The much-awaited premier of celebrity dance reality show Nach Baliye 9 happened on Friday evening. Bollywood star Salman Khan, who is producing the show, opened it in his inimitable style. He was witty, calm and candid. But, those who expected him to be the host of the show would be disappointed. In the first five minutes of the premiere episode, Salman announced he is just a co-producer and not the anchor of the show. It is ace TV host Maniesh Paul who has taken up the role. Then what was Bollywood's Dabangg Khan doing in the premiere episode? Well, he was there to unveil the contestants who had been kept under the wraps until recently. To make the episode entertaining and attract the television audience, popular characters from Star Plus' shows like Naira (Shivangi Joshi) and Kartik (Mohsin Khan) from Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, Punit J Pathak and Shakti Mohan from Dance Plus and Shrenu Parikh and Zain Imam from Ek Bhram Sarvagun Sampan joined Salman in revealing the participants. Naira and Kartik, after performing on Bharat song "Chashni", introduced their favourite jodi, Shraddha Arya and Alam Khan. Shraddha shared she has been dating Alam for the past six months and is in a long-distance relationship. Alam lives in Jalandhar and the actor resides in Mumbai. Heart if you’re loving #Kaira performance. But we’re curious to know who are they revealing tonight? #NachBaliye9 @shivangijoshi10 @momo_mohsin pic.twitter.com/jlpqugXL4E — StarPlus (@StarPlus) July 19, 2019 Naira aka Shivangi Joshi also asked Salman about how he thought of bringing former lovers together. On this Salman said, "Ek ladka aur ladki dost ho sakte hai, break up ke baad bhi (a girl and a boy can be friends even after break up)." We definitely agree with Salman ❤️ Do you think exes can be friends? Tell us in the comments below. #NachBaliye9 @BeingSalmanKhan @shivangijoshi10 @momo_mohsin pic.twitter.com/6JZh5mwRIV — StarPlus (@StarPlus) July 19, 2019 The second celebrity couple was revealed by India's Got Talent star Akshat Singh. It was the power couple, Babita Phogat and Vivek Suhag. Babita shared how the Aamir Khan starrer Dangal brought her and her family more recognition that her medals. On participating in Nach Baliye 9, the wrestler said one of the reasons for her to be on the show is to spend more time with her baliye Vivek. Chota packet bada dhamaka - fits best on this cutie ❤️ #NachBaliye9 #AkshatSingh pic.twitter.com/cKBMc7Et3A — StarPlus (@StarPlus) July 19, 2019 Babita Phogat and Vivek Suhag a.k.a #BaVek is the second jodi of this season! What a couple ❤️ #NachBaliye9 #BaVek @BeingSalmanKhan @ManishPaul03 @babitaphogat @suhagvivek pic.twitter.com/2d9Fe2zxi0 — StarPlus (@StarPlus) July 19, 2019 For those who were waiting for some dance to happen on this dance reality show, Punit and Shakti's performance on Kalank's title track was a treat. They were there to present Urvashi Dholakia and her former boyfriend Anuj Sachdev as the third jodi of the show. Urvashi shared she got married when she was 16 and was blessed with twins at the age of 17. She was only 18 when she separated from her partner. On the show, Urvashi partnered with her boyfriend of four years Anuj, whom she first met at Star Parivaar Awards but they later decided to call it quits mutually. This fantabulous performance has given us goosebumps ❤️ @MohanShakti and @punitjpathak have lit the stage with their dance on #NachBaliye9 pic.twitter.com/W19PDEOiXN — StarPlus (@StarPlus) July 19, 2019 Kya hai iss Shola aur Shabnam ki kahaani? Jaaniye khud Urvashi Dholakia aur Anuj Sachdev a.k.a #UrUj se.#NachBaliye9, Every Sat-Sun at 8pm only on StarPlus and Hotstar :- @ApnAnuj pic.twitter.com/GKoUDy2Qg7 — StarPlus (@StarPlus) July 19, 2019 To bring some comic relief, Rahul Mahajan was made to dance with Shrenu Parikh before introducing the fourth celebrity couple, Vindu Dara Singh and Dina Umarova. The purpose of this couple is to tell the world how life can be beautiful if you have a supportive partner. The fifth and the final couple was newlyweds, Yuvika Chaudhary and Prince Narula. Now, the episode will continue on Saturday with the announcement of seven other jodis. While Salman will once again make an appearance, TV star and film actor Mouni Roy will grace the stage with a mesmerising performance.
