Mumbai, Sep 21 (IANS): Gruelling shooting schedules, practice sessions and dedication have borne fruit for actor Ashish Sharma, who walked away with the winner's trophy, a prize money and a brand new car, as the winner of dance reality show "Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 7".

He danced and jumped with joy upon his victory, which he has credited to his choreographer, Shampa Sonthalia.

For the final episode, Ashish was competing against Karan Tacker, Mouni Roy and Shakti Mohan. There was a tie between Ashish and Karan, but the crew decided to consider only audience votes and Ashish won the trophy.

Ashish was awarded a prize money of Rs.30 lakh and a Mahindra XUV during the finale, which saw the presence of Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor and Varun Dhawan as special guests.

The finale was an entertaining affair with judges Madhuri Dixit, Remo D'Souza and Karan Johar performing too. Madhuri, Bollywood's dancing diva, regaled the live as well as TV audiences with an aerial act and grooved to "Main tenu samjhava", "Ghaghra" and "Choli ke peeche".

Even Karan Johar danced with all four finalists, while Remo stunned the audience with a robotic act.

There were additional performances by comedienne Bharti Singh as well as singers Mika and Shaan. If that wasn't enough, the humour quotient was added by the Gutthi and Dadi, the beloved characters from "Comedy Nights With Kapil".

The seventh season of the dance show -- where multiple celebrities compete with each other with the help of pre-assigned professional choreographers -- went on air on Colors June 7. It's the Indian version of international show "Dancing With The Stars".

With a line-up of 13 celebrities ranging from Kritika Kamra, Mouni Roy, Purab Kohli, Karan Tacker, Sophie Choudry, Pooja Banerjee to VJ Andy, professional dancer Shakti Mohan, singer Sukhwinder Singh, comedian Kiku Sharda as Palak, and cricketer S. Sreesanth, the show offered some "never seen before" action on the stage.

The show was initially hosted by small screen's 'Madhubala' Drashti Dhami and Bollywood actor Ranvir Shorey, but later actor-comedian Manish Paul replaced Drashti.

I never thought I'd win Jhalak...': Ashish Sharma

The feeling of victory is still sinking in for actor Ashish Sharma, who is ecstatic about winning the seventh season of celebrity dance reality show "Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 7". He says he had thought he'd last only for a few weeks.

"I never thought I would win the show. I just thought I will be part of it for a couple of weeks and then I will not be able to handle it. But then week after week it kept happening...it's a great feeling," Ashish, known for his TV show "Rangrasiya", gushed with excitement about his surprise victory.

In the finale episode of "Jhalak...", aired on Colors Saturday night, the actor was pitted against Mouni Roy, Shakti Mohan and Karan Tacker.

He said: "Mouni and Karan were great. They were my strong competitors. Even Shakti was outstanding. I have not seen a dancer like her."

Ashish was initially seen as a hesitant dancer, but he gradually opened up as a person and performer, turning out to be a surprise package on the show. He impressed the judges -- Madhuri Dixit, Karan Johar and Remo D'Souza -- with his learning capacity and ability to face challenges.

The actor gives the entire credit of his win to his star choreographer Shampa Sonthalia, who had led even actor Gurmeet Choudhary to victory in the fifth season of the reality show.

"I attribute my success to my choreographer Shampa. Hats off to her for the kind of hard work she has put in for this show. She deserves to be the winner. She understood my body language and gave me the steps accordingly. I owe a big thank you to her," he said.

He is especially appreciative of her for observing him well and bringing his strengths alive in their acts.

Ashish, who has won Rs.30 lakh and a Mahindra XUV car, is also grateful to the show's judges.

"Madhuri Dixit was very inspirational. She used to always encourage me and never bogged me down. She was like, 'Go ahead and just do it'. Even Karan sir was very humble. He is a very warm person," said Ashish, who's not a trained dancer.

Overall, he views the journey as "extremely tiring and hectic".

"I was busy with my serial ('Rangrasiya', which has now come to an end), and post that, I used to get time for just three to four hours in the night to practice. So it was not an easy journey, but certainly a memorable one," he said.

Ashish has earlier been seen in Bollywood film "Love Sex aur Dhokha" and in TV shows "Gunahon Ka Devta" and "Chandragupta Maurya".