Viral 'dancing uncle' Sanjeev Srivastava reveals how he overcame tragedy on his way to fame

The viral sensation of Sanjeev Srivastava has reached the apogee with his appearance alongside Salman Khan in Sony Entertainment's reality show Dus Ka Dum. The dancer appeared on the show hosted by actor-producer Salman Khan and revealed that the sudden fame has arrived 36 years after he first started dancing, and was preceded by tragedy and sorrow. 

Srivastava achieved stupendous fame after a video of him, and his wife, dancing at a wedding went viral on social media. From Govinda to Salman Khan, even the stars seemed to be in awe of him. Govinda, whom Srivastava imitated with his moves, said after watching the video, "I love his moves. Sanjeevji's dance is mind-blowing and out of the world. I hope we see more of him in the future." 

However, on Khan's Dus Ka Dum, the 46-year old revealed that dancing has not always been fun. The dancer even got the Race 3 star dancing to the tune of 'Soni De Nakhre' from Partner (2007). Speaking later, Srivastava revealed that while he had started dancing in 1982, it took him more than three decades to find fame. 

What makes Srivastava's story even more amazing is that his fame follows a family tragedy. Dabbu Uncle, as he is popularly known, revealed that last year his younger brother died in an unfortunate train accident. This situation was a shock, and left his mother in trauma. Ever since this incident, his mother never left home and wouldn't even smile. She stopped mingling with her relatives and neighbours.

The recent fame, though, has brought some respite. When his video went viral, Srivastava's home saw a crowd of people visiting his house. That brought his mother down to check on the commotion. When she saw the video of Srivastava dancing, she could not suppress her smile. 

Speaking about the experience on the show, the dancer said, “I don’t want any money from anyone for this video. I am happy that people are enjoying it. I am grateful that people liked my video. It is because of the response I received for the video, my mother came down and saw the video. This made her smile. I was dying to see her cheerful face. I am happy that her smile is back and this will eventually help her to get over my younger brother’s untimely demise.”