MUMBAI: Deepika Padukone is learning Tamil from the mighty Robot himself. Rajnikanth has finally met his match. Earlier this month, just before the superstar was hospitalized, Deepika was able to match his dance steps perfectly when they shot a song together although the choreographer – Brinda is a Rajni regular and has never worked with Deepika before.

The ever-generous Rajnikanth broke into spontaneous applause after watching Deepika dance.

Deepika also seems to have struck a chord with Rajnikanth. Last month in Chennai, they were shooting a peppy song set to an exotic beat by AR Rahman for Rana. And Rajnikanth known to be super-nimble on his feet had finally met his match. Apparently Deepika was so light on her feet that she made Rajnikanth break into spontaneous applause.

Murli Manohar, the executive producer of Rana, from Chennai tells Businessofcinema.com, “Rajnikanth is known to out-dance most of his leading ladies even at his age. But this time it was something else. The song was a lavish recreation of a past era and Rajni and Deepika were dressed in a blend of the modern and medieval clothes. Neeta Lulla’s costume for Deepika was so stunning that Rajni sir complimented her spontaneously. From that point onwards Rajni sir and Deepika hit it off like a house on fire.”

Choreographer Brinda, who is a regular choreographer with Rajnikanth, found herself stumped by Deepika’s dexterity next to Rajnikanth.

Manohar adds, “Brinda has shot innumerable songs with Rajni. This was her first song with Deepika. She was told to strike a balance between the North and South Indian styles of dancing since the film is being made in Tamil-Telugu and Hindi. Deepika grasped the cultural mix of North-South steps perfectly.”

By the end of the song-and-dance Rajnikanth insisted on speaking to Deepika in Tamil though Deepika’s mother-tongue is Kannada.

When asked about the experience of shooting a song with Rajnikanth Deepika said, “It was unreal. It’s an absolute privilege to be cast opposite him.”