|| : Happy Birthday Shantanu Maheshwari ❤️ : ||

Since the person's birthday we're celebrating today always upholds simplicity as a virtue, we begin what we want to say today with simplicity, grounded in our love for this now 25-year-old young man who danced his way into our hearts five years ago and has occupied a special corner in them ever since. We have watched and loved Shantanu, with his irresistably cute smile and that signature mischievous glint in his eyes, make us smile, laugh, cry and more since we first met him as Swayam in 2011, and we can say with more confidence than ever today, in 2016, that our love, respect and applause could not have been more rightfully deserved.

Shantanu is the quintessential Kolkata boy who loves and misses the city's sweets ,street food and Durga Puja dearly. He aspired to be a CA but destiny brought him to the city of Mumbai 7 years ago from Kolkata with dreams in his eyes and the passion to achieve it. He is the perfect team player for whom the word we' holds more sheen than I'. He doesn't dip his words in jaggery , stands up upfront for what is right and puts his heart and soul only in whatever he takes up. His family is his biggest source of strength and inspiration which keeps him going through thick and thin.

Over several characters in several stories, he has risen up and shone bright as a bundle of some serious talent and skill, as an actor and as a dancer...and he has made India proud, something that will forever fill us with pride as his fans. So here's wishing you a very very VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAYYY, Shantanu!!! Thank you for being a part of our lives and for giving us a reason to smile everyday!

As a little kid Shantanu Maheshwari had participated in a dance reality show on Star Plus named Kya Masti Kya Dhoom. He not only was adjudged the winner in the episode but also raked in praises from judges Sonali Bendre and Sachin Pilgaonkar on his flexibility and expressions as a dancer. He had also participated in Bengali Dance reality show Dance Bangla Dance' , Boogie Woogie and performed in more than 250 shows in Kolkata . The aforementioned speak volumes about the talent he possessed as a dancer which earned him accolades from a very young age.

Shantanu was chosen to play Swayam in Dil Dosti Dance after he won Channel V India's India Fest solo competition Footlose' . The character of Swayam is best described in two simple and by now very familiar words: lover boy. He is every girl's dream come true: so unconditional in his love for Sharon that it was a wonder how she didn't fall for him sooner. He saw, felt and breathed her as so central to his existence that his entire personality was defined by his love for her. As we accompanied him on his journey through the years, we uncovered more layers and more shades to him, brought out to perfection by Shantanu, who lived Swayam in a way no one else could have. He garnered immense fan following as Swayam thanks to his impeccable dancing skills, his acting chops and his beautiful on-screen chemistry with Vrushika as Swayam-Sharon.

Post D3 Shantanu expanded his avenues as an actor and was roped in three episodics. In Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya' he portrayed the journey of Rahul' , a cancer patient disillusioned with life who regained his fighting spirit as he fell in love and takes a step forward towards his passion of music. In Yeh Hai Aashiqui we watched him as Shaan' , an intelligent aspiring lawyer with a speech problem who eventually overcomes the obstacle with the help of the girl he falls in love with. Last but not the least he essayed the character of a passionate dancer Vivaan trying to make it big at the international level in an episodic of Twist Wala Love'. Each and every character he enacted was different from one another but Shantanu the actor pulled off each one with equal finesse leaving us impressed and how.

After D3, the next great milestone in Shantanu's journey was World of Dance, documented and opened up to us through his first non-fiction show, Bindass Naach. Putting together the motley dance crew we now know as the Desi Hoppers, training them and making them a real team, Shantanu led from the front and brought glory to our country by representing India and bringing home the WOD trophies for 1st Place as well as Crowd Favourite! Through the show, we were fortunate enough to get a glimpse of the hard road he and the crew had to travel before finally reaching their glorious goal, and we will always be thankful to BBC and Palki ma'am for it.

Shantanu was the face of the Hewlett Packard pavilion X 360 product last year with the 40 seconds of the ad focusing primarily on him. Directed by Chak De! India maker Shimit Amin, the ad sees Shantanu play a young and yuppie start-up entrepreneur. Shantanu's smile and pointing to his laptop, saying: "I like your soch, but love my approach." won our hearts. The ad went onto win the best ad award at Prime Time Awards 2016.

Shantanu Maheshwari will be back on our TV screens from today with MTV India's show Girls On Top'. He will be seen essaying the character of Sahir . Sahir is a passionate musician, dedicated lover but has temper issues. We can't wait to watch him in the shoes of another fictional character and how he breathes life into it in his own style.

Shantanu Maheshwari led crew Desi Hoppers created history by winning the 1^st ever World of Dance Finals at Los Angeles on 16^th August, 2015. They did India proud by defeating 34 hip hop crews from several countries to clinch the much coveted trophy along with the title of Crowd favourite'. They not only got a standing ovation, but the audience was seen reaching out to them after the performance to applaud their effort. One of the judges at the WOD Finals summed up their win beautifully by saying "Desi Hoppers really stood out as original. What was entertaining about them is that they incorporated and fused their cultural roots in their choreography and music choices, so it really drew the audience in and felt refreshingly new."

In November 2014 he Indian Television Academy Viewer's Choice Award for Favourite On-screen Jodi went to Shantanu Maheshwari and Vrushika Mehta. Shantanu along with Vrushika also made us proud by adeptly hosting the first segment at the awards night. The two of them became the first actors from Channel V's fiction line up to win an award...and it was justice long overdue and recognition well deserved, for the talent, hard work and resilience that both of them had put in against massive odds. Come November 2014 , and the magazine cover with Shantanu holding his ITA trophy along with Vrushika is one that every VruShan fan will preserve in their memory for eternity.

Shantanu earned a nomination at the Indian Telly Awards in September 2014 for Best Choreography along with Macedon DMello for Alvida - one of their personal favourite pieces as they themselves put it and one of their most heart-touching pieces of choreography too. Though they did not finally win the award, like Shantanu said, the nomination itself was worth a lot.

Shantanu Maheshwari had been selected as the first Teen Sensation of India, which meant that he became the first actor from the entertainment industry in India to have his own range of merchandise. As he put it - "This was a medium of getting closer to well-wishers and connecting with them," which is now possible through things that can be a part of our daily lives with Shantanu etched onto them, ranging from notepads, laptop and mobile covers to pillows, mugs, keychains, bookmarks, coasters and more!

The concept of Box Cricket League as a cricket tournament for television industry stars took off with a bang with the inaugural season being a huge success, where Team Ghaent Punjabis won the trophy. Shantanu, who has always been vocal about his love for the game,and Vrushika were both members of the team. Shantanu stunned one and all with his sharp wicket keeping skills and hit a century knock too. In the televised season of Box Cricket League Shantanu became a player of Chandigarh Cubs and still is in the 2^nd season as well. As described aptly by Team owner Rohit Reddy " Shantanu's electric presence on the field transpires more energy into the entire side" .

Very few actors can boast of giving a tribute to the iconic Jodi of silver screen SRK-Kajol' with them sitting in the audience watching. Shantanu Maheshwari with his D3 co-star Vrushika Mehta were blessed with this opportunity of a lifetime at Saas Bahu aur Saazish anniversary celebrations along with 4 other jodis. Vrushika and Shantanu put up a jovial, fun and energetic act on Yeh Ladka hai deewana' and their outstanding dance got Varun Dhawan and Kriti come on stage and join them to shake a leg and also they praise them both and their splendid dancing skills. This performance also marked the big stage debut of the much loved dancing pair' of Shantanu and Vrushika much to the delight of their fans who had previously watched them perform several outstanding duets in Dil Dosti Dance.

Happy Birthday to our star

Happy birthday Shantanu... You rock as Swayam. We hope you to rock as Sahir too... Wish you all the best...

Happy Birthday Shantanu. 🥳Every year we wait for this day with utmost sincerity ever since we know you. It seems like yesterday you stepped into Swayam's shoe & dance your way to our heart & now you are an irreplaceable part of our life. 😊