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 Manish
Goyal and his charming wife Poonam missed the boat at the
grand finale of Nach Baliye. But they did not disappoint
after being the most unlikely couple to make it to the finals.
They matched their steps really well with Sachin and Supriya
in the last viewer-deciding performance. Suddenly the couple
is in the limelight for all the strong reasons.
Says
Manish, "Besides the fact that I got to spend so much
time with my wife the best part of doing Nach Baliye
was that people have stopped calling me by the names of my
characters in Bhabhi and the other soaps. I'm finally Manish….and
it feels like a culmination of six years of struggle."
Manish
is hoping to resume his interrupted struggle to become a film
actor. But he cannot ignore the reach and impact of television
- not after Nach Baliye. "For sure it has been
a blessing for me and my wife. We've suddenly become household
names. And the fact, that we've come so far proves there's
fate guiding our hands-or shall I say, our feet? Of course
we're proud. Every time Poonam and I went on stage we wondered
if this would be our last appearance. All the other participants
were so good. Somehow we've managed to come so far."
"For
someone who has been struggling for a foothold for so many
years Nach Baliye is a true triumph….I've finally
made my family in Delhi proud. We're a business family and
Poonam was my mother's choice to be my wife. My mother insisted
that I get married-nahin toh Mumbai kha jayega. My mother
saw Poonam while we were shooting a serial together. She asked
me if I'd like to marry her. It took me three months to decide.
And then it took Poonam another three months to decide. So
in just six months we were married. Today I'm proud to see
we've danced our way into so many hearts. Am I nervous about
the finals tomorrow? My nervousness lasts only until I reach
the stage. After that I'm fine. After what happened to my
colleague Varun Badola (he blanked out on stage) I wondered
if that would happen to me tomorrow at the finals. But I cannot
afford to slip up now. If I've come this far there has to
be a reason for it," said Manish.
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Adds
Poonam, "Frankly the high that it gives me to
see my husband being suddenly thrown into this recognition
cannot compare with what I feel. Though I've been
doing serials for some years now, I'm too much into
my family - my husband and my little son. I had gained
so much weight after motherhood, but I didn't care.
Now I've lost a lot of the weight doing the strenuous
dance movements. The best part of doing Nach Baliye
was that my husband and I got so much time to spend
together."
Was
it difficult for her to cope with the impossible schedules
because of her one-year old son? "Not really.
Even Rohit Roy and Manasi Joshi have a small child.
It's all about time management …and the desire
to do something unexpected and life-making. Nach Baliye
has definitely been decisive for me and Manish. Everywhere,
kids call out to us by our real names. Even our son
who has been seen on the show is now a little star.
I feel good, especially for my husband."
****
Yes,
the winners were Sachin and Supriya. And boy, were
they triumphant.
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On
the morning after the triumph Sachin told me," I didn't
feel any regret when Manish and Poonam lost to us. Why should
I? All said and done, Nach Baliye was a competition
and there could be only one pair of winners. I'm glad it
was us. We worked hard for it. Besides the decision was
taken through an audience poll. We respect the audiences'
decision. We had butterflies in our stomach when we went
on stage for the finale. We always felt every performance
was our last. That's what made us last so long. After the
grand finale last night, I went and hugged my rival Manish
while my wife hugged his wife Poonam…Yes there's a
sense of great achievement. All through Nach Baliye we were
constantly reminded that we were the oldest couple in the
reckoning. I didn't mind. It was the truth. It spurred us
on to try harder."
"My
advice to everyone out there who wants to be an achiever
is never under-estimate yourself and always be adventurous.
I'd like to think my wife is more adventurous than I am…she
married me, didn't she?…Nach Baliye taught us
that rhythm and pace are essential not only in life and
marriage but also in dance. It's all about getting the timing
right. We're asked what we'd do with the prize money. Apne
beti ki education ke liye use karunga paise. There's no
greater pleasure in life than to give your offspring the
best you can," adds Sachin
 Supriya
sounded fatigued but happy."We haven't slept for two
nights. I've a play to perform tomorrow. I think I'll catch
up on my sleep only after that. Right now we're swamped
with attention…I love it! Last evening when we went
on stage I was so scared. Would we be able to perform live
for twelve minutes? Will we forget our steps. We've been
rehearsing for so long I felt that the finale too was a
rehearsal! Seriously, we never though ki Jeet Hamaari Hogi,
although the hoarding declared that on our behalf. Never!
We always went on stage wondering if it would be our last
performance."
"Our
competitors Manish and Poonam were also very very good.
And though everyone kept saying we had an edge, I felt they
could easily outdo us at the finale. We're told Varun Badola
and Rajeshwari could've given us a run for our money. I'm
sure they would have. They were excellent, and so were all
the the other couples. We were just lucky to get so far,
and actually win the prize money. We're constantly being
asked what we'd do with the prize money…Very honestly
it hasn't sunk in yet…Of course we will use it for
our daughter's education. But beyond that we may just decide
to put it all away in a post office, to remind us of what
the whole experience meant to us,"said Supriya.
(The
views expressed here are those of the author and indiantelevision.com
need not necessarily subscribe to the same)
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