The contemporary dancer beat four other finalists at a star-studded finale attended by Tamannaah Bhatia, Sidharth Malhotra and Jackie Shroff.
Ritesh Pal from Raipur has taken home the India's Best Dancer Season 5 trophy, paired with his choreographer Pratik Utekar, after a finale that pulled in Jackie Shroff, Tamannaah Bhatia and Sidharth Malhotra as guests on Sony Entertainment Television.
The two beat out four other finalists to get there: Dipali Borkar, Prathamesh Mane, Anshika Dhara and Geetanjali Marwaha. This season ran on the theme of India Wala Dance, which meant contestants couldn't just stick to what they were good at. Ritesh, by most accounts, leaned into that. He picked up the show's Battle Trophy three separate times through the season, according to Bollywood Hungama, and kept branching into styles well outside his contemporary dance background.
That background is something he shares with Pratik, and both of them pointed to it as the real challenge of the season. Judges Karisma Kapoor, Jaaved Jaaferi, Geeta Kapur and Terence Lewis mentored the contestants right through, and all four were on stage for the finale.
"Dance has always been my passion, and winning India's Best Dancer Season 5 is a dream come true," Ritesh said after the win. He thanked each of the judges by name, singling out Geeta Kapur for what he called a special place in his heart, and credited Pratik with transforming his run on the show.
Pratik, for his part, called the win an emotional moment and talked about watching his student grow across the season. "Ritesh has always trusted my vision and wholeheartedly accepted my guidance," he said, adding that coming from the same contemporary background made the format's demands tougher on both of them, not easier.
There isn't a prize amount confirmed in the reporting so far, and none of the coverage lays out what's next for either Ritesh or Pratik beyond the trophy itself. What is clear is that this closes out a season that leaned hard on range over specialisation, judging by how often finalists were pushed into forms they hadn't trained in. Whether Ritesh turns this into film choreography work, more television, or stays in the competitive circuit is the open question now that the cameras have stopped rolling on Season 5.
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