Suresh Mukund of The Kings Talks About Collaborating With International Artists After World of Dance Win

Suresh Mukund and The Kings have become a household name ever since they won the ‘World of Dance’. This is the first time an Indian group of dancers has won an international dance competition. The show was judged by Jennifer Lopez, among others.

The Kings was first dance group to win a bronze medal in an international hip hop competition, which had 60 countries competing against each other. They managed to enroll themselves only 20 days before the competition and won a bronze. Ever since then, the world has looked at them rather differently. But before reaching the pinnacle of success, they underwent major struggles and there was a time when Suresh Mukund, the man behind The Kings, wanted to give up on his dreams.

So what kept him going? The man himself reveals in an exclusive interview with AskMen India.

How do you feel about all the attention you're getting after this win?

Oh, I am loving it! I wanted this for the team... the team wanted this to happen because we have been working hard for so many years now.

Your journey has been full of ups and downs. Was there a point you felt like giving up?

There was a point when we felt things weren’t going to work for us. You know, when we started our journey, there were no smartphones and no social media. We got famous through TV. We started getting shows like India's Got Talent but there was not much of social media back then. So when we were known as ‘The Ficticious Group’, and when that group split because of clashes, we wondered how we would bounce back after being together for over five years.

Then suddenly, social media was booming and all the artists who came on TV or any other platform gained popularity. We were famous but we didn't have a brand name so that was when we thought maybe this was the end of it. But then, I had people who supported me and stuck through me since 2008. They motivated me and saw that I was capable and that's when they made me realise that I shouldn't be giving up.

You have around 20-25 dancers in the group. I'm sure you would've had a difference of opinions. How did you manage to stay united?

That's the difficult part. The most important thing is to sustain together in times of trouble. We have seen hundreds of crews who have wanted to beat us but they couldn't and they eventually vanished. And that was because we stood together, with each other. Of course, there were a lot of clashes and I could have left all this and joined Bollywood as a choreographer, but these people were my pillars during tough times, so I wouldn't ever leave them or let the team fall apart.

If you had to choose between Hrithik Roshan, Shahid Kapoor and Tiger Shroff as your dance guru, who would you pick?

I started dancing after watching Hrithik Roshan. My first ever dance was on one of his songs, Ek Pal Ka Jeena, so he is my idol for sure.

Which is the most underrated dance form in India?

Indian classical dance is the most underrated form, unfortunately. People don't like to see it as much but it’s just a matter of time before it catches-on.

What's next for you guys?

We have a tie up with Qyuki nationally and we plan on opening a dance schools all over India, starting with Andheri. We are also in talks internationally to open a branch in the US as well. Now that we are globally known, the aim is to work with international artists and we have already been looking at a couple of offers. We also have a world tour coming up, and we're looking forward to it.