In Chat: Shakti Mohan 'The Dancing Queen'

You have been awestruck by her dancing skills and you have voted to make her the dancing queen. We are talking about the sensationally talented dancer from Mumbai, ‘Shakti Mohan’. With her exquisite dancing skills she won our hearts and the dance competition ‘Dance India Dance 2’ on Zee TV. But she didn’t stop there; she went on to shine on the silver screen with the song ‘Pritam Pyare’ from the movie ‘Rowdy Rathore’. Recently, she launched her own dance video ‘Move’ and a calendar called ‘NrityaShakti’. Here are the excerpts from our interview of Shakti Mohan, a dancer, artist and performer, poised to achieve great heights and success in coming times.

Discovering Mumbai (DM): Hello Shakti, can you shed light on your personal background?

Shakti: I am born in a Brahmin family, my father is a Chartered Accountant; mother is a housewife and I have two sisters. I was a bright student in school and I topped Mumbai University in 2006.

DM: What does ‘Dance’ mean to you?

Shakti: Dance is an expression of joy and other emotions. For me, it gives me bliss makes me proud of who I am.

DM: You wanted to be an IAS officer?

Shakti: Yes, after completing my Masters in Political Science, I wanted to become an IAS officer. However, shifting from Delhi to Mumbai changed everything.

DM: How did DID2 come about? What was the motivation to participate in a dance reality show?

Shakti: I really enjoyed watching DID1 and I was keen on participating in the next season. So I just went and auditioned. The motivation was to showcase my talent on a bigger platform.  The experience was amazing. I never had an opportunity like this before in my life.

DM: What challenges did you face during DID 2 and how did you overcome them?

Shakti: The challenges were to master new styles in a span of few days and then getting evaluated by the whole world! It was interesting how people reacted to me doing Hip Hop. I never thought they would like it!

DM: Can you tell us something about the ‘Dil Dosti Dance’ days?

Shakti: It was a good experience. I got the chance to meet some very nice people like Alisha, Vinti, and Sneha Kapoor. We are not BFF’s, however!

DM: So how was the experience of dancing in the Bollywood song ‘Pritam Pyare’ from the movie ‘Rowdy Rathore’?

Shakti: It was brilliant to work with Prabhudeva sir. He is unique and he appreciated my talent a lot, and that certainly was a high point for me.

DM: Can you brief us about the concept of ‘Nritya Shakti’?

Shakti: ‘Nritya Shakti’ signifies power of dance. I try to communicate that with my movements.

DM: So what’s next for Shakti Mohan?

Shakti: I have just launched my calendar and my dance video move. I am hoping it is accepted well. There is still a lot more to do and I am hoping to meet the right opportunity.

DM: Few words about Mumbai?

Shakti: Great city, highly populated, and a bit uncivilised, but there is always hope and the fire to do something in Mumbaikars.

Move - By Shakti Mohan

You can check out the complete 'calendar on her website 'Nritya Shakti'

You can also follow Shakti on Facebook and Twitter