Here’s what the winners of Dance India Dance are up to these days.
For a long time, dance reality show on television primarily meant Boogie Woogie. However, in 2009, Zee TV launched Dance India Dance. It not only gave a platform to enthusiastic youngsters but also helped them pave a career for themselves. Not just the winners, but many contestants today are working as choreographers, actors and dance trainers after getting noticed on the stage.
Dance India Dance also saw Mithun Chakraborty as the grandmaster. His trademark ‘kya baat, kya baat, kya baat’ continues to be a way to applaud good talent. While Terence Lewis, Geeta Kapoor and Remo Dsouza were the original judges, Shruti Pathak, Marzi Pestonji, Mudassar Khan, Punit J Pathak, Mini Pradhan have also graced the judges’ table in different seasons. The last season marked Kareena Kapoor Khan’s debut on television as she took charge as a judge along with Raftaar and Bosco Martis.
The show for a change did not hand out a trophy, but instead gave the winner a symbolic ‘takdeer ki topi’ (destiny’s hat). With its rising popularity, Dance India Dance also had a number of spin-offs – DID Li’l Masters, DID Super Moms and DID Doubles among more.
Today, as part of our flashback series, we will tell you what the winners of Dance India Dance are up to these days:
Salman Yusuff Khan (Season 1)
Salman Yusuff Khan’s ability to perform all kinds of dance forms made him a tough competitor, and he eventually the ‘takdeer ki topi
Part of Remo D’souza’s ‘Remo Ke Rangeele,’ Salman Yusuff Khan impressed right from the start. His ability to perform all kinds of dance forms made him a tough competitor, and he eventually the ‘takdeer ki topi’. Alisha Singh, Siddesh Pai and Jai Kumar were the other finalists of the season.
Post the show, Salman Yusuff Khan featured in one of the songs in Wanted, which brought him more fame. He made his big Bollywood debut with Remo D’Souza’s ABCD: Any Body Can Dance. He went on to choreograph many celebrities in Jhalak Dikhlaa Jaa, and even participated as a contestant in 2016. Khan was also seen in Khatron Ke Khiladi 5. His last screen outing was Street Dancer 3D.
Shakti Mohan (Season 2)
Apart from running dance school Nritya Shakti, Shakti Mohan is also an active YouTuber.
With the show gaining popularity, the talent in season 2 only became better. Shakti Mohan, who was trained under Terence Lewis in contemporary dance, managed to take home the title. While runners up Dharmesh and Punit J Pathak are today accomplished choreographers-actors-reality stars, the fourth finalist Binny Sharma moved towards acting in serials.
Post her win, Shakti Mohan appeared in songs in films like Rowdy Rathore, Tees Maar Khan and Samrat & Co among more. She even choreographed “Nainowale” in Padmavaat. Besides making her acting debut in popular Channel V show Dil Dosti Dance, she was also the judge of Dance Plus for the last four seasons. Currently, apart from running dance school Nritya Shakti, she is also an active YouTuber.
Rajasmita Kar (Season 3)
Rajasmita Kar is running a dance academy in her hometown.
Part of Geeta Ki Gang, Rajasmita Kar beat Pradeep Gurung, Raghav Juyal, Sanam Johar, Mohena Singh to win the title in the third season. Considered an underdog, Kar managed to impress the audience with her versatility and won with a huge margin of votes.
Apart from choreographing, Rajasmita Kar has been a judge on various seasons of Dance Odisha Dance. She is also running a dance academy in her hometown.
Shyam Yadav (Season 4)
Shyam Yadav beat Manan Sachdev, Biki Das and Sumedh Mudgalkar to earn the ‘takdeer ki topi’.
After three long years, the judges were changed, and in came Mudassar Khan, Feroz Khan and Shruti Merchant. Shyam Yadav, who was part of Mudassar’s team, won the show, beating Manan Sachdev, Biki Das and Sumedh Mudgalkar.
Post the show, Shyam has kept busy with choreographing and stage performances.
Proneeta Swargiary (Season 5)
Proneeta Swargiary is an active YouTuber.
Feroz Khan and Shruti Merchant were replaced by Punit J Pathak and Gaiti Siddiqui in this season. Proneeta Swargiary, who belonged to Punit’s team, won the takdeer ki topi. She beat Nirmal Tamang, Sahil Adanaya, Kaushik Mandal and Ashish Vashistha in the finals.
Proneeta Swargiary is an active YouTuber, and her dance videos garner thousands of views. She is also quite a popular face on TikTok.
Sanket Gaonkar (Season 6)
Sanket Gaonkar won Dance India Dance Season 6.
Marzi Pestonji and Mini Pradhan joined Mudassar Khan as the judges of the season. Mini Ke Masterblasters’ Sanket Gaonkar emerged as the winner of the season. He was pitted against Piyush Gurbhele, Nainika Anasuru, Sachin Sharma and Shivam Wankhede.
Apart from performing at events, Sanket Gaonkar is also training dancers.