Hrithik Roshan shakes a leg with the audience at the Just Dance launch in Mumbai on Monday afternoon;

I am not the best dancer in the country, the city or even my neighbourhood. I am just someone who works very hard on his dance. Every form of dance is very tough for me. I have to rehearse all the time,” smiled Hrithik Roshan. For the next hour, Bollywood’s king of dance did everything to contradict his opening statement.

Hrithik Roshan hip-hopped, b-boyd, gyrated Bollywood style — and danced like never before at the launch of Just Dance, the newest talent hunt show from the STAR Plus stable and, more importantly, his television debut. Whether it was shaking a leg with an overwhelmed fan on stage, matching steps with choreographer and co-judge Vaibhavi Merchant or walking into the audience to teach a step or two, Hrithik Roshan made sure all eyes were on him at the Taj Land’s End in Mumbai’s Bandra on Monday afternoon.

The latest reality show on the block, Just Dance has the Dhoom:2 mover judging young talents from not only across the country, but from around the world as well.

“For me, this is not a dance show. Just Dance is a mission, a journey that I have undertaken to educate people on what dance is all about,” smiled Hrithik, looking oh-so-sexy in bomber jacket and distressed denims and a just-out-of-bed look.

The normally shy and reticent Hrithik was missing on Monday. In his place was a performer who played to the gallery. Blowing kisses to the women in the audience, engaging in some wicked humour (when told that Akshay Kumar had refused to act with him in a film based on dance, Roshan Jr quipped: “No problem. We will do an action film together!”) or jumping into the crowd to groove time and again, Hrithik was clearly enjoying himself. His entry was the highlight of the event — he slithered in behind an unsuspecting fan on stage, matching her step to step to Kaho naa…pyaar hai, the title track of his debut film.

“For me dance is about letting yourself go, it’s about freedom, about being carefree and giving expression to your thoughts and feelings. ‘Dance like no one’s watching’ has been the rule I have lived by. The tagline of Just Dance — ‘Sab kuch bhula kar just dance’ — stems from that principle.”

While Hrithik gave the auditions across the country and in London and New York a miss, the responsibility of choosing the final 52 contestants rested on the shoulders of co-judges Vaibhavi and Farah Khan. “They have chosen the best that Indian talent across the world has to offer. When I see them on the show now, I salute Farah and Vaibhavi. They have raised the level of the show,” said Hrithik.

Anything about Hrithik the judge that we don’t know? “He gets very emotional while judging. He is extremely attached to the contestants and gets very depressed during the eliminations. He has passed on his personal mobile number to every contestant,” smiled Vaibhavi. [Farah Khan was unable to make it to the launch.]

A major reason why Hrithik gave the nod to Just Dance was the fact that he gets to dance on the show! “I haven’t been able to dance in any of my recent films. In Guzaarish, I was on a wheelchair throughout and, of course, Akbar (in Jodhaa Akbar) couldn’t have danced even if he wanted to!” laughed the star who does get to put on his dancing shoes in his July release Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara.

While he remained tight-lipped on his Just Dance fee — sources peg it at upwards of a crore per episode — Hrithik was more than eager to talk about his time on the show. “We shoot such long hours. My film schedules are suffering, but once I go to the sets of Just Dance, I forget everything. The talent on the show perks me up instantly.”

For Hrithik Roshan fans across the world, Just Dance marks yet another first. Premiering this Saturday and airing every Saturday and Sunday at 9pm, Just Dance will have a simultaneous telecast not only across all STAR channels, but also affiliates like Asianet and Vijay TV in the south. “Dance knows no geographical boundaries and speaks no language. Every Hrithik fan in the country will now get to see their screen idol no matter what channel they tune into,” said Sanjay Gupta, chief operating officer, STAR India.

Besides the chance to be judged by Hrithik, the winner of Just Dance will get an opportunity to star alongside him in a music video, apart from the grand prize of a crore and a car. “We will make sure that the music video acts as their showreel and takes them places,” promised Hrithik.

Will Just Dance give India another Hrithik Roshan? “I am looking for someone as good as my dance idols — Michael Jackson and the king of formless dance, Shammi Kapoor.”