Shailendra Singh to produce film on international dance troupe, Kings United

The ABCD dance film franchise might see competition from a real-life underdog group soon. Filmmaker Shailendra Singh has picked up the story of the international dance troupe, Mumbai Kings, for a feature film.

Titled Kings United Life Story: Nalasopara To Las Vegas, the film will track the rise of the dance troupe that went viral after their performances on the American reality show, World of Dance. 

Kings United shot to fame after their initial performances took the judges of Jennifer Lopez, Derek Hough and Ne-Yo by surprise. However, their final performance on the show resulted in a standing ovation by the crowd and the three judges. 

On 5 May 2019, the Mumbai based hip-hop dancers Kings United India were declared the global champions of the American reality show World of Dance. The judging panel of Jennifer Lopez, Ne-Yo and Derek Hough gave them 100 out of 100 marks for their cinematic, Bhahubhali-style performance and awarded them the $1 million prize. After dancing together and preparing for more than 12 years, it was an intensely proud moment for Kings United India.

Naturally, the story has caught the attention of filmmaker Shailendra Singh, who acquired the rights to their life story. Singh is on the lookout for a director to helm the film.

Singh said in a statement, “Slumdog Millionaire (2009) showed the underbelly of Mumbai, within the rags-to-riches story of kinds getting off the streets and finding success. But it was fiction. The story of Kings United is the true story twenty young strugglers from the slums of Nalasopara uniting through dance to take on the world. They dedicated 12 years to reaching the top and became champions of the world. It’s an inspiration to anyone who has ever had a dream.” 

Suresh Mukund, choreographer for the troupe for World of Dance, says, “Our Kings United journey has been full of trails and tribulations, victory and glory. But we had a dream, and they only thing we knew to do, was to keep chasing that dream. We believe that Shailendra Singh truly understands our story and can translate it in to film. We are very excited to embark upon this new journey with him.”

Incidentally, Remo D'Souza's ABCD 2 (2015) was based on Suresh Mukund's dance team at the time, Fictitious Dance Academy.