Judges won't just give marks this season: Ganesh Hegde on Jhalak

We got talking to the man himself and asked more about the latest season of the show and what to expect from it.

Choreographer, singer, performer-- myriad man Ganesh Hegde will be taking over the televisions every weekend from Saturday, judging the popular dance reality TV show Jhalak Dikhlaa Jaa. Joining Karan Johar, Shahid Kapoor and Lauren Gottileb, he will be a fresh face on the show.

Ganesh Hegde will be seen judging dance reality show Jhalak Dikhlaa Jaa from July 11. (Facebook/Ganesh Hegde)

We got talking to the man himself and asked more about the latest season of the show and what to expect from it.

How is Jhalak any different from all the dance shows you have judged till now?

To be frank, all the shows that I have done till now always got boring for me after a point. I am a singer, performer, dancer and choreographer... so it becomes very monotonous for me to just sit around giving marks to contestants. A number of my fans have told me they don't like that version of me very much. But in Jhalak, even the judges will contribute to the entertainment quotient. You will see them dance and perform, sing and get more involved with contestants. It is a lot different from other shows and also from its own previous seasons.

But has that not been happening on Jhalak already? We have seen Madhuri Dixit sing, we have seen Remo dance.

Yes, but we will be doing even more. You will see the judges doing mimicry, you will see Shahid sitting with the contestants and doing a lot of fun things. Our motive is to not let the show get boring for our viewers.

What will you look for in your winner?

Well the show is called Jhalak Dikhlaa Jaa: Dancing with the Stars so I will be looking for that ‘star’ value in the contestants. Participants usually forget that they are stars first and then dancers. They go out of their way to learn difficult steps but forget that X-factor that made them who they are. So more than their dancing ability I would judge them on their star power.

You have already recorded one episode, who is the shiniest one right now?

Yes, I did see all 12 perform in the opening episode and I had expected just 3 or 4 of them to be good. But I was pleasantly surprised to see all them doing so good. They are 12 very different characters, bringing their best foot forwards. So I cannot say already who is the best, it is too soon… give me a few more weeks.

Do you think shows like Jhalak add any value to people who are already stars?

Oh yes! I absolutely do. These contestants are already stars and now people will know another side of them-the hardworking dancer side. They will now be known as dancers with that extra star power.

We are seeing you after a long time now… what were you busy with all this while?

Well I had been busy with my company for a while. We did the Abu Dhabi film festival last year and opening of the Sahara Pune stadium. I have also been working on my script for some time now, it will go on floor sometime early next year. And I also do some songs from time to time. All these things have been keeping me away from limelight.