sense of rhythm, so it wasn't a Herculean task for me.

At the end of the day, the judges and the masses know that none are professional dancers. The competition is healthy and the bottom line is - we all had a blast!"

With the other contestants being Sai-Shakti, Delnaaz-Rajiv, Neeru-Amit, Mansi-Rohit and Archana-Parmeet, and judges being Farhan Akhtar, Saroj Khan and Malaika Arora Khan, it'll be nothing short of a complete entertainer!

ritu.sur@timesgroup.com