Exclusive! Shantanu Maheshwari: Nothing beats Kolkata's street food during Durga Puja

Shantanu Maheshwari/PR image

Shantanu Maheshwari shot to fame with Dil Dosti Dance, followed by Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 8 and America's Got Talent 11. Durga Puja holds a special place in the heart of this Kolkata boy. Shantanu who is reportedly also part of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Gangubai Kathiawadi with Alia Bhatt, shares memories of the festival with mid-day.com.

How are you celebrating Durga Puja this year?
I am going to be working and travelling during Durga Puja this year, so there are no major plans to celebrate the festival. I am not going back home this year like I have done in the past for pandal hopping and just being in Kolkata during Durga puja time, but yes I will be following all the celebrations by watching Bengali news channels online which cover the festivities.

Childhood memories of Durga Puja that you recall...
I have so many childhood memories of Durga Puja back home in Kolkata! We would go pandal hopping with family, friends and relatives during Durga Puja, especially on Saptami, Ashtmi and Navmi which are the main three days of the festival. During these three days we would go pandal hopping all night, just book a taxi and explore every possible pandal in the city and be a part of all the madness that comes along with the festival for that week. In fact everyone in Kolkata steps out for those three nights, where you get to actually witness amazing creativity and talent that Kolkata has to offer. There would be a lot of mini game stalls set up at each street where I would look forward to playing games like 'seven up seven down' and shooting, which were my favourite activities to enjoy during the festival.

Your favourite foods at this time of the year...
Nothing beats Kolkata's street food during this time of the year. Puchka, egg rolls, veg rolls and sometimes chowmein as well.

Best part of the celebrations...
My favourite part of the celebrations are both pandal hopping and playing dandiya. The craziness of garba and dandiya and on the other hand, experiencing the beauty of those amazing Durga Ma pandals which define Kolkata's creativity. Exploring new areas in the city each year which always have something different to offer in relation with the festival is also something I enjoy. Also for me, the celebration back home used to start off much earlier because I used to stay close to where the murtis would be made, so I would see the idols going to their respective pandals, and the whole process of those 9 days is an overall favourite time for me.

What can fans expect from Gangubai Kathiawadi?
Cannot put out any comments.

Where do we see you next?
There are some projects coming up in the pipeline where I will be a lot more active in the OTT space and other mediums as well. So when the time is right I will reveal what is going to be coming up for me.

How did you deal with Covid?
I was mentally prepared that I can fight Covid, and with proper medication and a calm and composed mindset. I was able to fight my struggle with Covid. It was a tough phase, as it is not just a viral, but it lingers, and even post recovery there are changes in your body which you slowly discover. But it is what it is so everybody eventually has to deal with it mentally more than anything else.

Message for fans who still remember Dil Dosti Dance?
A big thank you to all of them for so much love till date! I feel so glad to have gotten a chance to be part of D3, and through that I got a chance to connect with so many people, so many youngsters who I often get a chance to even meet nowadays. They recall stories of how they would watch D3 when they were studying, working etc. So yes it is really nice to hear those stories and at the same time when you know that you and your character are being loved and appreciated by so many people, it truly is an amazing feeling. This love, support and appreciation that we all as a cast still get, really does matter.

Also Read: Mouni Roy on Durga Puja: We should follow all protocols we don't want third wave