'Kalyani Remix' choreographer Mruthul on creating a viral hit in just two days

'Kalyani (Remix)' doesn't rush Saniya Iyappan into dance. It gives her room to settle into the character first. A measured walk, an expression held just a little longer, a movement that barely calls attention to itself. By the time the choreography opens up, Kalyani already feels familiar.

That was precisely the idea choreographer Mruthul wanted to capture.
"I imagined Kalyani as someone who arrives beautifully dressed, carrying herself with quiet confidence. Even the smallest gestures had to reflect that image. I wanted her movements to feel like Kalyani herself had come dressed up," he tells Onmanorama.

It is a deceptively simple thought. Yet turning that vision into one of the internet's most talked-about music videos took just two days.
'Kalyani (Remix)' reimagines the Malayalam indie sensation 'Kalyani' with new vocals by Shreya Ghoshal alongside the original artistes ARJN, KDS and FIFTY4. Directed by Leo Ben, the remix features Saniya Iyappan in a music video that has quickly become a talking point, not just for its dreamy visual language but for the way its choreography blends elegance with contemporary flair. The song has since crossed 30 million views on YouTube and even caught the attention of rapper Snoop Dogg, who shared it on social media.

For Mruthul, however, the assignment began with a single question. Who is Kalyani?
Rather than treating the choreography as a string of dance routines, he approached it as character design. He built the movement vocabulary around three ideas: tradition, sass and dream.

Those ideas surface throughout the video. In one moment, Saniya appears almost statuesque, letting a glance do the work. In another, she slips effortlessly into playful, contemporary movement. Even when the choreography becomes more rhythmic, it never feels like a showcase of technique. It is designed to preserve the illusion that Kalyani moves this way naturally.

"I was very clear that I didn't want to repeat steps. Every movement had to feel fresh. We wanted stylish choreography that stayed true to who Kalyani was," he says.

That confidence extended to the casting as well.
When Saniya first received the choreography videos, she wondered whether she would be able to pull off some of the movements. Mruthul never shared that concern.
"We knew she could do it. We didn't have to change anything. She picked up the choreography on the spot and was wonderful to work with. We had no room for reshoots or repeated takes, but she got it right."

The confidence was soon tested.
Rain arrived unexpectedly during the shoot, forcing the team to abandon parts of their original plan. Instead of waiting for better weather, they adapted.

"The rain wasn't part of the plan. We had to create those portions on the spot, and that sequence eventually took on a sassier feel because of the way we choreographed it."
Improvisation became the defining rhythm of the production.
Mruthul joined the project during its final stages, leaving him with just two days to complete the choreography before director Leo Ben had to return to Qatar. The dancers were assembled within days, but finding performers who not only danced well but also looked visually cohesive became another challenge.

"It all happened very quickly. We wanted dancers who matched each other on screen, so even that process had to be carefully thought through despite the limited time."

Time remained the production's biggest adversary.
The entire music video was completed in a single day, with the shoot stretching between 16 and 20 hours. Budget limitations left little room for delays, while the success of the original song added another layer of pressure.

"There was definitely pressure because the original was already such a big hit. The challenge wasn't just creating choreography. It was creating something new without losing what people already loved about the song."
Ironically, the section Mruthul was most eager to choreograph almost slipped away from him.

Initially, he had been brought in for the main track, but he found himself drawn to the portions featuring Shreya Ghoshal's vocals. That instinct proved right.

"I really wanted to work on Shreya's portions, and those are the sections people seem to have connected with the most."
Looking back, Mruthul sees the choreography as an exercise in restraint as much as movement. Sometimes Saniya dances. Sometimes she simply walks. Sometimes she pauses long enough for the costume, styling and music to complete the performance.

"My job was to make the artiste look as beautiful as possible. Not every moment needed choreography in the conventional sense. I usually work around concepts first, and the movements come after that."

For someone who began his career as a background dancer in Mammootty's 'Bheeshma Parvam' before assisting choreographers across film projects and eventually finding his own space through music videos, 'Kalyani (Remix)' marks another milestone. But he admits he never imagined the song would travel as far as it has.

"When Snoop Dogg shared the video, it felt surreal. None of us expected it to reach that kind of audience."
Perhaps that is the quiet achievement of 'Kalyani (Remix)'. Behind its polished frames and effortless choreography lies a production that had little time, limited resources and constant uncertainty. What survives on screen is none of that. Instead, it is a character who seems to float through the song with effortless grace, exactly as Mruthul had imagined Kalyani from the very beginning.