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UAE-based actress recalls dancing to the now viral 'Ramba Ho'
Veteran actor and dancer Kalpana Iyer, who lives in Dubai, has found herself embraced by a whole new generation after the track resurfaced in 'Dhurandhar'
- PUBLISHED: Tue 3 Feb 2026, 12:49 PM
- By:
- Husain Rizvi
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Veteran actor and dancer Kalpana Iyer, now based in the UAE, is still coming to terms with her unexpected return to the spotlight after her iconic song Ramba Ho went viral decades later. Popularly remembered as the original “Ramba Ho girl”, Iyer has found herself embraced by a whole new generation after the track resurfaced in Dhurandhar, currently streaming on Netflix, and then exploded online thanks to her own impromptu dance video.
Speaking to India Today, the 70-year-old actor said the viral clip was completely unplanned. Shot at a friend’s son’s wedding in Siliguri, the video shows Iyer dancing instinctively to Ramba Ho, dressed in a saree, with no choreography or rehearsal. “I just went with the flow,” she said, adding that she shared the video casually on social media, only to find it “all over the internet” within hours.
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Watch the video below:
Iyer revealed that she had already begun hearing about the song trending again after its inclusion in Dhurandhar, with friends sending her clips and messages. “They were like, ‘Your song is playing, and we are remembering you,’ and I became emotional and so grateful,” she said. Interestingly, the actor is yet to watch the film herself.
Beyond the online buzz, Iyer hopes the moment could mark a return to cinema. Having stepped away from Bollywood in 1999 before moving to Dubai, she says she misses “the studio, the smell of the studio, my industry”.
Kalpana Iyer starred in several hit films across the 1980s and 1990s, including Satte Pe Satta, Hum Paanch, Laadla, Anjaam and Hum Saath Saath Hain.
