I did not even blink my eyes when Jhalak was offered to me: Lauren Gottlieb

Colors' has kick started the promotions for its upcoming popular dance reality show Jhalak Dikhla Ja 8 with popular celeb contestants like Vivan Dsena, Sanaya Irani, Kavita Kaushik Faisal Khan, Mohit Malik, Radhika Madhan, Ashish Chowdhry, Rapper Raftar, Shamita Shetty, Dipika Kakar and many more...

Along with the popular contestants, this time we have the ex-contestant turned Judge Lauren who is keen on showcasing her judging skills on the show.  Here's Lauren in a candid chat with Telly Buzz

What was your first reaction, when Jhalak was offered to you as a judge?

I didn’t even blink my eyes and said yes to it. There were many shows coming in my way but for some unknown reasons I couldn’t say yes to them. And then came Jhalak offered. It was my gut instinct that made me take up the show as Jhalak is like my family now.

How has your journey been from a contestant to now to a judge?

It has been superb! These two years of my life has been full of surprises and shocks. After coming to Jhalak I got a name and people started recognizing me, then later I got the tag of the ABCD girl and eventually projects started coming my way. There have been many opportunities coming my way but I am glad that I got to take up my family project which is close to my heart.

So are you ready to showcase your judging side?

As this time Jhalak is reloaded it truly seems to be one. There are different judges, a new set up and everything will be refereshing. Along with me there is Ganesh Hegde, we are the dance gurus who have to work on technicality whereas on the other side we have Shahid Kapoor and Karan Johar who will be looking for the overall package.

How will you be as a judge, strict or friendly?

You know that compassion comes into play! Having been a contestant on the show previously, I know how hard it is and how much blood, sweat and tears go into each performance. But once we get into the technique part, I have to see the execution and creativity coming in from the choreographer’s especially. So once the contestants start performing different dance forms, I will have to get a bit stricter at the execution and technical level.

You have done films and now getting again into television, so what do you prefer?

I like films because we get to enact different characters and it is too much of fun. It is a larger than life dream world to live in. You get to express yourself through various different characters and so I would love to continue that especially after being a part of a 100 crore film and I am expecting more offers to come in (Smiles). But yes the power of television can not be neglected as because of television and Jhalak I got famous and people started knowing me. So I can never pick one over the other.

We wish Lauren good luck!

Aakruti Damani