Reality's pretty little Hitha'bug

She burnt the dance floor with her agile moves and walked home with a bang as the winner of the recently concluded Dancing Star Season 3 on a local channel. We speak to the 24-year-old Hitha Chandrashekar on her experience contesting alongside 15 other celebrities like RJ Pradeepa, Sweta Chengappa and more.

The nimble-footed winner received instant recognition with a vast audience as it is their votes along with the industry stalwarts judges Ravichandran, Priyamani and danseuse Mayuri Upadhyay that kept her in the show.

Talking about her experience, the celebrity daughter of actors Sihi-Kahi Chandru and Geetha, who confesses to have had keen interest in performing arts, since childhood, shares, “I’ve had the opportunity to participate in Dancing Star, even before my debut as a protagonist was released. I’m now awaiting the release of my Kannada film, Kaal KG Preethi and resuming the shoot of Duniya 2. After winning Dancing Star, I’m getting more projects. I plan to continue dancing, attending Kathak classes, and doing my Rangapravesha. I’ve been learning Kathak for the past eight years from Nirupama Rajendra and TS Rajendra. When Pixel Pictures first teamed me with Tharak Xavier as my choreographer, I was nervous. He’s an accomplished dancer. Pixel matches each choreographer with the contestant to ensure the best fit. It’s important to have a rapport with your partner on stage and he ensured that I was comfortable.”

The contestants were given the theme risk and brahmastra, and we had to choreograph and perform two dances to win the title. “We spent long hours deciding the best look and best choreography for each theme. For the finale, we paid a tribute to the rich folk dances of Karnataka and included 10 different dance forms. We approached actual artistes in each field, from Dollu Kunitha to Kamsale. I had to learn to carry heavy poles, switch between various forms and to keep up the energy! I learnt new international dance forms like Tango, Hip Hop, Krumping, Salsa and Bachata. Pixel gave us themes for the upcoming week on Monday evening and we had six days to identify a  song and choreograph the sequence. Also meeting celebrities like Juhi Chawla, Ravichandran, Priya Mani and Mayuri who pushed our level of commitment was amazing. My tribute performance to Ravichandran and Juhi’s song from Premaloka was nerve wrecking, but the compliments I received made it worthwhile.”