Salman Yusuff Khan tries his hand at judging

Popular choreographer and dancer, Salman Yusuff Khan is now judge on MTVs new show Campus Diaries that aims at scouting talent on college campuses. “The amount of confidence and talent these kids have today is unparalleled. Their conviction is very impressing and inspiring. The teams that get short-listed will perform in the finale where I will be the judge,” Salman says.

He says that the stage has changed drastically for dancers since the time he started out. “Things have changed drastically over the years. There’s loads of information available. We are growing at a rapid rate. It is difficult to call us third world now. In the next 10 years we could be a superpower. Now is when the world is taking us seriously in whatever we do. When my dad went to Saudi, we were only called for manpower. Now we have created our own niche. There’s so much culture that we inspire the world with — be it through dance, Bollywood or fashion. I think it’s amazing to be part of this dance revolution in India.”

Salman does feel there is a clutter of dance reality shows on television. “There has been a bombardment of reality shows. In the end, it is about generating quality. You can’t just take in anybody to fill space. Few shows still have respect and a loyal fan following, but others have lost their charm. The audience has become smarter and well informed. Dance will never fade away but taking the quality a notch higher is our responsibility. If I can inspire my students at least by one percent with my story, I think I will have done my job.”