Rani wanted only Vaibhavi for 'Aiyya'

Rani Mukherjee is so fond of choreographer Vaibhavi Merchant that she readily agreed to wait for the latter to get free and direct her dance sequences in "Aiyaa".

Rani has three key item numbers in the movie, co-produced by Anurag Kashyap and Viacom 18, and she wanted none other than the National Award-winning Vaibhavi to supervise them.

"Rani waited for over two months to start shoot of 'Aiyya' so that she could get Vaibhavi's engaged time. The reason being that Rani was very particular since the movie demanded a lot of rigorous dance routines which she thought only Vaibhavi will be able to do," said a source.

"Aiyaa", directed by Sachin Kundalkar, is said to be about a woman who finds a man desirable because he smells good.

Rani plays a Marathi girl and is paired opposite southern star Prithvi Raj.

Of her three dance sequences in the film, one is a traditional Lavani number.

Kundalkar says the actress, who comes from a Bengali background, has done a good job of popular Maharashtrian dance form.

"She was quite good with her Lavani dance. She shared a great equation with Vaibhavi Merchant. She did rehearsals on the sets. It's a rapid, classical, sensuous Lavani song," he said.