Mumbai, June 27, 2026
Actress Urmila Matondkar revealed how she once juggled between hectic shooting schedules between two of her hit projects, her iconic song ‘Chamma Chamma’ from China Gate and her hit movie ‘Jaanam Samjha Karo’.
Sharing the challenges behind shooting the song, Urmila who appeared on the dance reality show India’s Best Dancer, revealed that she was managing multiple shoots at the same time and had almost no time for rehearsals. She said, “Ab do shooting ke beech mein, main double shift kar rahi thi. Kal subah 9 baje se iss gaane ki shooting thi Mehboob Studio mein. Dono ke beech mein main gayi hu rehearsal dekhne ke liye jaisa unhone mujhe choreography dikhayi, mujhe bas ek heart attack aane ki kami thi kyuki maine bola, ‘Ye kya hai, main kaise karungi?’”
(Now, in between the shoots, I was doing a double shift. The next morning, the shooting for this song was scheduled from 9 AM at Mehboob Studio. In between, I went to watch the rehearsal, and when they showed me the choreography, I was almost having a heart attack because I thought, ‘What is this? How am I going to do this?’)
She further added, “Kal subah 9 ki shift thi aur mujhe raat bhar ek aur gaana karna tha, jo tha Janam Samjha Karo ka title track. Toh vo mera 7 se 2 baje ka shift tha, 6 baje tak chala hai aur uske baad 9 baje main ye gaana karne bina rehearsal pahunchi. Kaisa kiya hoga maine.”
(The next morning, I had a 9 AM shift, and the whole night before that, I had to shoot another song, which was the title track of Janam Samjha Karo. My shift was from 7 PM to 2 AM, but it went on till 6 AM. After that, at 9 AM, I reached for this song without even having a rehearsal. How did I manage to do it?)
She added how China Gate’s director Rajkumar Santoshi words changed her perspective, “Unhone mujhe ek baat batayi, ‘Urmila ek gaana aaya tha barso pehle aur jab bhi log dance ki baat karte hai aur choreography ki baat karte hai toh ye ek gaana hai jo aadmi ke aankhon ke saamne aata hai. Mujhe uss gaane se behtar gaana karna hai.”
(He told me something, ‘Urmila, there was a song that came out years ago, and whenever people talk about dance and choreography, this is one song that immediately comes to their mind. I want to create a song that is better than that one)
Terence Lewis, who is judging this season of India’s Best Dancer, highlighted the global impact of the song and shared how “Chamma Chamma” found its way into Hollywood.
He said, “Ek film bani Hollywood mein, it’s called Moulin Rouge and Moulin Rouge ka climax song tha. Usmein Chamma Chamma was used. Vo film bahut saare Academy Award jeeti thi and I remember this very clearly, jaise ye gaana baja na Chamma Chamma, toh can you imagine the popularity of Chamma Chamma that was used in Hollywood.”
(A film was made in Hollywood called Moulin Rouge, and the climax song of Moulin Rouge featured ‘Chamma Chamma’. That film won several Academy Awards, and I remember this very clearly the moment this song played, ‘Chamma Chamma’ can you imagine the popularity of the song that it was used in a Hollywood film).(Agency)
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