Indian dance prodigy invited to LA.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: Akshat Singh, the eight year-old Salman Khan super-fan who took the world by storm with his incredible dance routine on the television show India’s Got Talent, is set to appear on the Ellen DeGeneres’s talk show.
During the show’s preliminary rounds in January, Singh performed a dance routine set to popular Salman Khan songs – notably, “Munni Badnaam Hui” from Dabangg and “Jalwa” from Wanted – which absolutely stunned judges Karan Johar, Kirron Kher, and Malaika Arora Khan (who performed the dance for “Munni Badnaam Hui” in the actual film Dabangg). All the judges admitted to having low expectations for the portly youngster, who wowed them by performing splits and showing incredible dance moves on the stage.
His performance, in which the boy is dressed up as Salman Khan’s immortal Chulbul Pandey character from the Dabangg films, immediately went viral all over the internet, with practically every Indian-origin student in college posting it on Facebook and the video amassing more than one million views on YouTube. The self-proclaimed “chhota boss” to Salman Khan’s “big boss,” Akshat is taking the new-found fame in stride, which is all the more remarkable considering his relatively humble beginnings.
Currently in third grade in Kolkata, where his father operates a tea leaf business, Akshat is a strong student in addition to being obsessed with Sallu bhai. He’s even received an academic scholarship for the school he currently attends, and splits his time evenly between studying his school curriculum and Salman Khan’s dance moves.
His favorite film of all time is Bodyguard, the 2010 Salman Khan super-hit that co-starred Kareena Kapoor and is one of the top ten highest-grossing Hindi pictures of all time. He says he learns all his dance moves just from watching Salman Khan’s movies, and doesn’t take any special classes or outside help on his own.
Akshat, who has said he’s thrilled to have been invited onto Ellen’s talk show, admitted afterward that he actually has no idea who Ellen is – he’s just excited that he gets to go to Los Angeles. But by being a guest on the show, Akshat will join the likes of celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio, George Clooney, and even US President Barack Obama.
Akshat’s rocking performance on India’s Got Talent can be viewed below. Fair warning, make sure you’re alone, as you’ll likely want to start dancing too:
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com