Race 3 director Remo D’Souza has let out a small but significant fact: that Salman had not recommended Isabelle Kaif for his forthcoming dance film, Time to Dance. In fact, according to Remo, the superstar who is known for giving newcomers a break only came to know much later that Katrina’s younger sister was in the film.

Remo, who had started out as a choreographer, shared, “I was looking for a fresh face. Also, someone who would be good at dancing, since the film is based on dance mostly.” That’s when an industry insider recommended Isabelle for the part. Shares Remo, “Someone from the industry came forward and told me, ‘Why don’t you take Katrina’s sister, Isabelle, who is indeed a good dancer? She is also keen on being part of the Hindi film industry.’”

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That’s when they approached Isabelle, and after she cleared the auditions, she was signed on. Salman apparently had nothing to do with her casting. Dismissing rumours about Salman recommending Isabelle’s name, Remo declared, “No, this is not true. In fact, Salman Khan came to know about Isabelle while doing our film, Time to Dance, much later.”

Full marks to Isabelle, who has bagged this film on her own merit! Remo, a dance par excellence himself, is very impressed by her skills and her dedication. He notes, “She is a good dancer and above all, she also works very hard. Isabelle is practicing rigorously without leaving any stone unturned.”

The film, which pairs Isabelle opposite Sooraj Pancholi, will feature some interesting dance styles including a mix of ballroom styles like Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot as well as Latin dance forms like Cha Cha, Samba and Jive.

Given his connection with Katrina, it was rumoured that Salman would give Isabelle her big Bollywood break in a Salman Khan Films’ production. However, that did not materialize. What’s more, he even bowed out of doing a special dance number in Time to Dance, as he was not comfortable with the dance forms and he needed to focus on the Da-Bangg tour and Bharat.

However, he is supposedly mentoring Isabelle diligently and is even supervising the screenplay of the film.