Lauren Gottlieb, dancer and actor from the United States, was that one fine contestant on Jhalak Dikhla Jaa season six who raised the bar of the competition and how. Lately, Gottlieb has been a part of blockbuster songs with Badshah and Harrdy Sandhu. The Quint caught up with Lauren to talk about her journey through the years from So You Think You Can Dance? to Jhalak Dikhla Jaa.
What got you into dancing first? Was it something that you were always doing?
I have two brothers. So, I was doing sports, playing with legos and kinda ‘boy stuff’ because I was trying to fit in with my brothers and their friends. My mom was like, ‘Oh my god! We have to get you in something girly’, so she put me in dance class. I was 7 years old. In the US where I come from, Scottsdale, Arizona, people start dancing when they are three. I thought I was so far behind and stiff. So, I cried every single dance class and I begged my mom to let me quit and she’s like, ‘No, I can’t be that mother who will let you quit whenever you want; it’s tough, it’s difficult.’ Then I moved to Los Angeles, where this struggle period started, I was continuing to do auditions and I wasn’t seeing anything from it. Then, I auditioned for So You Think You Can Dance? and I made it and went very far in the competition and from there it was like the entire industry, the entire country knew me.
How did acting come about for you?
I started auditioning for things and right when I got my Bollywood offer was when I had just reached the point of getting auditions for the leading roles. Audition for Step Up 4 was between six of us girls for the lead. It was the night that I found out a good friend of mine who is also from So You Think You Can Dance? and she booked the lead and I didn’t. I was devastated. I was so happy for her; I tweeted her, I Facebooked her, I text her like, ‘You’re a rockstar, go kick-ass’, from the most pure place. And I kid you not, the second I sent those messages, I get an e-mail alert, and it was like 4:35 am. I checked my e-mail and saw a mail from UTV Motion Pictures. I did my research and realised this is a real thing and one of the biggest production companies in the country. I’m gonna put a pause on this and I’m gonna go start over in a foreign country and see what happens. It was ABCD 1 that happened first. I had thirty days left with my visa when I came out here for the release of the film. Then, I started networking, tried to meet people, make connections; nothing was happening. And it got down to like the last three or maybe the last four days, I was like I’m gonna go home. I got a call from Lizelle D’Souza, Remo’s wife and she said there’s a show called Jhalak: Dancing With The Stars and they want you as a celebrity contestant. I was like, “Oh my god, it happened like three days before and I probably would’ve never come back.”
How did you prepare yourself to come to a foreign country because coming to India? I mean, not everyone will jump right for their opportunity and especially for somebody from the States.
It’s just a feeling. Honestly, it was that night crying in my room and having this huge opportunity and I was like this is it.
And I wanna tell you this, you were my personal favourite on Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa. You were one of the finalists of the show, right? So did you feel like you should’ve been the winner?
Yes, I did because I had delivered so many like perfect score performances and it’s not just that, it’s like my body worked on that season, on that show. I felt so fulfilled as an artist, like, where when I was on So You Think You Can Dance? I didn’t feel like I got the best choreography. You know I just kinda never felt like, ‘Oh! This is like really really great’. Drashti did an incredible job, Salman did an incredible job, so there were absolutely no hardships. I would’ve loved to have won the title but it doesn’t matter about winning, at all. Honestly, it doesn’t.
Whether it’s So You Think You Can Dance? or whether it’s Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, were there parts of it that you didn’t possibly like/enjoy?
Yeah, 100%. God! I’m such an honest person! It was very difficult being an 18-year-old girl just moved to Los Angeles away from my parents for the first time and the pressure, it created a lot of anxiety in me.
Watch the video to find out more.
Cameraperson: Sanjoy Deb
Asst. Cameraperson: Gautam Sharma
Video Editor: Ashish Maccune
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)