New kid on the block

MAYUKH MAJUMDAR MEETS SHANTANU MAHESHWARI, WHO RECENTLY MADE HIS BIG SCREEN DEBUT WITH GANGUBAI KATHIAWADI

- MAYUKH MAJUMDAR

After the release of Gangubai Kathiawadi, Shantanu Maheshwari was hailed by the media as a Sanjay Leela Bhansali discovery. But he isn’t a rank newcomer. Thousands of fans know him as Swayam Shekhawat from the hit television show, Dil Dosti Dance. D3, as it is popularly called, was an instant favourite with desi millennials who were just hitting the peak of their adolescence. That's when Shantanu Maheshwari and his gang came into their lives and became the subject of many canteen discussions across schools and colleges in India. Looking back at his journey, he reflects, “It’s been a long journey but I’m happy with whatever I have gone through. It feels amazing to be part of Sanjay sir’s movie. He’s the best that I could have ever dreamt of to work with,” he says, overwhelmed. Shantanu plays the role of Afsaan, Alia Bhatt’s love interest, in the film. His scenes with Alia are special because there aren’t many words involved but the romance is sweet and lovely.

The lack of dialogue doesn’t bother Shantanu. He’s happy that his segments with Alia where the two convey so much without saying anything have got much love from critics and the audience alike. For me, it was such a unique love story where you don't have many dialogue but the emotions that you see on screen are so deep and profound and the language that we used to talk in… talking through our eyes, gestures, body language. It was just an amazing thing.”