A memorable journey to DID Super Mom Top 6

BY A STAFF WRITER

CHICAGO, IL — ZEE in the Americas has established itself as a mainstay in American households, reaching more than 2 million viewers.

After Dance India Dance (DID) North America 2013, Zee TV Americas came up with another one of its DID franchises– DID Super Moms North America 2014. The new reality show aimed at giving a platform to mothers who at some point in their lives sacrificed their dancing dreams for marriage and motherhood.

Starry-eyed Avani Pandya from Chicago was one such gutsy woman who knew she had what it takes to be a DID Super Mom—the Top 6.

After all, she had grown up watching Zee TV and was bent on showing her latent talent and live out her dream. She knew that it wouldn’t be a cake-walk with Miss America Nina Davuluri judging the show and accompanying her as judge would be Rupal Patel, founder, International Arya Dance Academy.
“Getting on the DID stage was a dream come true for me. It was an amazing experience and journey to get to this level”, said Avani after returning from India.

It all started by posting an audition video on the channel website, after the ground auditions had already been concluded for the city of Chicago.

Indeed, DID Super Moms North America had given hopes to millions of mothers across North America who aspired to make a name for themselves in the field of dance. More than 20,000 participants from North America had submitted their audition videos, and only 65 of these had been selected to participate in the Mega Auditions round held in New York on November 10.
Then came the day of mega audition where, she says, 53 contestants were selected from all across US and Canada to show off their talent and impress the celebrity judges to get into the next round.

From the first beat of her song (Aaja Nachle) to the last expression, she had given her best to rock the stage. She danced with joy when the celebrity judge and choreographer Master Feroz Khan commented, “I really loved your performance, it was a true Bollywood performance for me.”

The results of the rigorous selection process were announced shortly after Avani’s performance. Only 12 lucky supermoms out of 53 were supposed to be selected and move forward to the grand finale, to be held in Mumbai.

Not knowing what to expect after 12 contestants were already selected, the last group of 13 was asked to come on the stage. Then an exception was made to have one more contestant move forward as the judges couldn’t resist.

Recounts Avani: “After some drum rolls and a bit of suspense, my name was announced to be the 13th contestant to enter the grand finale. I really couldn’t stop expressing my feelings, and at that moment of time I truly believed that there is nothing impossible in life.”

The show started with a group dance and the judges’ introduction. The famous Bollywood choreographer, Mudassar Khan joined the judges’ panel, along with Rupal Patel and Miss America, Nina Davuluri.

As the dance progressed, they were soon accompanied by Sonam Kapoor, Raj Kumar and Varun from ‘Dolly Ki Doli’, which brought a flare of excitement to the show. The excitement continued with Avani’s two-minute performance leading her to the second round among the top six supermoms.

It was a thrilling experience for her to be at this level featuring a wide variety of performances, ranging from Bollywood to classical and so on, and she was looking forward to take on the challenge of the impromptu round.

Master Mudassar chose a cane as a prop for me. The performance came down to the home stretch and her memorable journey on DID Super Mom show, the biggest home-grown reality show in India, came to an end.

Zee TV’s DID show surely makes superstars out of commoners.