Sweet surprises are made of actors best known for their dramatics taking us by surprise by shaking a leg on screen. Sukanya Verma points to some instances.
Jaideep Ahlawat
The Jewel Thief star has become the talk of the town ever since he showed off his killer moves in the heist drama co-starring Saif Ali Khan.
Known for his intense, author-backed portrayals, Jaideep Ahlawat grew up admiring dancers like Mithun Chakraborty and Govinda was known for burning the dance floor in his college days.
Vicky Kaushal
Vicky Kaushal didn't start out in conventional leading man roles, preferring to establish himself as an artist before mainstream checklist beckoned.
And so when Bad Newz tossed a groovy Tauba Tauba in his direction, the man was only too happy to demonstrate his dancing star swag.
Naseeruddin Shah
When it comes to acting, there's no one more serious than Naseeruddin Shah. His body of work is choc-a-block in meaningful roles and milestones.
But when it comes to letting his hair down for a role, the man is more than happy to dance a storm.
Be it his iconic Oye Oye moves around Sonam in Tridev...
...Or doffing a hat at bawdy 80s aesthetics along with Vidya Balan in Ooh La Lala for The Dirty Picture, Naseer's quite a hotstepper.
Shabana Azmi
Fellow parallel cinema powerhouse, Shabana Azmi, too, broke out of her National Award winning imagery to perform a typical Bollywood style lavani moving her hips alongside '80s poster girls Parveen Babi and Zeenat Aman in the Charlie's Angels-inspired Ashanti.
Irrfan Khan
There's not a meaty role in the world Irrfan couldn't sink his teeth into.
Although Jhatka-matkas wasn't his thing, the hilariously accurate parody of Every Bollywood Party Song in All India Bakchod's viral video where he swoons to nightclub cliches in his inimitable sassy style is satire at its jazziest.
Richa Chaddha
Think Richa Chaddha, think chutzpah. But for those oblivious to her trained Kathak dancer roots, the actor's dramatic display as a jilted courtesan performing an emotional mujra in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's opulent OTT series Heeramandi proved to be a delightful surprise.
Rajkummar Rao
The star of serious fare like Shahid, Newton and Trapped started out teaching drama and dance to kids in a school.
The man's rolling in rhythm and didn't waste any chance sharing his shimmying skills with the world as soon as the opportunity presented itself over the course of movies like Dolly Ki Doli, Bareilly Ki Barfi, Stree and Stree 2.
Shakti Kapoor
Perhaps his villainy and comic chops are so overpowering that Shakti Kapoor's rocking dancer went unnoticed.
Be it his dance off opposite Sanjay Dutt in Rocky, band member gusto in Dance Dance, bhangra romp in Adharm or step-by-step coordination with Govinda in Raja Babu, Shakti's bounce deserves a mention.
Sharmila Tagore
Though never really the dancer like her classically trained contemporaries Asha Parekh or Waheeda Rehman, Sharmila Tagore sure made heads turn when her coy 1960s heroine frolicked about in itsy-bitsy costumes to perform a seductive cabaret in An Evening in Paris.
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