There is a temple dedicated to goddess Chandika Mata built against a hillock deep inside Naigaon, a dusty, almost dystopian area on the outskirts of Mumbai. The place comes alive during religious festivals like Holi, when people descend there for a mela that's replete with intricate rangoli. But it's an otherwise humdrum affair for the rest of the year, with devotees making an arduous climb up a flight of steps to pay their respects to the devi. Except, that a group of about 35 young dancers takes over a hall in the premises from 7 pm to 11 pm every night to practise death-defying acrobatic steps that are so stupendous that they were crowned the winners of this year's edition of America's Got Talent: The Champions.

We visit the mandir post 10 pm on Thursday when the troupe — V Unbeatable — has finished rehearsals early. The place is deserted but for two men downing a bottle of strong beer sitting on a concrete circle under a leafy tree. Presently, Swapnil Kiranbhoir arrives, the member who's scheduled to tell us the crew's story. Sitting in the hall that's the epicentre of their fortunes, he narrates how the group of mainly slum children from the neighbouring Bhayandar, Mira Road and Naigaon regions realised a long-standing dream of Vikas Gupta, a colleague of theirs who suffered an accident during rehearsals five years ago, tragically losing his life in the process.