By Sanya Pandey

New Delhi, June 24 (UNI) Dancer and actor Shantanu Maheshwari who is all set to host the third season of kids reality show ‘India’s Best Dramebaaz’ on Zee TV, said he won’t pressurise the children and will tell them to just live their lives.

Talking to UNI exclusively, Shantanu said there is obviously a lot of pressure on kids these days and every child is facing it since the start.

“In today's scenario there is so much competition, that children are do under pressure. I think in a way it is good also that they have started learning at this age, but yes it's parents role to check how much pressure their child should take and the child should not be overburdened. Parents should let there kids live freely, so that the kids do not get suffocated and forget what they want to do in their lives,” Shantanu said.

Telling on how will he deal with the pressure given on children in the show, Shantanu said,”

I won't pressurise any kid. I will try my best how I can ease out that child, will talk to him in a friendly manner, will make him/her calm down. I will tell them 'Just live your life' because you are just 8-9 years old, and you should enjoy the life and things around.”

“I will tell them 'It's just a competition and most important thing is you should learn from it',” he said.

Telling about his preparations as a host, Shantanu said, “I am getting creatively involved in terms of scripting and how we will treat each and every child.”

“This being a kids show is going to be tough and exciting as children aren't very easy to deal with at times. I can just be myself with them as well as explore different emotions, moods and themes. But understanding the kids and developing the bond with them is what I am going to take up as a challenge,” he said.

“It is somewhat a challenge to be able to build a connect with the contestants. Spontaneity plays a big role here and as anchors you have to keep the audience and viewers entertained,” Shantanu said.

On asking what attracted him to the kids reality show over other shows, the Dil Dostii Dance (D3) fame actor said he loves kids show and feel happy that at such a small age children are getting such a big platform, where they can perform so many new and different styles.

“ I have inclination towards dancing and I feel if somebody would have taught me such styles when I was eight years old then I would have got great exposure. The exposure would have been more like I would have learnt more dancing skills, or maybe acting skills like these kids are getting opportunity at this age,” he said.

“By default at this age the practice becomes more. If there is more practice then more you will become better and will achieve certain level of perfection. I think this is the reason I have chosen a kids show and I like taking it up rather than any other random show where obviously talent is there, no disrespect to them, but an involvement is very different because we are seeing a small kid here growing age wise and talent wise both. So this makes a big difference,” Shantanu said.

Shantanu will be sharing the stage with Sonali Bendre for the third season of India's Best Dramebaaz airing later this month. He is excited as they go back a long way.

“When I was eight-years-old I performed on a dance show which Sonali Bendre was hosting and judging back then. I remember being so excited about it as she was a big childhood favourite of mine. Then I performed when I was 17 or 18 on a reality show she was judging and now again at 27 I have come in front of her, so I am very excited to be sharing the screen with her after so many years, and this time I won't be participating in it, but hosting it,” Shantanu said.

“Even Sonali mam was very happy to see me and said that my role has changed now instead of being a talent I am the host. She said I have seen your talent, my journey. She was very impressed with me,” he said.

For Shantanu, every project comes with its own set of challenges but presenting India on international platform has been the most challenging task.

Telling about his journey, Shantanu said it has been amazing but it involved a lot of hard work.

“We all have our own struggles. The thing is I am happy with what I have achieved till now. I am just happy with what I am doing in my career. Because of my last show there is certain level of change in my thought process. My confidence has been built up. I have lived independently and gained confidence, moved out of my laid back attitude,” he said.

On asking if he is doing any web series, Shantanu said,”currently I am not doing any web series as such. Right now I am concentrating on my hosting. This is my first time of being a host, so I am trying my best to come up with it.”

Whereas Shantanu said web medium is very good. “It totally depends on the content marketing. The good content series are sometimes hidden under 'not-so-good' content,” he added.

Shantanu was also a part of Desi Hoppers, a hip-hop dance crew from Mumbai that won the World of Dance Championships in Los Angeles.

The crew created history by being the first Indian dance team representing the country in World of Dance (WOD) and later emerging as winners.

Zee TV’s acting talent hunt show for kids, ‘India’s Best Dramebaaz’, is back in its third season.

Having opened up a world of opportunities for truly deserving talents like Kartikey Raj, Kartikey Malviya, Tamanna Dipak, Praneet Sharma, each of who have carved a niche for themselves as performing artistes, the show’s latest season gives a chance to a new lot of promising child actors to polish their acting skills and emerge as superstars tomorrow.

Enabling the youngest in the country to find their true calling and letting them pursue their passion for acting in order to build an extraordinary future in the world of entertainment, India’s Best Dramebaaz is the true embodiment of Zee TV’s core philosophy ‘Aaj Likhenge Kal’.

Produced by Essel Vision Productions, the show will feature kids from across the country flooring audiences with their sparkling wit, impressive stage presence, mischievous spirit and above all, unlimited acting talent.

This time around, it’s not only the contestants that will take audiences by storm but also the spectacular panel of mentors and talented hosts who will provide entertainment extraordinaire.

Guiding, grooming and mentoring the young acting prodigies through their journey and teaching them various nuances of acting will be a panel of industry experts, including actress Sonali Bendre and actor Vivek Oberoi who return to the show a third time.

Director Omung Kumar will add yet another feather to his cap and make his debut as a mentor on the show.

Dancer and actor Shantanu Maheshwari and ventriloquist Vighnesh Pande will turn hosts for the season.

With the auditions being conducted in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Guwahati, Ranchi, Patna, Jaipur, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Bangalore, Indore, Ahmedabad, the show has left no stone unturned in scouting the best talent.

The shortlisted contestants will get the golden opportunity to perform in front of the mentor's panel and make a mark with their acting mantras.

The show will air every Saturday and Sunday at 2100 hrs starting June 30.

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