Bollywood News

Sadi Punjabi girls whose real names are Neena and Veena, are on a roll—they are rocking Hollywood,The identical sisters— voted America’s sexiest twins—already have a long list of admirers and a celebrity fan list that’s as long as the distance from Patiala to Pennsylvania. Their song and dance routine has hypnotised the West, enough to have the likes of Jenna Elfman and Steven Tyler of rock legend Aerosmith, and current Latino flavour Ricky Martin rooting for the ‘kudis’, who have featured in the videos of these stars and performed in hundreds of international shows.

In fact, so pervasive has been their influence on contemporary dance forms that they are credited with popularising and bringing into the mainstream belly dancing in America. Those in entertainment circles say Britney Spears and Shakira, too, haven’t remained unaffected by what Neena and Veena dish out. How could they? Some of the 12 fitness videos they have starred in have had long runs on Billboard Top Ten charts, selling over 4 million copies worldwide. Now considered to be a part of the Hollywood A-list, it hasn’t been an easy ride for the girls, though. “In the entertainment field, it’s not easy to be a working performer for anyone, especially Indian women. Thousands and thousands of people come to Hollywood every week to become a star,’’ Veena told TOI in an e-mail. “Neena and I have been very lucky to constantly get work as actors, singers, voice-over artists and, of course, dancers. It was a very hard climb for us in the beginning.’’

Asked how they got hooked to belly dancing, hooking large hordes of the glitterati in the process, they say, “We started belly dancing as an exercise, when everyone said it would not work (as money spinning showbiz item). But today belly dancing is a multi-million dollar industry.’’