I was a big hit & an embarrassment because she loved to dance at every gathering as a kid, says Shilpa Shetty; as she’s judging another dance reality show
This is your second reality show as a judge, after Jhalak Dikhla Ja. Will you employ the same strategies will there be something different now?
Well Zara Nach Ke Dikha a different show. Jhalak was a different format and this one’s a different format. This one concentrates on the whole war of the sexes. It’s the women against the men, and I am obviously going to support talent, whether it’s a woman or a man.
Who do u think makes for better dancers – girls or boys?
That would be a little difficult – for me to just generalise. Every person has their own USP and forte, and it’s just a question of who is better on that day. It’s pretty much like Twenty20 cricket I guess!
There are reports that you and Raj are starting a football league?
It’s too early in the day to discuss that right now. I definitely believe that football needs to be promoted in this country. We’re a nation of a billion people and we can definitely afford to have another sport. And football is very much loved. We definitely want to promote football. I don’t wanna make any comments in terms of what we’re going to do, we’re still working on it.
Do you think football can take off in a big way here when everyone’s so obsessed with cricket?
You know you’ll be surprised to see how many football fanatics we have in this country. Do you know we nearly have 300,000 registered footballers in this country? These are all things that we got to know, very recently, and you’d be surprised, there are a lot of people who turn to the UEFA, the English premier league, the world cup is welcomed always, so it’s just a question of the right timing and the right kind of promotion.
Do you think after your super successful stint on Celebrity Big Brother, you have become a hot favourite as a reality show judge in India?
No, I don’t see it like that. I’m basically a dancer, classically trained, and I love dancing. I’ve learnt Bharatnatyam for eight years, and I’ve also learnt Odissi and jazz. So I think that is why they picked me to be a judge on the show. I love dancing so much, I idolised Saroj Khan ever since I saw Ek Do Teen. When I did my first song with her, Kitaben Bahut Si, I was so overwhelmed, I had tears in my eyes.
So were you one of those little girls who practiced jhatkas in front of the mirror?
Oh yes. And my parents tell me that when I was a baby and I’d cry, all they had to do was put on some music and I’d be smiling and dancing in my baby cot. And my parents loved to show off. Every gathering we went to, all they had to do was say the word ‘dance’, and I’d be on the floor!
So you were a big hit at parties?
Yeah. And it was embarrassing!
When will we see you in a Bollywood film?
Well, right now I have really taken a break. I’m only doing this programme because it’s not demanding for me in terms of time. There’s been too much stuff happening and I’ve hardly had time to spend with my husband! We’ve been married for the last four and a half months and it still hasn’t sunk in that I’m married. So maybe, whenever I feel the need to take time out to do a film, I would do a film. You know I would give an arm and a leg to do a good role, but right now there’s nothing that has come my way that would make me put it before my family life. I’d rather give priority to my family life.
With so much happening, how do you manage to spend time with your husband?
The IPL kind of kept us together. All our businesses, I think we do everything together, in India. So that’s allowed us to spend time together. But at the end of a day, with coming back to him, I’m quite happy. I think the good thing about our marriages is that, touchwood, we’ve not allowed anything to change after marriage. Other than the fact that I come back to the same house! So we’ve not allowed marriage to affect us! (laughs)
People are saying you are planning to write your autobiography, is that true?
No, no. I have been approached, a couple of times, but I haven’t taken up the offer. It’s a little too early for me to write my autobiography, it makes me sound like an old hag! I’ll have to accumulate a lot many more experiences in my life and I have a long way to go, so I kind of, very kindly said no!
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