The lyrics of one of Bollywood’s most famous item numbers, Ek do teen, started off as “dummy text”. N Chandra, who directed and produced the super-hit Tezaab in 1988, shared an old Koli folk ditty with the film’s music composers Laxmikant Pyarelal which went, “Ding dong ding”. The legendary duo created a melody with dummy lyrics that went, “Ek Do teen chaar paanch chhe saat aath nau...”, and lyricist Javid Akhtar took over, to make it a song that spoke about a young woman tired of waiting for her lover. It was Dixit’s first mega hit, and possibly the beginning of the item number trend as we know it. Dixit, as Mohini, danced on stage, choreographed by late Saroj Khan, in a glittery pink, one-shoulder crop top, matching mini skirt. And history was made.

Mumbai-based journalist-turned filmmaker Divya Unny has drawn inspiration from the song 34 years later with her 12-minute short film, Dancing Queen. The film’s protagonist Madhu echoes Unny’s love for the song, which she first heard when she was nine, in 1995. She was a kid growing up in the suburb of Mulund, and attended a convent school where Bollywood music wasn’t encouraged.