Shantanu Maheshwari

Shantanu Maheshwari (born 7 March 1991) is an Indian actor, dancer, and choreographer. He gained fame for his debut role as Swayam Shekhawat in the popular youth television show Dil Dosti Dance. Shantanu's impressive dance skills earned him widespread recognition, leading to his victory in Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 8. He has also represented India internationally as part of the Desi Hoppers dance crew, winning the World of Dance Championship in Los Angeles. Additionally, he made his Bollywood debut in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Gangubai Kathiawadi (2022).

Shantanu Maheshwari
Maheshwari in 2023
Born	(1991-03-07) 7 March 1991 (age 33)[1] Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Education	H.R. College of Commerce and Economics
Occupations	Actor Dancer Choreographer Host
Years active	2011–present
Known for	Dil Dosti Dance World of Dance Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 8 Gangubai Kathiawadi
Style	Dances – Hip Hop, Popping, Street Dance, Bollywood and Folk

Early life

Shantanu Maheshwari was born on 7 March 1991 in Kolkata, India, into a Marwari family.^[2] He completed his early education at The Park English School and St. Joseph's College, Kolkata.^[3] For his higher education, he moved to Mumbai, where he attended H.R. College of Commerce and Economics. During his college years, Maheshwari became an active member of the Street Soul Dance Crew (SSDC). While he is a versatile dancer, he specialises in Popping and Liquid Waving, showcasing his unique skills across various platforms.

Career

Maheshwari began his acting career with Dil Dosti Dance^[4] for Channel V. He rose to fame by essaying the role of Swayam Shekhawat during the four-years run of the show.^[5] His chemistry with co-star Vrushika Mehta earned him widespread adulation as they went on to win the third spot in the Hottest Indian TV Jodi list by the UK-based newspaper Eastern Eye.^[6][7] The duo also earned the ITA Award for Onscreen Couple of the Year in 2014.^[8][9]

In 2015, he appeared in Zing's episodic show Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya where he played the role of a cancer patient.^[10] He returned to the small screen with his Dil Dosti Dance co-star Vrushika Mehta in Yeh Hai Aashiqui on Bindass, playing an episodic character of a verbally-challenged law student.^[11][12] He also dubbed for some episodes of Yeh Hai Aashiqui. In 2015, Maheshwari appeared in the Bindass show Bindass Naach.^[13][14] The finite series, which had appearances by the likes of Jaja Vaňková and Terence Lewis, showcased the formation of his crew Desi Hoppers and their subsequent victory at World of Dance 2015.^{[15][16][17][18]} Desi Hoppers became the first dance crew in the history to represent India at World of Dance and win it too. The crew was invited to give a special performance on America's Got Talent 11 and received praise from the judges Simon Cowell, Heidi Klum and Nick Cannon.^[19] It was also invited to give a special performance on China's famous talk show Day Day Up.

Maheshwari returned to fiction shows with MTV India's Girls On Top playing an aspiring musician Sahir Bhasin.^[20][21]

In 2016, Maheshwari participated in the celebrity dance reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 9 on Colors TV.^[22][23] He was one of the most consistent performers in the show and became the most popular and strongest contender for the title. He received praises from seasoned actor and ex-Jhalak contestant Ronit Roy who called him the winner of the show.^[24] Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan called Maheshwari a "flying star".^[25] However, he lost the trophy to Teriya Magar and Salman Yusuff Khan and became the 2nd runner-up.

In 2017, he starred in a short film Something Like Love which marked his foray into the digital cinema. Maheshwari participated in Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 8 which was shot in Spain and hosted by Bollywood director Rohit Shetty. He was the most consistent performer and got in the danger zone for the fewest times. Rohit Shetty called him the "silent killer" of the show. He won the show by beating Hina Khan and Ravi Dubey in the finale. Along with his dance crew Desi Hoppers, Maheshwari was invited to perform an exhibition act at the World of Dance 2017 finals in Los Angeles.^{[26] [27]} The crew also went on to perform at Asian Battleground, a cross-national dance reality show shot in Malaysia. Among the twelve dance crews that participated in the competition, Desi Hoppers came 3rd in the showcase rankings and were a part of the top 4 finalists that advanced for the face-off round.

In 2018, Maheshwari hosted MTV India's episodic series Love on the Run.^[28] Maheshwari then along with his crew Desi Hoppers participated in the world's biggest dance reality show World of Dance (TV series) and in doing so they became the first-ever Indian dance crew to represent India on such a big platform. They received high praise from judges Jennifer Lopez, Ne-Yo and Derek Hough who loved their unique style and fusion of hip-hop with Indian culture. They also scored an impressive 96 to qualify for the next round which was also the highest score in round one.^[29] Maheshwari launched the spring collection of Lee Cooper with #MasterofDenim look. He also gained popularity as the host of Zee TV's reality show India's Best Dramebaaz, which later won the Favorite Non-Fiction Show award at Zee Rishtey Awards.

Along with his crew, Desi Hoppers, Maheshwari gave special performances at the University of Oxford, UK, as part of a social entrepreneur summit with the likes of Academy Award winner Chiwetel Ejiofor, Grammy award winner Sarah McLachlan and chief international anchor for CNN, Christiane Amanpour present.^[30] Maheshwari has also given numerous stage performances on Indian Television Academy Awards, Radio Mirchi Top 20 & Golden Petal Awards on Colors TV,&TV It's Diwali, Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards India, DID Li'l Masters (Season 4 Finale) & Gold Awards on Zee TV, Adbhut Ganesh Utsav and Dandiya Nights over the years.

Owing to his influence on aspiring youth, IIMUN invited Shantanu to be one of the motivational speakers of IIMUN championship conference MUNCLAVE 2019/20. Shantanu along with Desi Hoppers has choreographed and directed dance performances for the Zee TV show Yeh Teri Galiyan. Shantanu also appeared in a promotional video by Netflix for The Umbrella Academy (TV series) with Tiku Talsania, Supriya Pilgaonkar and Kubbra Sait. His third music video composed by Qaran and sung by Ash King on Sony Music India named "Haaye Oye" featuring Elli Avram opposite him, crossed 45 million views on YouTube within two weeks and trended on various music platforms. He has performed the character of Abir Basu in Ekta Kapoor's web series Medically Yours. He received Likee's Digital Influencer award as the Youth Icon of the year for the same. He along with his partner became the finalist of Nach Baliye season-9.

Maheshwari starred opposite Alia Bhatt in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Gangubai Kathiawadi in 2022. The film marks his debut in Bollywood.^[31]

Shantanu's next film, Love in Vietnam, was announced at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. It co-stars Avneet Kaur and Vietnamese actress Kha Ngan, directed by Rahhat Shah Kazmi and produced by Omung Kumar. The film marks the first India-Vietnam collaboration and is based on the bestselling novel Madonna in a Fur Coat.^[32][33]

Filmography

Films

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2017	Something Like Love	Rishabh	Short film	[34]
2020	Special Day	Ved Mehra		[35]
2022	Gangubai Kathiawadi	Afsaan Razaq		[36][37]
2024	Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha	Young Krishna		[38]

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2001	Kya Masti Kya Dhoom	Contestant
2002	Boogie Woogie
2008	Dance Bangla Dance
2011–2015	Dil Dosti Dance	Swayam Shekhawat
2011	Ek Hazaaron Mein Meri Behna Hai		Guest
2013	Nach Baliye 5
2014–2015	Yeh Hai Aashiqui	Voice role
		Shaan
	Box Cricket League 1	Contestant
2015	Bindass Naach	Himself	Guest
	Twistwala Love	Vivaan
	Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya	Rahul
2016-2017	Girls on Top	Sahir Bhasin
	Box Cricket League 2	Contestant
	Day Day Up	Himself	Guest
	America's Got Talent 11
	Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 9	Contestant	2nd runner-up
2016	Bigg Boss 10	Himself	Guest
2017	MTV Big F 2	Terry
	Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 8	Contestant	Winner
	World of Dance	Himself	Guest
	Asian Battleground - Malaysia	Contestant	4th place
2017-2018	MTV Love on the Run	Host
2018	World Of Dance 2	Contestant
	DID Li'l Masters 4	Host
	India's Best Dramebaaz
	Iconic India	Himself	Guest
2019	Yeh Teri Galiyan
	Kitchen Champion 5
	Khatra Khatra Khatra
	Nach Baliye 9	Contestant	5th place
	MTV Ace Of Space 2	Himself	Guest
	Jabong Hoop Wars

Music videos

Year	Title	Singer(s)	Ref(s)
2015	Super Girl From China	Kanika Kapoor, Mika Singh	[39][40]
2018	Aaja Mahi Ve	Aditi Singh Sharma	[41]
2019	Haaye Oye	Qaran, Ash King	[42]
2020	Gud Khake	Bharat Goel, Ash King	[43]
2022	Tutt Gaya	Stebin Ben	[44]
	Kesariyo Rang	Asees Kaur, Dev Negi	[45]
2023	Mast Aankhein	Tulsi Kumar, Jubin Nautiyal	[46]
	Aakhir	Vishal Mishra	[47]

Web series

Year	Title	Role	Ref.
2018	XXX	Bittu	[48]
2019	Medically Yourrs	Abir Basu	[49]
2023	Tooth Pari: When Love Bites	Dr. Bikram Roy	[50]
	Campus Beats	Ishaan	[51]
2024	Ishq In The Air	Naman	[52]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
2014	Indian Television Academy Awards	GR8 on Screen Couple (Viewers Choice Awards) (along with Vrushika Mehta)	Dil Dosti Dance	Won[53]
	Indian Telly Awards	Indian Telly Jury Award for Best Choreographer (along with Macedon D'Mello)		Nominated
2015	World of Dance	World of Dance, L.A. 2015 Championship (as part of Desi Hoppers)	Desi Hoppers	Won[54]
2016	Asian Viewers Television Awards	Male Actor of the Year	Girls on Top	Nominated
2017	Indian Television Academy Awards	Favourite Popular Star (Male)	Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 8	Nominated
		Best Actor (Male)	MTV Big F Season 2	Nominated
2018		Popular Star (Male)	MTV Love On The Run	Nominated
2019	Indian Telly Awards	Best Star - Popular (Male)	Nach Baliye 9	Nominated
2023	Filmfare Awards	Best Male Debut	Gangubai Kathiawadi	Nominated[55]
	International Indian Film Academy Awards	Best Male Debut		Won
2024	Filmfare OTT Awards	Best Actor in a Series (Male): Drama	Campus Beats	Nominated[56]

See also

• List of dancers

References

1. "Shantanu Maheshwari turns 30 today: Age is just a number, important to be fit and happy". Times of India. 31 March 2021.
2. ""I am Marwadi, must have regifted some gift," Shantanu Maheshwari's Never Have I Ever with ETimes TV". The Times of India. 8 September 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
3. "Shantanu Maheshwari on Calcutta memories, life after d3, and a haircut! –The Telegraph India". Archived from the original on 22 September 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
4. "Two peas in a pod: Shantanu Maheshwari and Vrushika Mehta". Retrieved 20 July 2016.
5. "A balanced move". Retrieved 27 October 2015.
6. "Gurmeet Choudhary, Drashti Dhami voted TV's hottest couple". 27 March 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
7. "Drashti Dhami and Gurmeet Choudhary: TV's hottest couple". 28 March 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
8. "Shantanu and Vrushika won viewers choice award at ITA Awards". Retrieved 19 November 2014.
9. "The ITA Viewer's Choice Awards 2014 - pg 56" (PDF). Retrieved 4 December 2014.
10. "Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya – Season 03 – Episode 14 – February 20, 2015 – Full Episode : OZEE Show – Zing". Retrieved 20 February 2015.
11. "Shantanu Maheshwari And Vrushika Mehta To Romance Again". February 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
12. "Shantanu Maheshwari: I am not dating Vrushika". The Times of India. 10 April 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
13. "Shantanu to capture his dance journey on tv show – The Times of India". The Times of India. 25 June 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
14. "Desi Hoppers: Our journey starts now – The Times of India". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 18 August 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
15. WOD (22 August 2015). "DESI HOPPERS WODFINALS15". Retrieved 20 July 2016 – via worldofdance.
16. "Desi Hoppers win the WOD championship in LA". The Times of India. 17 August 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
17. World of Dance (19 August 2015). "Desi Hoppers 1st Place Finals". Retrieved 19 August 2015 – via YouTube.
18. "bindass Naach's 'Desi Hoppers' creates history at 'World of Dance' championship – The Indian Express". 17 August 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
19. America's Got Talent (14 June 2015). "AGT Auditioners Show Off Their Edgy Dance Moves – America's Got Talent 2016 Auditions". Retrieved 14 June 2015 – via YouTube.
20. "When Shantanu Maheshwari and Ayesha Adlakha took MTV Girls on Top by storm – The Times of India". The Times of India. 18 April 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
21. "Thrilled to be part of first Bollywood theme park - Shantanu - The Times of India". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 30 March 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
22. "Dwayne Bravo bonds over dance and cricket with Shantanu and Alisha – The Times of India". The Times of India. 22 October 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
23. "I am not doing Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa to impress anyone – The Times of India". The Times of India. 17 September 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
24. "Read To Know Why Ronit Roy called Jhalak contestant Shantanu Maheshwari a star – The Times of India". The Times of India. 25 October 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
25. "Shantanu Maheshwari is Hrithik Roshan's flying star – The Times of India". The Times of India. 8 November 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
26. "Dancing star Tiger Shroff lauds Shantanu Maheshwari's dance video- The Indian Express". 25 August 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
27. "Hollywood calling for Shantanu Maheshwari- The Times of India". The Times of India. 26 July 2017. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
28. "Shantanu Maheshwari on hosting Love on the Run: It's a tribute to people who fought for their love". 13 December 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
29. "Jennifer Lopez highly impressed with Shantanu Maheshwari and team Desi Hopppers". Retrieved 3 June 2018.
30. "Shantanu rocks Oxford University". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
31. "Alia Bhatt Unveils New Gangubai Kathiawadi Poster, Film Set to Clash with Prabhas' Radhe Shyam". News18. 24 February 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
32. "Shantanu Maheshwari announces international film 'Love in Vietnam' at Cannes". India Today. 23 May 2024. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
33. "Shantanu Maheshwari, Avneet Kaur-starrer Love In Vietnam's first look poster unveiled at Cannes Film Festival". DNA India. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
34. ThoughtProcess Films (24 February 2017). "Something Like Love, a short film starring Shantanu Maheshwari & Sheikh Nadia". Retrieved 24 February 2017 – via YouTube.
35. Pocket Films (9 May 2020). "Hindi Short Film – Special Day Ft. Sheeba Chaddha and Shantanu Maheshwari A Mother's Day Special". Retrieved 9 May 2020 – via YouTube.
36. The Statesman (31 January 2020). "TV actor Shantanu Maheshwari to make Bollywood debut with Alia Bhatt's gangster drama 'Gangubai Kathiawadi'". Retrieved 31 January 2020 – via The Statesman.
37. "Alia Bhatt starrer Gangubai Kathiawadi to release on January 6, 2022". Bollywood Hungama. 30 September 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
38. "Saiee Manjrekar & Shantanu Maheshwari join Ajay Devgn and Tabu for Neeraj Pandey's Auron Mein Kaha Dum Tha". Bollywood Hungama. 6 April 2023. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
39. T-Series (2 December 2015). "Super Girl From China Video Song- Kanika Kapoor Feat Sunny Leone Mika Singh- T-Series". Retrieved 2 December 2015 – via YouTube.
40. "When Sunny Leone made TV actor Shantanu Maheshwari nervous - Mid-Day". Retrieved 10 December 2015.
41. Ganna Official (20 November 2018). "AAJA MAHI VE- Aditi Singh Sharma- Shantanu Maheshwari- Vrushika Mehta- Dahekk-Sakett". Retrieved 20 November 2018 – via YouTube.
42. Sony Music India (21 March 2019). "Haaye Oye - QARAN ft. Ash King- Elli AvrRam- Shantanu Maheshwari- Vishal Handa". Retrieved 21 April 2019 – via YouTube.
43. Times Music (19 January 2020). "Gud Khake - Ash King- Shantanu Maheshwari- Reecha Sinha- Bharat Goel". Retrieved 19 January 2020 – via YouTube.
44. Tutt Gaya ft. Shantanu Maheshwari and Ashnoor Kaur sung by Stebin Ben - Saregama, 10 May 2022
45. "Kesariyo Rang Song: अवनीत कौर संग गरबा खेलते शान्तनु माहेश्वरी, 'केसरिया रंग' गाना रिलीज". Navbharat Times (in Hindi). Retrieved 21 September 2022.
46. "Shantanu Maheshwari's latest 'Mast Aankhein' has catchy lyrics and soothing melody". Outlook India. 24 February 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
47. "Vishal Mishra's 'Aakhir' ft Shantanu Maheshwari and Diksha Singh is a sad romantic ballad". The Times of India. 10 October 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
48. "Shantanu Maheshwari, Ritvik Dhanjani, Aadar Malik attend trailer launch of ALTBalaji's web series XXX". 20 September 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2019 – via First Post India.
49. "Medically Yourrs actor Shantanu Maheshwari: Never tried to build or break an on-screen image". 30 May 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2019 – via The Indian Express.
50. "Shantanu Maheshwari and Tanya Maniktala to star in Netflix's romantic fantasy-series Tooth Pari: When Love Bites, watch teaser". 20 March 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2023 – via Bollywood Hungama.
51. "Campus Beats Trailer : Shantanu Maheshwari, Shruti Sinha And Sahaj Singh Chahal Starrer Campus Beats Official Trailer". 18 September 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2023 – via Times of India.
52. "Shantanu Maheshwari, Medha Rana to star in romantic-drama series Ishq In The Air". Cinema Express. 18 September 2024.
53. "IndianTelevisionAcademy.com". Archived from the original on 7 November 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
54. "Desi Hoppers win the WOD championship in LA – The Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
55. "Nominations For The 68th Hyundai Filmfare Awards 2023 With Maharashtra Tourism". filmfare.com. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
56. "Filmfare OTT Awards 2024 Nominations". Filmfare. Retrieved 17 October 2024.

External links

• Shantanu Maheshwari at IMDb
• Shantanu Maheshwari on Instagram