![\"'Mamta](\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-131234454,imgsize-39532,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/screenshot-2026-05-21-001726.jpg\")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\nVeteran background dancer Rubina Khan recently opened up about her experience working in Bollywood and shared interesting stories about the behaviour of actors on film sets. In a conversation, Rubina spoke about stars who treated dancers warmly, while also recalling how some actresses maintained distance during shoots.According to Rubina, actors like Sanjay Dutt<\/a>, Ajay Devgn, Jackie Shroff, and Mithun Chakraborty were among the most humble celebrities she worked with.\u201cThey never behaved like stars around dancers. They treated us like friends,\u201d Rubina told Bollywood Thikana, adding that these actors would casually interact with dancers without showing any arrogance.She also had warm words for Madhuri Dixit, recalling how grounded the actress was despite being one of Bollywood\u2019s biggest stars. Rubina shared that during one shoot, Madhuri sat on the floor with dancers, cracked jokes, and chatted comfortably with everyone.\u201cIt never felt like she was a superstar and we were just dancers,\u201d she recalled.<\/p>\n While speaking about actresses she found difficult initially, Rubina named Mamta Kulkarni and Divya Bharti.\u201cI won\u2019t say badly, but some actresses were a bit arrogant in the beginning,\u201d she said. According to Rubina, they would often ask dancers to stand a little away during shots to avoid being pushed in crowded dance sequences.At the same time, Rubina admitted that dancers themselves were quite mischievous at that age. \u201cSometimes we would intentionally make mistakes during takes just to irritate them a little,\u201d she laughed. <\/p>\n Apart from recalling actors\u2019 behaviour, Rubina also spoke about the difficult working conditions dancers faced during the early years of Bollywood shoots.She revealed that one of the toughest shoots she ever did was for the film Prem, starring Tabu and Sanjay Kapoor<\/a>.\u201cThere was a sequence where we had to keep dancing continuously in extreme heat without slippers. The ground was burning hot, and by the end of the shoot all of us had blisters on our feet,\u201d she shared. <\/p>\n Rubina also made a surprising revelation about how dancers were paid in those days. She said costumes often determined the payment dancers received.\u201cIf we wore short clothes, we got special rates. Sometimes the payment would directly double,\u201d she revealed.According to her, costumes with cuts, wigs, tattoos, or elaborate styling came with additional payments because the base salary for dancers was very low.Rubina also shared that when she entered the industry, she earned only Rs 175 per day. However, despite decades passing, dancers\u2019 pay has not improved significantly.\u201cTwenty-five years ago we used to get Rs 3500 for advertisements, and even today many productions pay the same amount,\u201d she said.<\/div>\n\u2018Mamta Kulkarni and Divya Bharti had attitude in the early days\u2019<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
\u2018We used to dance barefoot in extreme heat\u2019<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
\u2018Short clothes meant double payment\u2019<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n