Shantanu Maheshwari

Shantanu Maheshwari gained his fame from his debut role in the popular television show Dil Dosti Dance. He acted as Swayam Shekhawat. His dancing skills earned him widespread recognition which led him to victory in Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 8. He also represented India internationally as the Desi Hopper Dancer Crew. He won the World of Dance Championship in Los Angeles.

Thereafter Shantanu Maheshwari made his debut in Bollywood with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Gangubai Kathiawadi in 2022. He earned the IIFA Award for the Star Debut of the Year – Male. 

In Dil Dosti Dance for Channel V, Shantanu rose to fame in its four-year run. He had a great chemistry with his co-star Vrushika Mehta that earned the couple the third spot in the Hottest Indian TV Jodi list by the UK-based Eastern Eye Newspaper. The duo also won the ITA Award for the Onscreen Couple of the Year in 2014. 

Shantanu’s next venture was in 2015’s Zing episodic show called Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya. He essayed the role of a cancer patient. He then dubbed for some episodes of Yeh Hai Aashiqui.   He appeared in the Bindaas Show Bindaas Naach. The final series had appearances by the likes of Terence Lewis, Jaja Vankova, etc. Shantanu showcased his crew Desi Hoppers, as well and went on to be a winner at the World Dance 2015. The dance troupe by Shantanu became the first dancing crew to represent India at the World Dance and win it too. 

Shantanu thereafter returned to a fiction show with MTV India’s Girls on Top where he plays the role of aspiring musician Sahir Bhasin. 

In 2016, Shantanu Maheshwari participated in the dance reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 9 on Colours TV. Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan called Shantanu Maheshwari a ‘Flying Star’ for being one of the most consistent performers and was the strongest contender for the title. However, he had lost the title and the trophy to Teriya Magar and Salman Yusuff Khan. Shantanu was the 2nd runner-up.  His Dance team received high praise from the judges Jennifer Lopez, Ne-Yo and Derek Hough who loved his unique style of dancing fusion with hip-hop along with the Indian culture. 

In 2017 Shantanu starred in the short film Something Like Love which marked his debut in digital cinema. Besides participating in Fear Factor – Khatron Ke Khiladi 8 which was shot in Spain and was hosted by the Bollywood director Rohit Shetty. 

In 2018, Shantanu hosted MTV India’s series called Love on the Run. He also launched the spring collection of Lee Cooper with the Master of Denim Look. Shantanu further gained popularity as the host for ZEE TV’s reality show called India’s Best Dramebaaz which later won the Favourite Non-Fiction Show Award at the Zee Rishtey Awards. 

Shantanu Maheshwari gave a special performance at the University of Oxford in the UK as a part of the social entrepreneur summit along with the likes of Academy Award Winner Chiwetel Ejifor, the Grammy Award winner Sarah McLachlan and the Anchor for CNN Christiane Amanpour, who were present alongside.

Shantanu has given numerous stage performances on the Indian Television Academy Awards, Radio Mirchi Top 20 & the Golden Petal Awards on Colours TV. He participated in Ganesh Utsav and Dandiya Nights over the years and for Diwali. He was a part of Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards India and DID Li L Masters in the Season 4 Finale. 

Maheshwari has been an influential aspiring youth and was invited to IIMUN as a motivational speaker. He also choreographed and directed dance performances for ZEE TV’s Yeh Teri Galiyan.

He had appeared in a promotional video by Netflix for The Umbrella Academy, a television series. Qaran composed his third music video, sung by Ash King on Sony Music was named Haaye Oye, featuring him with Alli Avram. The music video had crossed 45 million views on YouTube within two weeks of its release.

He then essayed the character of Abir Basu in Ekta Kapoor’s web series Medically Yours. He received the Likee Digital Influencer award for the Youth Icon of the year. He came to be the finalist for the Nach Baliye Season 9.

Shantanu’s upcoming film ‘Love in Vietnam’ is slated for its release in September 2025, was announced at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. He co-stars Avneet Kaur and Vietnamese actress Kha Ngan. The film is directed by Rahhat Shah Kazmi and is produced by Omung Kumar. The film marks its first collaboration between India and Vietnam and is based on the best-selling novel, Madonna in a Fur Coat.