Okay, so since I'm late to this post too, as is usually the case with me on all good posts, lol, and since so many people have already said so much I'd have liked to say, I have to confess that I'm at a bit of a loss. But since I can't leave without saying something of how I feel, here goes...
First of all, thank you so much for such a wonderful post. Positive posts about Sushant have been a bit of a rarity lately, and well, whenever I see anyone expressing their pleasure over his performances unequivocally, it really brings this huge smile onto my face. Like the one right now, spread out from one ear to the other. And I don't even care if I look or sound like an idiot at this point. So there. 😃
I've never watched Pavitra Rishta, and Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa is my second encounter with Sushant, after little bits and pieces of Zara Nachke Dikha. At the time, I had no idea who he was except that he danced really well and that he had the most endearing smile I had seen on TV in a long time. Lol. The first time I saw him there was when he did a solo Hip-Hop routine on Dil Bole Hadippa, which was an ups-and-downs-ish sort of act, but really entertaining, with some slick moves, and expressions that wouldn't allow you to look away even if you wanted to. Then I left off watching for a bit, and the next time I saw him was in a duet with Mukti, on Ranjha Ranjha which remains one of my favourite performances of his till date. When Jhalak happened, and I heard he's in it, I didn't go crazy or hop around for excitement. Some time had passed since ZNKD and I hadn't seen him since, so I was just pleasantly looking forward to him dancing again in a rather detached sort of way. But then I started watching Jhalak regularly, and well the rest, as they say, is history. Whether it be the Horror genre Salsa, the Mayurbhanj Chhau, the Aerial act, or his first Face-Off act on Teri Deewani this Monday, when he's on that stage he's a force to reckon with.
Needless to say, I agree with each and every point you've made up there. He's got stage presence, grace, energy, and most importantly, like you've all pointed out, he seems to love what he's doing. And that takes whatever he does on stage to a whole other level. Touchwood, really. And I actually even see a huge amount of groW*H in him as a dancer from his ZNKD days, which makes me really happy...and brings me to the other force to reckon with, who's brought him this far: Shampa Sonthalia. She is one serious bundle of talent and creativity, and combined with the grace, the thinking mind, sheer hard work and innate capability that come together in Sushant, they make one hell of a team. She knows his strengths and weaknesses, pushes him as far as he can go, he puts in everything he's got to make it all work, and it shows every single time they're on that stage. Every single time. 😊
I don't know if they'll win or not, but I know for a fact that whenever I think back to Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa in the years to come, Sushant and Shampa will be what I will remember most clearly, and most fondly of it.
Oh my. That is long. So much for being 'at a loss'. Lol. Sorry! 😆
And, again, great post! 🤗
Edited by nandinidev - 14 years ago