He is 18 and has not taken formal dance training but Ankan Sen received his moment of fame when he won Star Plus' Just Dance. The youngster now aims to become the "best dancer ever".
"It feels like I am still dreaming and I really don't want to get out of it. It's simply a great feeling and an even more flattering thing was that I got a chance to shake a leg with my idol Hrithik Roshan on the same stage," Ankan, who hails from Kolkata, told IANS on the phone from Mumbai.
Ankan on Saturday beat Mumbai boy Karan Khanna and Delhi-based Surjeet Bansal, both 24, to walk away with the winner's trophy, a Rs1 crore cash award and a Maruti Suzuki Swift.
So what does he plan to do with the money?
"I want to buy a laptop, I want to learn international dance forms and perfect my style. I would dedicate myself completely to dance and make it big in this art. I want to be known as the best dancer ever. I also plan to conduct my own workshops," Ankan says.
Ankan has been enthralling TV viewers as well as the judges of the show with his contemporary and hip hop dance moves, as a result of which judges Hrithik, Vaibhavi Merchant and Farah Khan nicknamed him the "Wonder Boy".
Dance has become a part of his life but Ankan says: "My parents were never in favour of me taking it up as a profession. They were not very happy when I told them about my audition in Just Dance, but now their perception has changed towards dance and they completely support me now."
Ankan credits Bollywood 'god of dance' Hrithik for whatever he has learned.
"Hrithik Roshan has been my biggest inspiration. I used to look at his videos and learn steps. I also saw videos of Ganesh Hedge to practise the steps," says Ankan, who dropped out of school after class 10 to learn dance.
"Today if anybody asks me where did I learn dance from I would say Just Dance. Before coming to the show I didn't know much about dance. On this platform I got a chance to learn almost all forms of dance," he adds.
"I used to feel nervous before the performance but once I would go on stage and see Hrithik sir, Vaibhavi mam and Farah mam in front of me, all my nervousness used to vanish. I just thought I have to give my best," he states.
