Calcutta boy Shantanu Maheshwari, who has aced many a reality show, is debuting as the host of a reality show — India’s Best Dramebaaz Season 3 on Zee TV. A t2 chat with the teen heart-throb...
You are making the shift from a contestant to being the host of a reality show.
Yes. I love kids. They look at me as bada bhai. The show’s not related to dance, it’s acting-based. Aur bachche kitne shaitan, dramebaaz hain woh toh show mein dekhne ko milega.
What are the dramebaaz kids teaching you?
They are teaching me how to cock a snook at instructors. Of course, they are busy playing and never bother to hear what is being told. Actually more than learning, I am remembering what I used to do at their age.
Is it difficult handling such a young bunch?
There is a kid called Garbit who does not stop talking. It was quite a task at first to quieten him. Then I figured out my best bet would be to act his age and he would take me to be his friend and think: ‘Yeh toh parents jaisa nahin. Iski baat to sunn hi sakte hain’. This rapport is building now.
Do you feel a generation gap with these kids?
Yes. The biggest game changer is the mobile (phone). In our time, we would have gone mad if we were asked to sit at a place for an hour. We needed to play or in my case, as I loved to dance, my body would start moving. Now you can keep a kid busy with a mobile. That has its good side and bad side. It depends on the parents.
You and the show’s judge Sonali Bendre seem to have a link...
Yes, she features in every show that I am a part of. It started in Kya Masti Kya Dhoom, then she was on India’s Got Talent. On both those occasions, I was a participant. She had complimented me on my act. Now I am in a different avatar. When we met this time, she had got to know ki yeh wahin banda hain. She said she was very happy for me as she has seen my journey. I was eight when I met her for the first time. Then I met her at 18. Now I am 27. I meet her every decade! [According to sources in the channel, actress Huma Qureshi has replaced Sonali Bendre, who will be under treatment for “high grade cancer”.]
How do you look back at your journey?
The most important thing is I am happy with the way my career is going. My last show (Khatron Ke Khiladi) brought a change in my attitude. It built my confidence, made me feel that I have seen life.
What is the best thing about this show?
I love kids’ shows. I like the way it opens up the world for kids. When I was seven or eight, if I was taught so many dance forms or given acting tips, it would have made a difference. You get more practice and practice gets you closer to perfection. And you also get to see them grow as kids and as performers.
Kids who gain stardom at a young age tend to get dizzy with fame and get lost in the crowd as they grow older...
It depends on parents. They have a major role in how they deal with the kid. Remember the boy Akshat (Singh, from Howrah) who was on Dance Bangla Dance (and then India’s Got Talent)? He was so famous! Most people used to watch the show for him. He used to do so much masti with Dada (Mithun Chakraborty). Yet his parents kept him so grounded. I have seen it myself.
You have been a contestant on so many shows. Don’t you think shows like this put pressure on kids?
Umm.. pressure toh hain. But these days kids have to compete everywhere from a young age. Even in my childhood there wasn’t so much pressure. In a way it’s good also. But parents also need to let kids live their lives and not overburden them. Even I started dancing at the age of seven or so. Parents understand what their kid’s inclination is. Uss umar mein bachchon ko kuchh samajh nahin hota... kisi ko soldier banna hai, toh kisi ko aur kuch. I was lost in my dream world. It was my mother who pushed me to dance.
What’s the latest on World of Dance Season 2?
You must have seen the first round. The next round will be telecast (on NBC) in end-July or early August. Actually shooting ho chuka hain, but I can’t tell you what happened (breaks into a naughty smile).
Omung Kumar, the director of films like Mary Kom and Sarbjit, is judging a reality show for the first time. A t2 chat...
You started with Zee TV and now with you judging India’s Best Dramebaaz Season 3, has life come full circle?
Yes. I used to host a game show called Ek Minute on Zee TV 25 years ago when Zee started. That was my first set also... I was in advertising then. It was the first colourful set after Doordarshan days and that started a trend. Ek Minute was so popular that it ran for 12 years.
You are used to dealing with adults. How is the experience of dealing with children?
There will be mentors and us judges guiding them and figuring out how to utilise their talent, what is their forte, if anyone has a knack for comedy.... Actors have learnt their skills and I make them enact a story. Here the kids are raw talent — brats with a spark in them. The dramebaaz part is to see how street-smart they are with the challenges thrown at them.
Do the kids want to act?
Oh yes, they do. We figure that out at the audition itself. If they don’t, we tell the parents not to pressure them. I too used to act in my childhood. My parents are from the Pune film institute. So we had that ambience at home. Actor bante bante main director ban gaya.
Have you ever wanted to make a film for children?
Two years ago I was planning to make one. The budget is limited for children’s films and you need a star like Aamir Khan to make a Taare Zameen Par. Abroad they don’t treat a children’s film as a chhoti film. They make it big, like a Jungle Book. Here children’s films don’t do well. So fun films are not made.
Was starting with a big bang like Mary Kom a good thing or a bad thing?
It was a good thing — National Award in the first film! Sarbjit became a high point for me, it was praised so highly. Bhoomi didn’t do well and there are reasons. Seven movies released on the same day.
What’s coming next?
Yubi Lakpi, my rugby film. It’s starting in 2019, so I have time.
Is that what rugby is called in Manipur?
Manipuris believe Yubi Lakpi is the mother of rugby. It’s played with coconuts, which is similar to the rugby ball in shape. Also, they have the touchdown and is seven a side. It’s an ancient game, traditionally played before a war. The kings would select the best players to go to war. There will be a story woven around the game but there will be Yubi Lakpi in a big way.
Calcutta has a history of rugby…
Yes, in 1879, there was a Calcutta Cup which the British made by melting silver Indian coins. It has three snakes as handles and an elephant on top. England and Scotland now play for the Cup. We will tell that story.
What other films are you working on?
There is The Good Maharaja. It will be a huge biopic (of Maharaja Jam Sahib Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji, the erstwhile ruler of Jamnagar, Gujarat).
