Emmy awards nominee Suresh Mukund is the director and choreographer of the group - The Kings United India. The group has won World Hip Hop Dance Championship and NBC'S World of Dance. The biopic film ABCD 2 released in 2015 was based on his career. He has also acted as a choreographer in the film.
I belong to a family who is into construction and building line. I have stayed in Vasai since my childhood and I still stay there in a joint family. I started my journey when I was 20 years old. I started my career during my college life itself and got small-small projects in the beginning.
4. Can you throw some light on opportunities one gets as a dancer in Bollywood?
2. When did you first decide you wanted to pursue dancing and how did you start?
The time when I decided that I want to pursue my career in this is during my college days. I used to compete in all these college festivals and I really used to get excited while dancing, also the kind appreciations I used to receive from all the people around.
At that time things were really different, there were no reality shows, and hardly anyone used to think of making their career in this. Only two types of dancing were popular at that time, Indian and Western. Things were very difficult, yet I decided to choose this career.
3. You are a well-known choreographer in Bollywood, how did you make this happen?
My passion for dance led me to become a choreographer. I used to follow lots of International crews, my focus in the initial 12 years were the crews rather than any solo dancer. I used to like competing with my team on different platforms.
Starting from the local Ganpati competitions to National competitions then participating in reality shows and from there we went to International as well. So it has been a long journey with many ups and downs, after years and years of struggle I became a well-known Choreographer.
I believe today the dancers have got a lot of opportunities, majorly not on Bollywood but because of the social media and instagram nowadays I see everyone getting into dancing. If someone is not into professional dancing still they get a chance to earn money through this. Social media has totally changed the game.
In earlier times, people had to earn a name through reality shows and then only they used to get work further or get numbers on the social media. But now things are different. Now it is like if you are talented enough and people like you on social media, then you start getting work, as well as fame.
5. Are you trained in a particular dance form?
No, I am not trained in any particular dancer form. I started dancing by watching dance videos etc. One thing is that I started my dancing after watching Hritik Roshan's dance in 'Kaho Na Pyar Hai' that was back in 2000.
Before that I didn't know what dancing was, it was Hritik Roshan who I saw and I felt I wanted to dance like him. Before that I had no idea about any particular dance form, I just started following the dance videos.
6. What piece of advice would you like to give to future and aspiring artists?
One advice that I give to all aspiring dancers is to believe in yourself because unless you don't believe in yourself then nobody else will believe in you. Of course hard work is important but it is not only about hard work, it is also about smart work.
We can not earn opportunities by only doing hard work, we have to change ourselves with time, showcase our talent and deliver according to the choice of the audience. That is what I believe and follow.
7. Which is your favorite book and why?
I am not into reading books but only one book I have read is Secrets, which is more about the universe and believing in yourself. Like whatever you think, whatever you plan in your mind, the universe will automatically connect and you will achieve it.
So my thought process is very similar to the content of this book. Hence, I chose to read this book.
8. What are your future plans?
If you talk about myself as an individual, I have dedicated more than a decade to dancing and choreographing. But now I honestly want to try something else apart from dancing.
Since lockdown, I feel like I want to get into acting or modelling. I am still not sure but there is something inside me that I wants me to try something else. So if you talk about my future plans, maybe I want to become an actor.
9. Which Bollywood stars have you worked with?
I have worked with almost all the big names in the Bollywood industry, right from Shahrukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Hritik Roshan, Salman Khan, like everyone. I have worked with most of the Bollywood stars in either small or big projects.
It has been such an amazing experience because I remember when I started my career, I used to watch television and in those times I never thought of reaching up to this level that I will get an opportunity to work with them all.
I am so happy and glad about my journey so far.
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Instagram:
@suresh_kingsunited
@kings_united_india
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