'Jhalak Dhikhhla Jaa was not an easy journey'

'I was planning to quit but I think fans recognised my efforts and voted for me,' Jhalak Dhikhhla Jaa 7 winner Ashish Sharma tells Rajul Hegde.

Ashish Sharma aka Major Rudrapratap Singh of the television serial Rangrasiya won the seventh edition of dance reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa over the weekend.

The actor won a prize money of Rs 30 lakh and a Mahindra XUV car along with the trophy. 

Sharma beat the other finalists -- Karan Tacker, Shakti Mohan and Mouni Roy. 

Ashish says that Karan and Mouni were his strongest competitors. “Shakti was outstanding; I have not seen a dancer like her." 

He thought he wouldn’t survive for more than two or three weeks because he was injured many times.

“I was not a dancer and had to match my co-contestants and improve every week. I really had to work hard for that. It was not an easy journey, but certainly a memorable one,” he added.

Juggling between the two shows Rangrasiya and the rehearsals of Jhalak took a toll on his health and he was on the verge of quitting the show.

“My blood pressure was low, sugar levels dropped and the pressure was unbearable. I was planning to quit but I think fans recognised my efforts and voted for me. I want to thank my audience for the love and massive votes,” he says. 

He gives credit to his choreographer Shampa for having faith in him and motivating him “to push my boundaries to become a better performer. She understood my body language and gave me the steps accordingly. I owe a big thank you to her." 

Dancing to Tadap Tadap, the song from the film Hum Dil De Chukhe Sanam, was his most memorable performance. “It was an intense performance which required me to put all my emotions into the dance,” he explains. 

The dance show has helped him shed his inhibitions. “Dancing in front of an audience was not easy for me but I got progressively comfortable with the audience as the weeks progressed. Now I can easily dance when I am asked to dance,” he says. 

 Ashish acted in the Bollywood film Love Sex Aur Dhokha and in the TV shows Gunahon Ka Devta and Chandragupta Maurya. 

He misses Rangrasiya, which wrapped up recently. 

He says he hasn’t thought about how he will spend the prize money. “Honestly, I was not aware of the prize money until they announced it during the semi finals. I thought the winner will just get the trophy.” 

After the strenuous show, he will go on a long holiday with his wife to the Maldives and Europe. And catch up with his reading. 

After that, he promises to be back on television 'with a bang.'