Ash, Will Smith dance to Shiamak's tunes

While Salman Khan was partying with Will Smith at his Bandra apartment, Aishwarya Rai was rehearsing her 'Kajra Re' steps at the MMRDA Grounds, in Bandra yesterday. Bollywood's most talked- about actress, who is to perform at the 51st Fairone Filmfare Awards today, arrived for her rehearsal 10.30 p.m. As she entered the venue, Abhishek was just wrapping up his act, with choreographer Shiamak Davar looking on. Abhishek took a couple of final tips from Davar and before leaving, met Aishwarya Rai. "Both of them seemed pretty cool with each other," says a dancer who was present.

No sooner had she arrived, Ash was ready to start the rehearsal. "It's always a pleasure to work with Ash; we started working when she was competing for Miss India, and years later I worked with her in Taal. Now I am trying to change the choreography of 'Kajra Re' and make it look slightly different from what you have seen her doing on screen," says Davar. He has even choreographed the steps for Abhishek Bachchan for the function. "He is performing a medley of his films; I have given him a combination of hip-hop and rap," Davar says.

Davar started choreographing dance sequences for the Filmfare awards from the 39th year of the show. "The first time I was part of Filmfare, I did a special tribute to R D Burman. Ten years later I worked with John, Bipasha, Urmila and Kareena, and this year I am handling all the dance numbers except for Madhuri Dixit's, which is choreographed by Saroj Khan," says the dancer.

Davar continues to praise Ash. "She would always come with an open mind, like a learner, and concentrate hard on her work. The day before yesterday Ash continued practising till 4 a.m."

But what excites Davar most is the participation of Hollywood actor Will Smith in the show. "I will be doing a two-minute sequence based on the theme of Men In Black and will introduce Smith to Bollywood celebrities officially. It's an honour for me to share the stage with one of my favourite Hollywood stars," says Davar excitedly. Will Smith is expected to give away the Best Actress award at the show.