63-year-old Shiva Rajkumar upstages young Kireeti, Sreeleela with his dance. Watch

A pre-release event for the Kireeti and Sreeleela-starrer Junior was held in Bengaluru. Shiva Rajkumar danced his heart out while there.

Radhakrishna Reddy’s Kireeti Reddy, Sreeleela and Genelia D’Souza-starrer Junior will be released in theatres on 18 July. The pre-release event of the film was held in Bengaluru with Kannada star Shiva Rajkumar as the chief guest. When the actor took to the stage to dance with the lead stars, he managed to upstage them with ease.

Shiva Rajkumar followed Kireeti's steps as they danced with Sreeleela on stage at Junior event.

Shiva Rajkumar upstages Kireeti, Sreeleela

A song from Junior titled Viral Vayyari shows Kireeti and Sreeleela dancing energetically. The actors recreated the hook step from the song on stage and were joined by Shiva, who was aping Kireeti’s moves. While initially looking hesitant to join in, the star seemed to have found his groove as he continued to dance even after Kireeti and Sreeleela stopped dancing, leading them to cheer for him. Even the anchor at the event couldn’t help but let out a cheer.

Fans also seemed to think that the 63-year-old didn’t just match the energy of the actors in their early 20s, he upstaged them. One of them commented, “Kannada swag + Viral vibes = Explosion on stage! Shivanna still got the moves.” Another wrote, “Wow. Shivarajkumar is evergreen Hero.” A fan recollected that Shiva was always a good dancer, “Shiva Rajkumar was always a great dancer, love you sir!”

Shiva Rajkumar’s health issues

In November last year, after weeks of speculation, Shiva confirmed to fans that he’s receiving treatment for an issue he didn’t specify then. In December the same year, he flew to the US to have a cancerous bladder removed. He returned to India in 2025 and, to the relief of fans, declared that he was now cancer-free. This did not stop him from working, as before heading to the US, he completed shooting for 45 while undergoing chemotherapy.

Shiva will soon star in Buchi Babu Sana’s Peddi with Ram Charan and Janhvi Kapoor as his co-stars. Apart from 45, he will soon also star in the Kannada films Uttarakaanda and Bhairavana Kone Paata. He will also reprise his role for Nelson Dilipkumar’s Rajinikanth-starrer Jailer 2.