Akshat Singh with talk show host Ellen DeGeneres

He tucks his gold-rimmed shades in the back collar of his shirt, just like Sallu Bhai. He likes to flex his plump arms showing off his ‘muscles’, just like Sallu Bhai. He likes to make an entry on his toy bike, just like Sallu Bhai and his conversations are peppered with Sallu Bhai one-liners. Eight-year-old Akshat Singh from Liluah likes to introduce himself as ‘Sallu Bhai ka chota bhai, Akshat Bhai’, accompanied by appropriate hand gestures.

The little dancing star has attained stardom as a smaller avatar of Salman Khan. Akshat had participated at India’s Got Talent 5 till the semi-finals. But now, he has a bigger feather in his cap, as he was invited to the Ellen DeGeneres Show, a chat show in the US, where he was interviewed and asked to show some of his characteristic moves. He danced to ‘Jalwa’ from the Salman-starrer Wanted and then to an English number that was played on the show. The plump little fellow has shot to fame in no time as every one wants to get a glimpse of Chota Salman.

Singh shows off various Salman moves

Salman Khan is more than just his idol. “Main Salman Khan ko sapne mein dekhta hoon. Unse baatein bhi karta hoon. Agar woh bole kuch karne ke liye tab to main zaroor karunga. (I dream of Salman Khan and also speak to him in my dreams. If he tells me to do something I will definitely do it),” said Akshat, whose eyes sparkle when he talks about his hero. Lately, he has been dreaming of meeting Salman on Holi.

Akshat’s parents Abhay Singh, a tea trader in Burrabazar, and Uma noticed the boy’s talent in dancing, when he was a toddler.

When he was three, they got a teacher for him at home. “He liked to dance. Sometimes he would tell his teacher how to dance,” laughed Uma. Akshat’s dance would always mean following Salman Khan’s steps. His parents often wonder how their son got to be such a devoted admirer of the star at such a young age. “I had watched a Salman Khan film in 2005 when I was eight months pregnant. People around me had told me not to watch an action film, but I still went. I don’t remember the name but I remember that there were a lot of action scenes in the film. Later, I saw that my son has become a die-hard fan of Salman Khan,” joked Uma.

At present Akshat takes dance lessons from Amir Anuj Rehman, a faculty of Talent City. He teaches Akshat hip hop, urban, contemporary, house, locking and popping and other modern dance forms. Salman Khan dance is Akshat’s own innovation. He closely watches Salman Khan’s films at home and imitates his steps and expressions. Akshat’s stint with stardom first came when he went to Dance Bangla Dance Junior in 2010 aired on Zee Bangla. He reached the top 11 finalists and won the Best Attitude award on the show.

Mahaguru Mithun Chakraborty would encourage Akshat, specially for his attitude. “Salman Khan is always lucky for Akshat because whenever he has performed to Salman numbers, he has been praised,” said Abhay. At India’s Got Talent, Akshat auditioned to a Salman Khan number and has been performing to Salman numbers like Oh oh jane jana, Pandeji, Bodyguard and of course the hit song from Ready, Dhinka chika. Although he has often tried to punch other Hindi songs in his dance, Akshat does full justice to the Salman numbers.

Akshat Singh aka Chota Bhai performs at the semi-final of India’s Got Talent 5

Judges Kiron Kher, Malaika Arora Khan and Karan Johar and every one else who watch him enjoy his dance the best. Father Abhay says, “He dances well but when he dances to Salman Khan numbers, he does it from his heart and those who watch him also enjoy it the most.”

The invitation from the Ellen Show came after the programme co-ordinators saw a clip of Akshat’s performance at India’s Got Talent on the Internet. “They called us directly and invited Akshat on the show. We were surprised initially at such an invitation, did some research on the Internet about the Ellen DeGeneres Show,” said Abhay.

Akshat, on the other hand, is more than willing to do anything related to Salman Khan anywhere in the world. After speaking to him, Ellen asked Akshat to dance. Akshat’s popularity has already got him offers for performances and ad films in India and across the world. He has already done an advertisement for a biscuit company in Japan.

Akshat with his trophies and (right) with his parents. Pictures by Arnab Mondal

Akshat manages to juggle dance and his studies well. He misses out on school when he participates in the reality shows. A Class III student of MC Kejriwal Vidyapeeth, Akshat is excused from school for pursuing his talent. “His teachers help him cope with what he has missed out. He is a good student, so he does not have problems making up for the loss. Dance is his life and if we do not let him do that, Akshat will never be able to fare well in his studies. So we encourage him, but at the same time maintain a balance between the two. After such long periods of shooting and travelling, it becomes difficult for him to concentrate on his studies for a few days,” said Uma.

A typical day in Akshat’s life starts with waking up early and getting ready for school. After coming home at 3pm in the afternoon, Akshat likes to dance for a while, practising his steps in the living room. Tuitions and self-study take up his evenings after which he likes to play with his toys or dance again. During weekends, Akshat spends a lot of time watching Salman Khan films, admiring his idol and learning his dance moves, expressions and dialogue delivery. Apart from dance, Akshat also goes for gymnastics to a club in south Howrah. “He has to do physical exercise for fitness and flexibility,” said Abhay. The only other thing that keeps this energy-packed dance prodigy going is food. “If he does not get his food in time, he will not move an inch,” said Uma. The plump little boy flexes his arms and says “(Right arm) This is chicken, (left arm) this is mutton and (rubs his tummy) this is fish.”

Despite all that he does, Akshat is looking forward to meeting Salman Khan some day. “Malaika Ma’am has promised to introduce me to Salman Khan. I will remind her and will plead with her. I won’t come back home until she takes me to meet him,” promises Akshat. “People are saying that Salman is watching him on shows and God knows, he might decide to meet Akshat some day,” said a hopeful father.