Mumbai, Apr 17 (UNI) Bollywood actor Jaideep Ahlawat, known for his intense performance in critically acclaimed series like "Paatal Lok", has taken audience by surprise with his effortless dance moves in 'Jaadu', the first track from the upcoming Netflix heist film "Jewel Thief".

The film, helmed by Robbie Grewal and Kookie Gulati, also stars Saif Ali Khan, Nikita Dutta and Kunal Kapoor in pivotal roles. Best known for his searing performance in dramatic roles, Ahlawat's dance moves have emerged as an unlikely yet delightful revelation.

In a recent conversation with Mid-day, Ahlawat recalled his initial reaction when approached for the sequence. "No one, not even Siddharth and Mamta (Anand, producers) had any idea that I liked dancing. When I was asked to do it, I said, I can manage this much dance,'" he smiles.

Bring it up and he says, "I knew I could dance, but for some reason, such a script never reached me. Here, Sid sir and the makers thought of making me dance. They could have easily shot the song only with Saif and Nikita. But Kunal bhai [Kapoor] and I were included. I saw the opportunity and accepted it."

The "Paatal Lok" star further disclosed that "Jewel Thief" won't be the last time audiences see him breaking into a jig. "I did a film before Jewel Thief. Its release got delayed," he revealed.

Reflecting on his experience with"Jewel Thief", Ahlawat described it as "Ek dum mast (absolutely fantastic)", especially after years of playing largely sobre roles.

"I've done all of this before, for instance, in Commando [2013], which had only dialogue after dialogue. This kind of dialogue-baazi becomes fun when you know it's not force-fitted. We have grown up watching [Amitabh] Bachchan saab, then Shah Rukh [Khan] saab. So, there is no prep needed to play such a character", he further explained.

The film is slated to premiere on Netflix on April 28. UNI XC SSP