Sanjeev Shrivastava’s dance video on Govinda’s song Aap Ke Aa Jaane Se went viral on social media.
A passionate dancer who considers Govinda as his idol, Sanjeev Shrivastava became an overnight star after a video of him dancing to his idol’s song “Aap Ke Aa Jane Se” went viral. The professor from Madhya Pradesh, who is yet to come to terms with the sudden stardom, talked to indianexpress.com over the phone.
Shrivastava started by saying that his life has changed for good, but he is yet to understand how it all happened.
“I feel as if God or angel came into my bedroom one night and moved their magic wand over me. And when I woke up the next day, the world became completely new,” he said.
Shrivastava has been receiving praise on social media, as well as from Bollywood celebrities including Arjun Kapoor, Raveena Tandon, Anushka Sharma, Dia Mirza, Divya Dutta and Sandhya Menon. When asked about the video by indianexpress.com, actor Govinda had said, “More than half a dozen heroes have copied my steps, and nobody has done it so well!”
When told about Govinda’s statement, an emotional Shrivastava thanked us and said, “It’s my fortune that Govinda ji saw my video and said such precious words. I don’t think I want anything else after hearing this.”
When asked if he would want to share the stage with the original ‘street dancer’, the electronics professor said, “I am too common a man to even think about this, I can only dream about it. But if he tells me, or I do get a chance, I would jump at the offer even in my sleep. That would be truly a dream-come-true moment for me.”
Shrivastava said that his mother was a classical dance teacher, and as a child, he used to make fun of her when she taught young girls at home.
“I don’t know when I fell in love with dance. But I remember there was a function in my society and I registered myself for the dance competition. That was my first stint with dance and I won the competition. That sparked my passion and love, and from 1982 till 1998, I performed at many stage shows. Dance for me is life, and it comes naturally to me,” he said.
Watch his viral dance video here:
Don’t want people to wait too long. So here I am presenting 3rd video of Dancing Uncle, Dancing Jija Ji, Dancng Phuphaji etc. Me & My wife Dancing on Tamma Tamma Loge…@Varun_dvn @aliaa08 @MadhuriDixit @shahidkapoor @iHrithik @govindaahuja21 @TandonRaveena pic.twitter.com/hS7hD2T5zE
— Sanjeev Shrivastava (@DabbutheDancer) June 1, 2018
The 46-year-old also spoke about how he wanted to take up dance professionally, but never had the confidence.
“During our time, you had to come to Mumbai to become famous and that remained out of the boundary for people like us. So I took up engineering and was working in corporate sector when I wanted to be by my parents’ side. So I took up academics and moved closer home as a professor. There was no social media that time, and I am just amazed at how social media makes a hero out of people like us,” he said.
While he remains the flamboyant performer in his family, his wife, though shy, never fails to give him company on stage.
“It’s enough for me to have her beside me on stage. She gives me much energy,” Shrivastava said.
The professor is also enjoying the attention he is getting in his college.
“Everyone is really happy and showering me with love and respect. They have created a WhatsApp group in my name and sharing pictures and videos on the same. I have always been an active performer in all annual day functions, and now my students have given me the ultimatum that I would have to rock the stage with more performances,” he said.
After the video, Shrivastava was roped in as the brand ambassador by Vidisha Municipal Corporation in Madhya Pradesh.
When asked whether he would like to advance his stardom by appearing on TV shows, Shrivastava said, “Of course, if I can entertain or bring happiness to people through my acts, why not? But I must add, I have Fevicol applied on my feet and so I will always be firmly on the ground. Stardom is temporary, so I will not let it fly me away.”