Shiv Manoharrao Uttamrao Jhinguji Ganuji Thakare is an Indian choreographer, dancer, reality TV personality, and entrepreneur born on 9 September 1989 in Amravati, Maharashtra. His father Manohar Thakare runs a betel leaf (pan) shop and his mother is Ashatai Thakare; he has a sister Manisha. He studied at Sant Kavaram Vidyalaya, Amravati, and earned an engineering degree from G.H. Raisoni College of Engineering, Nagpur. After graduation, he worked briefly as a software engineer before following his passion for dance and entertainment. To support his family, he took on menial jobs - distributing milk packets and newspapers, farming, giving tuition classes - while simultaneously building a career as a dance choreographer and event manager. He founded Shiv Thakare Dance Studio in Amravati, organised events across Maharashtra, and participated in dance auditions (DID, Boogie Woogie, Dum Dama Dam) with ambitions to make it in Bollywood. His national breakthrough came with MTV Roadies Rising (2017), where he reached the semi-finals. In 2019, he entered Bigg Boss Marathi Season 2 on Colors Marathi, hosted by Mahesh Manjrekar, and was declared the winner on 1 September 2019, receiving the trophy and ₹17 lakh. He was ranked #1 in Times of India's Top 15 Most Desirable Men on Marathi Television (2019). In 2020, he joined MTV Roadies Revolution as a judge during audition rounds. In March 2021, he launched the deodorant brand B.Real. In 2022-23, he competed in Bigg Boss Hindi Season 16 (hosted by Salman Khan) and finished as the 1st runner-up. He also appeared in the music video Kasa Chandra with ex-girlfriend Veena Jagtap. In 2024, he participated in Khatron Ke Khiladi Season 14.

Semi-finalist on MTV Roadies Rising (2017); winner of Bigg Boss Marathi Season 2 (2019) with ₹17 lakh prize; 1st runner-up on Bigg Boss Hindi Season 16 (2022-23); judge on MTV Roadies Revolution (2020); founder of Shiv Thakare Dance Studio, Amravati; launched deodorant brand B.Real (2021).

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