Tushar Kalia: Judging a dance show with Madhuri is a dream come true

Tushar Kalia is an Indian choreographer and dancer, known for being one of the judges of the ongoing reality show 'Dance Deewane' with Madhuri Dixit and director Shashank Khaitan. He specialises in the classical Indian dance form of Mayurbhanj Chhau, he’s trained with Kalarippayattu (Indian martial arts) and he’s well-versed with contemporary dance forms too. He was a participant in the season 6 and 7 of the dance reality show 'Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa' (JDJ). He was also the stage director of the reality show 'India’s Got Talent' (IGT). He made a debut in Bollywood as a choreographer on the film 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil'.


Tushar’s formal training in dance began under the tutelage of the revered Kathakali dancer Shri Santosh Nair. For 8 years, Tushar picked up the ropes of classic dance at the Sadhya Unit of Performing Arts in New Delhi. He is also trained for aerial dancing techniques with Canadian choreographer, Brandy Leary. One of his career’s highlights was when he performed with international choreographers for a production called 'Motherland' in Birmingham, UK. He’s even featured in a role in Remo D’Souza’s 'ABCD: Any Body Can Dance' (2013).


He says, “I was lucky that Karan (Johar) sir was judging both 'JDJ' and 'IGT' shows and thanks to him, I got my first break in movies with 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil'. Since then, I’ve worked on films like 'Ok Jaanu', 'Half Girlfriend', 'Qareeb Qareeb Singlle', 'Hate Story 4' and now on 'Dhadak' too. One thing led to another and my dream came true when I got the opportunity to judge a dance show with Madhuri ma’am. She had judged my work when I was a choreographer in 'JDJ' and here I am sitting next to her and just soaking in the overwhelming experience.”