Jhalak’s… got three more contestants

RJ Malishka

By Priyanka Bhadani 

Curiosity mingled with excitement marked the announcement of three wild card entrants; actor Kushal Punjabi, Canadian dancer and contestant of dance show, So You Think You Can Dance Tara-Jean Popowich and radio jockey Malishka. The three, who will be competing with the regular contestants on the show, are gearing up to match steps with the rest. Except for Popowich who is a qualified and experienced dancer, the other two feel that they stand at a disadvantage since the contestants on the show have settled in their groove, training in the various dance forms for more than six weeks now.
Kushal Punjabi, who was a part of Shiamak Davar’s Institute of Performing Arts during his teenage years shares his fears. “Although I enjoy dancing, I wasn’t really trained since I was part of Shiamak Davar’s academy for only a year. The other contestants have an edge over me since they have been training for almost six weeks now. It will be a real challenge for me, because my knowledge of choreography is very limited, “ says Punjabi. Eager to learn new dance forms, the actor who is not very comfortable with hip-hop, picked up the gauntlet and performed on a hip-hop number during his first performance.
While Punjabi battles it out on the dance floor, Popowich, who has been a contestant on the popular dance show, So You Think You Can Dance, is very excited about being associated with Jhalak... which has bailed her out of her dilemma about returning back home. “This wild card entry, has come as a blessing in disguise,” she says. But even as she is gung-ho about being on the show, Popowich feels that her biggest competitor is Shakti Mohan, who she considers to be a flawless dancer. Popowich may not have to worry about the technicalities of her craft, but she is apprehensive about lip-syncing the songs. The third wild-card entrant, RJ Malishka may have created a lot of sound bytes with her shows on radio, but when it comes to taking centrestage the experience is definitely going to be a unique one. Breaking in an impromptu jig was never a problem with Malishka but when it comes to perfecting the steps and matching them with a professional on a platform such as Jhalak …, the RJ is quite taken aback not only because the competition involves labouring at the steps but also performing before a danseuse like Madhuri Dixit Nene. “I have always been spontaneous and this is a pretty novel experience for me. I am doing something that is completely out of my comfort zone. It’s frightening to stand before so many people and being judged by them,” says Malishka who is for once, quite tongue-tied on stage.