Calcutta boy Shantanu Maheshwari got to do what most men dream of — being fed and bathed by a certain Sunny Leone! t2 caught up with the TV heart-throb while his raunchy outing with Sunny as a goggle-eyed geek in Super Girl From China, the new music video from Baby Doll singer Kanika Kapoor, is being watched and rewatched on YouTube...
You seem to be having a lot of fun in Super Girl From China. How did the video happen?
I got a call from (choreographer-director) Ahmed Khan’s production house, Paper Doll Entertainment. There was no audition. They had seen me in the HP commercial (in which Shantanu plays a yuppie entrepreneur). They wanted a guy with long hair and someone who could look like a geek.
How was it working with Ahmed Khan who has directed the music video?
I was very excited to meet him. All those memories of Mr India (in which Ahmed starred as one of the orphans adopted by Anil Kapoor’s Arun Verma) rushed in. He is a big name in choreography and we used his Jumme ki raat (from Kick) steps in the World of Dance finale in Los Angeles. I was also happy to collaborate with T-Series, which has produced the video. Then, of course, there was Sunny Leone! I did the video because I felt it would help me come out of my comfort zone.
Was doing this video a conscious effort to come out of your lover-boy image?
I am mostly open to doing anything, but I want to know how I am portraying it. There are a lot of ways to show the same thing. If something is genuinely required, I won’t say no. But in this case, there was nothing that was indecent.
What kind of feedback have you received so far?
Industry people have really appreciated my work. Ahmed Sir praised me. In the last shot, he came and hugged me. Sunny was also happy to see my work.
You had your share of firsts in 2015…
Yes, a lot of things happened. We (his dance team Desi Hoppers) won the World of Dance trophy. I did my first TV ad (for Hewlett-Packard) and my first music video. Then I also did episodics in youth shows like Yeh Hai Aashiqui (Bindass) and Twist Wala Love (Channel V).
I especially loved doing episodics because it’s great to play different characters. We get to work with a lot of new people and it gives us a chance to work in a movie experience. These are the shows that young people watch. It’s a relief from the daily soaps.
What can we expect from Shantanu Maheshwari in 2016?
I want to try comedy and action. For action, I need to build my body. I am interested in adventure and dance-based shows. We want to do something with Desi Hoppers individually. I also want to act in movies. I just want to keep entertaining my audience.
SHANTANU ON SUNNY
Sunny the pro: Sunny is very humble and down to earth. She is very professional. She is completely opposite to how people perceive her on screen. For instance, if she wants to sit, her spot person will get her a chair but she will also make sure that I get a chair to sit. This attitude is something hard to find. She was very nice to work with.
Sexiest thing about Sunny: Her attitude.
Favourite Sunny film: I haven’t seen any of her films. But I liked her in the Baby Doll music video.
Reaction from peers: When my friends heard that I would be working with Sunny Leone, they teased me a lot and they had a cheesy look on their faces!
HAVE YOU WATCHED SUPER GIRL FROM CHINA YET?
Playing out over 5:33 minutes, Super Girl From China has Shantanu as a geek whose friends gift him a doll from China. He assembles the doll and she turns into Sunny Leone! The living doll — all curves and cleavage — makes him breakfast, scrubs him in the bath, works out with him.... The last 30 seconds of the video show twinkle toes Shantanu in his elements — matching steps with Sunny. A winner on the web, the video has notched up a whopping four million — and counting! — ogles so far.
Ratnalekha Mazumdar
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