Star One's popular celebrity dance competition Nach Baliye will air its grand finale tonight, and the fight is between Sachin-Supriya and Manish-Poonam.
Subhash K Jha talks to the two very nervous couples.
Sachin: We have tried our level-best. We're nervous but not for the audience's vote. There's no point in worrying about something that isn't in our hands. We want to perform well. Considering we aren't much of dancers, we're amazed at how far we've got.
I enjoyed working with my wife. On December 21, we complete 20 years of marriage. Other professionals get only a couple of hours with their wives, and an annual holiday to unwind. Through Nach Baliye, we've been thrown together in unexpected ways. The show has helped us rediscover each other in the 20th year of our marriage. And if a five-year-old child comes running to us shouting, 'Hi Sachin, Hi Supriya,' we couldn't ask for more.
I make Marathi films. Nach Baliye has spurred me to direct a new song-and-dance film called Aami Saatpute featuring Supriya and me. I feel very happy when people say she is a better actress and dancer.
Supriya: I never knew I could dance until Nach Baliye! Now, I've started enjoying dancing. Nach Baliye has changed my life. Look at the love we've received from everyone. It' a new beginning for me. I'm basically a housewife. I've taken up acting assignments as and when my family life has allowed me. I can only work when I'm at peace.
Now, with my daughter grown up, I've enjoyed the dancing immensely. If we win, I want to use the prize money to do something that we'll never forget. I want to do something that will haunt us, as Nach Baliye has haunted us. We've practiced day and night, thought about steps all the time. If we hadn't worked so hard, we wouldn't have reached so far.
At first, we did it to save face. Then it became a question of sustaining our success. The Nach Baliye journey has been very rewarding. All the songs that Sachin and I performed were sung by the lead pair in films. I'm privileged to have sung them with my husband like Chod do aanchal or Chale jaise hawa.
My husband has been very encouraging. We're trying our best to live up to audiences' expectations. We'll try to give a clean performance for the finals. We have four songs to perform to. And we're gathering our stamina together. Our choreographers have always given us steps according to our age. Now, synchronisation of movements would be our primary concern.
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During the last four months, we've spent more time together than we did in 20 years of marriage! We're looking forward to the prize prize aakhir prize hota hai, chahe 5 rupaiye ka ya 50 lakh ka (a prize is a prize, whether it's Rs 5 or Rs 500,000).
Manish: Besides the fact that I got to spend so much time with my wife, the best part of Nach Baliye was that people have stopped calling me by the names of my characters in Bhabhi and my other soaps. I'm finally Manish! It feels like a culmination of six years of struggle.
Yes, I'm hoping to resume my interrupted struggle to become a film actor. But I cannot ignore the reach of television -- not after Nach Baliye. It has been a blessing for my wife and me. We've suddenly become household names. And the fact that we've come so far proves that fate is guiding us.
Of course, we're proud. Every time Poonam and I went on stage, we wondered if this would be our last appearance. All the other participants were so good. Somehow, we've managed to come so far. For someone who has been struggling for a foothold for so many years, Nach Baliye is a triumph. I've finally made my family in Delhi proud.
We're a business family and Poonam was my mother's choice. My mother insisted that I get married -- 'nahin to Mumbai kha jayega (otherwise, Mumbai will eat you up!).' My mother saw Poonam while we were shooting a serial together. She asked me if I'd like to marry her. It took me three months to decide. And it took Poonam another three months. So in just six months, we were married. Today, I'm proud to see we have danced our way into so many hearts.
Am I nervous about the finals? My nervousness lasts only until I reach the stage. After that, I'm fine. After what happened to my colleague Varun Bandola (he blanked out on stage), I wondered if that would happen to me too. But I cannot afford to slip up now. If I've come this far, there has to be a reason for it.
Poonam: Frankly, the high that it gives me to see my husband being suddenly thrown into this recognition cannot compare with what I feel. Though I've been doing serials for years now, I'm too much into my family -- my husband and my little son. I had gained weight after motherhood, but I didn't care. Now I've lost a lot of the weight doing the strenuous dance movements.
The best part of Nach Baliye was that my husband and I got so much time together. Was it difficult for me to cope with the impossible schedules because of my one-year-old son? Not really. Even Rohit Roy and Manasi Joshi have a small child. It's all about time management and the desire to do something unexpected and life-making.
Nach Baliye has definitely been decisive for Manish and me. Now, kids call out to us by our real names. Even our son who has been seen on the show has become a little star. I feel good, especially for my husband.
Yes, I'm nervous about the finals. We have to be on stage for 12 full minutes. If we win, we will use the prize money for PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals), a cause I believe in, and for our son. But right now, we aren't thinking about the money.
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