Actor Veer Pahariya, who celebrated his 30th birthday on Saturday, took to Instagram to share a nostalgic memory from his teenage years when he was “obsessed with Bollywood movies.” He recalled how, at just 13 years old, he worked hard to recreate Shah Rukh Khan’s iconic dance for the song Dard-E-Disco from the 2007 film Om Shanti Om. Not only did Veer learn all the steps, but he also followed a strict diet to achieve six-pack abs, determined to look like his idol.

Veer also shared an edited video from back then, showing himself dancing to Dard-E-Disco, alongside a clip of Shah Rukh performing the same. He captioned the video, saying, “On my birthday, which also coincides with the love that Sky Force is getting, I just want to share this old video from when I was 13 and totally obsessed with Bollywood movies.”

In his heartfelt post, Veer revealed that his family had no idea about his secret project at the time. He shared how he didn’t take any money from them and used his creativity to bring his vision to life. For the fire sequence in the dance, he created the effect by lighting up the room and using deodorant to enhance the flames.

Veer’s Bollywood debut came with Sky Force, a patriotic action-drama based on real-life heroics, which was released in theatres on January 24. In the film, Veer plays Squadron Leader Ajjamada Boppayya Devayya, a Mahavir Chakra recipient.