'The show is not about me, but about my team' - Varun Badola

Varun Badola's acting, dancing and even singing skills have been on primetime display. Viewers would probably never forget Badola's famous 'blackout' during the penultimate round of Nach Baliye. His wife, Rajeshwari Sachdeva and he were sure proving to be stiff competition to Supriya and Sachin Pilgaonkar then, but Badola's momentary 'loss' cost him a place in the final positions.

Come March 16 and Badola will wear his dancing shoes again, this time heading an all-women's team "which has women in their 50s" aptly called Guru Kool in Yeh Hai Jalwa, 9X's new dance reality show. So will Varun put the Nach Baliye demons to rest? He smiles, "I have no demons to put to rest. Nothing haunts me…but I think the media and the people can't seem to forget that round. Those demons are haunting them, not me." May be he's right, may be his fans who wanted him and Rajeshwari to win can't overcome those memories. He spits fire, "Really? Then where were these people during voting? Why were we always lagging behind in votes? I don't buy that."

As talk veers to Yeh Hai Jalwa, Varun says, "I am doing this show because reality shows are short stints and they give you a lot of money. I love dancing and the idea of choosing my own team of these women who know to dance but haven't danced in ages excites me." Ask him if the focus would remain on the teams and not the stars leading them and the guru cool says, "Well, you need to approach this in a different manner. For instance, I will come with the group on stage and then leave for them to do the dancing and then come in the end again. I'm not competing in this for myself. It's for them."

Varun also claims to have told his team "to be free to tell me whatever they want about the concepts, dance steps, etc. It's a democracy." Finally, his last reality show brought the singer out of him. "Yes, it made me go back to music. My dad was happy with my improvement by the time we finished with the show. The experience was mixed but I enjoyed it, thoroughly." As for acting he softly smiles as he mentions Aek Chabi Hai Padoss Mein. "It's going good."

Author: Suhaani Rai