Actor, who plays a junior artiste in Pappu Can’t Dance Saala, feels their work often goes unrecognised. She plays Mehek Malvade, a backup dancer in Saurabh Shukla’s upcoming film, Pappu Can’t Dance Saala. And while playing the role, Neha Dhupia realised how much hard work and struggle goes into becoming one.

As a result, the actor has dedicated her role to all the backup dancers in Bollywood. The story goes like this: At a recent TV show, when the actor met up with senior choreographer Saroj Khan and her team of dancers, Neha made sure that she went up to Khan and told her that her character in the film is a tribute to all backup dancers.

“Since Neha has been working in the industry for a long time, she knows that backup dancers put in a lot of effort to make songs look great. But when it comes to getting appreciation, they are hardly recognised. And when she experienced it for herself in Pappu Can’t Dance Saala, she was surprised to see the struggle involved,” says a member from Neha’s entourage.

When contacted, Neha agreed that these dancers often go unrecognised in Bollywood. “I would like to dedicate Pappu Can’t Dance Saala to all background dancers in the industry. They play a very important role but are often not given due credit. My character and the film is for them,” she says.

Shukla’s first mass entertainer, Pappu Can’t Dance Saala is a story of two people from extremely different backdrops who, for the sake of love, come together. Apart from Neha, the film also stars Vinay Pathak and Rajat Kapoor. The film releases on December 16.