Karan Johar announced the biggest multi-starrer Kalank in April this year and since then it has been making headlines for all the right reasons. With a starry ensemble cast including Madhuri Dixit, Sanjay Dutt, Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, Sonakshi Sinha and Aditya Roy Kapoor, Kalank is being helmed by Abhishek Verman, who has previously directed 2 States.

Today, a leading magazine reported that Alia has been undergoing special training in traditional dance form of Kathak for the film. “Alia doesn’t want to leave any stone unturned for her role in Kalank. She has now started learning Kathak as well. She recently paid a visit to Pandit Birju Maharaj, Kathak exponent in Delhi to learn some nuances for the film.”

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Madhuri, who plays dance teacher to Alia in Kalank, has also been trained under the exponent dancer for the iconic song "Hum pe yeh kisne hara rang daala" for Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Devdas. She refers to Pandit Birju Maharaj as "the ultimate dancer". With two beautiful actresses taking lessons from the best, Kalank seems to level up the scale for performance.

[caption id="attachment_121656" align="aligncenter" width="680"] Madhuri performing with Pandit Birju Maharaj[/caption]

In May, a few pictures of Madhuri were leaked from the sets of Kalank in Mumbai. She was seen dressed in maroon attire with heavy jewellery completing her look. Since then speculations have been rife that she will be essaying the role of a courtesan in the film. The actress was seen as a courtesan earlier in Bhansali’s Devdas starring Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Though, nothing is said to be similar in her characters.

Reportedly, Madhuri, who is also a trained Kathak dancer, has been rehearsing four to five hours, for her role in the film.

Kalank is said to be Dharma’s founder and late Yash Johar’s dream project. It was earlier titled Shiddat and is slated to release in April 2019.