Star-studded 'Jhalak...' opener promises dance, drama galore

Mumbai, June 17 : From dancing expert Isha Sharvani to star cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya to small screen 'bahus' Pratyusha Banerjee and Giaa Manek - rocked the dance floor Saturday along with eight other contestants at the opening of the season five of "Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa", which will see a child artist participating for the first time.

The three judges - dancing diva Madhuri Dixit, master choreographer Remo D'Souza, flamboyant filmmaker Karan Johar - added glamour and grandeur to the opening episode telecast on Colors channel.

Not to forget, Madhuri gave viewers a 'jhalak' to her singing talent too. The episode kicked off with Madhuri's act through which she expressed her gratitude to her fans by singing a song in her own voice. Johar joined her on stage to croon a few lines.

A host of TV and Bollywood celebrities like Priyanka Chopra, Shaan, Sonu Sood, Malaika Arora Khan and Ayushmann Khurrana took the stage to introduce this season's 12 contestants as they gear up to compete with each other for the winner's trophy.

Actress Ragini Khanna, who will host the show with Manish Paul, introduced TV actor Gurmeet Chowdhary, popularly known as Yash of show "Punar Vivah", as he set the stage on fire with his dance moves.

Next up was actress Malaika Arora Khan, who danced to "Anarkali disco chali" and "Munni badnaam". She took to the stage to introduced comedian Bharti Singh and both of them danced to "Chaiyya chaiyya".

Hosts Archana Vijaya and Shibani Dhandekar were brought onto the stage by VJ-turned-actor Ayushmann Khurrana and the trio danced on "Woh ladki hai kahan" from the movie "Dil Chahta Hai".

It was a sight to behold as two cricket greats -- Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh and Sri Lankan master blaster Jayasuriya took to the stage. Jayasuriya is set to test his dancing ability on the show, and the duo grooved to the tunes of "Desi beat" and "Saj dhaj ke".

Famous small screen bahus Pratyusha and Giaa were brought forth by actress Rupal Patel, popularly known as Kokila of show "Saath Nibana Saathiya". They were joined by veteran TV actress Jayati Bhatia, who is also one of the contestants on the show. The foursome shook a leg on song "Kaisi paheli".

Actor Sonu Sood grooved to "Aa ante amplapuram" with actress I sha Sharwani, while singer Shaan presented ghazal great Talat Aziz with a jugalbandi.

Item girl Rakhi Sawant was a charmer as she introduced Bhojpuri superstar Ravi Kishan, who she considers her brother. Both of them danced on "Main toh teri fan ban gayi".

It was a double delight for child star Darsheel Safary of "Taare Zameen Par" fame, as two of the most sought after Bollywood beauties -- Priyanka and Madhuri took to the stage to introduce him. Darsheel was seen wooing the two actresses on the song "Chaudvin ka chaand".

Another highlight of the show was a power-packed performance by Remo and Terence Lewis, who danced together on the "Singham" title track.

This season, the show also has a 13th contestant, a common man. The person's identity has been kept under wraps so far.

All said and done, the opener was a worthy window to the talent waiting to explode on "Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 5".

©IANS