by Subhash K Jha

Manish Goyal and his charming wife Poonam missed the bus at the grand finale of Nach Baliye on Star One. But they danced really well. Suddenly the couple is in the limelight for all the strong reasons.

Says Manish, "Besides the fact that I got to spend so much time with my wife, the best part of doing Nach Baliye was that people have stopped calling me by the names of my characters in Bhabhi and the other soaps. I'm finally Manish...and it feels like a culmination of six years of struggle."

Adds Poonam, "Frankly, the high that it gives me to see my husband being suddenly thrown into this recognition cannot compare with what I feel. Though I've been doing serials for some years now, I'm too much into my family — my husband and my little son. I had gained so much weight after motherhood, but I didn't care. Now I've lost a lot of the weight doing the strenuous dance movements."

Yes, the winners were Sachin and Supriya Pilgaonkar. And boy, were they triumphant.

On the morning after the triumph Sachin said, "I didn't feel any regret when Manish and Poonam—our competitors for the finals—lost to us. Why should I? All said and done, Nach Baliye was a competition and there could be only one pair of winners. I'm glad it was us. We worked hard for it...After the grand finale last night, I went and hugged my rival Manish while my wife hugged his wife Poonam. Yes, there's a sense of great achievement. All through Nach Baliye we were constantly reminded that we were the oldest couple in the reckoning. I didn't mind. It was the truth. It spurred us on to try harder.

"My advice to everyone out there who wants to be an achiever is — never underestimate yourself and always be adventurous. I'd like to think my wife is more adventurous than I am...she married me, didn't she? Nach Baliye taught us that rhythm and pace are essential not only in life and marriage but also in dance. It's all about getting the timing right."

Supriya sounded fatigued but happy. "We've been rehearsing for so long I felt that the finale too was a rehearsal! Seriously, we never though ki jeet hamaari hogi, although the hoarding declared that on our behalf. Our competitors Manish and Poonam were also very very good. And though everyone kept saying we had an edge, I felt they could easily outdo us...