While browsing through the rare uploads of YouTubers KANDASAMYSEKKARAKUDI and Padmasomu, I found two new Kamala dances from 1950s Tamil films that I've never seen before and I suspect most Kamala fans probably haven't either! Roll the dances!
Manohara (Tamil, 1954) - "Ravoyi" - While this melodic number is nicely filmed (I love the artistic overhead shot and how Kamala seems to be "floating" on the set at times), Kamala doesn't get to utilize her complex dance talents much (except for a teensy bit at the end) but shows off some graceful snakelike arms and is all smiles throughout. The crisp, black and white print is lovely! Apparently "Ravoyi" means "Please Come" in Telugu, so this video must be from the Telugu dub of the Tamil original.
I've found a 4.5-minute snippet from Kumar Shahani's documentary Bhavantarana ("Immanence," 1991) about the late Odissi Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra! 2012 is turning out to be the year of finding films from my obscure wish list post; last week I found Kann Sivandhaal Mann Sivakkum and this week has revealed a clip from Bhavantarana.
Here is the clip. The first female Odissi dancer appears at 1:20 and then a young Odissi dancer can be seen starting at 1:42; the latter's performance is delightful! She dances while walking through a home until reaching the courtyard where her "guru" soon appears (guess who!). Kelucharan Mahapatra can finally be seen dancing at 3:32!
So why is the clip only 4.5 minutes? The uploader is the "Public Diplomacy Division of India's Ministry of External Affairs" who created the channel to feature "a range of documentary films which have been commissioned by the Ministry of External Affairs over the last three decades. These documentary films showcase different facets of India..." The reason the uploads are only excerpts is explained in the last line: "for purchasing full versions of the films shown here please contact mlf.core@gmail.com." Turns out a trip to the Division's website [no longer online] reveals a link to the website of the distributor "Under Construction" [no longer online] where DVDs of these programs can be found! The DVD of Bhavantarana can be purchased for $30.
But who can complain about partial clips when their very existence on YouTube is a blessing! I'm guessing that these documentaries were/are probably shown every so often on Doordarshan or other TV channels but until now were difficult to view independently.
What I've been most excited to discover is that outside of Bhavantarana there are other dance-related documentaries and documentaries with dance-content among the uploads! Here are all the ones I've found:
Did you know that the website of the Indian Directorate of Film Festivals has an archives page with scanned images of programs for the Indian National Film Awards from present day back to the first awards ceremony in 1954?! The scans are of the actual, physical programs that were printed and they are rich sources of film descriptions, stills, and photos, many of which are quite obscure! It's an amazing resource for not only confirming what Wikipedia and other online sources claim about National Film Awards but also for learning about films that have been mostly forgotten or are very difficult to find information on online. There are also some humorous pictures of directors and actors back when they were significantly younger. :) I've had the funnest time simply browsing. Do note that the archive is quite disorganized; sometimes the year link is for the year of the awards ceremony and other times for the year of the films recognized (and then the programs themselves sometimes change if they state the awards year or the film year on the front cover-confusing!)
Most of the awards ceremonies recognize lesser-known regional films such as Punjabi, Assamese, and Oriya films. The Second and Fourth National Film Awards programs (for 1954 and 1956 films) feature lists of all "Feature Films Approved for Public Exhibition" for that year and include the small regional industries! This is a great research and film/dance-discovery tool because it's difficult to find lists of all Assamese, Oriya, etc., films from those years online.
Remember the V.P. Dhananjayan dance from Kann Sivandhal Mann Sivakkum that was part of my "holy grail" list of Obscure Indian Films About Dance post? I have found it!
While browsing through the Indian National Film Award program archives (another awesome discovery and subject of an upcoming post!), I noticed Kann Sivandhaal Mann Sivakkum had won a National Award for the "Best First Film of a Director." On a whim, I decided do some googling and see if anything new from the film was online and low and behold YouTuber rdhinakar uploaded the entire film as well as all individual songs a month back [Update: No longer available, but located another source].
The film (according to the NFA description) basically tells the story of an American NRI woman who comes to India and seeks the help of an artist to help her create a classical dance about Nandanar, the legendary Harijan saint who lived in the 10th century. Apparently the artist convinces her to create a folk dance instead and the two travel to the heart of Tamilnadu to find a famous exponent of the Theru-Koothu (Tamil street play) tradition. The film won the National Award for its "original interpretation of a deep-rooted social evil, combining folk art with modern cinematic idiom."
(2021 Update: I am no longer updating this blog but hope you enjoy my older posts!) Bringing light to classical and traditional Indian dances in the cinema of India; unearthing rare archival clips and academic research on South Asian dance!
