Used to get 70 rupees for teaching dance: Got learning on YouTube; Today Shiv Thackeray charges lakhs of rupees to perform

Welcome to 'Star Talks'. Today in this special episode, we will introduce you to that personality who once used to get only Rs 70 as a choreographer, that too after working hard for 25 days of the month. But, today he has reached such a stage where he himself is getting lakhs of rupees for learning different forms of dance and performing on stage. We are talking about the well-known face of the reality show and dancer Shiv Thackeray.

These days, Shiv is seen as a contestant in the celebrity based dance reality show 'Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 11'. With her tremendous performance, she won the hearts of her fans as well as the judges of the show – Malaika Arora, Farah Khan and Arshad Warsi. But, this dance journey is not at all easy for Shiva. According to him, he is quite stubborn, although this stubbornness also made him stumble.

Shiv likes to call himself 'Jugaadu'. Actually, earning money at a very young age was very important for him. It is not easy for a middle class person to bear the expenses of his own education and household responsibilities. Shiv taught dance to others by learning from YouTube, earned money and set out on the path to fulfill his dreams. The net worth of Shiv Thackeray, who has participated in reality shows like 'Roadies', 'Bigg Boss Marathi 2', 'Bigg Boss 16', 'Khatron Ke Khiladi 13', is said to be around Rs 10 crore.

When I faced reality, I was shocked

During an exclusive conversation with Dainik Bhaskar, Shiv said, 'Doing 'Jhalak' in my career was on my bucket list. This is the only show where contestants come from different fields. Every contestant has excelled in his/her own field, hence competition is not common. Before joining the show, I was very confident about my dancing skills. I thought I would be able to do this very easily. Now I have been dancing for so many years and have done choreography, so I boldly participated in this competition.

However, when I faced the reality, I was shocked. This journey was not easy at all. Teaching dance was easy but learning dance was not at all easy. It's been two months since I joined the show but even today I don't know the names of many dance forms. I can't even pronounce the names of many forms properly.

There was swelling in the body

My body is like that of a wrestler. The contestants around me have a much more flexible body than mine. To survive in this show, one had to work very hard physically, it is not easy to normalize a wrestler's body. During this period, many injuries also occurred. Many times my body would swell but I am not one to give up.

See, there are lakhs of dancers in our country. The makers have cast me as Shiv Thackeray, they have faith in me. I don't want to break their trust. I am working hard to live up to the expectations of the makers, audience and judges.

I stumbled because of my stubbornness

I have been working back-to-back for the last few years for which I will always be thankful to God. However, there came a time when I was not able to dance even if I wanted to, I was tired. My body was not cooperating. My entire body stopped working, I couldn't lift my legs even if I wanted to. Efforts were made not to show this pain on the face. But, this would have confused my choreographers, they could not understand my problem. I have even done rehearsals in anger.

But then lost. Then I called my mother from Amravati to Mumbai. He gave me courage and took care of me. With his blessings I came back into my form. Actually, I am very stubborn about work. Due to this stubbornness I also stumbled. I want people to always remember Shiva in the history of 'Jhalak'.

Arshad Warsi liked my dancing style very much

Judge Arshad Warsi likes my dancing style very much. They often say – 'Whatever you do is completely desi.' They compare my dance with the dancers living in the streets. Well, along with praise, I also get scolded by them a lot. Actually, like everyone else, they also want me to improve my dancing. Malaika Arora and Farah Khan also support me a lot. I take all these comments very seriously.

Used to learn dance from YouTube

Earlier I liked to call myself a choreographer. But ever since I joined 'Jhalak', I have understood what a real choreographer is. The choreographers who are teaching me today have done courses for almost 3 years and have received proper training, which I have never done.

I learned dance while living with my brother Satish Thackeray in my hometown, Amravati. He also did not take any dance training. He used to watch dance on YouTube or someone else's, bring his creativity in it and teach it to the children of Amravati. I consider him my guru.

The dance forms that I should have learned 10 years ago, I am learning now.

Years ago, when I came to Mumbai, I was very interested in learning dance. I also knocked on the doors of some dance classes for training. At that time, one had to pay approximately Rs 3,000 to learn dance for one hour. Obviously, with that much money one could have two meals a day for 7 days in Mumbai.

Instead of joining classes, I started learning from videos on YouTube of veteran choreographers like Remo D'Souza, Terrence Lewis. The dance forms which I should have learned 10 years ago, I am learning now.

I consider myself a 'jugaadu'

I am a middle class person. At a young age, I started looking for different ways to earn money. The first path I saw was in the dance field itself. I started teaching dance so that I could earn some money. Although the one who teaches dance is given the status of 'choreographer' but I consider myself a 'jugadu'.

My technique of teaching dance was very good. I teach people with great love, I teach children by becoming children. Someone would adopt another dancer's trick on someone else and people would like it. This is why I call myself Jugaadu.

However, thanks to this jugaad, I was able to move forward, from my own education fees to household expenses. Today I am truly learning dance.

I got Rs 70 for teaching dance for 25 days.

For the first time, I got Rs 70 for teaching dance to children for the annual function organized in a school. I had taught some 30-40 children the famous song 'Bam Bam Bole, Masti Mein Dole' from Aamir Khan's film 'Taare Zameen Par'. I gave dance training to these children for about 25 days.

The school principal liked my work. After that he gave me 10 songs to teach to the children. My fees were also doubled, instead of Rs 70 I started getting Rs 150. There came a time when the administration team of this school gave me Rs 1000 to teach a song. This journey of Rs 70 to Rs 1000 will always be memorable.

Well, now times have completely changed. Earlier we used to get paid for teaching dance and today we are getting paid for learning and performing dance ourselves. (smiling)

There is a desire to open a talent academy in the village.

There are more talented children than me in my village. But, they do not get a chance to showcase their talent, especially on a big platform. Many times they do not get the right guidance at the right time. Many children come to Mumbai with dreams, but if they fall victim to some fraud, they are unable to even return to their village due to shame.

Due to some responsibility, people turn away from their dreams. In the future, I would like to build an academy in Amravati for the coming generation. Just as I fulfilled my dream by coming to Mumbai from Amravati, in the same way I now want to bring these talented children living in my village closer to their dreams.

Shiv Thackeray's net worth

According to reports, Shiv Thackeray was charging Rs 5 lakh every week from 'Bigg Boss 16'. He has earned around Rs 1 crore from this reality show. Shiv used to get Rs 7-8 lakh per episode for the reality show 'Khatron Ke Khiladi'. Talking about 'Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa', Shiv is charging around Rs 8 lakh per episode. His total wealth is said to be around Rs 10 crore.

Shiv Thackeray's car collection

After coming out of 'Bigg Boss' house, Shiv bought the first car of his life. He bought an SUV worth Rs 30 lakh. Before this car, Shiv had bought two old cars.

Apart from acting, he started his own business.

Shiv Thackeray also entered the restaurant business in Mumbai. He has opened his own snack joint named 'Thackeray-Tea and Snack' and has said that he wants to open this restaurant in many places through franchise. He is also going to launch in Mumbai, Pune and later in his home town Amravati.