Adrita Das

Rakhi Sawant and Annu Kapoor are tied on the scoreline. The judge is precise in his reasoning. “Rakhi didi has given me a Batman, a remote-controlled car and a talking Stuart Little. Annuji gives me perfect 10 most of the time.” Little Adrita Das is happy to give both his judges at Zee TV’s Chhota Packet Bada Dhamaka (Saturday-Sunday 8pm) full marks in return.

Adrita is the dancer of the contestant duo, also featuring Anamika Choudhury of Assam. Compared to Anamika who won L’il Champs last year, he may be a new face on national TV, but Bengal has already seen the Batanagar boy’s twinkle toes at work. The seven-year-old is the champion on Zee Bangla’s Dance Bangla Dance Junior, which had Maha Guru Mithun Chakraborty in the judge’s chair. “My biggest moment was when I fell on stage while dancing but quickly recovered to finish the item. MG said I’d grow up to be a bigger star than he is.” Adrita hasn’t seen Mithun on the dance floor in any film and has only caught his son’s debut vehicle Jimmy. So he cannot be aware of the standard he has to surpass. But he has chosen his idol in Hrithik Roshan. “Hrithik has broken his leg (actually, torn a ligament),” the child offers news that has visibly disturbed him.

He is back to his hometown for a day with the third judge on the show Kunal Kohli for company. He yawns. Though there is no school to attend in Mumbai, he has to keep a tight schedule between studies and rigorous dance rehearsals. “I play in the evening with Rohanpreet, Tanmay and Aamir,” he brightens up, naming his closest friends on the sets.

To his mother Madhutandra, the Mumbai visit is one big dream. “We had enrolled him in Ganesh Acharya’s Dance Academy in Tollygunge because he would start dancing to any music. Who knew he’d make it to TV?” There is no trace of tension in the parent or the child. Rather, she is concerned about keeping up with the classes missed at South Point School, while he is taken with the fun of being in Mumbai and the licence to break into a jig before an admiring audience.