Farzana Patowari (BOMBAY TIMES; June 17, 2018)

He floored the nation with his dance moves and now, Sanjeev Shrivastava’s dancing video helped him realise a dream he had nurtured for long. The professor from Bhopal, now popular as Dancing Uncle, is a die-hard Govinda fan and had expressed his desire to work with the actor during an interview with us earlier. We don’t know if he will work with Govinda soon but Shrivastava did get a chance to meet Chi-Chi in Mumbai recently.

Along with wife Anjali Shrivastava, Sanjeev visited the sets of a dance reality show and his joy knew no bounds when he met Govinda in person! Together, the two brought the house down with their quirky dance moves and were joined by Madhuri Dixit-Nene as well.

“Itni khushi! Itni khushi mujhe aaj tak nahi hui,” says Shrivastava repeating Govinda’s popular line from a film. He adds, “I did not know that a surprise was waiting for me until I reached the sets. The person who I have idolised for the past 32 years was in front of me and was appreciating my video! I was overwhelmed. I found him to be a very down to earth person. Dancing with him and Madhuri was like achieving a milestone.”

Earlier, Shrivastava also met Suniel Shetty and Salman Khan.

Saptaparna Biswas (BOMBAY TIMES; June 5, 2018)

The last few days have been very happening in the life of Sanjeev Shrivastava. While students know him as a professor of Electronics at Bhabha Engineering Research Institute in Bhopal, the world knows him as Dancing Uncle! That’s right, he’s the same person who has taken social media by storm with his perfect dance steps to Govinda’s popular song Aap Ke Aa Jane Se from the 1987 film, Khudgarz.

Ever since the video of him dancing at a relative’s wedding in Gwalior went viral, Shrivastava’s phone hasn’t stopped ringing. “The feeling is still sinking in,” says the doting father of two, as he settles in to chat with us about his new found fame and his wish to work with Chi Chi in a Bollywood film. Excerpts…

How does it feel to become a sensation overnight?
I don’t even know how this dance got so popular, but I am amazed to see that youngsters are actually trying to copy the moves! Everything happened so quickly. My kids are clueless about what happened suddenly, my wife and relatives are answering calls from everywhere and I’m still presenting my dance on various media platforms.

Do you think your dance is going to beat Priya Varrier’s winking video?
My friends have been telling me that my videos have been trending since the last few days. I’m personally not keeping a track; my well-wishers have been updating me about the status. I had never expected such recognition, so even if does beat the winking video, I’ll be equally surprised. My brother also created a Twitter account for me yesterday after the video went viral.

Who was the first person to have recognised your talent and how did they encourage you?
My mother Mohini Devi, who was a classical dancer is the one who saw my inclination towards dance and encouraged me to learn the style I liked the most. Even she used to dance the same way I did. The neck movement I do is something I learnt from her.

Have you performed on stage before?
I have been dancing for the last 36 years and have performed in almost all of Madhya Pradesh. Besides that I have been called to perform in Akola and Nagpur in Maharashtra, as well as some places in Rajasthan. In my heydays I would pick up the most popular number of that time to dance.

What is your favourite performance so far? Does your wife have a favourite dance too?
My favourite memory is of a dance-drama, where I did this act from the movie Neelkamal and performed with lighted wax candles. There were about 800-odd people in the audience that sat in rapt attention throughout the performance. Otherwise I just go with the flow and my wife is always around me. She recently told me that she likes the Aap Ke Aa Jane Se dance the most.

Your moves are giving youngsters dance goals and many of them are trying to follow you. How does that feel?
Ye toh logon ka baddappan hai that they see it that way. I learnt all the break dance moves from my mother. But I feel youngsters have a very high standard of dancing these days and I’m not at that level. If they are aping my steps, I feel deeply honoured.

What was the most popular performance of yours?
In my college days Kya ada kya jalwe tere paro was the most popular and in-demand performance from my friends. But I have always been known for my performances to Govinda’s songs. Even in college if I prepared a dance and presented it, the show wasn’t complete without a Govinda song. My friends would always say ki Govinda ka dance toh tu karke hi jaana.

Do we see you in Bollywood soon?
Actually, I have got a few calls for collaboration after this video went viral but I have to speak to the people in detail yet. As far as acting is concerned, someday I would definitely want to work with Govinda.

— With inputs from Vishesh Sharma