Other Topics : Art Culture - Fashion - Tourism

Latest & Hot Bollywood Film News : * hourly updation

Back to Bollywood Current News Section

'Nach Baliye' reaches grand finale round
Subhash K. Jha, Indo-Asian News Service

Mumbai, Dec 15 (IANS) Star One's celebrity dance competition "Nach Baliye" reaches its exciting finale Thursday evening with TV viewers agog to know which couple will finally win -- Manish Goel and Poonam or Sachin and Supriya Pilgaonkar.
 
  

                          Advertisement

  

Both the couples are upbeat about the show that has been avidly watched and catapulted the participants to fame. 

Manish says: "Besides the fact that I got to spend so much time with my wife, the best part of doing 'Nach Baliye' is that people have stopped calling me by the names of my characters in 'Bhabhi' and the other soaps. 

"We've suddenly become household names. And the fact that we've come so far proves there's fate guiding our hands - or shall I say, our feet? Of course we're proud. Every time Poonam and I went on stage we wondered if this would be our last appearance. All the other participants were so good. Somehow we've managed to come so far. For someone who has been struggling for a foothold for so many years, 'Nach Baliye' is a true triumph... I've finally made my family in Delhi proud. 

"Today I'm proud to see we've danced our way into so many hearts. Am I nervous about the finals? My nervousness lasts only until I reach the stage. After that I'm fine. After what happened to my colleague Varun Bandola (he blanked out on stage), I wondered if that would happen to me at the finals. But I cannot afford to slip up now. If I've come this far there has to be a reason for it."

His wife and dancing partner Poonam echoes his feelings: "The best part of doing 'Nach Baliye' was that my husband and I got so much time to spend together. Was it difficult for me to cope with the impossible schedules because of my one-year old son? Not really. Even Rohit Roy and Manasi Joshi have a small child. It's all about time management... and the desire to do something unexpected and life-making. 

"'Nach Baliye' has definitely been decisive for me and Manish. Everywhere, kids call out to us by our real names. Even our son who has been seen on the show is now a little star. I feel good, especially for my husband. Yes, I'm nervous about the finals. We've to be on stage for a full 12 minutes... and live. If we win we want to use the prize money of Rs.50 lakh (Rs.5 million) for PETA, a cause I believe in, and for our beta (son). But right now we aren't thinking of the money."

The other finalists Sachin and Supriya Pilgaonkar are also nervous, albeit very enthusiastic.

Says actor-director-producer Sachin: "We've tried our level-best. We're very nervous, but not for the audiences' vote. No point in worrying about something that isn't in our hands. We want to perform well... Considering we aren't much of dancers we're truly amazed at how far we've got. I really enjoyed working with my wife. 

"Through 'Nach Baliye' we've been thrown together in unexpected ways. The show has helped us rediscover each other in the twentieth year of our marriage. 

"I'm a Marathi and I make Marathi films. 'Nach Baliye' has spurred me to direct a new song-and-dance film 'Aami Saatpute' featuring me and Supriya. I feel very happy when people say she's a better actress and dancer."

His wife Supriya has something similar to say.

She says: "Right now we're nervous, yes. I never knew I could dance until 'Nach Baliye'. I've started enjoying dancing. I had never done such formal dancing. 'Nach Baliye' has changed my life... Look at the love we've received from everyone. It's a new beginning for me. 

"If we win, I want to use the prize money to do something that we'll never forget. I want to do something that will haunt us forever, as 'Nach Baliye' has haunted us... We've practiced day and night, thought about steps all the time. If we hadn't worked so hard we wouldn't have reached so far. At first we did it to save face. Then it became a question of sustaining our success. The 'Nach Baliye' journey has been very rewarding for us. 

"My husband has been very encouraging. We're trying our best to live up to audiences' expectations. We'll try to give a clean performance for the finals. We've four songs to perform. And we're gathering our stamina together. Our choreographers have always given us steps according to our age. Synchronisation of movements would be our primary concern. That's the rhythm we've followed for the last 20 years of our lives. 

"During the last four months we've spent more time together than we did in 20 years of marriage. We're looking forward to the prize... prize aakhir prize hota hai, chahe 5 rupaiye ka ya 50 lakh ka. (A prize is a prize, whether its five rupees or 50 lakh)."