Vinay M R Mishra (DNA; October 1, 2019)

Amidst much fanfare and glitz, the grand finale of season 7 of Zee TV’s flagship dance reality show, Dance India Dance: Battle of Champions took place on Sunday, and Unreal Crew was crowned as the winners. The evening also saw two divas of Bollywood — judge Kareena Kapoor Khan and Priyanka Chopra Jonas — sharing the stage after a long time. Here, the team talks to us about their victory, Kareena and more.Excerpts...

An emotional Kareena
The group tells us that the winning moment was amazing. They said, “Everyone was holding each other’s hands and when it was announced that we were the winners, all of us went blank. Soon, there were a lot of tears. Even Kareena Kapoor cried.” They never thought Kareena would be on the jury panel of the show and therefore her stint came as a shocker to them. “We have been fans of her, so, it came as the most pleasant surprise. She gave us the maximum number of standing ovations and always said, ‘I’m so lucky that Unreal Crew is a part of my show’.”

Celebrities already
The team members revealed that they were already celebrities in their hometown Rajasthan because of the shows and dance competitions they participated in. “Everyone knew about our journey and struggle. And they cried when we won because we have been struggling for a long time.”

Fights during rehearsals
Along with the struggles, they have also had their share of disagreements and have fought. “Every family has a few fights. It is not a big deal. So, even our group had several of them. But our focus was on dance. The worst fight was when Dinesh and Gautam (two of the group members) got physical and were at each other’s throats and we had to intervene. Soon, they were back to normal and realised their mistake.”

Mentally exhausting
While many may think that the show is just physically demanding, the team members revealed that is also involved challenging their brains to come up with themes and concepts every week. “More than physical, it was mentally exhausting as well,” they point out.

The Unreal Crew will be seen performing in Bosco Martis’ directorial debut, which also features Aditya Seal, who was present during the grand finale.

—Zee Media Newsroom