It was the year 2000 and Hrithik Roshan was every true-blooded Indian’s crush. The way he danced to Kaho Na Pyaar Hai, his body swaying as if it had no bones, caught Vasai boy Suresh Mukund’s fancy. Mukund was just 12 then, and his brother was the star of his home and school. “He was fair-skinned and was a great dancer, while I was dark. That gave me a complex. I thought I wasn’t receiving any attention. I took that part of my life as a challenge,” he tells us, over a telephonic chat. 

Last month, Mukund became the first Indian to receive the World Choreography Award 2020, for choreographing his group Kings United, which won NBC’s reality show, World of Dance Season 3. He was previously nominated for the Emmy’s, as well. “It’s taken 21 years to get here,” he says.