International Dance Day 2024: Shantanu Maheshwari says, ‘Dance introduced me to my passion for acting’

On this International Dance Day, actor-dancer Shantanu Maheshwari credits his mother, Sandhya Maheshwari, for pushing him towards the art form. “I just had the talent and my mom pursued it hard as she loved singing and dancing. She always thought I would excel in front of the camera, while I just wanted to be behind it. So, she lived her dream through me,” he says.

Ask him about the importance of dance in his life, and Maheshwari says, “I always associate dance with happiness. It’s because of dancing that I have been able to meet so many people, get recognition and get introduced to my passion for acting. It has open so many avenues for me.” The artiste has even represented India on a global platform with his crew Desi Hoppers at World Of Dance and America’s Got Talent, and he calls it “my best years”. “Our idea was to bring India on the world dancing map. We created a big movement for dance,” he says.

While his love for dance is eternal, the 33-year-old did leave it for a while when he was a teenager since the “dancer tag” wasn’t letting him pursue other opportunities. He faced a similar situation when he tried to enter the acting profession too. “I got the tag that since I was a dancer, I can only do dance-based roles. Breaking that notion was very difficult, but Gangubai Kathiawadi (2022) proved to people that I can also act in projects that don’t require dancing,” he says.

Interestingly, filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali didn’t even know about his dance background before he signed him. “When people told him about it, he said to me, ‘par tumhe is movie mein dance karne ko nahi milega’,” he recalls, revealing that acting happened to him by chance. He admits to doing his first show Dil Dosti Dance (D3) just for money. “It was just the chance to be able to pay my education fees myself. Acting ka aisa koi shauk nahi tha mujhe.”

Maheshwari has been a part of dance reality shows like Kya Masti Kya Dhoom and Boogie Woogie. While he lauds how they give platform to artists, he rues how its value has diminished. “Many people out there have converted it in a career path that do a reality show, and then get into dancing. Don’t use an art form as a stepping stone,” he requests.