Shakti moves on to Jhalak
The actress is optimistic to continue her victory run in the upcoming season of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa. Shakti Mohan is giving the show her all
Shakti Mohan, the winner of
Dance India Dance 1, surprised everybody when she signed up for the upcoming season of Jhalak
Dikhhla Jaa . She says, “On Dance India Dance, I was participating as a newcomer, training under a team of professionals. Now that I have some experience in the field and I have made a name for myself, it is the right time to do a show like Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa. Yes, the expectations are high since I have won DID in the past. Everyday people tell me ‘ you will kill it’. That puts immense pressure to perform.”
Incidentally Remo, who judged Shakti on DID, is also a part of
Jhalak…. “It will be a lot of fun to interact with him. The advantage is I know him as a judge. In that show I used to perform solo, while here I have my choreographer as my partner. During DID, I was a part of Terence sir’s team, so I didn’t spend too much time with Remo. But he has been part of my journey,” says Shakti.
Last season, Shakti’s sister Mukti was part of the same show and the actress reveals that Mukti gives her a lot of advice. She says, “Mukti has advised me to be calm and patient. She has also asked me to take care of my health and eat regularly. Sometimes I practise so hard that I forget to eat.” Shakti’s other sister Neeti, is a well known playback singer in Bollywood. Shakti says she would love to dance to
Nazar Laye Na from Raanjhnaa and
Jiya Re from Jab Tak Hai Jaan sung by her sister.
She maybe training under a choreographer currently, but she was a choreographer herself when she was in New York. However, that’s not something Shakti would like to take up as a career at the moment. She says, “I studied dance and choreography in New York and even taught people there. But it is not something I’m looking to pursue as a career. Maybe after a few years I may take it up. Right now the focus is on improving my dance.” At the moment Shakti is juggling the shoot of her youth- based show Dil
Dosti Dance along with her dance rehearsals. Shakti says, “I shoot all day and then go for rehearsals. I’m tired by the end of the day but I still try to give my best. At the moment, I can only spare three to four hours on rehearsals. Ideally, a dancer should put in 10 hours of daily practice to deliver a polished performance. But the shoot of Dil Dosti Dance doesn’t give me that kind of time. There are a lot of dance sequences in that show. Sometimes I hear a song and wonder where I have heard it… I tend to mix up songs, in my head.”
Besides performing on shows, Shakti is continuing her tryst with film songs. Her latest is Tequila Wakila from the recently released film
Samrat and Co. Speaking about the number, she says, “It was a pleasure working with Ganesh Acharya and that number is memorable. But unfortunately I didn’t find the time to catch that film and watch my performance on the big screen.”
Choreography
is not something
I want to pursue as a career at the
moment
Going by past trends, it has been observed that amateur contestants have triumphed over trained ones. Shakti remains optimistic though. “I will put in my best. The rest is for the judges to decide. I hope I win.”