By: Sanchita Kedia – On April 13th, under the golden California sun, Rangeela Dance Company (RDC) lit up the stage in Newark, CA for the grand finale of Rangotsav 2025—a six-city celebration of Holi bursting with color, culture, and community. Performing for thousands is familiar territory for Rangeela, but this crowd especially showed up to witness someone truly extraordinary: Bollywood legend and dance icon, Hrithik Roshan.
The day began with a high-octane RDC showcase featuring hits like “APT X Sauda Khara,” “Bhasad Macha,” and “Holi Mein Rangeele,” brought to life by Rangeela dancers from across the nation—Seattle, Los Angeles, Southern California, Phoenix, Boston, Chicago, and, of course, the Bay Area.
But the real magic happened when we got to meet the Hrithik Roshan. We walked into the room, completely starstruck. Yes, he was as stunning in real life as you would imagine (no surprises there), but what caught us off guard was how genuine, gracious, and down-to-earth he was. He chatted with RDC director, Priyanka Vora, asking which songs we would be performing during the Hrithik Roshan Tribute—a special segment dedicated to his legendary filmography. When she told him “Azeem-O-Shaan Shahenshah” from Jodha Akbar and “Dhoom Again” from Dhoom 2, he smiled and said, “That’s my favorite song from Jodha Akbar.” We all melted inside.
After our meet & greet with Hrithik Roshan and a speedy costume change, we returned to the stage, ready to perform for Hrithik himself in the tribute that closed out an unforgettable day.
We kicked off the Tribute portion of the show with Hrithik’s favorite—“Azeem-O-Shaan Shahenshah,” beautifully performed by our Indian Classical performers. The crowd was now more eager and excited than ever.. finally.. Hrithik Roshan made his grand entrance! Charismatic as ever, he spoke about his excitement about stepping into a new role as the director of Krrish 4 along with relatable dad moments—like trying to convince his kids he is still cool.
And then, the moment we were all secretly waiting for: he took off his sunglasses, revealing those iconic hazel eyes. The crowd erupted. As if that wasn’t enough, he casually grabbed phones from the audience and filmed selfie videos while speaking, sending the crowd into a frenzy.
One lucky phone belonged to Phoenix RDC dancer Dhwani Shah—capturing a video with multiple RDC members featured in a Hrithik Roshan original (watch here!)
But the biggest surprise of the night came next: Our director, Priyanka Vora, was invited to perform on stage WITH Hrithik, (watch here!), to the iconic “Ek Pal Ka Jeena” from his debut film Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai. The Rangeela team absolutely lost it. Priyanka later stated, “It was every dancer’s dream come true. I lived this moment for everyone who has been his fan for the last 25 years. It was spontaneous and so incredibly fun, especially because Hrithik made it so comfortable to dance right alongside him!”
Photo credit: Bengal Artistry
To close out this unforgettable tribute, Rangeela Dance Company brought the house down with a powerful performance of “Dhoom Again.”
Mika Singh Event
After the main Rangotsav event ended, the energy didn’t stop—an afterparty hosted by none other than singer Mika Singh kept the celebration going strong. He lit up the stage with iconic hits like “Mauja Mauja” from Jab We Met and remixes like “Pushpa Pushpa”, turning the night into a full-blown dance fest. The most surreal moment? Rangeela Dance Company got to be Mika’s backup dancers for “Mauja Mauja”—a moment that felt like a full-circle dream. Catch the video here! While we were longtime fans of Mika Singh, it felt like the feeling became mutual.
Mid-performance, Mika paused to teach Rangeela a signature dance step on stage. After watching us try it out, he called up actor and RDC dancer Nishant Ghan to join him in performing the step. Even after our performance ended, Mika kept turning to us, teaching new moves and joking, “Make a reel with this hook step—I’ll follow you, Hrithik won’t!” His warmth and humor had the entire team charmed.
Later that night, we had the opportunity to meet him, where he greeted us just as warmly—posing for small group photos and even filming a reel to “Pushpa Pushpa” with Rangeela. Impressed by Nishant’s dancing, Mika even asked his team to get Nishant’s contact! It was a night to remember, made even more special by the unexpected connection with a true icon.
While meeting and performing for (and with!) the legendary Hrithik Roshan was a dream come true, the real magic was witnessing the strength, spirit, and unity of our Rangeela family. Dancers from across the country came together to deliver something truly spectacular and we are already counting down the days until we can share a stage like this again.
Watch our Hrithik Recap YouTube VLOG, created by our Phoenix RDC lead Neha Pulipati, and our founder/director Priyanka J. Vora, to learn more about all the behind the scenes from this event!
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