In October of 1990, after Nakul Dev Mahajan completed his first dance to a Bollywood movie song “Kali Teri Chhoti Hai” at a local Diwali function, he would have never thought in his wildest dreams that he would one day be the pioneering dancer/choreographer to bring California its first Indian dance school with an exclusive custom designed Indian Dance facility. Perhaps it was his obsession of dance that is the secret of his success or the motto that Nakul has followed, which inspired him to create the first Bollywood Dance Troupe in southern California under his dance company, NDM Dance Productions. “I consider that dreams only come true to those who genuinely work hard to make them happen and those who have an inner passion for what they love.” 

Nakul has been dancing on stage for the past sixteen years but truly started dancing when he was eight years old in his room secretly. Influenced by the great Amitabh Bachchan and other Bollywood stars of the 70’s and 80’s, Nakul started mimicking their moves and perfected their dance sequences from their movies. Dancing became a part of Nakul’s daily life, his mantra. However, his talent was hidden from his family for years. “I knew he was dancing in his room,” his mother states, “but he would always shy away from showing his father and me. It wasn’t until the Diwali show where we saw him perform for the first time. We were all shocked and amazed.”

Aside from Bollywood celebrities, Nakul was heavily influenced by American Idol judge Paula Abdul, who in the late 80’s and early 90’s was a super star Recording Artist and Choreographer. “Paula Abdul brought dance and choreography in music videos to a different level. I was ‘spellbound’ when I saw her music videos. At the age of 16, I did not have any dance training, everything that I knew was self taught. I remember that I had Paula’s music videos memorized and I was able to do all of her jazz based moves even though I had never stepped foot in a jazz class before.”

The popularity of Nakul’s performances spread and he was in demand to perform at local Indian events. Still with no formal training, Nakul began teaching and choreographing not only for himself, but for his younger cousins and local youth. Through word of mouth, Nakul was teaching dance and decided to take Kathak. His journey of Kathak lasted seven years while he trained in Bharata Natyum, Post Modern, Bhangra, Hip-hop, African Tribal, Ballroom, Salsa, Folklorico and Jazz. Ultimately diversity in learning a plethora of dance forms had given Nakul a multifaceted style of Bollywood/Hindi Film Dancing. It is that unique style that has made Nakul Dev Mahajan a household name in the Los Angeles Indian community’s dance world through his active involvement in charity shows, dance contests and concerts.

Nakul graduated from the University of California Riverside with a degree in Sociology and Dance in 2002. He continues promoting cultural awareness and running the 1^st Bollywood Dance School in the nation, NDM Dance Studios in Artesia, California and his professionally trained Bollywood dance company NDM Dance Productions. The NDM Dance Studios has served over 1000 students since they opened their doors in 2003.

Nakul is now on a quest to bring Hollywood a taste of Bollywood…but the right way. His Hollywood work can be seen on the NBC Soap Opera “Passions,” Emmy winning NBC show The Office, several upcoming television commercials and celebrities who are learning the art of Bollywood Dance for the future roles. Nakul has also been featured on ABC Nightline; Good Day LA and interviewed several times by The Los Angeles Times and Time Magazine. In 2004, Nakul choreographed a dance for a NBC pilot directed by “Friends” star David Shwimmer and has worked for a television pilot with a Bollywood theme with Saturday Night Live star Chris Kattan.

Recently, Nakul Dev Mahajan choreographed for the number 1 show in America, "So You Think You Can Dance." His future projects include the first ever One Man Bollywood Show on November 1, 2008 at the Wadsworth Theatre in Santa Monica and The 2009 Rose Parade in Pasadena.