Shantanu Maheshwari
Maheshwari in 2023
Born	(1991-03-07)7 March 1991 (age 34)[1] Kolkata,West Bengal,India
Education	H.R. College of Commerce and Economics
Occupations	Actor Dancer Choreographer Host
Years active	2011–present
Known for	Dil Dosti Dance World of Dance Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 8 Gangubai Kathiawadi
Style	Dances –Hip Hop,Popping,Street Dance,Bollywood andFolk

Shantanu Maheshwari (born 7 March 1991) is an Indian actor, dancer, and choreographer. He gained fame for his debut role as Swayam Shekhawat in the popular youth television showDil Dosti Dance. Shantanu's impressive dance skills earned him widespread recognition, leading to his victory inFear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 8. He has also represented India internationally as part of theDesi Hoppers dance crew, winning theWorld of Dance Championship in Los Angeles. Additionally, he made his Bollywood debut inSanjay Leela Bhansali'sGangubai Kathiawadi (2022) which earned him theIIFA Award for Star Debut of the Year – Male.

Shantanu Maheshwari was born on 7 March 1991 inKolkata, India, into aMarwari family.^[2] He completed his early education at The Park English School andSt. Joseph's College, Kolkata.^[3] For his higher education, he moved to Mumbai, where he attendedH.R. College of Commerce and Economics. During his college years, Maheshwari became an active member of the Street Soul Dance Crew (SSDC). While he is a versatile dancer, he specialises in Popping and Liquid Waving, showcasing his unique skills across various platforms.

Maheshwari began his acting career withDil Dosti Dance^[4] forChannel V. He rose to fame by essaying the role of Swayam Shekhawat during the four-years run of the show.^[5] His chemistry with co-starVrushika Mehta earned him widespread adulation as they went on to win the third spot in theHottest Indian TV Jodi list by the UK-based newspaperEastern Eye.^[6][7]The duo also earned theITA Award forOnscreen Couple of the Year in 2014.^[8][9]

In 2015, he appeared inZing's episodic showPyaar Tune Kya Kiya where he played the role of a cancer patient.^[10] He returned to the small screen with hisDil Dosti Dance co-starVrushika Mehta inYeh Hai Aashiqui onBindass, playing an episodic character of a verbally-challenged law student.^[11][12] He also dubbed for some episodes ofYeh Hai Aashiqui. In 2015, Maheshwari appeared in theBindass showBindass Naach.^[13][14] The finite series, which had appearances by the likes of Jaja Vaňková andTerence Lewis, showcased the formation of his crewDesi Hoppers and their subsequent victory atWorld of Dance 2015.^{[15][16][17][18]}Desi Hoppers became the first dance crew in the history to represent India atWorld of Dance and win it too. The crew was invited to give a special performance onAmerica's Got Talent 11 and received praise from the judgesSimon Cowell,Heidi Klum andNick Cannon.^[19] It was also invited to give a special performance on China's famous talk showDay Day Up.

Maheshwari returned to fiction shows withMTV India'sGirls On Top playing an aspiring musician Sahir Bhasin.^[20][21]

In 2016, Maheshwari participated in the celebrity dance reality showJhalak Dikhhla Jaa 9 onColors TV.^[22][23] He was one of the most consistent performers in the show and became the most popular and strongest contender for the title. He received praises from seasoned actor and ex-Jhalak contestantRonit Roy who called him the winner of the show.^[24] Bollywood starHrithik Roshan called Maheshwari a "flying star".^[25] However, he lost the trophy toTeriya Magar andSalman Yusuff Khan and became the 2nd runner-up.

In 2017, he starred in a short filmSomething Like Love which marked his foray into the digital cinema. Maheshwari participated inFear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 8 which was shot inSpain and hosted by Bollywood directorRohit Shetty. He was the most consistent performer and got in the danger zone for the fewest times.Rohit Shetty called him the "silent killer" of the show. He won the show by beatingHina Khan andRavi Dubey in the finale. Along with his dance crewDesi Hoppers, Maheshwari was invited to perform an exhibition act at theWorld of Dance 2017 finals in Los Angeles.^[26][27]The crew also went on to perform atAsian Battleground, a cross-national dance reality show shot inMalaysia. Among the twelve dance crews that participated in the competition,Desi Hoppers came 3rd in the showcase rankings and were a part of the top 4 finalists that advanced for the face-off round.

In 2018, Maheshwari hostedMTV India's episodic seriesLove on the Run.^[28] Maheshwari then along with his crewDesi Hoppers participated in the world's biggest dance reality showWorld of Dance (TV series) and in doing so they became the first-ever Indian dance crew to represent India on such a big platform. They received high praise from judgesJennifer Lopez,Ne-Yo andDerek Hough who loved their unique style and fusion of hip-hop with Indian culture. They also scored an impressive 96 to qualify for the next round which was also the highest score in round one.^[29] Maheshwari launched the spring collection ofLee Cooper with #MasterofDenim look. He also gained popularity as the host ofZee TV's reality showIndia's Best Dramebaaz, which later won the Favorite Non-Fiction Show award atZee Rishtey Awards.

Along with his crew, Desi Hoppers, Maheshwari gave special performances at theUniversity of Oxford, UK, as part of a social entrepreneur summit with the likes of Academy Award winnerChiwetel Ejiofor, Grammy award winnerSarah McLachlan and chief international anchor for CNN,Christiane Amanpour present.^[30] Maheshwari has also given numerous stage performances onIndian Television Academy Awards,Radio Mirchi Top 20 &Golden Petal Awards onColors TV,&TV It's Diwali,Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards India,DID Li'l Masters (Season 4 Finale) &Gold Awards onZee TV,Adbhut Ganesh Utsav andDandiya Nights over the years.

Owing to his influence on aspiring youth,IIMUN invited Shantanu to be one of the motivational speakers of IIMUN championship conference MUNCLAVE 2019/20. Shantanu along withDesi Hoppers has choreographed and directed dance performances for theZee TV showYeh Teri Galiyan. Shantanu also appeared in a promotional video byNetflix forThe Umbrella Academy (TV series) withTiku Talsania,Supriya Pilgaonkar andKubbra Sait. His third music video composed by Qaran and sung byAsh King onSony Music India named "Haaye Oye" featuringElli Avram opposite him, crossed 45 million views on YouTube within two weeks and trended on various music platforms. He has performed the character ofAbir Basu inEkta Kapoor's web seriesMedically Yours. He received Likee's Digital Influencer award as the Youth Icon of the year for the same. He along with his partner became the finalist ofNach Baliye season-9.

Maheshwari starred oppositeAlia Bhatt inSanjay Leela Bhansali'sGangubai Kathiawadi in 2022. The film marks his debut in Bollywood.^[31]

Shantanu's next film,Love in Vietnam, was announced at the2024 Cannes Film Festival, and released in September 2025. Directed by Rahhat Shah Kazmi and produced byOmung Kumar, it co-starsAvneet Kaur and Vietnamese actress Kha Ngan. The film marks the first India-Vietnam collaboration and is based on the bestselling novelMadonna in a Fur Coat.^[32][33]

• List of dancers

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• Indian male dancers
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• Male actors in Hindi cinema
• Male actors from Kolkata
• Indian male television actors
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• Marwari people

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