Nani's Aaya Sher hookstep copied from Baba Jackson? Romania's Got Talent contestant, dancer posts video proof

Romania's Got Talent contestant Baba Jackson took to his social media to post an old video of him performing the step he claims is copied by Nani.

The song Aaya Sher from Nani’s upcoming film The Paradise, directed by Srikanth Odela, was released on Tuesday, his birthday. While numerous people took to social media, thrilled and surprised to see Nani doing massy steps, a dancer alleges that the hook step that has gone viral was copied from him. Baba Jackson, a contestant on Season 16 of Românii au talent (Romania’s Got Talent), took to his social media to post video proof.

Dancer Baba Jackson has alleged that Nani's hookstep in The Paradise song is a rip-off of his step.

Baba Jackson claims Aaya Sher hookstep a copy of his

As soon as videos of Nani’s hookstep in Aaya Sher began going viral, Baba took to Instagram to post a video he had made years earlier of himself performing a complicated step. Captioning it as the ‘original’, he posted a 2024 video in which he dances to the Kurchi Madathapetti song from Guntur Kaaram. He also posted the clip of Nani doing the Aaya Sher hookstep, calling it a ‘copy’. Posting the clip, he wrote, “Jalwa hai hamara (That’s my brilliance).”

In case it wasn’t clear, Baba also posted another Reel showing Nani’s hookstep, writing, “They copied my step,” and saying, “Jalwa hai hamara.” Later, when an Instagram user claimed in his comments, “Your entire dance routine is based out of MJ. Ur name is copied from MJ,” Baba cussed at him, adding, “I don’t copy. I upgrade.” Several who have followed Baba for years seemed to agree that the step was copied, while Nani’s fans vehemently disagreed in the comments section.

For the unversed, Baba Jackson, whose real name is Yuvraj Singh, is an influencer known for his dance videos. In 2024, Snoop Dog reshared a video of the dancer recreating Michael Jackson’s moves and adding his own twist, writing, “What in the moon hop is going on here.” Recently, Baba performed to a mix of Indian songs on Romania’s Got Talent, leaving the judges in awe.

Aaya Sher song from The Paradise movie

Sudhan Master choreographed Aaya Sher, though his name isn’t listed in the credits on YouTube, and Anirudh Ravichander composed the music. Kasarla Shyam wrote the lyrics to the song with vocals by Addula Jangireddy and Arjun Chandy. The celebratory song shows Nani dancing his heart out after treating the slum where he lives to a dawat (feast). Given how the actor doesn’t dance much in films, fans were surprised.

Numerous fans posted clips of his hook steps on X with captions like, “POV: You thought it’s just a song from The Paradise… then Nani started dancing,” and “Peak Nani. Peak Anirudh. Peak Director.” Not everyone was impressed because some shared the clip with captions like, “Wait. Still figuring out if this is funny or massy,” and “What kind of step is this?”

The Paradise will be released in theatres on August 21.