Step up: Shantanu Maheshwari on his appearance at America’s Got Talent

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Mumbai boy Shantanu Maheshwari went on America’s Got Talent and danced with Nick Cannon. Now, he’s set for one at home

Dancer and television actor Shantanu Maheshwari speaks to us between a break in rehearsals. The 25-year-old is preparing for the popular TV show, Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, which will go on air this weekend.

“I shoot for 12 hours for Girls on Top (a fiction show on MTV), and then spend four to five hours practicising for Jhalak…,” he says.

The schedule is gruelling, but Maheshwari is in no mood to slow down. He’s currently on a high as he and his hip-hop crew, Desi Hoppers, performed on America’s Got Talent (AGT), last month. Desi Hoppers grooved to a mix of Turn Down for What (DJ Snake and Lil Jon) and Tukur Tukur (from the movie Dilwale). “We got a standing ovation,” Maheshwari says, adding, “All the four judges were pleased. It was a big achievement.”

Last year, Desi Hoppers won the World of Dance championship in Los Angeles, and their journey was being filmed for the TV show, Bindaas Naach. Maheshwari says, “We were invited by the AGT team after they saw our performance on World of Dance. Back then, we had a TV crew shadowing us, so there were familiar faces around us. But we didn’t know anyone at AGT. There were no Indian faces; it was just the six of us dancers.”

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