When Irrfan, Salman, Alia took us by SURPRISE!

Did you know Irrfan Khan can dance? No, we didn't know either!

One of the best actors in this country, his exceptional talent isn’t a secret outside India either.

Be it Maqbool, The Namesake, Paan Singh Tomar, Life of Pi or The Lunchbox, a terrific Irrfan Khan performance is something critics and audience can happily rely on in all his endeavours.

But who knew he could dance like that?

One thinks of Khan as many things but not a competition to Hrithik Roshan and Shahid Kapoor.

Yet in the new commercial from 7UP, which went on air recently, the 47-year-old moves like electricity.

On that note, here’s looking at the instances when Bollywood stars took us by surprise with a quality that’s least expected or associated with them.

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Salman Khan’s mainstream appeal and cool dude aura are a huge box office draw.

But who’d believe the hunky superstar is a decent painter too?

You have to see his artwork to believe it’s another celebrity whim but a keenly pursued hobby of which privileged recipients of his creations will tell you.

Only two films old, Alia Bhatt has a knack for getting into controversy.

Whether she’s performing at a much frowned upon event or demonstrating her poor intelligence quotient.

And yet, the youngster amazed everyone with her unexpected melodious singing in the A R Rahman-helmed lullaby, Sooha Saha (Highway).

Writing, directing, acting is there anything the multi-talented Farhan Akhtar can’t do?

The man with a special gift to continuously stun can even sing well enough to playback for himself in a movie where he plays the frontman of a hip rock band.

Overconfident? The chartbuster status of those tracks says not in the least.

Dissed as one the least articulate actresses of Bollywood with a screechy dialogue delivery to becoming its toast for her candor, eloquence and intellect, what a turnaround.

As witnessed in her shared credit for Queen’s dialogue writing, Kangna Ranaut has emerged as a classic dark horse.

With her fragile features and nimble dancing, Katrina Kaif is better suited for typical heroine parts.

It feels absurd to perceive the Chikni Chameli hottie as one of Charlie’s Angels.

That explains the disbelief everyone felt on watching her dole out some cool stunts in Ek Tha Tiger to the extent of stealing the thunder from co-star Salman Khan, considering action is his forte.

Unlike Salman or John Abraham, bodybuilding has never been the USP of stars like Shah Rukh or Aamir Khan.

And that’s why several eyes popped out after they dropped their shirt to reveal chiseled abs and six-packs in Om Shanti Om and Ghajini respectively.

Kareena Kapoor’s transformation from healthy and fit to an emaciated size zero in skimpy costumes evoked all sorts of extreme reactions.

While fashion magazines were more than happy to slip her super skinny frame into designer delights, husband Saif Ali Khan complained about her turning into a 'clothes hanger.'

Speaking of Saif Ali Khan, the actor didn’t just drop our jaws by concealing his suave English schooling roots to transform into the uncouth, unpleasant rural criminal in Omkara.

The rockstar Nawab doesn’t merely posture as someone strumming the strings like most his peers but is an able guitarist who’s often photographed performing for an elated audience.

Needless to say, no celebrity comes close to shocking the audience like Rekha with her inspiring metamorphosis from a gawky, flabby teenager in Sawan Bhadon to the glamorous stunner of Umrao Jaan.

And the passing years seem to have little effect on this evergreen beauty.