February 18, 2026 01:19 pm (IST)
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Wanted to earn respect, lucky to have won WOD Championship: Desi Hoppers
Kolkata, Sept 4 (IBNS) Fresh from winning the prestigious World Of Dance Championship, Desi Hoppers, a Mumbai based hip-hop dance crew, visited Kolkata along with the trophies they had won, on Friday.
The team comprising of Shantanu Maheswari, Macedon De’Mello, Nimit Kotian, Rohan Vyas, Viraj Pandhya, Subhash Naidu and Niraj Lama attended a press conference here and shared their experiences.
The team had won the international dance battle, edging past another 36 participating groups from 14 countries on August 15, coinciding with India’s Independence Day.
They also took home the ‘Crowd’s Favorite’ award on account of being the most cheered team on the stage.
Speaking on behalf of the tam, city-boy Shantanu Maheswari said, “We all wanted to earn respect there. We are lucky to have won. Everyone appreciated our moves.”
On being asked the key ingredient for their success, Maheswari replied, “The key is to stay original. We danced to Jumme ki Raat and Choli ke Peeche. Though the form was hip-hop we did infuse Bollywood moves, something the audience cheered for.”
The group also maintained that the journey was certainly not a cake-walk and it did come after a lot of struggle.
Recollecting their experience, Nimit Kotian said, “We have certainly come a long way, it wasn’t easy though. (We) had to cross a lot of obstacles. Happy where we stand today.”
The group also spoke about the fond memories they had. Shantanu said, “The moment we won, we were all in tears, could hardly believe the results.”
(Reporting By Sudipto Maity)
The team had won the international dance battle, edging past another 36 participating groups from 14 countries on August 15, coinciding with India’s Independence Day.
They also took home the ‘Crowd’s Favorite’ award on account of being the most cheered team on the stage.
Speaking on behalf of the tam, city-boy Shantanu Maheswari said, “We all wanted to earn respect there. We are lucky to have won. Everyone appreciated our moves.”
On being asked the key ingredient for their success, Maheswari replied, “The key is to stay original. We danced to Jumme ki Raat and Choli ke Peeche. Though the form was hip-hop we did infuse Bollywood moves, something the audience cheered for.”
The group also maintained that the journey was certainly not a cake-walk and it did come after a lot of struggle.
Recollecting their experience, Nimit Kotian said, “We have certainly come a long way, it wasn’t easy though. (We) had to cross a lot of obstacles. Happy where we stand today.”
The group also spoke about the fond memories they had. Shantanu said, “The moment we won, we were all in tears, could hardly believe the results.”
(Reporting By Sudipto Maity)
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