At India’s Best Dancer, Urmila Matondkar reveals she shot Chamma Chamma after an all-night shift for Jaanam Samjha Karo.
Published: June 27, 2026, 8:28 AM IST
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Chamma Chamma by Urmila Matondkar (PC-YouTube)
Actress Urmila Matondkar recently looked back at one of the busiest phases of her career and revealed how she shot the iconic song Chamma Chamma from China Gate while juggling multiple film commitments. Appearing on the dance reality show India’s Best Dancer, Urmila shared that she was working double shifts at the time and barely had any time to prepare for the song.
Recalling the experience, she said she had gone to watch the choreography before the shoot and was completely shocked by how difficult it looked.
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Urmila shared that she was already balancing two projects and had another song shoot lined up for Jaanam Samjha Karo. She remembered thinking she would never be able to pull off the performance after seeing the choreography.
The actress revealed that she had spent the entire night shooting the title track of Jaanam Samjha Karo. Although the shift was scheduled to end early, the shoot continued till around 6 AM. Just a few hours later, she had to report for Chamma Chamma at 9 AM — without getting any rehearsal time.
Despite the exhaustion and pressure, Urmila completed the shoot and delivered what later became one of the most iconic dance numbers in Bollywood.
Matondkar 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 also shared that director Rajkumar Santoshi motivated her with a conversation that changed her mindset. According to Urmila, the filmmaker told her that there had been songs in the past that became unforgettable whenever people spoke about dance and choreography, and his goal was to create something even more memorable. Those words gave Urmila the confidence to push through the challenge and give her best performance.
Years later, Chamma Chamma continues to remain one of Urmila Matondkar’s most loved and memorable songs.
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)
