When Michael Jackson hugged Jaaved Jaaferi at New York show

Mumbai, February 11

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Actor and comedian Jaaved Jaaferi, who introduced the country to break dance, went down the memory lane and recalled meeting legend Michael Jackson (MJ) in New York.

Known as the ‘King of Pop’, MJ was a singer and dancer, who in his four decades of career, contributed widely to music, dance, and fashion. He also popularised the dance move ‘moonwalk’.

Jaaved, who appeared on the special episode of the celebrity dance reality show ‘Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa’, reminisced about meeting MJ and shared, “There was an award function in New York where he was honoured by an Indian society. He came on stage when there was no one else present except me, as I was hosting the show at that moment. As he was coming up, I shared that moment with him, and when he was leaving, I was like, ‘I won’t let him go,’ and I asked, ‘Can I give you a hug?’ He said, ‘Yes, of course,’ and he lovingly hugged me.”

“It was a very special moment because MJ hugged me. So, it will remain with me forever. I had introduced him on stage at the event, and he said, ‘Oh, you did a wonderful job, thank you.’ I said, ‘It’s a big thing for me.’ He is on a different level,” said the actor.

He further recounted how his expecting wife insisted on watching MJ perform live in Mumbai.

“When MJ came to perform in Mumbai, my wife was eight months pregnant (with Meezaan Jaffery), and she insisted on seeing the live show. She came with me in a heavily pregnant state and we stood there in the front row cheering for him,” he added.