'Show of the people,by the people,for the people'-Sharad Malhotra

Sharad Malhotra, the dashing young man who has won the hearts of millions of girls with his fabulous portrayal in Zee's very popular soap, Banoo Main Teri Dulhann steps into a reality show for the very first time, with Yeh Hai Jalwa on 9X.

Here is the actor in conversation with our reporter, Melanie.

Tell us something about Yeh Hai Jalwa

Yeh Hai Jalwa is a unique dance reality show. In this show we have 45 common people from different walks of life. It is not a competition between just the celebrities or couples; it is more about the effort put in by the entire team. It is all about getting these common people to showcase their talent before the audience.

Well, the concept of Yeh Hai Jalwa is completely different and personally for me, it is like a breath of fresh air, since I am doing a daily soap that is quite popular and I have a very strenuous shooting schedule. Above all, I enjoy dancing, so when this show came my way, I saw it as a good opportunity and decided to sign up for it.

Your team is called the Toofani Toli; can you tell us something about them?

My team, Tofaani Toli, comprises of upcoming dancers who are striving to make a name for themselves in this industry. They are experts in their own respective dance fields, be it western contemporary, classical, hip hop, jazz etc. They hail from different parts of the country and I am very fortunate to have such a team.

How did the selection process happen?

I had to conduct auditions for the contestants who turned up to participate in the show. I had to select the best 5 from around 12 or 13 participants. It was a pretty difficult job as it was quite painful to say a no to many of them, when I personally don’t like doing that. But in the end I managed to get the best out of the lot.

With your busy schedule, how do you manage to rehearse with your team?

Yeah I do have a busy shooting schedule. I usually shoot the entire day, so I normally go meet up with my team after the shoot is over. We meet up for an hour or two and rehearse. I talk to them and we discuss what has to be done and how the performances will happen.

Unlike other reality shows, Yeh Hai Jalwa does not have a jury; what do you have to say about that?

I think that is a very good thing. The decision lies entirely in the hands of the audience. I think that is the main USP of this show. It is a show that is of the people, by the people and for the people. And it is much better to let the audience decide who should remain and who should be eliminated from the competition. And usually when there is a jury, there is a lot of politics involved, but Yeh Hai Jalwa is a wide show that is based on audience voting, so there is no scope of politics happening.

All the other participants of the show have done a reality at some point of time; how does that make you feel?

Frankly it makes me feel like the underdog, in the sense that I don’t have the prior experience participating in a dance reality show. But I did participate in one of ’s biggest reality show called Zee Cinestars Ki Khoj, so I know how the whole thing behind reality shows works.
Who do you think is your biggest contender in the competition?

Myself. I always believe that your biggest competitor lies within yourself. And I feel it is going to be a healthy competition on the show. I am just going to enjoy myself and dance my heart out, since I love doing it so much.

Reporter and Author: Melanie