I always wanted to become an IAS officer : Shakti Mohan

Winner of Dance India Dance season 2 Shakti Mohan is riding high these days. After winning the title the dancer has now turned actress with her new show Dil, Dostii Dance on Channel V. Telly Chakkar caught up with the budding actress in a candid interview. Why Channel V for your first fiction show? I loved the concept as this is the first fiction show based on dance and everyone knows that I love dancing. Initially I was little worried if it would work as I haven’t done any shows earlier. But then here I was once again getting a chance to be associated with dance so I agreed to it. Cinevistaas is known for drama so why did you choose do a dance fiction show with them? As I told you I love dancing and after DID I was missing dancing. Also, my focus has always been dance. So when this concept came across I grabbed it both the hands. Are you enjoying acting? Yes, in the beginning we used to burst out laughing during our shots but gradually we have got used to it. How challenging was it to portray this character? It was very difficult initially but as it is very similar to my life it helped me a lot. But as we are dancers our body language is very different than what acting needs. When you are a dancer your body speaks, my body can express itself. We had to go through many workshops to train ourselves before going to the sets. I had to actually work on myself, my voice. We did many group exercises which made as much more confident. How much do you relate with the character that you are playing in the show? We are very similar. A girl from Mumbai who is a street dancer who is on a mission to achieve her goal. My life is also very similar, it’s just that life in Mumbai is little easier. I had a really tough time since I belong to Delhi and it is not as supporting as Mumbai. I always wanted to become an IAS officer but no regrets as I am enjoying myself. Even I had auditioned in a similar way and then Terence Sir noticed me at St. Xavier’s College, so it is very touching and close to my heart. This is completely a youth show so there must be a lot of pranks happening on the show? We have a lot of masti on the sets. We keep on pulling each other’s legs. How is your chemistry with your co-star Kunwar Amar? Excellent. We have been awarded with the best duo in DID during season 2 so it is really fun to work with him. Which one is easier acting or dancing? Obviously I would say dancing because that comes naturally to me, acting is also chilled out. You were a part of Dance Ke Superstars. Why did you choose to opt out? The show was about competition between the best of the three seasons. When I did DID season 2 we practiced throughout the day to give just one performance. But for Dance Ke Superstars they asked us to give two to three performances in a day which was next to impossible. So I told them that it would not be convenient for me do it. They understood the problem and finally let me go. After dancing and acting what’s next for you? I am planning to get trained in Hip Hop because I have a contemporary background in dancing and my character in Dil, Dostii Dance requires a lot of Hip Hop. I may go to Vienna for this.