Mentor Kaun? Student Kaun?

For a country like India, where mothers are conventionally perceived as someone who would readily sacrifice her dreams for the sake of her family, the latest season of Zee’s Dance India Dance--DID Super Moms comes as a welcome surprise.

After the stupendous success of the previous seasons of the show, the current one has started off from where it last ended, giving hope to lakhs of mothers who aspire to make a name for themselves in the field of dance. With the show raking in popularity points DID Season 1 finalist and skipper of the current season Siddhesh Pai along with his protege Phulwa Khamkar, visited the city on Wednesday to meet fans.

Phulwa Khamkar, who first caught the attention of judges Farah Khan and Marzi Pestonji with her lithe performance to the Marathi song ‘Apsara Aali’, during the auditions round, says that it was her love for dance that got her to enroll for the auditions. Interestingly, she taught gymnastics to DID contestants of the previous seasons, one of whom was Siddhesh.

Speaking about her equation with Siddhesh, Phulwa says, “When I was his teacher, he barely attended any sessions. Out of 8-10 sessions, he must have just attended 3-4. But, I’m glad to have him as my skipper and share a certain comfort level with him.”
When asked whether the teacher in her comes out every time Siddhesh trains her, Phulwa laughs and quips, “Not really. Usually, I easily and comfortably get the steps he teaches me. Sometimes if I find them very difficult, I ask him to change them. But, if he is persistent about keeping it the same way, I don’t insist.”

Apart from Phulwa, Anita Routela, Mithu Chakraborty and Kirti Awle are also a part of Siddhesh’s team, Siddhesh ke Stunners. For someone who is a stickler for perfection, Siddhesh finds it challenging to bring out the best in them. “Even if one person makes a mistake, the combined efforts of all of them goes in vain. To bring out the best in each and every participant is sometimes very hard,” he explains.