Sanath Jayasuriya gets groovy with Madhuri Dixit at the launch of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 5 in Mumbai last Thursday; (below right) show judge Karan Johar

At the dance competitions in our kiddie birthday parties, Aditya Chopra used to come first, the second spot would be a tough fight between Hrithik Roshan and Farhan Akhtar while Ekta Kapoor and I would be the contenders for third prize.” This was one of the many starry anecdotes that Karan Johar shared with the audience at the launch of the new season of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa (Colors) on a rainy evening last Thursday in Mumbai.

For the man behind mushy box-office winners like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and My Name Is Khan, the show that sees celebrities put on their dancing shoes is his second stint on television — after his popular chat show Koffee with Karan, of course — but his first as a judge. “I can’t really ‘dance-dance’, but I do have a keen eye for it. I can at least tell when someone mistimes a step or gets a beat wrong,” laughed the 40-year-old producer-director, looking dapper in a black suit and white shirt.

Johar joins an elite panel of judges this season, the other two being choreographer Remo and Dhak dhak girl Madhuri Dixit, for many the best mover and shaker that Bollywood has ever seen. “It was an amazing learning experience judging Jhalak the first time around last season and in this edition, I expect the bar to be raised even higher,” said a ravishing Madhuri in a yellow-and-gold Anarkali, flashing that all-too-familiar million-dollar smile.

Going by the contestant line-up this season — now in its fifth edition — it does seem that Madhuri’s expectations are not unfounded. From dancer-actress Isha Sharvani to Balika Vadhu star Pratyusha Banerjee, from small-screen actors Gurmeet Choudhury, Jayati Bhatia, Gia Manek and Bharti Singh to IPL girls Shibani Dandekar and Archana Vijaya, from Bhojpuri star Ravi Kissen to ghazal veteran Talat Aziz, the talent on Jhalak this time is as good as it gets.

“Jhalak is a reality dance show that has the potential to teach even a seasoned mover like me a lot about dance,” smiled Isha Sharvani, who was last seen in Zoya Akhtar’s Luck by Chance.

While Taare Zameen Par star Darsheel Safary is the youngest contestant at 16, the feather in the Jhalak cap is the presence of Sanath Jayasuriya, the Sri Lankan batsman who terrorised many a bowler the world over in his prime. “I am not a dancer at all, but I am a great fan of Bolly dance moves and I am here just to have fun,” smiled Jayasuriya. The high point of the launch was seeing the shy demolition man of Sri Lankan cricket match a step or two with Madhuri.

As the audience at Goregaon’s Filmistan Studio clapped and cheered, all the contestants — accompanied by their choreographers — made a grand entry shaking a leg to a medley of popular songs from the three judges’ films.

Set to join the dozen celeb contestants will be a 13th name that will be chosen from among the million viewers that tune into Jhalak every season. The show hosts will be TV stars Ragini Khanna and Manish Paul who take over from Jhalak I champ Mona Singh and small-screen funnyman Sumeet Raghavan.

Set to air over two months, this is the first time that the show will be telecast on Colors, having had a successful run on Sony over the last four seasons. “Jhalak has been a good acquisition for us and we are sure that it will help immensely in upping our weekend viewership numbers,” said Raj Nayak, chief executive officer of the general entertainment channel.

The optimism stems from the fact that Dancing With The Stars — the BBC-owned format on which Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa is based — has recently been rated by the Guinness Book of World Records as the “world’s most watched reality show format”, with over 250 million viewers tuning in.

The show this season will have a lot of firsts — from live singing on stage to flying down back-up dancers from the US version of the show to pairing the contestants with winners of Dancing With The Stars. “For the first time, we will also introduce an online Jhalak app for the viewer to enjoy and participate in his favourite dance show on the go,” said Myleeta Aga, general manager and creative head of BBC India.

Not to be missed this season: a special segment called ‘Madhuri’s Step of the Week’ in which the dancing queen will show off her moves.

MOVERS ’’ shakers

MONA SINGH (Season 1)

Mona ‘Jassi’ Singh walked away with the winner’s trophy defeating TV star Shweta Salve.

PRACHI DESAI (Season 2)

Rock On!! girl Prachi Desai trumped film and TV actress Sandhya Mridul in the finals.

BHAICHUNG BHUTIA (Season 3)

India’s former soccer skipper danced his way to the top, ahead of model-actress Gauahar Khan.

MEIYANG CHANG (Season 4)

Singer-actor Meiyang Chang was the

surprise winner, edging past Pavitra Rishta star Sushant Singh Rajput.