As the finals take place on Monday Subhash K Jha chats up with the four finalists of Nach Baliye...

Gauri
" Are we nervous? Of course we are! But more than I can't remember a time when I wasn't fond of dancing. Of course once I got married to Yash I gave up dancing and acting (I did a serial Now I won't let Hussain for Balajee).

After several years and a daughter I'm quite pleasantly surprised to be back in the limelight. That me and Yash have managed to get right to the finals is surprising, what with his two left feet. I've always loved to dance.

And now Yash also loves to dance. Along with Hussain and Tina, we intend to put up a grand show at the finals. The 'rival' couple is actually our friends. In fact all the contestants are really close to one another.

To me and Yash family and friendship comes much before any competition. We're here to have fun. And if Tina and Hussain win the finals on Saturday we're fine with it. Just the thought of sharing so many weeks on stage with my husband is enough for me."

Yash Tonk: "There's a lot of excitement in the air. Let's see what Monday has in store. We've put in a lot of hard work. And to have reached the finals...it gives me and my wife a good feeling. I'm not much of a dancer, never attended any classes.

But I did dance casually at parties. That was it...It was my wife Gauri, who's a very good dancer. She's beeen dancing from her childhood. When Nach Baliye happened for the first time she expressed a desire to be on it. I had promised her that if Nach Baliye returns and they invite us, we'll definitely do it.

I'm a shy guy. I love acting. But not dancing. But when they called me I decided to surprise my wife...I've enjoyed every moment of Nach Baliye. I've followed my choreographers to my utmost. But once I get on stage I just catch a rhythm and flow with it. Husain and Tina are a very sweet couple. They're our friends. They'll put up their best and we'll put up our best.

On Monday for the finale we've to dance non-stop for fifteen minutes. We won't have any concepts to follow, just hardcore dancing. Has the show added to my popularity?

Well, before Nach Baliye I was unknown. This is a new genre to me. It's an achievement because I never thought I'd ever be dancing on stage and to get this far?!!!!.....The show has helped me overcome my stage fright. I've a phobia about public performances.

Thanks to my interactions with the judges I've overcome a lot of my shyness. But no I don't think Nach Baliye will help me get roles. I've two films Team and Kiss Se Pyar Karoon ready for release. Also I'm doing one daily Kesar on Star.

I'm a lazy boy. I like doing one thing at a time. During the last four months I've been focusing only on Nach Baliye. And the best thing about the show was I got to spend so much time with my wife. On the other hand I miss my daughter Pari. She's only 3 and I didn't want her to come on the sets. Suppose my performance was below par on a day when my daughter was on the sets?

Tina: "It feels great to have come so far. No matter what the outcome on Moday we're happy. We never thought we'd make it to the finals. I'm very shy and not at all connected with showbiz. My mother warned me I won't be able to pull it off. She felt Hussain who's a good dancer will be eliminated in the first round because of my bad dancing.

But my husband was all for it. Once I was in it I enjoyed myself thoroughly. It's not as if I've two left feet. I do enjoy dancing. Even before Nach Baliye happened I kept telling him we should join classes.

Now I won't let Hussain stop me or him from dancing. Everyone from my husband to my choreographer to the contestants have pampered me throughout. That's what kept me going.

Initially I thought the judges would pamper me a bit more since I wasn't from within the industry. But I now realize everyone was judged on his or her individual merit. And that's good. We practiced a week extra for the blindfolded dance which everyone keeps talking about.

One wrong move and we'd have been eliminated. Even if I had been eliminated after the second round I'd been happy. Now that we've made it to the finals, we couldn't have hoped for a better marriage-anniversary gift. We complete one year of marriage in December 21. We had been seeing each other for nine years."

Hussain: "I don't have the energy to feel nervous about the finals. I'm exhausted. In fact I'm lying down while talking to you....I can't say I was a non-dancer before Nach Baliye. I used to dance in college, did many shows back then.

For Nach Baliye we added a a lot of innovative touches to the dancing to give us an edge...My schedules have been killing. We give 4-6 hours every day to Nach Baliye. But the practice has been worth our while.

With the finale days away I get so tired at the end of day, I'd like to take a break. But Nach Baliye has brought forward a different side to my personality.

Shows like these encourage us to work harder. Tina and Hussain and very good friends and excellent competitors. Their Don performance was outstanding.

Our blindfold dance is something we're proud of. But now we want to win. But if we don't, we're fine with that. But deep down in our heart we do want to emerge at the top.

The whole journey to the finale has been very revealing. The credit must go to our choreographers. I do want to learn different forms of dancing now."