Meet Jodi no 1 of Nach Baliye Finalists

by Subhash K Jha

Manish Goel and Poonam Nirula

Manish: "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. I'm finally Manish….and it feels like a culmination of six years of struggle. Yes, I'm hoping to resume my interrupted struggle to become a film actor. But I cannot ignore the reach and impact of television—not after Nach Baliye.

For sure it has been a blessing for me and my wife. 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 . We're a business family and Poonam was my mother's choice to be my wife. My mother insisted that I get married—nahin to Mumbai kha jayega. My mother saw Poonam while we were shooting a serial together. She asked me if I'd like to marry her. It took me three months to decide.

And then it took Poonam another three months to decide. So in just six months we were married. Today I'm proud to see we've danced our way into so many hearts. Am I nervous about the finals tomorrow? 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 tomorrow 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."

Poonam: "Frankly the high that it gives me to see my husband being suddenly thrown into this recognition cannot compare with what I feel. Though I've been doing serials for some years now, I'm too much into my family—my husband and my little son. I had gained so weight after motherhood, but I didn't care. Now I've lost a lot of the weight doing the strenuous dance movements.

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 tomorrow. We've to be on stage for a full twelve minutes…and live. If we win we want to use the prize money of Rs 50 lakhs for PETA, a cause I believe in, and for our beta. But right now we aren't thinking of the money."