Minai's Cinema Nritya Gharana

Classical Dances from the film Sringaram (Tamil, 2007)

2012-01-13T18:23:00.005-07:00

While I featured one song (the exquisite Bharatanatyam Padam piece) from the Tamil film Sringaram in my "Practice Scenes" post a while back, I feel it is high time I feature all of the dance songs from this wonderful film. I was rewatching all the dances this week and was reminded of how strikingly exceptional they are compared to the vast majority of classical-based film dances (especially of recent years). I had initially only posted one song from the film in the hopes that it would be released on DVD soon, but it appears that will probably never happen.

About the Film

Sringaram, a Tamil film directed by Sharada Ramanathan, was made in 2005 (and received National Film Awards for that year) but was not theatrically/publically released until 2007. The film is a period piece about devadasi dancers and focuses on two dancers in particular, Madhura (Aditi Rao Hydari) and Kama (Hamsa Moily), and their struggles with their positions and desires (and feminist ideas!). Manju Bhargavi also plays a role in the film and dances in a number. I wrote a long, screencap-filled review of the film here.

What is most striking about the film is its artistry; there are no filmi determents or commercial distractions, and as the film ends you find yourself questioning your understanding of its reality and pondering its characters as metaphors. The art direction, visuals, lighting, and costumes greatly enhance the beauty and charisma of the period atmosphere.

The Exceptional Dances

These characteristics of the film carry over into the dances which are notable in having a heavy classical influence in visual appearance and a serious tone. What's disappointing is that while most of the dances have all the trappings of a classical number (authentic costumes, jewelry, and settings), the choreography is not as authentic as one would expect. On some of the numbers I get so excited when they begin just by looking at them (especially the ones with the cotton practice-saris), but as the dance plays out I find myself let down. Costumes have a way of distracting us from the choreography, don't they!

On the one hand, these dances should be praised to the skies because their authentic look and feel is so rare to see in recent Indian films (the full-length, slow-paced padams especially). For that reason alone they are absolutely exceptional and can be approached and appreciated from that sole angle.

On the other hand, most of the dances did fall short of my expectations. When I learned of Sringaram's noted cast and technicians (music by Carnatic virtuoso Lalgudi Jayaraman, state-award winning costumes, set design by Thota Tharani, unknown and trained classical dancers), I was expecting the film would attempt an authentic depiction of period devadasi life and dance. I figured it would have none of the faux-classical elements that many filmi classical dance numbers do. For such a serious "art" film I expected dances that would impress even the most knowledgeable classical dance rasikas in India. No fusions or modern interpretations- just straight authentic movement and serious art for me to gaze at. I figured it would finally be the kind of modern film classical dances I've been waiting for. Something that would outshine almost everything featured on this blog so far. In sum, I expected the world! :)

And when you have expectations that high, you only set yourself up for disappointment. Which I was, overall. In my review of the film a while back, I talked about how I was most bothered by the "staccato" and "punctuated" movements that hit on every beat, which I found repetitive and unsuspenseful. My favorite dance at that time was the temple number and the mother/daughter padam. But rewatching the dances now, my favorite number is "Three Seasons," an experimental interpretation of Odissi and Bharatanatyam posture fusion that is fascinating to watch. "Yen Nadha Mayam" would be the next with its naturalism, and then in third place the "Mallari" processional number. I think "Yen Intha Mayam," the solo dance by Hamsa Moili, is the most disappointing dance in the film because of what it could have been. And "Ninaival Yennai," while beautiful, is also disappointing to me now. But the "staccato" movements that bothered me before have grown on me, which I think is due to understanding that the "staccato" music accompanying them, a Mallari style, is meant to be that way.

Another angle in critiquing these dances is that one could argue (as Hamsa does) that we don't really know quite know how devadasis of the past danced so who's to say that Hamsa's padam, for example, isn't authentic. Or one could point out that in the context of the film, the main devadasi characters had become liberated with feminist ideals in the second half which might explain the more "liberated" choreography of "Three Seasons."

I suppose the takeaway message I want to make clear is that the dances in this film are very special! That being said, if you have expectations like mine they end up being a bit of a let down overall. But I would hate for my phrases of disappointment to be understood in the same way I express disappointment about other, much lesser-quality classical film dances on my blog. Sringaram's dances are on a different plane, so even the most-criticized numbers stand head-and-shoulders above most everything else you can find in films today.

The Choreographer

So who choreographed these dances you might be wondering? Saroj Khan of all people! Yes, the Saroj Khan that gave us "Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai" from Khalnayak, "Dola Re" from Devdas, "Nimbooda" from Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, and "Chhaiya Chhaiya" from Dil Se, among many others. While these are all awesome and imaginative dances, it's hard to imagine they came from the same creative brain that did Sringaram's. While Saroj Khan won a National Award for the choreography in Sringaram, I can only assume that she got some helpful input from the cast and crew. All three dancers in the film are trained (Aditi Rao Hydari and Hamsa Moily in Bharatanatyam, the famed Manju Bhargavi in Kuchipudi), and the director, Sharada Ramanathan is a dancer herself and has talked about her love of dance films like Shankarabharanam and Thillana Mohanambal. Surely Saroj Khan didn't choreograph these dances in a bubble!

At Last, the Dances!

"Three Seasons" - This is the most "experimental" dance in the film and the most brilliant, I think. I find it fascinating to watch from beginning to end to see how the postures from Odissi and Bharatanatyam have been fused into something unique. Such beautiful touches are peppered throughout, like the opening lotus at 1:53 and the following segment where the two dancers play off of each other. The dancers are Aditi Rao Hydari and Hamsa Moily; Aditi's character is pregnant and starts having labor pains at the end of the dance, in case you were wondering why she looks to be in pain. :) My eyes rarely stray from Aditi--I think she excels in this dance style whereas Hamsa is better in the classical-based, pure-dance choreography.

"Yen Nadha Mayam" - The stunning padam featured in my practice post. Such naturalism in the lighting, acting, dancing, and practice saris; an emotive, calming melody; the feeling that you are gazing into the hidden, private life of these women...just stunning.

"Mallari" - The term Mallari refers to the type of music played primarily by the nadaswaram instrument during temple processions and apparently also the dance that interplays with it, and that is precisely what is seen and heard in this temple procession number featuring the soulful and powerful instruments of South Indian rituals and a bevy of dancing devadasis! It's an interesting look at what devadasi roles might have been in processions. The choreography has that "off and on" quality to it; for a few moments it's beautifully inspired from Bharatanatyam, but then it will take a side turn and suddenly veer in a different direction that pulls me "out of the moment." A forward lunging move keeps reappearing throughout the number and seems jarring. It's hard not to gaze at Hamsa Moily the whole time because she's obviously the best dancer of the lot (some of the backup dancers really struggle, especially the one on the left with the pink choli and purple sari :)). Overall a very unique dance song to see in film with a beautifully-shot processional setting.

"Yen Intha Mayam" - A solo dance by Hamsa Moily! Her character is performing a piece to impress the visiting (British?) tax collector but flubs right at the end when surprising news is heard about her fellow friend and devadasi. The dance appears authentic at first glance, but as I watch it I can't help but think that if you put the dancer in a different costume, set the pace a bit faster, and replaced the music with a commercial Hindi number, many of the movements would fit right in with something I could see an actress like Madhuri Dixit dancing. Surely this is Saroj Khan's influence bearing heavily on the choreography. :) I was hoping to see a lot more authentic and meaningful hand gestures and emotive facial expression, but much of the "abhinaya" here is what I like to call "waving the hands around prettily." In contrast, the pure dance segments are lovely as Hamsa does best with sharp, crisp, fast-paced choreography.

"Ninaival Yennai" - Aditi Rao Hydari's temple dance starts at 1:16 and continues on and off through the song; she dances with her whole soul in this joyous number which makes for a beautiful viewing experience on top of the already gorgeous lighting, artistic focusing, and temple setting. It's the least classical number of the bunch and the dance segments could have been longer, but it's still a lovely watch.

As I mentioned in my review, this film has not to my knowledge been released on DVD which is such a shame! There used to be a trailer on YouTube but the uploader made it private for some reason. So the only public resource left is the official website which has sort of languished, unupdated. Maybe if enough of us pester the website contacts they will get the message that there is interest in this film being distributed on DVD. :)

Kamala's Dances in Jwala (Hindi, 1971)

2012-01-11T20:59:00.004-07:00

I have found two more Kamala Lakshman film dances! Yay! I happened upon them today completely by accident while searching for videos of Gopi Krishna's choreographies. When I saw a girl who looked suspiciously like Kamala in the Hindi film Jwala, I took a look at the credits and to my surprise "Kamla Laxman" was part of the cast! After browsing through the film, it looks like Kamala dances in the two songs below and has two short scenes where she speaks to the hero. This is fascinating as I had thought Kamala's dances in Konjum Salangai (Tamil, 1962) were the latest filmwork I would ever get to see of hers, but Jwala was released almost ten years later in 1971!

But...don't get too excited. This film and its dances are simply terrible! The colors (Eastman Color?) are horribly washed out and offtone, the costume designer must have been on an acid trip, and the whole thing is one big, gaudy, ugly, kitschy mess! It's not the kind of thing you would expect Kamala to have participated in.

Shhh... we won't tell anyone!

This is the first time I've been disappointed by Kamala's film dances. Her dances in Veerakkanal were the first time I'd seen her stray from a classical dance basis and get closer to popular commercial numbers, but the dances were still fairly enjoyable because she brought her special talents to the table. However, here in Jwala, the choreography, costumes, and sets she's been given would be hard for anyone to overcome. No hint of classical influence can be found in the movements which is perhaps why she doesn't excel here. I wonder why she agreed to do these dances... perhaps Gopi Krishna's involvement as one of the choreographers had something to do with her participation and expectations.

"Haule Haule" - You can immediately tell which dancer is Kamala as soon as she descends the steps and starts her quick moves, and as the song continues it's clear she's the best dancer in the room. There are a few moments of brilliance where her speed shines through (and she does one of her backbends at 8:13), but the choreography is mostly quite sloppy, disjointed, and tacky. It doesn't pass the "do I want to watch this dance again" test, which I never thought would happen with a Kamala number!
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"Mere Jwala Naam" - Kamala can first be seen in this song as the second "leopard tamer" before becoming the focus of the dance number. The leopard presence must explain why she has such hideous leopard-print fabric sewn onto her costume!! Oh it's so ugly, I can hardly stand it! Avert your eyes if you must! Other than the beginning (which shows off Kamala's skills in fast movements), Kamala just prances about like any other run-of-the-mill b-grade Hindi film heroine. Sad, really.
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So now that you've seen Kamala in action, here is my question: this movie was released in 1971, which means Kamala would have been 37! Does she look 37 to you?! She doesn't to me! I suppose she is one of those people that forever looks much younger than their age.

Here's a few more screencaps of Ms. Kamala and her credits:

I think this last one is Kamala in one of her speaking scenes, but she looks so much thinner than everywhere else! hmm..

Malavika's Dances and the film Ananda Bhairavi (1983, Telugu/Kannada)

2012-01-06T17:56:00.005-07:00

Some of my top favorite classical dances in Indian films can be found in the relatively-obscure 1983 film Ananda Bhairavi (made in Telugu and Kannada). I've finally learned enough about the dancers in this film, and the film itself, to give the film some recognition and praise its main dancer, Malavika!

Film Background and Plot

From Cinegoer.com

Ananda Bhairavi is a very low-budget, village-based film about traditional practitioners of the Indian classical dance form Kuchipudi and their personal struggles with tradition in relationships. It is apparently set in the actual Kuchipudi village in Andhra Pradesh where the dance form originated and got its name.

Surprisingly, the film is said to have beat Saagara Sangamam (Salangai Oli in dubbed Tamil) for the coveted Golden Nandi Award in the 1983 Telugu state awards. K. Vishwanath did not direct this film as one might assume; it was actually directed by Jandhyala who was best known for directing Telugu comedy films but had a connection to K. Vishwanath in writing dialogues for many of his dance and culture films (including, amusingly, Saagara Sangamam). Unfortunately, it seems the film was not a big commercial success and has largely been forgotten, especially when compared to the similar film released that same year, Saagara Sangamam. I think it was because Ananda Bhairavi just wasn't on the same magical level as its successful peer films about dance that followed in Shankarabharanam's footsteps; the film is also a bit rough around the edges and feels a little "claustrophobic" in that, outside of the songs, most scenes are just people talking and the viewer doesn't feel very engaged.

I've watched both the Telugu and Kannada versions of the film, and the dialogue and character-specific scenes were reshot for each language version while the dances seem to be edited slightly differently but not reshot (except for dialogue segments). Since neither version had English subtitles (despite the Kannada DVD by Moser Baer saying it has subs--liars!), I've resorted to gathering the unclear details about the plot from bits of chatter online.

The film tells the story of a Kuchipudi guru (Girish Karnad) whose young son Rajeev does not want to learn the family dance tradition and runs away. The guru, impressed by the folk dance performance of a little girl named Bhairavi in his village, "adopts" Bhairavi to learn Kuchipudi dance in a traditional, guru-shishya relationship. Since women learning Kuchipudi was not a traditionally accepted practice at the time, the guru is shunned by the traditional community in his village. The guru presses on teaching the girl who grows into a stunning Kuchipudi dancer (Malavika). When Bhairavi runs into the guru's now-grown son Rajeev (Rajesh), the two fall in love much to the dismay of the guru. Why the guru is unhappy about the relationship is not clear; one person online said it was because the guru saw his son as an obstacle between the guru's protege and his pride, while another said it was because the girl was from a low caste and the guru's traditional values could not allow him to accept such a person as a daughter-in-law through marriage. Whatever the reason, it appears that the guru, finally seeing the hypocrisy of his going against tradition to train a female Kuchipudi dancer but not letting Bhairavi go against tradition in marriage choice, approves of the marriage and the two are wed. The film ends on an artsy note which I won't spoil but involves the guru performing a thrilling tandav dance.

Girish Karnad as the Kuchipudi guru

Malavika as Bhairavi, the guru's student

Rajesh as Rajeev, Bhairavi's love interest

The Dancers Behind the Dances

Finally! I have identified the two main dancers seen in this film! They are:

Malavika. The female dancer in the film, the adult Bhairavi character, has been credited online as Malavika (and occasionally Mallika). I found a confirmation that her name is indeed Malavika over on the Idlebrain discussion boards where a commenter identified the actress as Malavika, said Malavika was an Odissi dancer, and claimed she had closely followed Malavika's dance programs on Doordarshan. So who is this Malavika and what is her last name? After going on a little Minai-research-journey I haven't had much success. She is clearly not the famous dancer Malavika Sarukkai or the Hindi film and Doordarshan serial-starrer Malavika Tiwari. The one person I am stuck on is the dancer Malavika Venkatasubbaiah who has a striking resemblance (those almond-shaped eyes!) and has studied Bharatanatyam, Odissi, and Kuchipudi. The only problem is that she looks too young (the Ananda Bhairavi Malavika would have aged 30 years by now), and her bio says she trained under her main Bharatanatyam guru starting in 1990 and has been an "active performer for over 14 years." But... just look at this resemblance:

Ananda Bhairavi Malavika (left), Malavika Venkatsubbaiah (right)

It seems that Malavika, whoever she is, never acted in any other films and was a "one hit dance wonder." Such a shame, as she was incredibly gifted. If I do ever confirm her real identity, I will come back and edit this post; I'm just dying to see some of her other dances!

Bhagavathula Venkata Rama Sarma. I received a lovely comment on the Telugu-version song "Koluvaithiva Ranga Sai" I posted on YouTube; it was the male dancer's son identifying the dancer as his dad, Bhagavathula Venkata Rama Sarma, a leading Kuchipudi dance master in Andhra Pradesh who currently runs the dance institute Sri Nrutya KalaSala and is director of the Sri Nrutya Art Academy. See! This is exactly why I love blogging and posting videos as it brings together people and information in unprecedented ways. How nice to see that the dancer is still active in dance nearly 30 years later.

The Dances!

And now, my favorite part of the film: all the wonderful dances! Since the Telugu version's print is really terrible and damaged (the DVD makers even formally apologize before the film plays), all the videos below are from the Kannada version.

"Guru Brahma" (Telugu version) - This is the first of two "practice" songs in the film, but unlike most it shows the actual guru-shishya relationship and teachings of the mudras (hand gestures). The little girl who plays the young Bhairavi is completely adorable, and quite a good dancer.

"Chaitrada Kusumaanjali" (Chaithramu Kusumanjali in Telugu) - Continuing from the video above, here we see young-Bhairavi turn into young-woman-Bhairavi played by the amazing Malavika! This is the first glimpse we have of her beautiful, geometric lines. Despite the lower production values, there are clear attempts at creating beautiful visuals.

"Malagiruveya Ranganatha" (Koluvaithiva Rangasayi in Telugu) - This is the first dance competition where Bhairavi (Malavika) is pitted against a male Kuchipudi dancer (Bhagavathula Venkata Rama Sarma) and gets to prove her mettle! Unfortunately, due to the drama seen in the song, Bhairavi is distracted (understandably!) and loses much to the dismay of her guru who felt this was his opportunity to show that traditional community that teaching a girl Kuchipudi was a fruitful and worthy decision (I think). Though the editors favor lots of short, choppy cuts, what's left is the exquisite visuals of Malavika's sharp posture and lines. She elevates her choreography to something that I can watch repeatedly. I don't even know quite how to put it into words... she's just brilliant.

"Shiva Tandava" - This is the second dance competition between Bhairavi and the male Kuchipudi dancer, and this time it's a fiery and passionate Tandav! As I noted on my post about Tandav dances, I love the energy these kinds of dances create. It's electrifying, and this song does a great job in ramping up the excitement (aided through tons of quick editing cuts) more and more until the climax. Luckily Bhairavi wins this round which garners she and her guru the support of the traditional crowd who had not been pleased thus far.

"Thillana" - A four-stage dance number featuring Kuchipudi (by Malavika), Kathak, Manipuri, and Kathakali dancers! What a rare treat to see all four attempted in a film song in what appears to be decently authentic costumes and inspired choreography. The best part is the rousing finale as each drum enters in succession and all four dancers are visible on screen.

"Haaduva Muraliya" (Pilichina Muraliki in Telugu) - The romantic song in the bunch, here Rajeev and Bhairavi prance about and admire each other's post-puberty status (Bhairavi really digs Rajeev's chest hair!). Bhairavi has some cute little mini dance moves throughout. Note that the beginning does a skip a little bit.

Practice Scenes - I remember when I first watched this scene long ago I was new to South Indian films and completely captivated by Malavika's half sari! Recognize the song they are singing? It's the same one, Raghuvamsha Sudha, that Kamal Hassan danced to in Sanam Teri Kasam, and apparently it's a popular Carnatic music piece.

"Baa Baa Raagavaagi" (Raa Raa Ragamai in Telugu) - Rajeev, Bhairavi's thwarted love interest, crashes her wedding and inspires Bhairavi to perform a tandav dance and reunite! There's a little too much of Rajeev getting beaten up and kicked out (they even try to smash his dear flute!) but once Bhairavi starts her dance it's pretty awesome.

Ending Tandav Dance - Girish Karnad gives one last performance with a powerful tandav dance performed in an altered state. The choreography is simple but effective in transmitting the power of the dance and moment to us, the viewer. There's a spoiler right after this scene, so I'll leave it at that!

Coming soon... two more posts about underappreciated dancers in underappreciated 80s films!

Indian Dances in Western Films about India: Part 4 (Coproductions)

2012-01-01T19:52:00.013-07:00

At last, the final installment of the "Indian Dances in Western Films about India" series! This post looks at Indian dances in Western-Indian historical coproductions about India. As I was finishing up Part 3 I realized that I had not included the gorgeous Padmini dances from Pardesi, a crime for sure! I wasn't sure where they would fit in this series since the film was a coproduction between India and the Soviet Union...thus, Part 4 was born. Coproductions with India get to "cheat" in the sense that they have lots of Indian assistance and input which results in more authentic dances. Unfortunately outside of Pardesi I've only been able to find one other coproduction with classical-inspired dances in it, so I've split this post into two sections: Soviet-Indian coproductions and the film Jhansi Ki Rani.

Soviet-Indian Coproductions

Raj Kapoor in Shree 420

Russian interest in Indian films is a fascinating subject of study! A couple great reads are the article "Soviet-Indian Coproductions: Alibaba as Political Allegory" by Masha Salazkina (library/university access required) and the book "Indian Films in Soviet Cinemas: The Culture of Movie-Going After Stalin" by Sudha Rajagopalan (Google Books). From these sources I learned that Soviet-Indian cinematic ties began in the 1950s and seem to have sprung from the political affinity of India and the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union apparently kicked things off by "courting neutralist India" and sending a group of filmmakers and officials there which was reciprocated in a visit by Indian filmmakers in 1954 resulting in an "official proclamation of friendship and cooperation between the cinemas of the two countries." It was very interesting to read that Raj Kapoor was a member of the Indian visiting group (along with Bimal Roy, Nargis, and others) and was said to have taken "copious notes" when the group visited the Soviet Institute of Cinematography, the "world's first film institute." Kapoor seems to have been a critical component of the Soviet-Indian film friendship and there are lots of Russian connections in his work; one of the most endearing was his song about his Russian hat and Indian heart in "Mera Joota Hai Japani" from Shree 420.

Russian Sholay

Soviet people were exposed to Indian films beginning with an Indian film festival held that same year, 1954, in several soviet cities (Awara was apparently the big hit), and the interest exploded from there. It's very sweet to read accounts of Soviet people's love for Indian films and of how Indian stars were royally received there. The colorful escapism, melodious songs and beautiful stars of Hindi films seemed to capture the popular imagination of Soviets living in a struggling, postwar environment where Hollywood film releases were strictly controlled. Perhaps the Soviet people identified with the social issues and colonial legacy themes found in early Indian films and later with the "angry young man" films highlighting the frustrations of the underprivileged in the 70s and 80s. The political climate of de-Stalinisation beginning in the mid 1950s provided a ripe environment for Indian films to flourish as the new government "initiated the relative liberalisation of leisure and culture, and displayed renewed interest in addressing popular tastes." Postwar Russian cinema still "toed the party line" but began to focus on the "nuclear family and its trials instead of the larger, state-centered epic narrative of the victorious nation"; Indian melodramas clearly fit perfectly into this trend.

Even more fascinating than the popularity of Indian films in the Soviet Union were the intentional coproductions created jointly by the two countries. Salazkina points out that most of these coproductions sought to have equal representation from each county in all functions, even up to the point of having two directors, one from each country. These coproductions were "meant to create films that would hybridize each culture's favored motifs and narrative structures, in the hopes of creating truly popular films." Here are all the Soviet-Indian coproductions she lists: Pardesi (Khozhdenie Za Tri Moray, 1957); Black Mountain (Chernaya Gora, 1971); Rikki Tikki Tavi (1975); Eastward, Beyond the Ganges (Voshod Nad Gangom, 1975); Alibaba and the 40 Thieves (1980); Sohni Mahiwal (Legenda O Lyubvi, 1984); Shikari (Po Zakonu Dzhunglei, 1991); and Ajooba (Chernyj Prints Adzhuba, 1991). Mere Naam Joker (1970) and Mother India (1957) are not listed because they were not full coproductions like the above films and only had some Russian assistance.

I've browsed through all of the coproductions that are available to view online and with the exception of Pardesi, most look like native Indian films and seem modeled after the masala commercial style of Sholay. They starred well-known Hindi film stars (Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Zeenat Aman, Dimple Kapadia, etc.), and the Russian presence seemed to only be visible in the inclusion of a blond-haired character or two. Pardesi really stands alone in its obvious goal of having clear visual markers of its joint origins; it also is unique in having an artsy bent and featuring some beautiful semi-classical dances.

Pardesi (Khozhdenie Za Tri Moray in Russian, 1957) - The first Soviet-Indian coproduction ever, this film (also known as Journey Beyond Three Seas or Travels Beyond the Three Seas) was based on the travelogues of a Russian merchant (Afanasy Nikitin) who visited India in the fifteenth-century. The Dusted Off blog has an excellent, detailed review of the film with lots of screencaps. The film used to be available with English subtitles online but is now viewable (without subtitles) at Russian film studio Mosfilm's YouTube Channel here. Mosfilm's channel is quite awesome- they've uploaded a ton of classic Russian films that seem otherwise hard to find; the only detractor is most of the channel is in the Cyrillic Russian script, and Google translate only gets you so far.

Padmini dances two sumptuous numbers in the film and has a small acting role--her presence greatly surprised me! The Indian films and stars that were most popular in the Soviet Union were Hindi films and stars, and Padmini was best known and did her best work in South Indian (Tamil/Telugu/Malayalam) films. I would have expected Vyjayanthimala to be recommended for the role given her Hindi film and dance hits in the early-to-mid 1950s. At first I thought Padmini must have been recommended for her role in Pardesi by Raj Kapoor (an essential figure in Soviet-Indian coproductions as mentioned in the intro) but then I realized her films with him weren't until 1960 (Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai) and 1970 (Mera Naam Joker). After strolling through all the wonderful Padmini posts at Richard's Dances on the Footpath blog, it seems the Hindi film world at the time of Pardesi's making would have only known of Padmini from her dances in the Hindi films Mr. Sampat (1952) and Shiv Bhakta (1955). Maybe Raj Kapoor, the likeliest person to have brought Padmini to the Pardesi production, was a fan of her more prolific South Indian film work at that time. That might also explain why she later was featured in some of his films. :)

Temple Dance - The entire scene leading up to this dance is worth a watch for the striking cinematography and use of the color medium. Oleg Strizhenov, who plays the Russian merchant, is led through the Indian temple as he gazes around with utter amazement. Doesn't Oleg have the most striking looks? Piercing eyes and an almost luminescent face! But none more luminous than the stunning Padmini who dances here with what I can only describe as the 'Padmini X-factor.' With Padmini it's all about the little things- the facial expressions, the side-bobs of the head... the way she puts everything together into a graceful, effortless whole. Her performance here is simply mesmerizing.

Embedding disabled; click image to link. Dance should begin at 10:16.

"Nadir Dheem Tana Dere Na" - The appearance of the South Indian veena instrument in this song was a nice find; doesn't Padmini look gorgeous and regal draped along it! Her dance performance is just as lovely, and I love how far her backbends extend. If only the choreographer of this film was known (anybody who knows Russian want to translate the credits for me? pretty please?)! Certainly Padmini must have had a great influence on her movements.

Embedding disabled; click image to link. Dance should begin at 31:20.

Jhansi Ki Rani (Hindi, 1953)

While this film doesn't appear to be a full-fledged "friendship" coproduction like the Russian ones above, it had a lot of Western help so I think it qualifies. It was directed by Sohrab Modi, and among the many Western names in the technical credits is Ernest Haller (Director of Photography) who is best known for his cinematographic work in Gone with the Wind. The film was also substantially cut down in length and released in the US as "The Tiger and the Flame" in what appears to be 1956. The full 2-hour Hindi version is available at Shemaroo's YouTube channel here; strangely, it is in black and white although the film bills itself as the "first Technicolor film in India." I wrote a brief review of the US version of the film here.

As I watched the credits I was excited to find part of the dances were choreographed by Madame Simkie! 'Simkie' was a long-time dance partner of Uday Shankar in his company! Shankar's dance style stamp is clearly evident in the two lovely dances from the film below. The choreography has many influences from the dances of Kerala (like Mohiniattam and Kathakali) that give it a lilting, spiraling touch with no sharp or geometric lines. Simple, but very lovely, and a great example of what Uday Shankar's dances must have been like! I'm quite positive that Vinod Chopra must have choreographed the British ballroom dance seen in the film.

Court Dance - What a strange yet beautiful dance this is! I hated it when I first saw the film a few years ago, but it's grown on me more and makes more sense now given the Uday Shankar connection. It's a stage/court dance done for the king and queen and while it features some eccentrically dressed male dancers (looks like the costume designer was going for a Kathakali/Kerala folk influence, but what's with the big, fluffy wig?), the group of female dancers are my favorite with their graceful, soft movements choreographed into nice patterns. The female soloist is introduced with rising flames at 36:22 and has a truly ugly costume! Last, don't forget to note the most bored drum player ever at 34:33. (The color version of this dance in the US version is available here).

Embedding disabled; click image to link. Dance should begin at 33:34.

Climax Dance - Placed right before the climax of the film, this dance is annoyingly interspersed with military action clips. Like the first dance above, it looks just like something Simkie would have choreographed. The movements are simple but beautiful, and I spy some slight Mohiniattam and Kathak influences throughout. (The color version of this dance from the US version is available here).

Embedding disabled; click image to link. Dance should begin at 1:58:24.

So who is the main female dancer in both of these numbers? I've speculated for some time that it is Kathak exponent Roshan Kumari given that she is credited as having danced in this film. However, now having given some screencaps a closer look I'm not so sure! Take a look:

Roshan Kumari in Jalsaghar
Unknown dancer in climax dance, Jhansi Ki Rani
Unknown dancer in court dance, Jhansi Ki Rani

Now I'm all confused! Neither of the dancers really look like Roshan Kumari. The climax dancer bears the closest resemblance, but the more I look at the screencaps the more I see the differences; while she has the same high cheekbones, her nose is very wide and bulbous at the end and her face shape longer and thinner than Roshan's. I had the thought that perhaps there was a big time gap between the two films and maybe Roshan was much younger in Jhansi Ki Rani, but there is only a five year difference. I know! Maybe Roshan had a nosejob! ;)

On that note, the series has come to a close! Happy New Year!

Choreographer/Dancer Jack Cole and "Hindu Swing"

2011-12-18T16:44:00.011-07:00

Ever heard of choreographer Jack Cole and “Hindu Swing?” Four weeks ago I had not either, but I think this could be one of the grooviest discoveries I've ever made on this blog.

While researching films about India and Orientalism for my "Indian Dances in Western Films About India" post series, I came across the article "The Thousand Ways There Are to Move: Camp and Oriental Dance in the Hollywood Musicals of Jack Cole." Clearly an interesting article just from the title, but as I read it my fascination was piqued when I read that Cole fused ethnic movements (most notably East Indian) into his choreography, started out as a Denishawn dancer, and studied with Uday Shankar! A Hollywood choreographer that studied with Uday Shankar? Tell me more! Tell me more!

The article discussed in detail the number “Not Since Nineveh” that Cole choreographed for the Arabian-themed Hollywood film Kismet (1955) and it emphasized his use of clear signifiers of Indian dance. OK, I figured there would maybe be some Indian-inspired hand gestures, some pretty arm movements, some namaste hands….

...but nothing prepared me for THIS:

“Not Since Nineveh” - Kismet (1955)

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a dance in Hollywood so brilliantly inspired by the geometry and precision of Bharatanatyam! I’m simply in awe. The Indian inspiration coupled with the syncopated jazz music makes for a completely new visual experience. "Hindu Swing" indeed, though the coinage of the religious term "Hindu" instead of "East Indian" is curious and likely a product of the time period. The dancers Cole used were clearly up to the challenge of his rigorous choreography; Reiko Sato, the princess in the middle, steals the show with her forceful, perfectly controlled, and expertly embellished movements. McLean, in an interesting take on the number, describes it and all other oriental Cole numbers as "unmarked transvestism" that Cole used as a "hidden" way to express his homosexuality (he was a closeted gay man); she notes how the princesses have fully-covered bodies and are masculine powerhouses with swords and gestures while the men are shirtless and dress rather femininely. I think the number is simply perfect, but apparently Cole felt the editing left out "some of his best choreography." You mean there's even more on the "cutting room floor"?! (TCM).

Cole's Indian-Inspired Film Dances

The spectacular number "Not Since Nineveh" above was not Cole's only film musical choreography inspired from classical Indian dance (and some folk dance). Here are four more numbers I located:

“Diwan Dances Part 1 (Rahadlakam)” - Kismet (1955) - While the number starts off on a humorous note with Zubediya of Damascus’ entertaining but frenzied orgy of movement in circle-boned pants, she is soon followed by two stunning dances by Samaris of Bangalore and the Princesses of Ababu. Nearly all of the movements of Samaris of Bangalore are exceptionally close to Bharatnatyam adavus; just look at how rigidly she holds her torso and arms in a quirky and uber-stylized manner. However, her costume is most certainly not inspired by Bharatanatyam and looks more like something from Burmese or Cambodian classical dance (but fits right in as South and Southeast Asian anachronisms are common in the film). Her performance is sadly way too short and quickly overshadowed once the Princesses of Ababu begin. Ahhhh... the Ababus! Look at how their arms are strictly held straight on a horizontal plane, how the hands gesture in a very stylized way, the use of Kathak-inspired hand-spins, the quirkiness, the precision! Brilliant. Not brilliant enough, apparently, for the caliph who “has made no decision!”

“Bazaar of the Caravans” - Kismet (1955) - Cole takes some inspiration from Indian folk dance and has the men performing the very neat movement where the items they are holding in their hands are swung up and down in an S shape without ever being turned upside down.

“Fate (Reprise)” - Kismet (1955) - A bizarre number with only slight inspiration from Indian dance in the raised arms with limp hands and the spins that remind one of Kathak chakkar spins or sufi rounds (Cole does also include proper sufi dancers in the beginning of the film).

“Rhythm of a New Romance” - On the Riviera (1951) - While this dance number is completely silly (I love Danny Kaye's "INDIA!" exclamation!), it’s delightful to see the Bharatanatyam and South Indian folk dance-inspired costumes and movement. I can see a lot of similarities to Not Since Ninevah in the upward arm waves and the head movements. Loney notes that this number was choreographed and staged by Cole and "used a score of Cole-trained dancers, many showgirls, lavish sets, an obligatory staircase, and Kaye and Verdon dancing [...] with Rosario Imperio featured as a Spanish dancer" and Cole filling in for a sick background dancer (though I have trouble recognizing him.... could he be the male dancer in the India segment?!). Another song from the film, "Popo the Puppet," is worth watching for Cole's creativity.

So...Who Was Jack Cole?

Check out this trailer for "Jack Cole: Jazz," an in-production documentary by Annette Macdonald and Timeline Films that is unfortunately delayed due to a lack of funding:

Jack Cole is often called the “Father of Jazz Dance” since his “Cole technique” and the way he evolved jazz dancing originating with Black Americans was highly influential in theater and film dance. He was known for his extremely precise and isolated movements and for his innovation of combining ethnic (notably East Indian, but also Afro-Cuban, Harlem, Spanish, and some Irish) and modern/jazz movements with jazz music. Nightclubs, Broadway shows, and Hollywood films (and some TV shows) were the three commercial arenas he focused on and where his creativity flourished. There are some differences of opinion in how exactly Cole should be placed in dance history; even Cole himself thought his style was perhaps better termed "Broadway Commercial" (Loney). I like Constance Valis Hill's explanation best:

"I am not sure that Cole should be hailed the “Father of Modern Jazz Dance”—what a dubious distinction to father the mongrel hybrid of a dance that was postwar jazz. But Cole’s extraordinary, although highly idiosyncratic, contribution to the jazz continuum is how he played the movement rhythms of Indian Bharata Natyam, Cuban rumba, and American jitterbug over and against jazz swing. Strutting in slow motion, sliding over the measure, pulsing in double and triple time, flick-kicking off the beat, and snapping out precision-timed isolations to the beat, Cole drummed the body. Dancing the jitterbug in a Brooks Brothers suit, his hair crewcut, Cole’s updated and cooled-down movement aesthetic distinguished “modern” jazz dance from anything that had come before it."

Jack Cole's East Indian Sources

Jack Cole, 1930s

My biggest question in learning about Cole and watching his phenomenal choreography has been: where did he learn such precise Bharatanatyam-inspired movements? Before and during his time there were many other dancers who were interested in the dances of India and created Indian-inspired choreographies of widely-varying authenticity. A general orientalism and interest in other cultures had been present in the US for some time, and dancers like Ruth St. Denis, Ted Shawn, and La Meri were all presenting "Indian" dances as part of their repertoires. But nobody ever did anything like Cole!

Ruth St. Denis - Source

Cole's initial introduction to "Indian" dance likely began when he joined and toured with Denishawn (Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn's school) which featured a great deal of oriental-inspired dance numbers. Everything I've gathered about Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn seems to indicate that their ethnic dance pieces relied more on grand costumes/sets and exotic choreography gleaned from their study of pictures and their imagination rather than learning from actual ethnic practitioners.

The book “The Drama of Denishawn Dance” breaks down the movements of many of Denishawn’s pieces as remembered by 1920s Denishawn dancer Jane Sherman. As Sherman describes Indian-inspired pieces such as “Nautch Dance,” “Dance of the Apsarases,” and “In the Bunnia Bazaar,” there are only descriptions of foot stamps with ankle bells, chassee and ballet steps, spinning while holding the edges of skirts, and some teasing movements of the hands and arms; none of it sounds particularly authentically Indian and was likely inspired by whatever St. Denis saw of the touring "Nautch Dancers" performing at American fairs of her time (for a fascinating discussion of this, see Priya Srinivasan's excellent article). These three rare videos of St. Denis performing her “Nautch Dance” piece sums this up visually. The first two I will link since I can't embed them (Legend of the Peacock, Radha), but the third I've embedded below:

Ted Shawn’s humorous “Cosmic Dance of Shiva” piece was said to be created after he studied hundreds of Indian sculptures and paintings featuring the dancing Shiva, learned of the creation/destruction myths in Hinduism, and learned "Indian dance" in India for five months during the Far East tour. Shawn claimed he “asked Siva before every presentation of his solo to take possession of his human body to express the beauty, rhythm, and power of the god’s being” (Sherman). Sounds like it would be quite the dance attempt, right? This, ladies and gentleman, was the result:

So while I'm not an expert on Denis and Shawn's works, I think I've made a good case for their choreography not being particularly authentic and thus not a source for Cole's classically-derived movements.

When Jack Cole moved to New York City and began his nightclub circuit and later film work, he put himself in an area rich with opportunities to learn authentic ethnic dances. It appears the biggest known contenders for influencing his Bharatanatyam inspirations were La Meri, Uday Shankar, and Bhaskar Roy Chowdhury.


La Meri - Mohan Khokar Archives

"By the late 1930s, Cole began an intensive study of "authentic" East Indian dance with the American-born dancer La Meri, who states, "From me he wanted the adavus of classical Bharata Natyam, and these I gave him." Cole mastered the technique--the cobra head movements, undulating arms, subtle hip-shoulder isolations, precise "mudra" hand gestures, and darting eye actions (Hill)." La Meri is said to be the "first 20th century American dancer to actually pursue the study of foreign dance languages--the movements, the choreographic forms, the styles, and the cultural components." She "grew up seeing performances like Loie Fuller, Anna Pavlova, Denishawn, and Diaghilev's Ballets Russes" and first saw Indian dance at an Uday Shankar concert in France in the 1930s (Ruyter). In an autobiographical account, La Meri said she learned Bharata Natyam in Madras and mentions the name of the devadasi Shrimata Gauri Ammal (Renouf).

La Meri, 1937 - Source

It seems that La Meri may have started out in an orientalist vein reminiscent of Ruth St. Denis (and exemplified by the picture above), but she clearly later sought authentic dance instruction and was interested in teaching authentic dance movements to others and writing research texts about the subject like her 1977 book Total Education in Ethnic Dance. How authentic she danced is hard to judge without actually seeing video of her Bharatanatyam interpretation (versus her ballet-influenced works like the "Swan Lake using Hindu Gesture technique" viewable at Jacob's Pillow), but the picture to the right looks promising. La Meri could have been a source for Cole's crisp movement, but it seems more likely that she influenced him more generally in terms of the araimandi half-seated posture, hand gestures and eye movements, etc.

Next up? Uday Shankar (brother of Ravi Shankar) whom Cole is said to have studied with and asked him to teach his students and ensemble groups whenever he was in town (Loney). I've read that Uday toured the US with ballerina Anna Pavlova in 1923 and again in the 30s with his own troupe, but my impression has always been that his visits were brief and centered on tour performances. Is it possible that he stayed in New York City for extended amounts of time to have enough time to teach Cole and Cole's dancers as extensively as they claim? Even if Uday did, it is unlikely that Cole learned his crisp Bharatanatyam moves from him as Uday's style, while distinctively Indian, didn't seem to come from any specific classical tradition and was more of a mix of various folk and classical movement fusion. It's possible, however, that the North Indian Kathak hand spins (such as those seen by the Princesses of Ababu in "Diwan Dances") may have been an Uday inspiration given Uday's early exposure to Rajasthani folk dances when "his father became prime minister of a princely state in Rajasthan" (Hall).

The last possible known (to me) influence is Bhaskar, whom I happened onto quite by chance. While browsing the web I came across the interesting blog of Sukanya Rahman, granddaughter of Ragini Devi (an American who studied at Kerala Kalamandalam and toured with Guru Gopinath) and former dancer/current artist who recently published a memoir about herself, mother, and grandmother. One of Sukanya's blog entries mentions the dancer Bhaskar Roy Chowdhury who apparently told her “everything Jack Cole choreographed he stole from me.” One wonders if that statement is borne from truth or rather coming from a place of jealousy. Narthaki wrote of Bhaskar after his death in 2003, “Bhaskar Roy Chowdhury, celebrated choreographer and dancer who took the beauty, power and grace of Bharatanatyam in the 1950s to the USA.” After more research, I've learned that he formed a dance company in New York City (“Bhaskar Dances of India Company”) in the 1950s with Indian and American dancers. I think it is a legitimate possibility that Jack Cole may have studied extensively with Bhaskar in the 50s given that they were both based in the same city.

But were Bhaskar's movements just like Uday Shankar's and not quite classically accurate? Luckily, I was able to track down a video of Bhaskar and two dancers from his company performing in the Merchant-Ivory short dance film, The Creation of Woman (1961). While his dancing is mostly just exotic waving-around-of-the-arms/hands and posturing, the male and female dancers do dance some Bharatanatyam that he choreographed (see 7:00, 8:50, 10:18, and 11:40). While I find the dancers' style lacking in crispness, the choreography certainly looks like the kind that would have informed and inspired Cole.

The Creation of Woman (1961)

My theory, therefore, is that Jack Cole received his Bharatanatyam instruction foremost from Bhaskar with lesser influence from La Meri. But there still seems to be something missing. How did he get his movements so sharp and so reminiscent of classical dancers that have spent umpteen years perfecting their art and adavus? I think this influence came from himself! One of the characteristics of "Cole Technique" was his aggressive and sharp style of movement and use of isolations. The geometry and sharp lines of Bharatanatyam was surely a match made in heaven for Cole.

But what differentiates Cole from all the other Indian-inspired western dancers of his day was that he never, to my knowledge, portrayed his Indian dances as authentic. If his setting them to jazz and swing music wasn't enough of a dead giveaway, it's informative to read his approach to his choreography:

“I was interested in the Oriental theater, Japanese and Indian particularly. I was always interested in the culture of people and how they expressed themselves. I never wanted to be—people are always confusing why you are teaching them; they think you want to teach them to be an Indian dancer—but I was trying to expose them to a different attitude, to give them the excitement and the discovery of the thousand ways there are to move that are peculiar and different, totally different, that would never enter your head here. It opens up a new vocabulary of movement" (McLean).

I love this quote because he reminds me a lot of how I felt when I first watched authentic Indian classical dances from South India. The "discovery of the thousand ways there are to move" that I had never seen before or could have even imagined was exhilarating. Beyond that I simply liked the aesthetics of the movements, and this appreciation deepened as I learned the meaning behind the gestures and storytelling and the interplay between the dancer and the complex rhythms of classical Carnatic music.

Cole, dancers performing on TV

Beyond simply liking the movement of ethnic dances, East Indian included, Cole seems to have had a genuine respect for the dance forms as evidenced by his seeking out dancers with authentic training. One of Cole’s former dancers has said Cole would explain the symbolism of all the Indian hand and facial gestures in class. There are also accounts of his authentic dance research when asked to choreograph ethnic film dances, such as when he went to Haiti to study authentic voodoo rituals for a dance number in Lynda Bailey (Loney). Most importantly, it doesn't appear he ever claimed his East Indian dances were anything more than inspiration. After all, he was taking dance movement that spoke to him and creating something new and genius, not claiming some "mystical connection to India" like Ruth St. Denis. He didn't appear to utilize the rich facial expression and abhinaya of Indian classical dances which is critical to the art form. And often, he did not utilize markers of "exotic" and "oriental dance" (e.g., costume, set design) unless the subject matter called for it because the authenticity of the dance was not the point; the point was the movement, and Bharatanatyam-inspired moves can be seen in much of his choreography without any visual signifiers of it being "Indian."

But let's not forget that he was primarily concerned with clubs, broadway, and film productions for which his works needed to be commercially viable. He knew the public would find these ethnic forms fascinating, just as they had done in his Denishawn days. As he said in a magazine interview and during the time he was known as "the King of Exotica," "I'm crazy about this Oriental stuff. I've studied with a lot of Indian teachers." (Gottfried). So while he certainly appropriated Indian dance forms like Bharatanatyam, it seems less egregious to me than dancers like Ruth St. Denis who never sought out explicit authenticity and whose whole method of production and presentation would invite the audience to read the performances as 100% authentic.

Cole, Gwen Verdon in Alive and Kicking

I have noticed that most of his audiences, fans, and reviewers, even today, seem to not make any distinction between his inspired dance movement and authentic dance movement from India. It seems no one ever questioned his "ethnic dance" expertise during his heyday. In the "Jack Cole: Jazz" documentary clip above, Alvin Ailey describes a Port de Bras Cole did as matter-of-factly "East Indian." The movement being shown is only "East Indian" in the way that spinning in a circle is a "Ballet Pirouette." First of all, what is "East Indian" dance anyway? There is no monolithic panIndian dance form, just as there is no sense in asking a person of Indian origin "do you speak Indian?" The "East Indian" dance form Cole seemed most inspired by was the Indian classical form known today as Bharatanatyam. The movement Ailey describes above does feature the hands out to the side in a horizontal line and the head moving around in a circle, but neither of these look specifically like Bharatanatyam; they are loose visual inspirations only. Now the Not Since Nineveh number featured at the start of this post is a whole different ballgame. While it still is not authentic Bharatanatyam, it is so creatively and tightly inspired that it serves as a wonderful homage to the aesthetics of the classical art.

Many admirers of Jack Cole's work and members of dance circles express frustration that Cole seems almost forgotten today especially outside of the theater and dance world. He was and still is "little known outside the circles of concerned dance historians, fans of cult [movie] musicals, and a smattering of dance students fortunate enough to know his work and technique through the classes of his proteges" (Steihl). Much better known are choreographers who have definite influence from Cole such as Agnes de Mille, Bob Fosse, and Jerome Robbins. While some of them apparently deny any Cole influence, Agnes de Mille said in All His Jazz that many choreographers, including herself, Fosse, and Robbins, "all stole from Jack Cole." Just take a look at this video from a 1951 TV program of a Bob Fosse choreographed jazz dance. The Jack Cole influence is immediately and unmistakably obvious.

Some sources I’ve read have suggested that the "Cole amnesia" seen today is due to Cole's having worked in commercial ventures and never dabbling in serious modern dance like Martha Graham; others have suggested it was because he was a closeted gay man, while others have noted Cole’s volatile temper and difficult, sometimes abusive, personality may have discouraged others from paying kind acknowledgment to him. Bob Boross theorizes four additional contributing factors: Cole "never had a big hit show" unlike Robbins or Fosse; he was never employed in a "director/choreographer" role; the "status quo" and film production style of the time period Cole worked in were barriers; and jazz dance fashions evolved and changed after Cole's time. "Former pupils of Jack Cole can become very defensive about him and the respect that is due his memory," says Ries, who believes "it is Cole's teaching and the development of his technique and classes. Here Cole was master [and] the dancers he trained are now passing his training on and though much else has changed, his concepts and technique remain the basis for the modern musical theatre dancer."

There appears to be an effort in recent years to revive his memory and celebrate his works. Chet Walker will present a musical tribute to Cole next year with recreations of his works (video), Jacob's Pillow hosted moderated discussions about his work, and Dancers Over 40 often remembers Jack Cole and has some excellent video uploads of his rare works (check out Sing, Sing Sing).

A nagging theory of mine remains. One of Bob Fosse's characteristic moves was "Jazz Hands." Some have said "Jazz Hands" originated from African dance, but was their popularity influenced by Jack Cole's use of Bharatanatyam hand gestures like the alapadma? Could the "Jazz Hands" derivative "Spirit Fingers" have been popularized by inspirations from classical Indian dance? A girl can dream! ;)

To close, there is much more that could be said about Jack Cole and his public and personal life, but here I've focused only on the information relevant to assessing his Indian-inspired dance style and where it originated. For more reading I would recommend many of the sources below. I'll end with a link to the Dance Heritage Collection website's page on Jack Cole which features a rare video of him in a speaking and dancing role in Designing Woman (1957): 100 Dance Treasures: Jack Cole.

Book and Article Sources:
Boross, Bob - Jack Cole as researched by Bob Boross (FULL TEXT)
Gottfried, Martin - All His Jazz: The Life and Death of Bob Fosse (SELECTED TEXT)
Hall, Fernau - Honoring Uday Shankar
Hill, Constance Vallis - From Bharata Natyam to Bop: Jack Cole's "Modern" Jazz Dance
Loney, Glenn Meredith - Unsung Genius The Passion of Dancer Choreographer Jack Cole
McLean, Adrienne L. - The Thousand Ways There Are to Move: Camp and Oriental Dance in the Hollywood Musicals of Jack Cole (SELECTED TEXT)
Renouf, Renee - La Meri: A Life in Ethnic Dance
Ries, Frank W. D. - Scholarship and Musical Theatre (Review of Unsung Genius above and Marilyn)
Ruyter, Nancy Lee - La Meri and the World of Dance (FULL TEXT)
Sherman, Jane - The Drama of Denishawn Dance
Steihl, Pamyla Alayne - The "Dansical": American Musical Theatre Reconfigured as a Choregrapher's Expression and Domain (FULL TEXT)

Indian Dances in Western Films about India: Part 3 (Orientalism)

2011-12-03T14:01:00.011-07:00

There could be no better way to kick off Part 3 of this post series than this hilarious poster from the film/documentary India Speaks (1933) directed by Richard Halliburton. Click here to view the image in all its full-sized glory (and try to pick your favorite tagline!):

It does put a damper on the fun to realize that the film, seemingly reissued later under different names (Bride of the East, Bride of Buddha, Captive Bridge of Shangri-La), was apparently a violent exploitation film that was withdrawn from release in India due to obvious objections. Awww, you mean it's not a serious historical film gone horribly awry in its pursuit of depicting a "bizarre India"? ;) Even so, it serves as a perfect (albeit extreme) introduction to the underlying attitudes permeating through many older historical empire films about India. I will lightly touch on these attitudes throughout this post but won't go into much depth because this post would turn into a novel! This post is split into four sections: The Incomparable Indian Tomb Films, Deliciously Orientalist, The Exotic "Bellydance" Stereotype, and Brief and Fleeting.

- The Incomparable Indian Tomb films! -

I couldn't ask for a better start to this collection than the wacky dances found throughout the various Indian Tomb films! In Part 2, I briefly noted that the 1918 German book The Indian Tomb has had many German film incarnations. Since it's so difficult to keep track of them all, here's a brief rundown:

1918 - Book Das Indische Grabmal (The Indian Tomb) written by Thea von Harbou published
1921 - 3.5 hour silent film Das Indische Grabmal (The Indian Tomb) released directed by Joe May with screenplay by Fritz Lang and his now wife Harbou; split into two parts (Die Sendung des Yoghi (The Mission of the Yogi) and Der Tiger von Eschnapur (The Tiger of Bengal)). Apparently there was a rift between May and Lang regarding this film; Lang was apparently supposed to direct it originally but was seen as inexperienced so May took the reins much to Lang's disappointment.
1938 - Black and white films Der Tiger von Eschnapur (The Tiger of Eschnapur) and Das Indische Grabmal (The Indian Tomb) directed by Richard Eichberg released; a version with French actors was called Le Tombeau Hindou and Le Tigre du Bengale.
1959 - Fritz Lang's Indian Epic directed by Fritz Lang released; split into two parts Der Tiger von Eschnapur (The Tiger of Eschnapur) and Das Indische Grabmal (The Indian Tomb); Lang finally got the chance to direct the film he wanted to make!
1960 - Journey to the Lost City - The above film condensed into 90 minutes and released in the US.

Das Indische Grabmal (The Indian Tomb, 1938, Germany) - With the enormous statue of a Hindu goddess (though what's with the extra set of arms in front, or are they legs?) and the faux fire torches, this dance number is certainly visually striking. Lest you be only mesmerized by the decor, the film soon distracts you with the "exoticised" dancer Indira and her very sparkly costume that wraps tentacle-like around her body with a minimum of material; the bottom half is some sort of gold undies-fan combination and the tips of her fingers are fitted with metallic cones. And the shoulder accents? The headpiece? It's all so ugly! For most of the song she just writhes and twirls around with some snake arms and graceful hand circle accents that look nothing like dance from India; at 1:49 she really goes to town but is hindered by her unflexible back and painful expression. The dancer, known by the stage name La Jana, was a well-known Austrian-German actress and dancer who became very popular in German films and, from various online references, had quite a following of men (apparently Hitler was among them!).

Fritz Lang's Indian Epic (1959, West Germany) - And now we come to "Fritz Lang's Indian Epic" which is quite epic indeed both in its visuals and its portrayal of an "exotic" India! American actress Debra Paget plays an Indian-Irish "temple dancer" who gets involved in a love triangle between a German architect and the Indian maharaja. Her dance style in the film is... how shall we describe it? It's kinda based on modern European dance and quite similar to the lovingly-named "Cheesecake" film dances featured on pwgr2000's YouTube channel; the dances are only in the lightest of ways (hand gestures, half-seated posture) remotely inspired by Indian dance. What's most fascinating to me is how much the dance style has in common with the 1938 version above. It's almost like Lang decided to one-up Eichberg's film and remake the iconic dance in an epic, larger-than-life fashion with similar but improved choreography. Despite the kitschiness, Paget is such a talented dancer that I can't stop watching her. She has excellent skill and one can only imagine what she could have done with some proper Indian dance!

One of the most interesting anecdotes I read about Lang's film was that it became "something of a cultural icon in the German-speaking world over time, comparable to films like It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) and The Wizard of Oz (1939) in America that wove their thread into the fabric of national culture mainly through holiday television screenings" (Rouge). Really?!

Der Tiger Von Eschnapur (The Tiger of Eschnapur, Indian Epic Part 1)

Practice scene - Yay, the first "practice dance" scene of the series! It serves as a perfect introduction to the dance style seen in the film. The half-seated wide-legged stance, the hand and arm angles, the head roll... it's sort of a fanciful interpretation of the grounded, angular movements of South and Southeast Asian dance combined with a bit of the airy antigravity of European ballet and a touch of inspiration from ancient Egyptian paintings. The music doesn't match the Indian instruments at all, but at least they appear to be authentic Indian instruments!

(embedding disabled - click on image to link to video)

Big Boobie Statue Temple Dance #1 - Like the 1938 version, this film's temple dances are done in front of an enormous statue...except this time all you can focus on are the statue's big boobs! Here, Paget dances the fuller version of her practice dance above and embellishes it with lots of gorgeous ballet twirls. She keeps me watching through to the end (well, except for the boring "erotic" writhing on the statue's palm) because she has such presence! Other than the bells on her feet (placed in a straight line from ankle to toes instead of wrapped around like ghungroos) and her bindi, there's really nothing Indian about her hideous costume. My favorite part of the dance? The look exchanged between the men at 1:57. ;D

Das Indische Grabmal (The Indian Tomb, Indian Epic Part 2)

Big Boobie Statue Temple Dance #2 - For the second temple dance in the film, the scantily-clad factor is upped off the charts! Paget's costume is basically only strategically placed small sheets of sequined jewels. But the signature addition in this dance is the animatronic snake whose face looks just as turned on as the men in the room. ;) Since Paget is practically naked, her dance is pretty much all graceful undulations to show off her nekkidness in front of the, erm, phallic snake...

- Deliciously Orientalist -

Alright, the kitsch and glitz are over! Onto the next group of dances which are, compared to the wonders above, relatively normal in setting and tone despite having a clear orientalist bias. Since a common orientalist stereotype views women in "the orient" as powerless and existing purely for the pleasure of men, these dances are filmed in the perspective of the male viewers and there is always at least one lingering shot of the men gazing satisfied at what's being presented before them. The women are presented as an "exotic other." The most "delicious" oriental depiction is in the pre-dance dialogue of "The Drum," while the other film dances are a bit more subtle.

The Drum (1938, UK) - The Orientalist view of the female dancer is made clear near the end of the dance (around 1:16:02) when the British captain and the Indian king have a most-hilarious discussion clearly designed to paint the Indians as misogynistic and backwards. Like many similar films of the 30s, The Drum seems to be pro-British propaganda with an imperialist view of an uncivilised people; it's release in India caused widespread protests that caused it to be withdrawn (for more fascinating information about this see the chapter "The Drum (1938): The Myth of the Muslim Menace" from Colonial India and the Making of Empire Cinema on Google Books). Once the dancer finally appears, she mostly just waves her hands and arms around gracefully to vaguely "oriental" sounding music; her costume is the only thing that resembles anything authentically Indian. The credits identify the dancer as Miriam Pieris who was also known as Miriam de Saram and was apparently the "first Ceylonese woman to study, master, and perform publicly, both Kandyan and South Indian dancing." It's a shame she wasn't given better choreography!

King of the Khyber Rifles (1953, USA) - This dancer is so enthusiastic with her hyperactive chest-shimmies and headbobs; her costume is clearly inspired from the folk traditions of northwest India, and she appears to try "Indian-ish" things with her hands but I'm not clear what she's going for. Some classic, gratuitous "male gaze" shots with a full up-and-down track of the eye at 1:19.

The Long Duel (1967, UK)

Dance #1 - English actress Imogen Hassall plays Tara in the film and has two fairly short dance scenes. Here, she basically does little twirly-twirls over and over while the Indian dancers behind her are given clearly more interesting choreography. The way Imogen holds her thumb in forefinger together is an imitation of hand gestures. Standard male gaze shot at 2:09.

Dance #2 - Imogen's brief use of the Katakamukha hand gesture from Bharatanatyam in the beginning of this dance was a nice find. None of the other non-authentic dances from this series have mined the vast catalog of hand gesture in Indian classical dances which I find fascinating; it's such an easy way to "spice up" a dance and "exoticize" it yet it's hardly used. The rest of her dance is blah with a terrible head-bobble attempt at :41. I would much rather watch the Indian dancers that can be seen in the background starting at 1:17- their choreography is infinitely more interesting than hers is!

Black Narcissus (1947, UK) - First and foremost I must mention how sumptuous the Technicolor visuals and cinematography in this film are; they are muted yet rich, atmospheric and otherworldly, and absolutely beautiful. Beyond just soaking in the film's visuals, I noticed there is a small dance by a very native (i.e., faux-tanned) Jean Simmons where she prances about alone in a room. Note the classic "overhead namaste" and headslides and the unusual ("exotic") jewelry. It's very short, and very sensual. The whole film, in fact, is sensual!

(embedding disabled - click on image to link to video)

The Exotic "Bellydance" Stereotype

More than once have I described my love for classical and other dances from India to acquaintances and gotten a response like "oh, I love those little finger cymbals they use!" or "me too! I have a friend who does bellydance!" When I began the research journey for this post series, I fully expected to see lots of "bellydance" routines with women in harem pants and jeweled bra-tops try to passing for native Indian dancers. I've been very surprised that the vast majority didn't have this mixup and actually attempted, however meager, to show dance from India. One caveat: I've not yet delved into the complex history of what Westerners perceive as "bellydance," but I was surprised to learn recently that the general dance form is thought by some to have originated in pre-Vedic India. Certainly since that time the dance has evolved and become associated with or practiced in West Asia as we define it today, and today "bellydance" related dance forms are not associated with India/South Asia as it is defined today. And really, the "bellydance" stereotype I'm referring to is the orientalist vision of the harem-costumed bellydancer that seems to have arisen in the west from such inspirations as the Ballet Russes "oriental" ballet tours, fairs/ exhibitions featuring exotic bellydancers, and popular films such as The Sheik (1921).

Zarak (1956, UK) - A complete b-grade jubilee, Zarak is set on the northwest British India/Afghanistan border in the mid 1800s and features a pseudobellydance routine that is as kitschy and cheesecakey as can be. The dance is introduced by some jubilant white chicks who dance around under such amazing props as a floating sheet and do a little "namaste" hand gesture before whisking themselves offscreen to give the stage to the sexy Anita Ekberg in brownface. Ekberg mostly sways her hips and arms and writhes around some makeshift poles (oriental stripper poles, awesome!) and men. Poor eye-patch man just wants his friend to acknowledge the hotness in front of him! If you really want some entertainment, watch the song before the dance in which a brownface white chick sings about a "Persian Hug."

King of the Khyber Rifles (1953, USA) - While the dancer in this brief scene wears a small "hip fan" on her costume that is inspired by dance costumes in India, her undulating movements are pure "oriental dance" stereotype.

- Brief and Fleeting -

These dances are disappointing because they are so short! All that work to set up the dance scenes with such little resulting footage!

Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935, USA) - The black and white camerawork and set design in this film is gorgeous. Here, the Bengal Lancers (the real-life British cavalry unit stationed on the Northwest Frontier) are welcomed by the king at his court but are quite distracted by the jingling sounds of the entering dancers' bells and jewelry (such a great touch!). "Like the Arabian Nights, isnt it?" one of the Lancers comments. The camera doesn't linger very long on the dancers who only move their arms around while seated on the ground. At 9:54 we finally get to briefly see the dancers performing while standing; aren't their skirts beautiful? The set up could have made for a beautiful, full-length dance number had the director had his priorities straight! ;) Of course, the native dancers can't hold the men's attention once the white chick enters the scene (and if you keep watching, their antics to win her attention are quite funny).

Charge of the Light Brigade (1936, USA) - Clearly shot with care in making artistic contrasts and shadows with the black and white medium, this film takes the easy way out by filming the dance scene with only brief shadows of the dancers moving in the background! We see the dancers briefly rush into the room at the beginning of the scene but they are only seen in shadow afterwards. All that trouble and we don't even get to see them!

The Rains Came (1939, USA) - While I'm completely distracted by the brilliant pokerface of the elderly bejeweled Indian woman (who is actually Russian actress Maria Ouspenskaya but is convincingly Indian!), this scene does has a folk dancer in the background that mostly just spins and waves her hands around. The film also presents a "classical" Indian music in a performance in Part 4, though the music we hear is as far from Hindustani music as can be!

Sharpe's Peril (2008, UK) - I know this dance isn't taking place in some royal court or anything, but couldn't they come up with better choreography then holding the edges of the skirt and awkwardly spinning and bouncing around like five year old girls playing at recess? I suppose the Sharpe series can be forgiven because in Sharpe's Challenge there is a short Kathak performance that is nicely composed; it technically fits in Part 1 but I will just list it here in tandem with its counterpart in the video below.

Der Tiger von Eschnapur (1938, Germany) - The Menaka Indian Ballet dances featured in Part 2 aren't the only dances in this film; a bejeweled to the max La Jana (who did the fabulous dance at the top of this post) does some slow, 'exotic' movements after being inspired by Indian musicians outside her window. She is soon interrupted, but if you continue watching, you can see her unappealing costume- instead of a choli, the costume designers decided to awkwardly wrap a small strip of fabric around her chest. Beyond the dances, I find watching the plethora of generalized "eastern exotic" costumes and jewelry in this film fascinating!

Thus concludes Part 3! As I mentioned in Part 2, I will be adding a Part 4 to discuss coproductions about India and the advantages of insider knowledge that dances from those films received.

Indian Dances in Western Films about India: Part 2 (The Rare)

2011-11-20T19:19:00.002-07:00

Continuing on from Part 1 of the series, here in Part 2 I've listed those dances that don't quite fit in the upcoming Part 3 (orientalist dances) because although they don't appear particularly authentic there is something truly historically special and rare about them and they deserve a space all of their own.

The first two sets of dances are not from British or US films but, instead, Germany! I didn't realize that Germany's interest in India dates back to the Romantic Period and the many German romanticists who found inspiration in Indian writings. Not surprisingly, when films became mainstream a century or so later, quite a few German films concerned the subject of India. The history of "German Indology" is quite fascinating and complex particularly regarding German orientalism (and how it compared to British and French orientalism) and the rise of Nazi ideology in Germany; the book The Indo-German Identification looks like an interesting review of these topics and is previewable on Google Books. OK, on to the dances!

Der Tiger von Eschnapur (1938, Germany)

The 1918 German book The Indian Tomb written by Thea von Harbou has had many German film incarnations and keeping track of them gets really confusing! Let's just say this 1938 version (split in two parts, one Der Tiger von Eschnapur (The Tiger of Eschnapur) and two Das Indische Grabmal (The Indian Tomb)) directed by Richard Eichberg is the second film incarnation; the third version from 1959 will be lovingly covered in all its bizarre glory in Part 3. :) Anything and everything you would want to know about the various Indian Tomb films is covered in this great article from some obscure online magazine called Rouge.

Menaka Indian Ballet Dance #1 - I was floored when I first saw this dance by the Menaka Indian Ballet (credited at the beginning as "Das Indische Menaka-Ballet")! Based on appearance, I'm quite convinced the main female dancer is Madame Menaka herself! I'm under the impression that it's very rare to find 1930s and 40s dance footage of Menaka and her Menaka Indian Ballet company. We all know how rare it is to find footage of Uday Shankar, and it seems to me Menaka's dances have even greater rarity. A bit of background: Madame Menaka, an anglo-Indian woman originally known as Leila Sokhey, had a life very similar to Uday Shankar's. She was inspired by Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova to further Indian dance, apparently was the first to choreograph dance dramas using Kathak moves, her dance company toured the west, and she later founded a dance school. In the clip below I'm excited not only to simply see footage of Menaka but also that the director actually gave the dance central prominence in the scene instead of letting it serve as a background piece. Bravo!

So beyond the excitement of simply seeing this dance and the gorgeous costuming and set, what to say objectively about Ms. Menaka (assuming it is her) and her dance abilities? In this film at least, I'm quite underwhelmed; maybe it's her posture and somewhat disinterested vibe? And the music- what to make of it? It sounds very Southeast Asian to my ignorant ears. I find these fusion dances confusing. They seem more in line (choreography and costumes-wise) with the "modern Indian" dance that Uday Shankar seems to have performed which borrowed from various Indian, Asian and Western traditions and sprang up out of the Bengali renaissance. However, most writings about Madame Menaka describe her as only dancing Kathak and serving as a critical figure in improving the status of Kathak in India. Hmmmm...

The dance starts at the end of the video below and then continues in the second video (it will start automatically, as usual!).

(Continued) - Just look at the regal male dancer at :22; those eyebrows! After a break, the dancers can be seen from afar for a few seconds at 2:06.

Menaka Indian Ballet Dance #2 - A few minutes and an alligator-encounter-and-groovy-tiger-fight-scene later, the Menaka Indian Ballet are seen once again- but this time they are shown so briefly it infuriates me! I feel like yelling at the director to stop filming the man walking and focus the camera on the dancers! Aghh!! After a brief interruption, the dancers are shown one last time (starting at 8:04) with Madame Menaka and a group of women performing for about 15 seconds. The dancers' costumes and choreography are clearly inspired by Kathak- the performance is very lovely, albeit much too short!

A Throw of Dice (Prapancha Prash in Hindi, 1929, Germany)

This silent film created by German director Franz Osten and the Indian producer/actor Himansu Rai is special because from what I've read, it was nearly forgotten until the British Film Institute digitally restored it in 2006. I'm guessing the print was confiscated and then languished in Britain (rather than in Germany) because of Osten's conversion to the Nazi party and his subsequent arrest by the British Raj in India in the 1930s. Not only has the film been beautifully restored, but it was screened with a live orchestral score composed by the talented Nitin Sawhney (see a clip here) and is now available on DVD.

The clip below is from the very small dance scene in the film. While the dancing is very brief and unsophisticated, I love the whole atmosphere- the costumes, the set design, the Indian origin of the main characters, and how rare it all feels. While the filmmakers clearly had a goal of authenticity, a review from the Modernism/modernity journal states it best: "the tension in A Throw of Dice is between a palpable sense of place that compels us to view it as evidence of times past, and the romanticism of its portrayal… [it combines] the abstractions of orientalist fantasies with ethnographic attention to detail, providing what a reviewer of the time called a fascinating 'cultural document.'"

I must admit when I first saw the clip and didn't know a new score had been created for it and I assumed the uploader had added the music; I find the music a bit at odds with what's happening on screen... maybe its the strings overpowering the too faint tabla rhythms? But overall, it's such a treat to see a film that might have otherwise sat in the archives forever! I would highly recommend browsing two other films that along with A Throw of Dice form the trilogy of Osten and Rai's collaborations; they are available full length on YouTube: Light of Asia (1925) and Shiraz (1928). Gorgeous.

Temples of India (1938, Documentary, Britain)

While in Part 1 I noted I wouldn't include documentaries which usually have straight-from-real-life dances that don't fit the theme of outsider constructions of Indian dance, this documentary (travelogue) Temples of India misrepresents Indian dance quite well and thus must be included! I found it by happening upon the wonderful site Colonial Film: Moving Images of the British Empire that offers "detailed information [and some video] on over 6000 films showing images of life in the British colonies" and is a collaboration between university academics and archives (including the BFI which restored A Throw of Dice above!). Though Temples of India isn't one of the small percentage of films/footage available for viewing on the website, the BFI has uploaded it on their YouTube channel! Yay!! Everything is on YouTube these days!

The documentary makes its intentions clear as day from the beginning; as the title flashes on screen, dramatic orchestral swellings and rhythms accost the ears, and then the voiceover says, stunning to hear today, "of all the great religions of the world, the strangest is the weird faith of the Hindus." Seriously? Even though I think the word "weird" in the 30s had a a more 'supernatural' connotation than it does today, it's clear the filmmakers thought India was bizarre. According to the Colonial Film site above, the film was one of many professionally-produced British travelogues by the production company World Window. Temples of India tries to pass itself off as an authentic look at scenes of Hindu temples and worship, but it clearly is more interested in the "exotic factor." I'm seriously impressed by how beautiful the technicolor looks for a 1938 film!

Starting around 6:20, the camera slowly moves past some sadhus sitting on the temple steps meditating; as the camera pans away and through the temple doors, the voiceover tells us "and here within the temple is the holiest of the holies, sacred to Shiva, and the dance of destruction." A male dancer (identified as a "member of the Menaka Indian Ballet" in the credits) in full dance regalia captured amidst gorgeous lighting then performs a dance. The choreography reminds me of the dances from Der Tiger von Eschnapur above in its mish-mash of hard to identify movements and costuming that are likely inspired from Southeast Asian dances. While I find the dance beautiful (despite the rough start), the problem is its presentation as an authentic temple dance! Guess the filmmakers couldn't find any Devadasis to perform for them? :) In any case, it's a treat to see another Menaka Ballet dance and get an idea of what their choreography must have been like!

Alright! Part 2 down, Part 3 to go. And I recently decided I must add a Part 4 that will cover specific kinds of coproductions (especially Russian!). Stay tuned! :D

Indian Dances in Western Films about India: Part 1 (The Classical Era)

2011-11-07T21:31:00.007-07:00

Throughout the past few years, I've not given much attention to historical films about India made in the West. When I was reminded of the Odissi-inspired dances in Mira Nair's Kama Sutra a few weeks back, I had a sudden urge to answer the question "how have Indian dances been presented in Western historical films about India?" A new project was born!

Little did I realize that researching that question leads to the fascinating and complex topic of the depiction of the British empire in India and the British Raj through cinema and television miniseries released back to the early 1900s. There was practically an entire genre of adventure and action "empire films" in the 1930s made by the UK and the US, and the 1980s saw a resurgence of interest in India as evidenced by the many films and lavish miniseries released about the subject. Critical to my research have been sites like these which give excellent lists of empire films and films about India: The British Empire in Film, and The British Empire.

From Kim (1950)

These productions give a fascinating glimpse into how British and other Western cultures constructed a view of their activities in India/South Asia and how that view changed over time. Especially in older films, the British empire in India is painted as a valiant effort to save a "backwards" people from subcombing to their "intractable problems." Indians are presented as exotic, simultaneously fascinating yet barbaric, and in need of British and Western intervention. Often the films are propaganda pieces to garner public support of the occupation and military presence. I'll discuss a bit more detail in Part 3 of this series.

For some fascinating reading on the subject, I would recommend the following books which you can preview much of on Google Books: Colonial India and the Making of Empire Cinema, and Cinema at the End of Empire: Politics of Transition in Britain and India; these look to be interesting books too but aren't available for preview: Outsider Films on India 1950-1990, and Projecting Empire: Imperialism and Empire Cinema.

From Der Tiger Von Eschnapur (1938)

So amid such orientalist and imperial attitudes, how were Indian dances treated in these films? Did white women in brownface just wave their hands around in some sort of bastardized Persian "bellydance" with unusual costumes? Were any authentic South Asian movements utilized in the choreography? Did representations change as the years passed? In attempting to answer these questions, I've split this post into three parts: Part 1 (The Classical Era), Part 2 (Rare Dances), and Part 3 (Dances from the Orient).

I've selected dances mostly from Western historical films about India due to their serious or propagandist attempt at presenting India's history and showing (or not even bothering to research and show) authentic, classical-based and/or courtly dance forms. Modern films like The Love Guru or Marigold with lighthearted or modern "Bollywood" dances have not been included nor have documentaries like Louis Malle's Phantom India because the concern here is about authentic Indian dances being presented in constructed, artistic accounts of the past.

Part 1

The most authentic and beautiful dances in Western historical films and miniseries about India seem to be found in productions from the 1980s with the exception of 1951's The River. The 80s saw a resurgence in interest about India in the UK and the US that was reflected in all the releases about the subject (or perhaps because of the releases?). Think The Jewel in the Crown (1984), A Passage to India (1984), Peter Brooks' The Mahabharata (1989), Gandhi (1982), and even Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984). What was it that led to such a Western fascination about India at that time? Whatever it was, I'm glad it happened because productions of this period finally featured some decent Indian dances to show to Western film viewers.

The question remaining is why were these 80s productions leaps and bounds ahead of their predecessors in presenting Indian dance with degrees of authenticity? I think the answer lies obviously in the motivation of the films production. A 1930s film was concerned with presenting an exotic India and probably never bothered with researching the authenticity of "base" dance forms. Understanding what the 1980s films were concerned with is beyond my knowledge as it would require not only watching all of the films and miniseries and assessing their motivations but also understanding how Britain (and the US) were processing their colonial pasts at that time. But clearly enough time had passed by the 80s that perhaps enough postcolonial assessment and reflection had accumulated to spur film productions that actually sought out more honest depictions of the past including honest, authentic depictions of dance. What's surprised me the most is that after the 1980s, dance depictions seemed to revert back to less authenticity. What was it about the 80s! I'm sure there is lots of academic authorship on this subject; another topic to pursue!

Lord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy (1986, UK, TV Miniseries) - This Masterpiece Theatre miniseries gets a gold star for having the most authentic classical dance of the series! I knew it was going to be great when one of the characters actually identifies the dance to the British as Kathak (wow! It's not just some generic "Indian dance" or "Nautch dance"). But I was floored when the dance began and I saw famous Kathak danseuse Saswati Sen! She's the same dancer who did the lovely Kathak dance in Shatranj Ke Khilari. To top it all off, the actual dance itself is a beautiful and authentic Kathak number. Despite the horrible acting of Gandhi's character in the series, the dances are just right.

The Far Pavilions (1984, UK, TV Miniseries) - Kathak makes another appearance in this HBO miniseries (apparently HBO's first), but this time the dancer spends some time seated and performs a well-rounded mix of abhinaya and pure dance. Despite the shots of the British officer's clearly-pleased "male gaze," I love the respect given to the dance form in the way the number is put together and the tone of the whole performance. I would recommend browsing through this series as it's quite visually lavish with lots of scenes of Indian culture, though there is of course many white folk in awkward brownface (the Indian princess really takes the cake!) and a focus on "backwards" practices like sati and the like.

Later on in The Far Pavilions is a lavish Indian wedding scene which is followed by a brief Rajasthani folk dance that looks to my eye very similar to Kathak at 2:58 (and some folk dance at 3:40). The presentation and quality of the first dance is noteworthy; the performer is clearly trained, and I love the appreciative reaction of her audience when she finishes.

The River (1951, France) - Given that many films about the British Raj take place in the northwest part of India (such as the Northwest Frontier, Khyber Pass, etc.), it is hard to find dance performances originating from South Indian dance traditions. That's why the straight-from-Bharatanatyam-adavus performance in Jean Renoir's lushly-colored The River is so special even if the film is set in Bengal. When I first saw this dance on YouTube long ago I thought it was yet another white girl playing Indian and attempting Indian dance; however, I recently learned that the dancer, Radha Burnier, was Rukmini Arundale's niece and the first graduate of Kalakshetra! While the dance is quite good, especially for a nonIndian film, Radha's movements are a bit lanky with a lack of sharpness and completion (and the less said about her facial expressions the better!) which surprised me given her dance background and my high expectations. But it's always nice to see authentic dancers performing Indian dance in these films instead of some unskilled western person pretending to be Indian, and it's especially awesome to find a South Indian dance (the ONLY one I've seen so far). And above all, this film is head and shoulders above its contemporaries in depicting Indian dance (and music) as it really was.

Queenie (1987, USA, TV drama) - I watched this two-part miniseries many years ago as a teen and was quite taken in by the half Indian character Queenie played by Mia Sara (whom I can never disassociate from Ferris Bueller's Day Off!). I just learned recently that Queenie's character was based on the life of Merle Oberon, "Hollywood's First Indian Actress," who is said to have hid her Indian background and from pictures looks eerily similar to Manisha Koirala. That aside, there is a scene where two Kathak dancers perform at a party but end up being interrupted by a drunk Queenie who thinks she can join in the fun; the dancers appear to be Indian and actually perform authentic movements making for an enjoyable viewing.

The Deceivers (1988, UK) - Despite the distracting presence of Pierce Brosnan, this Merchant Ivory film features a short sequence in which a young boy 'dances' some moves that are sort of inspired by Kathak and folk dance. The dance is part of a larger, tense scene in which members of a secret society of murderers are exposed. It's unfortunate the dance had to just be a sideshow to the violent scene and that the boy basically repeats the same movements with too many shots intercut. I'm very suspicious that the dancer might be the same little boy in Sruthi Layalu and Swarna Kamalam!

New Kamala and Padmini/Lalitha Dance Finds!

2011-11-03T21:47:00.002-06:00

The credit for these finds all goes to cram who has a nice YouTube channel and a knack for finding and posting rare old dance videos and thankfully lets me know about them in the comments.

The picture on the left is Padmini as a dude in the first Digambara Samiyar video below. It was too delicious not to post, ya? :)

"Theeratha Vilaiyattu Pillai" - Vedhala Ulagam (Tamil, 1948) - Back on one of my posts about Kamala dance finds I listed a slew of dances I was hunting for; one of them was "Thoondil Puzhuvinai Pol" from Vedala Ulagam. That song hasn't been found yet, but cram alerted me to another song from the film in which Kamala dances a double role as Krishna and a gopi! It's a more low key number but has some lovely dance movements throughout.

Digambara Samiyar (Tamil, 1950) - A big thanks to Cram who just finished uploading this full movie a few days ago! Fresh off the press! :) There are four new dances that I've never seen before and are amazing finds. I've only been able to find the song titles for three of the five below; if anyone knows the others do let me know.

What a unique and entertaining almost 7-minute number this is! Padmini, Lalitha, and a cute little girl enact some fun drama and village scenes. I love their "travels" on the wayward boat. But best of all is the lungi-tuck attempt by a "male" Padmini at 3:04! The second half is in need of some subtitles for understanding, but be sure not to miss the cute dance at the end!

“Naathar Mudi” - A while back I had posted this song but was frustrated by the moving logo of the company which shall not be named! Thanks to cram, this song is now viewable without the distracting logo which is a great improvement (thought there still is banner text at the bottom). I never get tired of watching this stunning Kamala snake dance. :) Note: I've seen this song also spelled as Naradhar Mudi.

"Yen Intha Pen" - Most fascinating of all has been the discovery that in the film, the song above, "Naathar Mudi," is followed by two additional dance numbers! Here is the first in which Kamala plays a playful double male/female role. I love the vanakkam's with attitude at the beginning! I've been told the lyrics at the beginning are playful banter about the other person's significant other ("there's no point in staring at me because I've already found another boy to marry me... he's from Mumbai... what about your girlfriend... she's from Kashmir and is educated, civilized, and drives a car...). I've impressed by the nice vocal harmonies at the end.

And here is the second dance number that follows after "Naathar Mudi" above. Kamala dances some folksy Kathakish moves in her signature style with a nice costume-switch flourish at the end.

"Mappillai Par" - A cute number where Padmini (on the right) and Lalitha (on the left) mostly mime the lyrics to a couple seated on a swing; apparently they are teasing the bride and groom at the wedding! I wasn't sure it was them at first; they look so, so young!

Natyacharya: An Upcoming Bharatanatyam Documentary

2011-10-22T19:40:00.001-06:00

A while back, I happened upon this gorgeous slow-motion video of a solo Bharatanatyam dancer on YouTube and was completely mesmerized.

Isn't it stunning? I can't take my eyes off of her. For a while I had a difficult time finding more information on where this "teaser" video was from (and I made a couple silly YouTube comments). Now I've got all the details.

The video is from an in-production documentary called "Natyacharya" and based on the life of Guru M.R. Krishnamurthy who studied under Rukmini Devi and then taught at Kalakshetra and later formed his own dance school Kalakshiti (The Hindu). The documentary is being created entirely by DCAM Production Studios, and they now have a short trailer posted on their website which I've embedded below. Clearly the cinematographic skills of the teaser are continued throughout the documentary as evidenced by the creative camera angles and varied focus. It looks so pretty!

M.R. Krishnamurthy is a rather adorable elderly man, and from looking at some of the stills it appears he dances in the film himself. I'm guessing that the woman in the teaser is one of his students at the dance school, and the stills give me the impression that other students dance in the documentary as well.

It's hard to find any updates on the film as DCAM's blog and Twitter page haven't been updated since January. But given the sumptuous shots and a subject matter of Indian Classical Dance, the documentary looks to be a must watch!

Classical Dances from the film Swathi Thirunal (1987, Malayalam)

2011-10-18T18:14:00.002-06:00

Back in my favorite practice dances post and favorite color dances post, I listed two lovely classical dances from the 1987 historical film Swathi Thirunal. Unfortunately, the upload quality was quite terrible, grainy, and hesitant. Since then I've gotten a hold of the film and am happy to not only present those two dances in much better condition but also show a third compilation of practice dances of which very few have been seen online before.

First, a bit of history. When one reads of the history of Mohiniattam dance, two figures are often considered to have been instrumental in ensuring the survival of the dance form to the modern day. The first is Swathi Thirunal, the Maharaja of the princely state/kingdom of Travancore (roughly modern-day Kerala) in the early 19th century, whose patronage of many forms of classical music and dance at his court helped Mohiniattam survive. Kerala's Department of Culture has a nice website dedicated to the life and music of Thirunal. The second figure is Vallathol whose founding of Kerala Kalamandalam in the 1930s revived the dance after a period of decline.

The first figure, Maharaja Swathi Thirunal, is obviously the subject of the film Swathi Thirunal which was directed by Lenin Rajendran. The film focuses not only on Thirunal's poetry and music compositions but also Sugandha Valli, the Bharatanatyam (or more accurately Thanjavur-originated temple) dancer whom the king reportedly fell in love with and undoubtedly had influence on his artistic leanings. The character of Sugandhavalli is performed by the actress Ranjini (who starred opposite Mohanlal in Chithram), and Anant Rag plays the part of Swathi Thirunal.

As expected the film features quite a few short dance scenes as well as two dance songs (a thillana and a padam). I have so much to learn about 19th-century classical dance forms in Travancore and how Bharatanatyam from Tanjore/Thanjavur interfaced with Mohiniattam, how exactly Mohiniattam evolved... as made clear in my post on Devadasi-like dances the subject is vast and rich!

Here are the three dance clips from Swathi Thirunal in quality as good as I could get it; I chose not to crop the black bars out because it degraded the resolution too much. Enjoy!

Dance Scenes Montage - This montage features all of the classical dance practice scenes in the film in the order they appeared. We can clearly see how the king is enamoured with Sugandha Valli starting from when he first sees her teaching students outside the window followed by increasingly private performances. My favorite parts of the montage are (1) :25 where Ranjini shows off how quickly she can move and (2) 4:58 which features Ranjini dancing to kathakali-rhythm fusion music along with some movements inspired from Mohiniattam and Kathakali.

Thillana Dance - The exciting competition dance! It may not be very authentic, but the choreography just keeps going and going! Lots of pure dance with fast movements. The song ends with a brief scene of dance practice.

Alar Saraparithaapam - A slow, languid padam performance made all the more gorgeous and raw by the sari without the blouse. Swathi Thirunal looks on and steps in to provide her some gorgeous vocal accompaniment mid-way, and then we see her perform a Mohiniattam-inspired piece in a dream sequence. So pretty! I wish there was more 'proper' Mohinattam in the film.

Overall I find the choreography in the film less authentic than I'd hoped and trying too hard to impress via fancy hand and arm movements. Apparently the famous Bharatanatyam duo the Dhananjayan's had been originally asked to do the choreography but declined. Given their excellent work in the Kannada film Hamsa Geethe, I bet Swathi Thirunal's choreography would have been even better with their direction.

Devadasi-Like Dances in Classic South Indian Films

2011-10-02T20:05:00.004-06:00

While browsing the website of the National Film Archive of India, I was excited to find that films in the catalog (which can be found through the search) have an extensive cast and crew list that in many cases identifies the choreographer! The archives have quite a few South Indian titles back to the early 1930s and the majority of them have a choreographer identified, amazingly. Armed with this information, I did some web searching and found that quite a few dances from 1940s South Indian films immediately struck me as looking like Devadasi dances.

A little disclaimer: I feel very frustrated by this post! I've been working on it for while and letting it ruminate (and even leaving it for a while) and I'm still not completely happy with it. This topic is so complex and I am such a beginner. Hopefully my phrasing and theories have adequately conveyed my thinking and don't offend anyone. I welcome comments; if something doesn't make sense, call me on it! :) I've decided to not delay posting on my blog any further, get the post as good as I can, and let it fly free! Read on! :)

Research on the Devadasi

The discovery of these film dances reignited my interesting in researching the lives and role of the South Indian Devadasi in pre-mid-Twentieth Century India. My stars, the topic is incredibly complex, fascinating, and full of diverse (and sometimes contentious) opinions and narratives. Until now my understanding of the Devadasi was clouded in mystery and I vaguely associated the term with women who danced in the temples. After reading some fascinating scholarly journal articles I found through databases like JSTOR and ProjectMuse, I've come to understand more about the historical "Devadasi."

From my research it's clear that Devadasis of the past were often highly trained in various arts and not only danced, sang, and performed in temple rituals and processions but also performed for the courts of kings, community members seeking an auspicious presence, and for private patrons. Their roles, functions, and repertoires varied greatly depending on the audience, time and region. While there were temple dancers in many different areas in India, the term “Devadasi” seems to refer mostly to the precursors of Bharatanatyam dancers who lived in the region roughly related to modern-day Tamil Nadu. These women often had more freedom then their secular counterparts and this included sexual freedom, but to elaborate on this very contentious piece of Devadasi history is beyond my research knowledge at the moment. Unfortunately, the term “Devadasi” today (and there still are living Devadasis of traditional lineage today) seems to be only synonymous with religiously-sanctioned prostitution which is a far cry from her complex role in feudal India before Independence. I was a bit nervous to write this post because the term has such a negative connotation today, but I hope my intentions are clear.

Most fascinating of all is how the dance of the Devadasis was reworked (many would say sanitized and appropriated) and renamed Bharatanatyam as part of nationalistic fervor of the period as India looked to its indigenous, ancient traditions and asserted its independence. A complete and worthy discussion of this topic would really take multiple posts and, let's face it, years of academic study (especially for a gori like me). My discussion here simply serves as a backdrop to some beautiful film dances I've discovered.

What Did the Dance of the Devadasis Look Like?

The biggest unresolved question after doing all this research has been: “what did Devadasi dance look like?” Do these film dances that I found for this post have any authentic movements?

There seems to be a general feeling when reading many writings on the history of Bharatanatyam that the Devadasi dance never quite reached the technical sophistication of today’s Bharatanatyam. The only videos of dancing from a person of Devadasi lineage I’ve been able to find are three performances of T. Balasaraswati from what looks like the 1970s; there's her Krishna Nee Begane abhinaya and a documentary clip, but I find this one below the most interesting given its clear relation to modern Bharatanatyam adavus:

I’ve read a few comments on message boards and YouTube of people who claim to have seen Devadasi dance in their lifetime (some specifically talk of seeing T. Balaraswati perform) and they talk about the lack of “clean lines” and rarity of “proper adavus” and general sloppy spontaneity.

Yet, digging a bit deeper one finds writings like this passage in the book "Balasaraswati: Her Art & Life" by Douglas M. Knight. “At the turn of the twentieth century, the variety of styles and types of performance included interpretations as diverse as those of the dance form as it is presented today. […] There were dancers who maintained a standard of excellence that reflected the greatness of performance tradition had achieved. But lack of exposure to this level of artistry had eroded the critical edge from the audience, and many dancers were forced to compete by virtue of the speed of their feet, or the open coquetry of their abhinaya (expressive dance), or with their beguiling beauty.” It certainly makes sense that due to the lack of patronage (or discerning patronage) that certain parts of the dance could certainly have been lost or gone 'underground' in the early 1900s. But parts of the dance have survived to the modern day thanks to the lineages of gurus and dancers who kept the tradition alive and whom Rukmini Devi learned from as she founded Kalakshetra and was an instrumental part of the formation and acceptance of Bharatanatyam.

Differences Between Devadasi Dance and Bharatanatyam

I’ve had a lot of discussions with fellow classical-dance lover Ramesh who has seen dancers with Devadasi lineage perform in India. His response when I asked what he thought of the film dances I’ve listed below was completely fascinating to me and spurred the creation of this post- I’ll try to summarize it.

The dance of the Devadasis is like Bharatanatyam without the rules. For a visual example, compare Vyjayantimala’s dance in Chittoor Rani Padmini with Sarita/Sarala Devi's in Thyagayya:

"Devi Vithayar Bhavani" - Chittoor Rani Padmini (Tamil, 1963) - In this dance, Vyjayanthimala always reverts to statuesque poses and punctuates the transitions with some drama and many pure dance movements that substitute for emotion. She's exudes joy as she dances moves that look crisply textbook.

"Ninai Uru" - Tyagayya (Telugu, 1946)- In contrast, the Devadasi-like dance here has a completely different feel. Beyond the obvious difference in facial expression and smiles, the dancer performs like an expert trained in the art who internalizes the emotions and movements instead of simply adlibbing mime to the lyrics. There is a spontaneous-looking quality to it, and it comes off as less sharp and a bit raw. While Vyjayanthimala looks like an expert of a rigid form, the Devadasi looks like an expert of a tradition that encompasses her whole being- she dances with her soul.

Other Devadasi-Like Film Dances

Beyond the Tyagayya dance above, I’ve listed below all of the other classic South Indian film dances I’ve found that look like representations of what Devadasis of the past might have danced like in a particular setting.

What's really interesting about them is that in addition to the obvious differences in the dance styles, they also depart wildly from the Bharatanatyam-based film dances of the 40s and 50s in the way they are staged and filmed. Kamala's and Vyjayanthimala's dances are for the most part creative spectacles in which the dancer often gazes directly at the camera and is really dancing for us, the viewer. Artistic camera angles and edits create a polished presentation; e.g., Vyjayanthimala’s Alarippu in New Delhi or Kamala’s dance in Chori Chori. In contrast, the Devadasi-like dances here feel distinctly different. The dancer is oblivious to the camera which acts only as an impartial observer; the dancer performs not for us, the viewer, but for the patron. The existence of a clear patron (rather than a generalized and often secular or stage audience) is obviously also distinct.

In addition to the stylistic differences in filming, the dances below are all from period films set anywhere from the 1400-1800s (which saw the height of sophisticated Devadasi dance) and I would venture to guess most of the dancers are from a Devadasi lineage (I do know that Tanjavur Ranganayaki Rajayee, aka TR Rajakumari, came from Devadasi lineage in real life). For all these reasons, I feel comfortable categorizing these dances as "Devadasi-like."

Roll the dances!

Tyagayya (Telugu, 1946) – This film was based on the life of Tyagaraja, an 18th century Telugu poet-saint who was one of the greatest composers of Carnatic music. Tyagaraja’s character in the film apparently rejects invitations from the Maharaja Serfoji of Thanjavur. Given that the Thanjavur Court during this time offered rich patronage to Devadasis, it seems likely that the dances in the film were meant to take place there. All of the songs in the film were compositions of Tyagaraja. The dancer is identified as Sarita Devi or Sarala Devi depending where you look; the choreographer is listed as Vedantam Raghavaiah (a Kuchipudi pioneer) according to the NFAI.

"Ee Paata Ne Padeda" – This song features the full face-framing temple jewelry with the sun and moon on each side; it's such a classic but seems to be absent from later Bharatanatyam-oriented film dances which generally simplify the headset and add all sorts of other filmy embellishments. The dancer begins with choreography very similar to the modern Alarippu. Perhaps what is most striking about this song is how the musicians all stand up so close to the dancer! The Nattuvannar (I believe) with the cymbals even walks forward to match the beat at 1:09. From what I understand this was a very common set up in the dance form until Bharatanatyam was formed in the 30s and the musicians were moved to the side and seated to give the dancer the utmost prominence. Given the sloppy execution of the choreography, I feel like this dance epitomizes the stereotyped view of the Devadasi dance. Note: There is a better quality version of this dance in a special on YouTube comparing the 1946 Tyagayya with its 1981 remake starting here; the only problem is that clip has a big logo stripe over the bottom! But perhaps most entertaining is watching the following performance of the same song in the 1981 version. Cringe worthy!

"Radhika Krishna" – When I first watched this dance I wasn't sure how to place it. It didn't seem to fit with the others due to the costume and experimental flavor of choreography. Discussion with Ramesh placed it as another style of Devadasi dance. It seems to be a nice example of how a Devadasi might have danced when she was showing off her well-honed skills and going for something really special. The performance is quite mesmerizing.

Yogi Vemana (Telugu, 1947) – This film was based on the life of Telugu poet-saint Vemana (popularly called ‘Yogi Vemana’) who is “variously ascribed to the 15th or 17th century” and was “to the Telugus what Thiruvalluvar was to Tamils" (The Hindu). The dancer from everything I can gather is also the singer, M.V. Rajamma, and the choreography was done by Vedantam Raghvaiah.

“Aaparani Taapamaayera” – This dance scene is quite similar to the Tyagayya songs above. In contrast to Sarala/Sarita Devi, M.V. Rajamma looks like the epitome of gentile, sweet femininity. The choreography here seems to focus on the movements of the whole body with some beautiful aesthetic embellishments. I love how Rajamma quickly snaps into the "dancer at rest" pose when the performance is rudely interrupted!

Bhakta Pothana (Telugu, 1942) – This film is based on the life of the Telugu poet Bammera Potana who is said to have been born in 1450. The court dancer is identified as Samrajyam; choreography was done by Srinivas Kulkarni according to the NFAI.

“Idi Manchi Samayamu Raaraa” – This one has lots of lovely arm and hand work with little expressive abhinaya or adavu-like work and the audience is only the king! I find it interesting that Samrajyam half-mouths the lyrics occasionally. The all-women musician group is also a curious feature. I wonder if the dance is inspired from Vilasini Natyam, the name given to the Devadasi (Kalaavanthulu) dance from Andhra Pradesh.

Haridas (Tamil, 1944) – A “folk myth about a sinner-turned saint” (The Hindu), this film starred two "firsts" in Tamil films: T.R. Rajakumari (the "first dream girl of Tamil Cinema") and M.K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar (MKT, the "first superstar of Tamil Cinema"). MKT is quite the “Casanova” in the first half of this film and Rajakumari plays his Devadasi mistress. The film ran in theaters interrupted for two years and was an enormous hit!

“Manmathan Leelayai Vendrar Undo” - TR Rajakumari is absolutely stunning here! She exudes voluptuous eroticism and her presence completely lights up the number which sings the praises of erotic love; the title means “can the actions of the love god be overcome?”. Just watch the part starting at 3:03 and shortly after when she blows him a kiss (which according to Randor Guy was “considered revolutionary in those days!”)- mesmerizing! As I noted above, T.R. Rajakumari came from a family of Devadasis in real life which must explain her effortless performance. Unfortunately, the print seems to jumble and repeat a few shots near the beginning of the song and it's unclear whether the original film was that way or the manufacturer goofed it up.

Further Reading and Sources

Since I hardly scratched the surface of the rich research available about Devadasis, I thought I'd list some further sources for reading for those interested. All sources are available to anyone online (versus tied up in some fancy journal with specific access rights).

Given that Devadasi T Balasaraswati had a residency at Wesleyan University in the 1960s, I wasn't surprised to find that the University's Accelerated Motion site has posted some full-text journal articles about Devadasis and the history of Bharatanatyam that are fascinating. You can find them on the "Index of Resources" under Bharatanatyam here. These are some of my favorites:

"Balasaraswati: Her Art and Life" by Douglas M. Knight - You can preview many of the pages (enough to have some good reading) on Google Books here.

Articles in The Hindu:

How Natyam Danced Its Way Into [The] Academy
A Legacy Lives On [About Devadasi Gowri Amma]

Exhibition Catalogue for the Mohan Khokar Dance Archives of India Tour

2011-08-29T15:04:00.001-06:00

I just noticed that the coverage of the Mohan Khokar Dance Collection exhibition at Ashish Mohan Khokar's column on Narthaki.com has been updated with a PDF file of the exhibition catalog and a few pictures from the Dallas exhibit!

The exhibition catalogue has such stunning photographs from the Collection I had to make a post about it. The photos are in excellent resolution and beautifully displayed on the pages which also identify the photos and offer some brief information about each subject grouping. The first page on Devadasis is amazing- look at the beautiful photograph of two Devadasis in full regalia on the upper-right hand side. The gorgeous and rare photographs continue with photos of the Devadasis Bhanumathi and Varalakshmi (who shook up the Music Academy when they performed their dance there around 1931), what looks like Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn, Uday Shankar, Ram Gopal, famous Gurus, Travancore Sisters, Kamala, Vyjayanthimala, and on and on! It's a relatively short catalog but absolutely worth the view of these rare photos.

Here's the preview image from Khokar's column page. The full catalogue is available here or by clicking the image below.

Last, this isn't directly related to the current exhibition and coverage websites, but I noticed on Ashish's column article about E Krishna Iyer that the newspaper image (which features a nice smiling picture of Kumari Kamala) enlarges to readable size when clicked on! Here's the link: http://www.narthaki.com/info/tdhc/images/tdhc11b.html. The enlarged size reveals that the article is from 1949. It's interesting that the terms Arangetrupadi and Bharata Natya are used instead of the present-day version Arangetram and Bharatanatyam.

A Gorgeous Kathak Dance in Khudito Pashan (1960, Bengali)

2011-08-24T21:13:00.002-06:00

After watching Roshan Kumari's wonderfully crisp and technical Kathak dance in Satyajit Ray's Jalsaghar, I wondered if there were any other Kathak performances in black-and-white Indian films that could match it! I've certainly come across lots of mujras, but I've been aching to find another performance aiming for more 'pure dance' style Kathak choreography.

While not quite matching the brilliance of Kumari's dance due to its lack of technical breadth and length, the dance in Tapan Sinha's 1960 film Khudito Pashan is so graceful and mesmerizing that it most certainly belongs in the upper echelons of filmi Kathak performances. Khudito Pashan (aka Kshudhita Pashan) was a national award-winning film about a man who moves into an old haunted house and falls in love with a dancer he encounters (and who turns out to be a ghost with a past!). The beautiful music in the dance scene was composed by Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, and the end of the dance, as all the performers fade away as if ghosts, is a nice effect in the film.

I am absolutely captivated by the second dancer and the minute touches she gives her performance that elevate it to something thrilling. Just look at how she makes the musical notes starting at 9:29 feel anthropomorphized as if they have emotions of deep sadness and mourning. I certainly find myself wishing the dance was not edited to splice in clips of the couple staring at each other- especially when the cut is right before what looks like a gorgeous choreography moment! And of course the dance should be much, much, much longer!

Here it is...

So who is the second dancer hmmm? It's driving me crazy! A search on all the names in the credits turned up no dancers. I wish I knew her identity and if she had done any other film dances because she is very talented. At first glance she looked just like Roshan Kumari (especially with that distinctive nose!), but as I looked closer I noticed differences in the width of the face and of course how different the style of each dancer is. It's interesting to compare the two; while Roshan goes for a rigid technicality and moves with a relatively straight torso, this dancer's style focuses on flexibility and a torso that bends with fluid grace. Each style has its own charms and aesthetic.

Khudito Pashan:

Jalsaghar:

FYI: Angel (the wonderful folks who upload lotsa classic Bengali films with English subtitles) have uploaded what looks to be the first half of the film starting here. If you wanna watch the whole thing it looks like you gotta fork over $1.99 for a 24-hour rental.

The Mohan Khokar Dance Archives of India - Touring the US!

2011-08-16T23:03:00.004-06:00

I recently discovered the life's work of the late Mohan Khokar and its continuation by his son Ashish Mohan Khokar after his passing. These two men, without question, must be the biggest classical/historical Indian dance nerds in the history of dance nerds. I say this with the utmost admiration, respect, and kudos as a dance nerdesse myself! I am simply blown away by what these folks have accomplished, how important the work is, and how touched it makes me feel.

Here is why, from the official website of the "Mohan Khokar Dance Archives of India":
"In his lifetime Prof. Mohan Khokar collected every book written on dance, every journal, prospectus, brochure, poster, postage stamp, rpm disc, doll, sculpture, including Chola bronzes, painting, textile, print, postcard – just about everything on dance. Today, this material, called The Mohan Khokar Dance Collection, is the single largest holding on dance, comprising over 1,00,000 photos, 50,00,000 press clips, 5,000 books and more. [...] Also in the holding are recordings of all national giants and gurus, dancers and divas which all the national bodies and Academies put together do not possess because they did not know the word documentation, till recently."

Oh YES. I've been reading every article I can find about the Khokar's and the collection and it is breathtaking. It has rare dancer biographies and photos, dance program brochures, costumes gifted from dancers, "78 rpm discs of dance of tawaifs and devadasis," VIDEO TAPES and FILMS ON DANCE, Kalakshetra's first prospectuses, news clippings, sculptures, dolls, artwork.. in the hundreds and thousands and tens of thousands...back 100 years...the list goes on an on. "Ashish particularly highlights his father's extensive documentation of the devadasi culture and also the rare photographs he clicked of ace dancers Ram Gopal and Uday Shankar, from whom Mohan Khokar learnt dance and also was his biographer" (The Hindu).

I can't even imagine the wonders this collection must hold. I bet the elusive Kalpana is floating in there somewhere not only in video but also in precious photos, sketches and reviews. The clippings from news items and reviews would be particularly fascinating given how classical dances like Bharatanatyam have had a very rocky journey as they evolved from disrepute to art forms of respectable admiration; I imagine there are items from the press from back in the 20s and 30s about the banning of certain dance forms and how they were received by the public and those who fought for their survival. Wouldn't it be fascinating to read! I shutter to think that these things might have been lost to history without Mohan's work. I nearly wet my pants when I saw the picture I've posted to the left of some of the programs and artwork of the collection. My god! Ram Gopal! Baby Kamala! Kalpana! Ragini Devi! Uday Shankar! Film dances from The Court Dancer and The River! Overload!!!

But besides being a spectacular visual historical record, Mohan Khokar's passion for dance documentation was not simply passive; he apparently had direct effects on the dance forms he so tirelessly documented. An article at livemint.com discusses how a back issue at the exhibit of the magazine Marg dedicated to Odissi was published at "...a time when Mohan Khokar and others were lobbying for it to be recognized as a leading dance form of India by the Sangeet Natak Akademi." The pictures at the end of this post also reveal some fascinating facts regarding the effects of Mohan's activism.

What makes this collection all the more endearing is how eccentrically woven its creation was into the fabric of Mohan Khokar's life. In the Khokar home "...the fridge was stashed with film rolls, and the beds and tables with stacks of photographs, posters and press clippings; brochures hung from fans, the kitchen was full of knick-knacks — and all the memorabilia represented dance. [...] 'There was a time when we slept in a sitting position because there was no place at home,' says Ashish" (Indian Express). Each morning after a beverage, Mohan "...would then carefully go through all the newspapers marking neatly — articles, reviews and stories that revolved around the Indian dance scene and artistes [...] Khokar would then call out to one of his children [...] to cut the marked pieces of writing with a pair of scissors" (Daily Pioneer). And best of all, "five years ago when that killer tsunami hit the Chennai coast, Ashish admits to being “guilty of not being so worried about my old mother living in a house just two kms from the sea as about the safety of the collection, which was stored in it” (The Hindu). THIS is passion! THESE are my people! :)

Besides being a prolific archivist, Mohan Khokar was Rukmini Devi's first male student at Kalakshetra, the secretary of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, and the husband of Bharatanatyam dancer M.K. Saroja among other things.

So after making this amazing discovery I resigned myself to a life of simply reading about the Khokars and looking at token photographs from the collection online and wishing I could whisk myself away to India to serve as Ashish's assistant archivist. :)

Then, I found THIS: "Now, Ashish, in collaboration with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, is displaying his father’s collection in an exhibition titled, ‘A Century of Indian Dance: 1901-2000’ at India Habitat Centre. [...] It will travel to the US, Italy and the UK later this year" (Indian Express).

Guess what my friends, IT IS TOURING THE US RIGHT NOW, August 21 through September 11, hitting the cities of San Antonio, Charleston, Detroit, Chicago, Houston, and Phoenix (at least as confirmed to me by one of the facilitators, which is a bit different than the official schedule below or the one here so I would recommend you email the contacts for more info). It's interesting that the exhibit isn't hitting the customary biggies like NYC and LA (or what about Salt Lake City hmmmmm?!!). According to Narthaki.com, the exhibition begins with the foyer display of the collections, then follows with an introduction by Ashish, showing of "Century of Indian Dance" which is a film he created on 100 years of archived dance films, and last solo and group dance performances by top male classical dancers followed by a Q&A. Did you catch the part about how Khokar will be showing selections from "rare dance films"!! That's it, I'm booking at ticket to the Phoenix show!! :)

But perhaps most happy-dance inducing of all is that someone TOOK PICTURES of the exhibit's opening in Delhi. Here they are, pictures from the flickr account of vm2827, whom I now also consider one of the coolest people on earth for finally providing more light into this tantalizing collection. I was hoping someone would photograph the event and by golly my wish has been fulfilled. ENJOY.

There's even more over at vm2827's Flickr page.

So suffice it to say I'm extremely excited about all this and there's so much more that could be said! But I'll let it rest there. Here are some great links about the Khokar's and the exhibit with things I found interesting noted in parentheses:

History Begins at Home (Discussion on politics surrounding the refusal of some organizations to take the collection)
When Uday Shankar Was a Nautch Girl (Mohan's dance background, collection details)
Celebrating a Century of Indian Dance (Picture of father and son)
Mohan Khokar's Collection Brings Alive Century of Indian Dance (Thought on modern dancer reactions)
Attendance The Dance Annual of India (Ashish's yearly publication's official website)
History over Canapes (Mealtime discussion with Ashish)
ICCR Exhibit Page (Pictures of the Delhi opening)
Mohan Khokar Dance Collection An Exhibition (GREAT pictures of documents)

A Personal Article on Kamala, "Reminiscenses of a Disciple"

2011-08-15T17:50:00.004-06:00

Kumari Kamala (Sruti Magazine)

A few months back I received a comment from Ramaa Bharadvaj (a Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi exponent, classical dance school director/teacher, among many other things), who related that she had studied dance under Kamala in the 70s and toured with her. To date I’ve dedicated many posts or parts of posts to Kamala and her wonderful film dances from various stages of her life ('baby kamala' dances, rare dances, more rare dances, Konjum Salangai dances, a recent performance and more) when she known as Baby Kamala, Kumari Kamala, Kamala Laksman/Laxman, and now Kamala Narayan or simply Kamala. What a delight to find someone who knew her personally in the flesh!

But I was most amazed when Ramaa shared with me the article "Kamala: Reminiscenses of a Disciple" she had written at the invitation of the editor of Sruti magazine for its December 2001 issue (#207) which was near the time Kamala was awarded the "Platinum Jubilee Award" by the Music Academy of Chennai. With Ramaa's permission, the six pages of her article are posted below as images (click on the thumbnail to view the full-sized version).

The article is a tenderly written piece that recalls Kamala as a disciplined dance teacher whose actions revealed glimpses into her kind and generous nature as a human being. How lovely to hear about Kamala as a person! It's so rare to find stories like this about her.

A consistent theme throughout Ramaa's writing is an admiration of Kamala's selfless nature:

"A sabha secretary once told my father, "Dance is for the children from wealthy families. People like you should not bother with it." The bitter truth of his cruel words would have ended any aspirations our parents had for our dance career, had it not been for the blessed entry of Kamala into our lives. "I have not forgotten the humble background from which I have come", she is supposed to have once told my parents, in answer to their concern if they could financially afford a teacher of Kamala's stature for their children. For as long as I studied with her, she taught me all that I could learn, gave me all that I was capable of grasping and she did it all without demanding or expecting any monetary compensation. Why did she even bother? Dance was not a passion for me back then. I must have frustrated her many a time with my ineptness. All that I can say is, it was because she was more than a teacher. She was a guru, whose illumined soul saw something in me that was invisible even to my own comprehension. She was a guide who would lead her students on a journey beyond technique and she proved herself a guru of great magnanimity, many times over."

I was very surprised to read about Kamala's influence on Vempatti Chinna Satyam, the legendary Kuchipudi guru who has trained a host of now-established dancers.

"Many years later, while traveling in a bus from Boston to New York City, I sat next to Vempatti Chinna Satyam and he spoke of the immense admiration and respect that he had for Kamala. He told me that, when he was young, he would save the small allowance he received, in order to buy a ticket for Kamala's performance. The elegantly sculpturesque quality of her dance inspired him to later expand the vocabulary of Kuchipudi movements."

Perhaps what impressed upon me most of all was this paragraph near the close of the piece.

"She was not into giving eloquent speeches, declaring her purpose and denouncing every body elses's --a trend that we see so much of today. In fact, she never spoke much or wrote about anything that we as her students were aware of. She simply danced and created for the stage and her audiences, making them love with her warmth and never intimidating them with her presence or her intellectuality. I cannot recall even a single instance when she criticized any other dancer in the presence of her students, or demanded our loyalty to her performance style and her alone. It must have been because she was too busy being a Dancer to have gotten involved in such Politics of Dance. She answered only to the calling of Dance."

That's it! Those last two lines give credence to the theory I've had regarding why Kamala is so little regarded today- that she simply didn't play the political games of the dance world that some of her contemporaries did nor did she seem to chase after recognition and accolades-- and this had far reaching effects. A read through other articles about her in Sruti Magazine make clear that after a certain time her status seemed to diminish as documentaries and awards were focused on or given to other dancers and eminent dancers listed their inspirations with no mention of Kamala (for further reading, see these image scans of the Sruti Magazine article "Kamala: An Extraordinary Repertoire" on Kamala's dance school webpage: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3). Even a recent article from The Hindu relates this sentiment when it notes, "In a day and age when the younger generation has neither seen Kamala perform, nor heard of her name, thanks to certain discernible moves to blot out her name from the annals of Bharatanatyam..." It makes me very sad, especially when paired Kamala's admission of her financial struggles and wishes that she had developed some other skills as she notes in the Sruti article "Kamala at Seventy Five."

Thanks again to Ramaa for sharing this beautiful article with me and granting me permission to share it with all of my blog visitors. Kamala will not be forgotten, and I'm proud that myself and some of my fellow bloggers are finding and highlighting Kamala's glorious film dances so they will be as cherished as they deserve.

My Favorite (Black and White) Spectacle Film Dances

2011-08-14T17:16:00.005-06:00

Throughout my classical dances series there have been a few black-and-white dance songs that I've just been dying to include but haven't really fit in my categorizations so far. Listed below are my favorite dances that can't be considered "classical" but have ornamented costumes, beautiful set design, and wonderful choreography. In other words they are spectacles! (Well, I didn't know what else to call them :)). Some are visually scintillating, others are dramatic dance dramas, and yet others are inspired from classical dances. Roll the dances!

Vanjikottai Vaaliban (Tamil, 1958) - Kannum Kannum Kalandhu - I've already expounded in detail about this song and its comparison to its Hindi remake, but its never been granted a spot on my lists so far and undoubtedly gets the #1 spot here! Here's some goodies from Randor Guy in The Hindu: "...The dances [were] composed by the well-known choreographer of the day Hiralal. A song-dance contest sequence between the two heroines (Padmini and Vyjayanthimala) was brilliantly choreographed, picturised and edited. [...] Both Padmini and Vyjayanthimala, trained classical dancers, vied with each other. They were at the height of their careers and there was professional rivalry between them! Interestingly, the real-life envy did creep into the reel-life dance drama which added its own sugar and spice to the impact of the sequence." I tried to find a bit more about Hiralal and this article at The Hindu lists some of his other works as Guide, Ganga Jamuna, and Tere Mere Sapne. A talented choreographer!

Chandralekha (Tamil, 1948) - Drum Dance - An epic classic featuring T.R. Rajakumari (introduced at 3:33), the "first dream girl of Tamil cinema"! Apparently there has been some controversy over who actually choreographed the dance, but this Narthaki article confirms that "...Guru Gopalakrishnan has documentary proof of his participation." The article also notes, "the Drum Dance sequence took 6 months to shoot and the film itself cost 30 lakhs then!" I was fascinated to read Gopalakrishnan was responsible for this massive endeavor (6 months?!) because of his interesting connections with the "Kathakali lite" dance form of Kerala Natanam. Here's a nice article on him from the Dance History Column by Ashish Mohan Khokar (which is completely fascinating column I've yet to fully digest and all Indian dance lovers should check out!).

Devta (Tamil, 1956) - Instrumental Dance Piece - I realized recently this song had never made its way into any of my posts thus far! It certainly fits this list perfectly and is a pristine example of the dance skills of Kumari Kamala Lakshman. The music is very playful and mysterious, and the choreography matches it well and throws in some snake dance elements and showcases Kamala's floor backbend abilities.

Kath Putli (Hindi, 1957) - "Bol Ri Kath Putli" -Vyjayanthimala gives a passionate performance inspired by Kathakali in the first minute of this song that is full of fire and passion she so excels at. She reprises the dancing throughout and also briefly dances as though she is a puppet on strings. I can now see where the inspiration for her "Kathakali" dance in "Muqabala Humse Naa Karo" from the later film Prince (Hindi, 1969) came from!

Sansaar (Hindi, 1951) - Humhin Ne Mohabbat Ki Duniya Basaayi - This nearly 8.5-minute dance drama song fascinates! The dancer first introduced on the right is mesmerizing! I love everything about her- her facial features, dance style, and sheer presence- she's got such swagga! She's the same dancer in the Mr. Sampat "twin" dance with Padmini (and is apparently named Vanaja). The song appears to enact some different episodes from films- the only ones named are "Shakuntala" and "Anarkali." One of my favorite parts of the song is the group dance that starts at 2:57 with some kind of flamenco influence in the fun group choreography and hand movements; the Mujra at 4:28 by Vanaja is also a favorite.

Bipasha (Bengali, 1962) - Upanayan - That this dance drama song was in an old Bengali film makes it quite special! This feeling is based on my impression that classic Bengali films don't have near the dance content the classic South Indian films do. The song is uploaded into two parts; Part 1 begins with a mysterious atmosphere and then appears some light dancing and chanting over the music. My favorite part of the song begins around 3:20; I love the costume and energy of the male dancer. This style of dancing continues on and off into Part 2 with lots of group choreography. I wish I knew what the dancers are enacting! As I watch the song I can't help thinking that this is perhaps a bit what Uday Shankar's dances in the obscure film Kalpana must be like, though I'm sure it pales in comparison!

Part 1

Bipasha (1962, Bengali) - Upanayan - Part 1

Part 2

Bipasha (Bengali, 1962) - Upanayan - Part 2

Raj Nartaki (1941, "The Court Dancer") - A perfect example of why I'm so happy that my fellow bloggers upload old, rare dances to share with the world, this dance was uploaded by Nivedita Ramakrishnan of The Cinema Corridor blog from a personal taping made off of a Doordarshan broadcast in the 80s. There are three good posts about the film at The Cinema Corridor, MemsaabStory, and Dances on the Footpath. From these I've gathered that the dancer is Sadhona Bose and the film is set in Manipur; this would explain why the dancing appears to be inspired from Manipuri! I love Sadhona's graceful hands and the instruments used in the music. Though I'm a bit underwhelmed with the dancing overall (I totally thought Sadhona was a white chick attempting Indian dance at first), it is the rarity of the film and the dance form that put it on my list!

Ummini Thanka (Malayalam, 1961) - Costumes, costumes, costumes! Ragini and Ambika (as identified by the uploader cram) look fabulous here as they fiercely inhabit their costumes that appear to be taken from traditional dance forms of Kerala; the Kerala percussion punctuates their movements splendidly. It looks like Ragini plays a male character; I wish I knew what story they are enacting.

Kalpana (Hindi, 1960) - Tu Hai Mera Prem Devta - The longest dance of the list (almost 10 minutes!), this dance of Padmini and her sister Raagini feels quite epic not only in its length but the set design and choreography. Though the dance style at times is taken from classical movements, I feel the song as a whole fits best on this list.

And that's a wrap! Though I feel as if I'm missing a dance or too...hmmm...

My Latest Collection of Lesser-Known Film Classical Dances

2011-07-31T10:23:00.003-06:00

I'm happy to present my latest collection of classical-oriented
dances I've found recently (or have been holding onto for a while)
that are either lesser known or have been difficult to track down.
Enjoy!

"Vikraama Rajendra" - Bhakta Kuchela (Malayalam, 1961) - Attention!! New Kamala Lakshman material starting at 5:00! I originally talked about this song on my post about my favorite twin dances and the only version online at the time was quite poor in quality and ended abruptly. I since got a hold of the original film and also what appears to be a Kannada dub and was amazed that the Kannada version adds about two minutes of extra footage of a third Manipuri dance that's missing from the Malayalam version! The only downside is that it cuts a little bit of footage off from the beginning, so I included the beginning from the Mallu version and the rest from the Kannada version to create a complete whole. The old uploader had split the original song into two pieces so that is all taken care of as well. I am 100% convinced the taller dancer is Kamala Lakshman, and Richard of the Dances on the Footpath blog suggested the shorter dancer might by Kuchala Kumari. So enjoy the two minutes of Kamala Lakshman material you've probably never seen before!

Melnaatu Marumagal (Tamil, 1975) - A white chick dances 'Bharatanatyam'! That's enough to make this one a must watch and it turns out she actually does fairly well and clearly has some dance training. She outshines the Indian chick, me thinks. Unfortunately the print of the film I have really struggles at times. The film was later remade into America Ammayi and starred another white chick Devayani as I mentioned on my obscure dance films post. The second page of this restrospective on America Ammayi claims that the white chick in Melnaatu Marumagal was American.

Pavithram (Malayalam, 1994) - I was struck by this beautiful Mohiniattam stage performance when I watched this film; it's very short but superbly done. Mohanlal's character looks on as his younger sister performs and then he reminisces about raising her over the years. I'm sure there's more of these kinds of Mohiniattam performances tucked away in Malayalam films, but I haven't been able to find any more.

Arangetram (Tamil, 1973) - I originally bought this film thinking that with a title of Arangetram it would be about classical dance! It's actually a hard-hitting film by K. Balachander about social issues and while it does contain a dance scene of a young woman's arangetram, the dance is intercut with shots of the beginning of another woman's rape scene which makes for a powerful message and according to this review of the film was very controversial. Perhaps I'm continuing in the tradition of the controversy but I've edited the dance so the assault clips are removed and the dance is presented in its pure form without the out-of-context (from the film) shots.

Dance Like a Man (2003) - Sitar player Anoushka Shankar, daughter of Ravi Shankar and half sister of Norah Jones, plays a classical dancer in this film and dances a couple scenes of Bharatanatyam. She is first seen practicing and then performs on a beautifully decorated and lit stage. I think she does quite well considering she revisited the dance form she learned a bit in her youth just for the film so many years later.

Mizhikal Sakshi (Malayalam, 2008) - This film about a mute mother who mourns for her son contains some lovely Kathakali clips featuring Vineeth! Yay, I found more Vineeth dances! Here's a little montage of the dance scenes that are interspersed throughout the film. The cinematography makes the colors just pop; it all looks so otherworldly.

"Manjutharasree" - Mizhikal Sakshi - Set to a beautiful melody, this song has sumptuous shots of Kathakali preparation and slow movements and such. I would upload a better quality version but the strange thing is my copy of the film does not have this song on it despite my combing through it twice!

The Tiger and the Flame/Jhansi Ki Rani (1953) - I've read online that Kathak dancer Roshan Kumari was in this film and I highly suspect the dancer in this song around 2:13 is her though the jury is still out from what others have noted over on Richard's blog post about her (which has some great research on Roshan). The dancing is quite unusual, and hard to define (and the costumes can be, well, bizarre); as I noted in my post on the film, it fits in with the whole birds-eye, foreign view of a "strange" and "exotic" India that the film flirts with. While the dancing isn't classically-inspired, I still think it fits here in its overall presenation. There's also a second song from the film in which I think Roshan dances in as well.

"Black and White - Michael Jackson - This is here for fun because I had forgotten that among the world dances presented in this song was a lovely Odissi performance. Michael had good taste! :) I also love the Indonesian dancers which further rounds out the Asian dance representation.

Film Classical Dances of Bhanupriya: Part 1 (Ode to Swarna Kamalam)

2011-07-30T11:34:00.001-06:00

A few years back, when I was in the midst of being newly-enamored by this thing called "Classical Indian Dance" that I saw elements of in Hindi film dances, I read about the classical-oriented films of K. Vishwanath and on a whim purchased the Telugu film Swarnakamalam (Golden Lotus) without knowing anything about it. This turned out to be a pivotal decision because I fell in love with the film's rustic settings and charming characters and, most of all, Bhanupriya! I've already told a version of this story once in my (cheesy) How South Indian Films Stole My Heart post, but my focus here is solely on the jewel of Swarna Kamalam, Bhanupriya.

Given that Swarna Kamalam had some of her best dance performances and holds a special place in my heart, I'll start discussing it (and its fabulous songs) first here in Part 1. A few times I will refer to a wonderful three-part post on the film done by Navya at the Marapuraani Chitralu blog (which is dedicated to the "Golden Era of Telugu Cinema"). I've never seen such an indepth discussion of the film before and am so thankful to read some select translations for the lyrics! I highly recommend you check it out if you haven't seen the film.

Telugu1 had the whole film up on their massive YouTube channel a few days ago but it had the most terrible interlacing lines whenever anyone in the video moved quickly; the video is now private, so I'm hoping that they saw my comment complaining about the terrible quality and will reupload. Check their site in a couple weeks and you may be able to see the whole film legally! They also have the songs from the film individually uploaded but all of them have periodic skipping and clicking noises which ruins the experience. So...the videos you see below are uploaded by me because I can't stand the quality of what they have put online!

You know, I've wanted to write a review of Swarna Kamalam for a while but just haven't ever gotten the courage! I suppose it's because while I adore every scene with Bhanupriya (especially all her endearing brattiness at the beginning which I mourned as she "matured" at the end), there are many parts of the film surrounding secondary characters that are rough around the edges and as a whole the film doesn't pack the same punch that other dance films like Sagara Sangamam or Shankarabharanam do. I also found myself irritated with the way Chandrasekhar pushes Meena to dance (culminating in the 'slap heard around the world'). Perhaps the film's lack of "punch" compared to other dance films is because it's much more lighthearted (with its comedy tracks and happy ending) and holds its power mostly in the phenomenal songs and picturisations... and of course, the sheer presence of Bhanupriya and her adorable character. So I will take the easy way out and fully-utilize this opportunity to discuss only the songs. :D

I can't express enough how much I enjoy the dancing and music in this film. The dancing is definitely semi-classical but unlike most film dances in that category it has an x-factor that I can't quite put my finger on that elevates it. Perhaps it's in how the songs are clearly shot with the goal of Bhanupriya being a vessel for "higher-level" appreciation. We are invited to gaze upon her beautiful form but it is never sexualized and the choreography never has the goal of titillating the viewer. I suspect that Bhanupriya's talent is a big part of the dances' success but I think even bigger credit should go to the dance director. For a long time I wondered who composed the choreography in this film, and then I found this article at Narthaki.com that identified him as K V Satyanarayana who also directed the dances for the films Sruthilayalu, Sutradharulu, and Swathikiranam! And of course I cannot forget the melodious musical compositions by Illayaraja with lyrics by Sirivenella. Onto the songs...

"Shiva Poojaku" - This is the first of two "dream" songs in the film where Chandrasekhar (Venkatesh) fantasizes about Meenakshi (Bhanupriya) and his hopes that she will embrace classical dance. The dancing changes from classical-oriented to endearingly-cute at different points. During the classical-inspired parts, Bhanupriya dances short clips of moves inspired by (and in the costume of) Kuchipudi, Mohiniattam, Manipuri, and Odissi which is so rare to see in film! The way the choreography matches the music and lyrics is wonderfully done- my favorite part is the segment beginning at 1:24 and the way the graceful movements swell with the accompaniment. But then there's the adorable dancing she does as the "modern young woman" in her little vested salwar kameez that rivals everything else with its sheer cuteness. What's even more interesting, the whole song was apparently shot in Orissa. As the song begins, Bhanupriya dances next to the Bindu Sagar tank at the Lingaraj temple in Bhubaneswar; you can see the exact place in the second and fourth pics at this link (though the pink structures have apparently been painted orange now!). Later in the song starting around 2:55, Bhanupriya dances on the steps of the Shanti Stupa (seen here) on the Dhauli Giri hills near Bhubaneswar. I'm surprised the choreography didn't borrow more heavily from Odissi given these lovely shooting locations. While I wish I could find a full English translation of the song, Navya at the Marapuraani Chitralu blog provided this translation of the first three lines: "A divine sounding bell which bloomed for the puja of Shiva! O boat of thoughts, never stop the run you are in, if you bend for the waves the way will not be clear!" So that's what 'siri siri muvva' means!

"Andela Ravamidhi" - The climax of the film is illustrated through this soulful song (aka "Guru Brahma") in which Meenakshi finally connects with power and divine bliss of classical dance. She dances with such wild abandon and speed and the music is dramatic and powerful and spellbinding (if not a bit ear-piercing at times). I remember watching this song, not knowing what the Telugu lyrics meant, and completely 'getting it' which speaks to its ingeniously-composed ability to impart its meaning cross-culturally. Recently I was able to find some translation attempts of this song at this link; the last one seems to be done well. It translates the first two lines of the song as "The sound of the ankle bells--is it from the feet or from the heart which soared towards the sky? Is this nectar like singing from the lips or from the heart experiencing divine happiness?" The rest of the translation brings the song fully to life; it talks of dance as yoga and metaphor and the meanings of the syllables in "om namah sivaya namah sivaya." Brilliant. This is the power of Indian Classical Dance. Last, don't miss American-born Sharon Lowen's expert Indian head bob attempt at the very end!

"Ghallu Ghallu Mantu" - This is the other "dream" song in which Chandrasekhar pines for Meenakshi set to a beautiful melody. The classical-inspired sequences are particularly beautiful because Bhanupriya is fully decked-out in classical jewelry and makeup. There are so many small moments of choreography that I love; all of the songs are this way! Venkie's little scarf throw at 1:50 makes me laugh everytime as does his run down the hill to the beat at 3:15. I still don't quite get the whole "markers on the glass" thing; seems more like a gimmick to show off a fancy camera focusing trick.

"Kothaga Rekkalu Vachena" - Finally we get to see Venkatesh do some dance moves! Although Bhanupriya jumps in and shows him how it's really done. The song starts out with Meenakshi trying on her anklets but feeling irritated when she sees Chandrasekhar; during their dialogue scene, she asks him why he is singing about "nests and birds and developing new wings." He says her trying on the anklets is like a bird develping wings, and then he says he'll show her how to dance as if she's the sandalwood and he's the rock to make sandalwood paste. I really love the coy eye movements at 4:10 and the tree-reaching ooops at 2:09 (and how she just keeps on going, hehe).

"Koluvaiunnaade" - This is the "practice" dance in the film and I nostalgically recall how much I was enamored by it upon first viewing. Bhanupriya just effortlessly glides along and has such presence, and her obvious annoyance at her father making her dance is humorous. Her practice sari was a particular fascination for me when I first saw the song. I remember at that time I had mostly only seen women in fancy sarees from Hindi films, and here was a very thin, simple cotton sari that was tied a little bit higher with pyjama pants underneath to allow for easy dancing. I thought this was the most clever thing ever! Those were the days. :) Someone once told me that they were learning the same exact choreography from this song in a Kuchipudi dance class, so either their teacher was a fan of this song or Bhanupriya is dancing moves taken straight from Kuchipudi jathis. I'm gonna guess some combination of the two.

"Theeri Yashodaku" - Here, Meenakshi gives a dance performance at a hotel and real-life American-born Odissi exponent Sharon Lowen looks on. When Meena starts to pander to the cameraman, Sharon is so offended that she abruptly gets up and leaves! The scene then quickly ends and cuts to a dialogue between Sharon and Chandrasekhar about how Meena should be dancing with her whole heart and soul. Here's the kicker my friends- after reading the review at the Marapuraani Chitralu blog, I learned that there was supposed to be a segment in the film after this point of Sharon Lowen dancing Odissi! I've never seen it on my DVD, and it wasn't on Telugu1's upload, so I think the DVD makers cut it out which explains the abrupt scene change. Rest assured Minai has put this on the top of her "hunt down" list. :)

"Aakasamlo Aasala" - Adorableness personified, this song serves as the introduction to Bhanupriya's character in the film and paints her as a vibrant, confident young woman brimming with energy and attitude. It's completely charming with its joyous melody and simple outdoor setting. The choreography is definitely not classical, but I love the little "forward jig" move and the part when she threatens the tree limb. :) Bhanupriya lives and breathes her character and pulls off all the mannerisms perfectly. Had I been a young girl in Andhra Pradesh watching this in 1988 I would have wanted to emulate everything about her in this song. Completely joyous.

Coming up in Part 2... all the rest of her classical-oriented film dances!

The Demise Of AnyTamil!

2011-07-25T12:14:00.000-06:00

Little did I know that on this 25th day of July 2011 I would receive such a sad email as this!

Subject: AnyTamil Store Closure
With Profound sorrow, We would like to inform our Esteemed Patrons, We have decided to close down our Store. We have run it successfully for 12 years but it has come extremely unviable of late. We thank you for the Support & Cooperation extended to us all these years. We sincerely Hope that all your Future shopping needs of similar Products would be well served by elsewhere. Thanks & Regards AnyTamil
anytamil
8569. Kermes Avenue. Fair oaks. CA
Sacremento California 95628
United States

Closure?
Unviable?
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

AnyTamil has been the source of some of my most treasured DVDs and VCDs over the years. When I wanted an old Tamil or Telugu title that couldn't be found anywhere else, AnyTamil came to the rescue! Most importantly, I was able to track down almost all of my Kamala Lakshman and Padmini videos because of the vast catalog of AnyTamil.

Certainly they weren't without their problems. After placing an order I would often find that half of the titles I wanted were out of stock and would receive a refund. Much of their stock was overpriced. And orders took eons to arrive.

But overall, I loved them and am sad to see them go! Rest in peace AnyTamil!

The next question naturally is... are there any good alternate sources to go to now for old Tamil and Telugu films?

Indian English Accent Extravaganza!

2011-06-27T19:27:00.003-06:00

Naseeruddin Shah’s deep purr, Anita Desai’s refined calm, Dharmesh Darshan’s effeminate exuberance… these are some of the voices heard in my latest extravaganza project which turns from the subject of dance to the world of Indian English Accents!

Why accents say ye? Well my latest YouTube obsession has been watching people try to reproduce various global accents in English. Given my interest in India, I of course have noticed the relative lack of South Asian accents, and when such accents do make an appearance they are almost always some variation of Apu from The Simpsons. YouTube user misscupcake1 once asked for examples of new accents to try so in my nerdiness I sent her a video of Preity Zinta as a sort of representation of a more “posh” Indian accent. Unfortunately, the result was this! And then there’s this very endearing chick xooropa who also uploads lots of funny accents including her Indian imitation which is a notch better than the previous but still in silly territory. I think part of the blame is that many folks here in the US have never heard varied Indian accents and even when they do they cannot pin down what they are hearing.

As I kept watching these pitiful attempts at the Indian accent, this grandiose idea hit me: why not make a video mashup (an extravaganza!) that shows the wide range of real Indian English accents!

My one problem in undertaking the extravaganza adventure was, of course, that I can’t identify which accents are from where, so I enlisted the help of rameshram to answer my relentless barrage of “what accent is this!!” emails and solicit name suggestions. His help has been greatly appreciated and I couldn’t have done the project with him.

I now present the finished product! It begins with a quick run-through of all the states represented in the video (I cannot stop giggling at the awesomeness of the visuals + music) and then begins the short clips of accents with notation underneath identifying the language, special characteristics, and state (in parentheses). The accents are presented in a clockwise tour around India starting with Maharashtra, and at the end of the video I throw in some non-Indian South Asian accents just for fun. Key point: Accents are not meant to be representative but are just examples from each area. More discussion below.

What started out as a project to enlighten others ended up completely fascinating me. I’m completely mystified by many of the accents because I just cannot verbalize their unique characteristics. The Delhi and Northeastern (Sikkim and Mizoram) accents are the only ones I can clearly pick out of the bunch, and I’m absolutely lost when listening to the most of the Southern accents (Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam). I’ve learned how Indian accents vary depending on whether the person lived in a rural area or a city, was educated in a convent school or a public school, what language was spoken primarily in the home, and a host of other factors. My “extravaganza” is really just a sampling because I was limited to who I could find clear, good-quality videos of speaking in English (much harder than it sounds!), and of course there are countless other accents not represented. In addition, the people I’ve chosen in the video may just have a “slight” accent or a more “urban,” cosmopolitan version of an accent. Or they may not even be from the area the accent originated but they have that accent nonetheless (or I’m trusting what I’ve been told :)). This accent business is tricky though; I expect some will disagree with how some accents are classified in the video.

The video does seem to have less representation of what I would term the more stereotypical “sing songy” Indian accents. You know, the accents that have more regional characteristics, perhaps unaspirated d’s and t’s, such as Kanimozhi’s Tamil accent or Nikhil Advani’s Sindhi accent. These accents are what I imagine many Americans would quickly identify as a classic “Indian” accent. The more “refined” accents with less “regional characteristics” are what really confuse the ignorant, such as Sunil Mittal’s Marwari accent or Sharmila Tagore’s Bengali accent.

A few clips in the video were chosen because of their charming backstory. For example, the second clip of the Dalai Lama has him playfully answering the user-submitted question “have you ever worn trousers,” and Juhi Chawla’s clips come from an interview in which she was so contagiously joyous I just had to bring her back for an encore!

Comments welcome; which accents do you particularly enjoy? Do you have other examples to share? Disagree with any classifications?

For reference, here’s a list of all the people and accents in the video:

Amol Palekar – Marathi (Maharashtra)
Girish Karnad – Marathi, Mumbai (Maharashtra)
Kajol – Hindi, Mumbai Urban (Maharashtra)
Siddharth Trivedi – Gujarati (Gujarat)
Kishore Biyani – Gujarati (Gujarat)
Sunil Mittal – Marwari Ethnic (Rajasthan)
Juhi Chawla – Punjabi, Urban (Punjab)
Manmohan Singh – Punjabi, Sikh (Punjab)
Omar Abdullah – Kashmiri (Jammu and Kashmir)
Om Puri – Punjabi, Jat (Haryana)
Aamir Khan – Hindi, Delhi (Delhi)
Kajal Agarwal – Hindi, Delhi
Preity Zinta – Hindi, Delhi – “Military Brat” (Delhi)
Naseeruddin Shah – Hindi, UP Urban (Uttar Pradesh)
Anita Desai – Hindi, UP Urban (Uttar Pradesh)
Irrfan Khan – Bihari-Bengali (Bihar/West Bengal)
Dibakar Banerjee – Bengali (West Bengal)
Sharmila Tagore – Bengali, Urban (West Bengal)
Danny Denzongpa – Sikkim (Sikkim)
Lal Thanhawla – Mizo (Mizoram)
Ram Gopal Varma – Telugu (Andhra Pradesh)
Rajnesh Domalpalli - Telugu (Andhra Pradesh)
Vikram – Tamil (Tamil Nadu)
Kanimozhi – Tamil (Tamil Nadu)
Prithviraj – Malayalam (Kerala)
Adoor Gopalakrishnan – Malayalam (Kerala)
Girish Kasaravalli – Kannada (Karnataka)
Remo Fernandes – Goan (Goa)
Dharmesh Darshan – Goan (Goa)
Ratan Tata – Parsi Ethnic Group
Nikhil Advani – Sindhi Ethnic Group
Prannoy Roy – “News Anchor”
Shyam Benegal – “City Indian”
Harsha Bhogle – “Generic Indian”
Salman Rushdie – “British Indian”
Imran Khan – Pakistan
Dalai Lama – Tibet (and in Dharamsala, Himalchal Pradesh, India)
Rookmangud Katawal – Nepal
Aung San Suu Kyi – Burma (Burmese-Indian)
Sanath Jayasuriya – Sri Lanka

Film Classical Dances of Lakshmi Gopalaswamy

2011-06-17T23:48:00.006-06:00

Photo by Ragesh Vasudevan/Flickr

I'm going to stray from my usually-verbose manner and get straight to the point: Lakshmi Gopalaswamy is my favorite female filmi classical dancer of the current generation actively performing in films. I think she is, quite simply, the best in terms of technical prowess!

In the 2000 and onwards world of film dance, we the classical-dance-loving audience have been left with little to delight in. Certainly Vineeth has contributed some lovely performances, but what of the females?

Outside of the promising start of Manju Warrier (who gave a nice performance as the second dancer in this song from Thooval Kottaram but let marriage end her budding career), I've not been impressed with a single recurring female dancer in recent films until I saw Lakshmi's dances.

What I love about Lakshmi is that she is a trained Bharatanatyam dancer that actually transfers that training well to film. It's refreshing to see someone with skill performing on screen. Unfortunately, the dance choreography she's been given hasn't fully lived up to her potential for the most part. More about her at the end of the post.

I now proudly present all of her film dances I could find in order from best to meh:

"Suma Saayaka" - Kochu Kochu Santhoshangal (Malayalam, 2000) - Lakshmi's exquisite audition dance here is yet another stunning example of the simple beauty of a woman in a sari practicing classical dance. She has perfect control over her body and quickly transitions from sharp moves to soft, graceful ones. The melodious and lilting music elevates the scene. How I wish the dance would continue much longer! This is one I can watch over...and over... and yes, that's Bhanupriya doing the judging!

"Omkara" - Aaptharakshaka (Kannada, 2010) - Even though real-life male Kathak enthusiast Anuj Mishra outshines Lakshmi a bit in this dance due to his striking presence and choreography, Lakshmi still gives a technically-excellent performance and showcases her crisp posture and lines. It's too bad that the music is so repetitive that it gets a bit annoying at times! As I mentioned in my post on classical dances in Kannada films, it's really a shame she didn't stick with Kannada cinema because it is really lacking in dancers...

"Shyama Varnanu" - Black Daliya (Malayalam, 2009) - This stage performance is an absolutely perfect illustration of a good and bad dancer side by side. I'm sure you can guess who the good dancer is! While I can't comment on the correctness of her adavus or such technical matters, in the choreographical moments that are taken from Bharatanatyam Lakshmi forms beautifully-straight and erect lines with her torso and arms. She doesn't exxagerate her movements or facial expressions and exhibits such precision. Her dance partner, on the other hand, lacks control and flails her arms about. It is the control of geometrical lines in Bharatanatyam that make it so beautiful, in my opinion. And without getting technical at all, I could simply say that I enjoy watching Lakshmi's performance so much more on a basic, gut level. It passes the "do I want to watch this again?" litmus test. It's too bad that the music and its technoey beat sort of ruin the whole thing, but just try to ignore it!

Kochu Kochu Santhoshangal (Small Happiness) is a dancer’s dream film! It tells the story of a housewife (Lakshmi Gopalaswami) who pursues her passion for classical dance but runs into conflict with her husband who feels she has ignored her family and her responsibilities. Through my perusal of the film it’s clear that this “ignored family” concept dominates the running time with lots of social theme scenes of dialogue, but the few times that she gets to dance are awesome! Beyond the audition scene above, here are the other two dance songs from the film:

"Shiva Karuda" - Why, oh why, did they have to add electric guitars and synth jazz elements to the haunting melody? Apart from the terrible music, I am enamored with the choreography here as it very skillfully takes inspiration from classical dances. One thing that strikes me is how Lakshmi's grounded control of her movements actually works to her detriment here because Bhanupriya's more filmified exuberance is more visually appealing with this kind of choreography.

"Ghana Shyama" - I thought the song above was uber tacky until I heard this one! It really takes the cake! The Kathak-based choreography here is pleasant enough but not a rewatch for me. I think the music is ruining the whole thing...

"Ninne Ratri" - Namyajamanru (Kannada, 2008) - This is perhaps as close to an item number as Lakshmi can get! ;) She gets to prance around in a Bharatanatyam costume in front of a veena-playing (late) Vishnuvardhan. While much of the choreography is silly, the parts where she gets to actually dance clearly show her training. She's one of those dancers that has committed her training to muscle memory so well that she really can't break out of the mould even when given silly material like this- which I think is quite awesome. Too bad another dancer has to come in mid-way and spoil the fun!

By now you've likely noticed that Lakshmi doesn't have the ultra-slim look of many current young actresses; she has a fuller figure and a realistic woman's body shape that fluctuates in weight from year to year. She also hit 40 last year and could pass for even older given her very mature look. So in a way it feels a bit odd to consider her part of the "current generation" when she is only a few years away from Shobana's age.

I find Lakshmi's background very charming and interesting. In dance, she is fully trained in Bharatanatyam and is quite active in the classical dance scene. She performed at the Soorya Festival along with such artists as Alarmel Valli, the Dhanajayans, and the dancers from Nrityagram, and last I read she was performing in the infamous Chennai music and dance season in 2011. Many of her performances have been reviewed at The Hindu. She seems to often perform with fellow actor Vineeth in fusion dance shows and tours which may be a part of her work with the supposed Indian Heritage Center. She's also been a judge on the TV dance show Thakadhimi!

In films, she debuted in 2000's Arayannangalude Veedu with Mammooty and won the Kerala state award for best supporting actress. Since then she's acted in a variety of films, mostly Malayalam with a few Kannada, Tamil, and Hindi works including another state-award-winning performance in Thaniye and a best supporting actress Filmfare award for Paradesi. In this interview, she sweetly relates how she started in Malayalam films because she didn't want to be recognized in her home state Karnataka and thought "Kerala was tucked away somewhere." It seems she's stuck with Malayalam films due to her luck in achieving such success and her looking especially Malayalee despite being "100% Kannadiga." I'm impressed with her approach to films and charmed by her conservative values.

I'm just SO delighted to have found a modern dancer on film that is so talented. Finally! Note to directors: give her some better dance material and music, please!

Last, here are some links to some recent non-film classical dance performances of Lakshmi's: a very standard Bharatanatyam performance from Swarasaagaram, and some lovely slow choreography at FOMAA 2010. Is it just me or does her araimandi seem kinda crappy?

For some more fun reading about Lakshmi:
Lakshmi Gopalaswamy- Goddess in the Hearts of Malayalees - Sulekha, 2009
Framed! - The Hindu, 2008
Lakshmi Plans to Devote More Time For Dance - The Hindu, 2010
Stepped Into a New Phase - The Hindu, 2007

The Classical Dances in Konjum Salangai (Tamil, 1962)

2011-05-20T22:03:00.002-06:00

It’s no secret that the quality of the videos from Konjum Salangai (Tamil, 1962) on YouTube stink! I’ve always had to force myself through them because while the dancing is fantastic the quality is so yellow and blurry and icky.

I am happy to present much better quality versions for all my fellow Kamala fans to view! I made an attempt to correct and subdue the colors (Kamala looks green in parts of the print I have) and get the best VCD quality I could, though I was limited by the print which is in ghastly and obviously-degraded technicolor. And not all is perfect in the videos, but I've let it be! Not only is the quality better from the existing YouTube videos, but also there are parts that were cut out, especially the entire Kathakali dance! So it’s truly been a treat seeing the full versions in all their glory. Enjoy!

"Konjum Salangai Oli"

This court scene begins with a lovely yet subdued Kathakali performance by a female dancer while Kamala looks on from above (I don’t know the character’s names in the movie so I’ll use their real names!). Next, Kuchala Kumari gives quite a terrible Bharatanatyam attempt. Just when it seems like the king will make her the court dancer, a man in the audience says he’s found a talented dancer in the kingdom (a commoner!) and the king should watch her dance before making his decision. When Kuchala watches Kamala and realizes she has competition, she signals to the musicians to increase the thaalam speed and laughs like the evil witch she is! Kamala pleads to the King that it was the musicians fault, not hers. Gemini Ganesan, who is fond of Kamala, comes to her rescue, asking a woman (Savitri) to sing, and then Kamala’s second and awesome attempt, "Konjum Salangai Oli," commences! The king is clearly impressed when it’s over. Go Kamala!

Note: I highly-recommend you select 480p in the bottom-right hand corner of the video!

"Brahman Thaalam Poda"

The final, rousing dance competition! Things start off with some wonderfully-catty, icy looks exchanged between the competing dancers and their friends. I love how Kamala’s sweet expression turns from niceties to an assured look of “bring it on!!” I must say that I do not enjoy watching Kuchalakumari dance—she's so lazy, so uninterested. Kamala is clearly given more difficult choreography, but even with her easy moves she is all smiles and glides around with effortless joy. You know she enjoys dancing with her whole heart, and it shows. Things get even more groovy when the powder comes out and the dancers make images with their feet. At first I thought the dancers just pushed off powder behind them to reveal an already-painted image underneath, but after watching it again it looks like they used some special effects to materialize the pictures! Richard at the Dances on the Footpath blog had a nice post about an interview of Kuchalakumari reflecting on this aspect of the dance. When things speed up and the dancers go at it together, Kamala has the win in the bag until she gets dizzy from exhaustion and the effects of the cuts on her feet. And then begins the most magical moment of the dance: the camera slowly circling around Kamala as she hears the sweet sounds of Gemini’s nadaswaram melody. It’s enough to revitalize her and win the competition!

"Kaana Kankodi Vendum"

This is Kamala’s first dance in the film. As it’s more focused on the music/lyrics than the dance, it doesn't keep my interest for long. Perhaps some subtitles would help. I like her costumes at 2:20 and 4:30 - it’s a skirt-style costume but has the single stripe outlining the inner part of the leg (like the pyjama-style costumes do) creating a nice shape and aesthetic.

Last, I read that Konjum Salangai was made (or dubbed?) in Telugu as Muripinche Muvvalu, and I found this great film poster to share:

Loads of Bengali Films with Subtitles at Angel's YouTube Channel!

2011-05-17T22:01:00.001-06:00

I am excited to announce that Angel Digital, the entertainment company that among other things distributes good quality new and old Bengali films on DVD, now has a YouTube channel! They have uploaded countless black-and-white Bengali films (and some more recent ones too) and the vast majority have English subtitles even on the songs! I've always felt like Bengali films are harder to find information or videos of on the web (similar to Kannada films), so this is a stellar development! Actually knowing what characters are saying or singing makes film viewing all the more enjoyable. :) Angel keeps adding more videos each week, so the collection requires constant checking to see what's new. They also appear to be also trying out a pay-per-view option on some of the films for $1.99, but these are in the minority.

Despite YouTube's annoying "load more" button, I've had so much fun visually browsing through all of Angel's uploads avidly scouting for any dances. I don't think anything can top Roshan Kumari's Kathak dance in Jalsaghar (1958). Angel has of course uploaded the entire film with subtitles, and the print is lighter and has less shadows then the other versions online. Here's the Kathak dance in all it's glory:

While I wasn't able to find any dances that can remotely compare to Jalsaghar's, I did find some interesting ones to share:

I think this song from Jamalay Jibanta Manush (1958) is the only time I've seen South Indian dance attempted in a Bengali film. It's not very good, but the dancer is clearly going for semblances of Bharatanatyam in her choreography and costume.

Helen's cabaret performance as Madhumati, the famous dancer from Bombay, in Kalankito Nayak (1970). (She can also be seen in Gali Theke Rajpath, but no subs unfortunately!)

Bhalobhasa Bhalobhasa (1985) features a very short but graceful stage performance in this song- I really wish it had been developed and longer!

Mujra performances abound in classic Bengali films, at least from what I saw of Angel's collection! I found a bunch of seated Mujra's, such as this "twin" one in Antariksha (1957), the one in Mahabiplabi Arabindo (1971) or Dui Purush (1978), and the standing active kind can be seen in Sanyasi Raja (1975).

"Ghir Aaye Kari Badri" from Aalor Pipasa (1965) features a very a sweet mujra performance.

Kishore Kumar's "Sing Nei Tobu Nam Tar Singho" from Lukochoori deserves a watch simply to see the hilarious English translations for the subs! "Stunned moo... moo! right right right right!"

I'm looking forward to browsing through the films and hope to find some gems (and see more of the famed work of Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen). I was especially surprised to find the 1932 Bengali film Chandidas with subtitles! If anyone finds some good clips, do share!

Classical Dances in Kannada Films - Part 2

2011-05-09T22:01:00.006-06:00

While Part One of my "Classical Dances in Kannada Films" series presented the best classical dance songs Kannada films have to offer, Part Two focuses on the rest: the bad, the obscure, and the missed opportunities!

Dreadful, Disastrous, and Dismaying!

Given that I usually focus on well-crafted classical-based dances in Indian films, I thought it would be delicious to revel in the dark side and present some pristine examples of dances that are, quite simply, terrible! It's often hard to pinpoint what makes them so bad... you just know it when you see it!

So Much Potential! - These dances below especially disappointed me by having all the ingredients for a beautiful classical dance number but completely failing on the execution:

Hands down, the most disappointing dancing I found was in the 1986 classical film Malaya Marutha. At first glance, the film appeared to be a gem inspired by the likes of Shankarabharanam or Salangai Oli. Classical dance imagery adorned the DVD cover and the reviews snippets sung its praises. My hopes were sky high! The feeling vanished once I actually watched the “dances” by prolific southern actress Madhavi which look like what would transpire if Minai in her ignorant white-girl exuberance decided to choreograph an impromptu classical number. It’s telling that all of the reviews of the film focus exclusively on the music and “visual beauty” but never mention the dancing. The choreography is terrible, and Madhavi looks like she is in pain. I was a bit surprised considering that this is the same Madhavi from Maro Charithra, Ek Duje Ke Liye, Tik Tik Tik whose dancing left something to be desired but wasn’t as godawful as in Malaya Marutha! But then I found even more atrocious dancing: her dance for Rajinikanth in Adhisaya Piravi and her shindig with Vishnuvardhan in “Mohini Nava Mohini” from Chanakya. So I think it's safe to say she quite a terrible dancer!

Dance Sequence - Painful, stiff... is she wearing an invisible back brace?

"Natanavisharadha Natashekara" - Ahhh, the horribleness!!

I had high hopes for the film Sanadi Appanna (1977) which is considered a “landmark” Kannada film with renowned music. The song "Karedaru Kelade" contains a GORGEOUS and much-beloved shehnai melody by Ustad Bismillah Khan enacted by Dr. Rajkumar who apparently "cancelled all his shooting schedules for a month...to master the shehnai-wielding technique." Though the way the instruments were played was clearly given careful thought, someone dropped the ball in choreographing Jayapradha's dance! Her moves are so sloppy. I think the top two worst movement are the jumps at 3:35 and the leg kicks at 4:22. What were they thinking! Can you imagine how awesome the frenetic rhythm at the end could have been if Kamala Lakshman had been dancing? Sigh.

Following in the same vein as Sanadi Appana, and worth mentioning, are “Aadidhanu Nataraja Kunidhadidhanu” from Shiva Mechidha Kannappa (1988) and "Sharanu Virupaksha Shashishekara" from Sri Krishnadevaraya (1969).

"Madanana Hoova Baana" from Kalyana Mantapa (1991) - I think this song is trying to go for the same kind of look as the wonderful Sridhar-Suhasini dance Sangatamizh Kaviyae from Manathil Urudhi Vendum, but pulling that off would require the male dancer to have talent and the choreography to be innovative and suitable! The song ends up evoking giggles instead of ooohs and aaaahs. I think the dude at :23 seconds feels my pain!

Just Bad - Nothing really going for them to start with, and it's all downhill from there!

Perhaps the most well-known example of classical dance in recent Kannada films would be from Apthamitra (2004), the (first) remake of the spectacular Malayalam film Manichitrathazhu. The late Soundarya bravely attempted to follow in Shobana’s footsteps in "Raa Raa" but just couldn't live up to such greatness, and the less said about the male dancer the better (who as I noted in my Sridhar post is also named Sridhar!). The song concept and editing simply cannot match the ingenious creativity of the original.

"Bhaava Raaga Thaalavu" from Premave Baalina Belaku (1984) - This song starts out promisingly with traditional-looking invocation gestures, but it immediately becomes apparently that the dancer is most concerned with flailing about as fast as possible. Guess I have to give her props for at least keeping up with the beat, bad as it is. Do check out the part starting at 2:26 where she enacts the navarasas (nine emotions): Sringara (love), Veera (courage), Karuna (compassion), Hasya (laughter), Roudra (anger), Bhibhatsa (disgust), Bhayanaka (terror), Adbhuta (wonder/surprise) and Shanta (peace).

"Naatya Gaana" from Bankar Margayya (1983) has its heart in the right place but ultimately fails due to the lazy execution of the choreography. I think this could have been a really good number had the dancer put some effort into completing her movements! Look how lazy the arm movements are at :58!

"Naada Lola Sri Krishna" from Krishna Rukmini (1988) - The 'classical' dancer here is Ramya Krishna; need I say further? Apparently it was one of her first roles and first Kannada film. The choreography veers off into pseudo-classical territory and spoils the whole experience.

"Baa Beega Manamohana" from Saaku Magalu (1963) - All the right ingredients for a lovely, black-and-white classical dance number: the Natraj statue, live seated musicians, an audience...but the director decided to forego a classical dance costume for Sowcar Janaki as well as classical choreography and turned it into a standard light dance number. Shame as it could have been a very nice song!

Both "Ninna Youhvanada Chaitradali Vikasisuve Sumavaagi" from Raaga Taala (1982) and "Naadave Nannida" from Krishna Rukmini (first mentioned above) appear to be going for the temple dance look in "Raagam Tanam Pallavi" from Shakarabharanam (Telugu, 1979), but they fail miserably. The Raaga Taala (left) song looks so cheap, and Krishna Rukmini's (right) number spices things up with some groovy synth instruments!

And then there are all the terrible pseduo-classical dances in mythological films, but I won't touch those with a ten-foot pole! :)

Fun Diversion

How could I not post this cute-as-sugar dance by a charming little girl in "Mella Mellane" from Mrugaalaya? It really doesn't fit anywhere, but I had to share it!

Obscure

Two films belong on this list, I presume, but are difficult to find much info on.

The first is Parva, a drama set amidst a backdrop of singing and Bharatanatyam, starring Vishnuvardhan but receiving quite terrible reviews. I’m curious to see what the dancing looks like despite a review noting one of the dancers, Prema, "has to improve a lot on her dancing abilities." With such a stylish, rocking Vishnuvardhan on the cover, I'm drawn to this film like bees to honey! ;)

The second is Ijjodu, a film starring Meera Jasmine as a devadasi who clashes with a man visiting her village to study architecture.
I wasn't expecting much from Meera's dance skills, but I was excited when I read that the film contained a dance by the troupe Nritarutya and saw the teaser.

But after watching the song posted on their website I realized the dances are modern with some Indian influences- no where near classical – which makes sense since Nritarutya is a contemporary Indian dance company. Too bad the film appears to be undistributed at this time...

En Conclusionesse!

Overall, while Kannada films do have some excellent classical dance sequences mixed in with the not-so-great, there just aren't nearly enough of either kind! I've been very disappointed by the seeming absence of classical dances in pre-1975 films. There have certainly been many chances, but most of the semi-classical-music-based Kannada films have songs with characters lip-synching while playing an instrument or walking about; Sandhya Raaga (1966) is a perfect example. The hit devotional movie Swarna Gowri (1962) keeps its dances in the realm of courtly pseudo-classical style, and Santha Thukaram (1963) spices its courtly dance with eroticism. Of more recent films that didn't offer dance content, these seemed especially suitable: Upasane, Santa Shishunala Sharifa, Matthe Haditu Kogile, Ganayogi Panchakshari... I'm hoping there are some gems out there that I've missed!

Classical Dances in Kannada Films - Part 1

2011-04-09T19:59:00.003-06:00

Subba Shastry

Throughout all of my posts on classical dance, one thing that has bothered me is the lack of representation from Kannada movies. Tamil and Telugu films seem to dominate the landscape of filmi classical dance offerings with Malayalam films in a distant third likely due to Kerala's rich classical dance traditions. But finding native Kannada films (not dubbings) with classical dance content has been difficult.

There is a relative lack of information about Sandalwood (the Kannada film industry) online compared to other southern industries which means an outsider like me has put forth extra effort to unearth anything useful. When I first pondered why I had so few Kannada songs in my blog posts, I wondered if the film industry's obscurity relative to its southern counterparts had simply hidden songs from my view. Or was it the industry's recent struggles compared to its earlier golden years? I even started to wonder if Karnataka had less of an engrained classical dance tradition that would be reflected in film compared to, say, Tamil Nadu, but I suspect I'm ignorant on the subject. In any case, here's what I've been able to find about classical-inspired dances in Kannada cinema.

My Favorites

This stunning black-and-white gem from Subba Shastry (1966) is listed first because if you're only going to watch one Kannada film classical dance, it should be this one! I found it while searching for other choreography of Adyar Lakshman (who did Hamsageethe below) and I feel blessed to have laid eyes on it! What a discovery. Over 10 solid minutes in length, it is packed with fantastic pure and expressive classical dance, storytelling, varied tempos, and attentive group choreography. If only it had subtitles! I especially love the set design, the way the background dancers are utilized, and how the costumes so well-fitted and patterned. Absolutely one of my top favorite classical film dances ever.

The only song worthy of a follow up to Subbasastri would be the dance competition from the period film Hamsa Geethe (1975). Lovely and authentic. Details about the song and its translation found at my post dedicated to the song.

Aptharakshaka, the 2010 sequel to Apthamitra (a remake of Manichitrathazhu), contains a nicely-choreographed stage number near the start of the film that I've embedded below. Recognize the male dancer? It's Anuj Mishra from the Kathak video I featured in my dated “How South Indian Films Stole My Heart” post! Strange coincidence, eh? I love his lines and think he’s beautiful to watch- his curly mop of hair and defined muscles adding just the right amount of zest! I'll also note that the film also contains a lackluster dance reprisal of "Ra Ra" by Vineeth and Vimala Raman near the end, but it's quite terrible and doesn't deserve to be listed here!

The woman with Anuj in the video above is Lakshmi Gopalaswamy, a trained Bharatanatyam dancer still practicing today whom I’ve become quite curious about. Though she is a Kannadiga from Bangalore, she’s had much success in Malayalam films which form the bulk of her filmography. I find myself wishing she’d stuck with Kannada cinema to increase its classical dance filmi quotas! It appears she’s only been in three Kannada films so far (Vishnu Sene, Poorvapara, and Namyajamanru). In the latter she does a classical-inspired "dance" for a veena-playing Vishnuvardhan, and though the choreography is a bit silly at times her training shines through in her crisp posture and lines. She appears to be the only trained (and good) classical dancer in modern Kannada films and deserves the attention. Expected a lengthy and video-filled post on her soon. :)

The songs from Kalavathi (1964) feature an absolutely gorgeous and slim young woman whose unusual face shape, slender frame, and gigantic eyes draw me to gaze at her. For quite some time I tried fruitlessly to determine her identity. Some suggested she might be Kanchana or Jayanthi, but pictures and videos of those women didn't look like her. I then noticed KannadaStore carried a 3-in-1 with Kalaavathi on it, and there was Ms. Unknown pictured on the right side! The cast listing mentioned a G.V. Latha... was that her? I mustered up some courage and emailed the folks at KannadaStore pleading to know who she was. If you can believe it, by the next morning I had a response that her name was Latha! The kind people at KannadaStore also listed seven films she has been in, only three of which I can find copies of. One, Emme Thammanna, is on YouTube; she and Rajkumar are too cute in "Belli Hakki Aguva" and she is one of two women cute-ing it up yet again in "Kanneredu Kareyuthidhe." To my disappointment, there seems to be zilch information on her on the web, and it doesn't help that her name is similar to playback singer Lata Mangeshkar. Really a shame because she has simply captivated me.

My favorite number of hers from the film is "Gaana Natya Rasadhare." The song is very sweet and has it's heart in the right place.

In "Rajadhi Raja Sree Krishdeva Bhoopa," Latha forgets to do any sort of footwork most of the time and just waves her arms around and positions her body in poses reminiscent of classical dance, but I simply love gazing at her. I find myself wishing this song had gone the way of Vyjayanthimala's wonderful Alarippu in New Delhi.

Closer to a mujra than anything else, "Namoh Namoh Sri Mahadev" tries to go for a "classical feel" but doesn't quite make it. But Latha has cast her spell on me, and it's actually a lovely song, so I'm listing it here.

In No. 73 Shanti Nivasa (2007), an Odissi dancer (following a short Kuchipudi performance) gives a performance so short it almost doesn't deserve mention, but her moves are so admirably inspired from traditional movements that the song belongs on this list. Just seeing an attempt at Odissi in an Indian film at all is a treat! And the dancer's beauty completes the experience. Unfortunately, the dance degenerates quickly after that into a very tacky Bharatantayam and Kathak-inspired number.

Favorites Previously Featured

All of these songs are among the best, but since they've been featured previously on this blog I thought I'd group them separately.

The films of male classical dancer Sridhar were another amazing discovery which I previously devoted an entire post to. He appears to have been the only decent male classical dancer featured in Kannada films. Telugu and Tamil cinema had its Kamal Hassan, Malayalam its Vineeth, and Kannada its Sridhar it seems! Below is my favorite dance of his in Kannada films from Manasa Veena (1984):

Bhookailasa (1956), the original version of the film which was later remade as Bhookailas in Telugu with NTR, has brilliant dances by Kamala Lakshman and Gopi Krishna. I made a recent post all about Gopi's tandav in each version of the film. Here it is again in all its glory:

For some time I thought that the film Ananda Bhairavi (1983) was only made in Telugu and that the clear videos I saw of it on YouTube in Kannada were just a dub. It turns out the film was actually made simultaneously in Kannada and Telugu! While the majority of the film is the same (with speaking scenes reshot in each language), there are quite a few differences in editing and some scenes that appear in one version and not the other. Even the dances have slight differences between each version! I’m still not sure which version could be considered the “original” in terms of being the “home” production. I plan to have a post dedicated to the two versions of this film, but for now I'll repost the two male-female dance competitions from the film which are brilliantly-awesome:

"Malagiruveya Ranganatha" - Kuchipudi dance competition

Ananda Bhairavi (Kannada, 1983) - Malagiruveya... by kasuvandi

"Shiva Tandava" - Tandav dance competition

Ananda Bhairavi (Kannada, 1983) - Shiva Thandava by kasuvandi

Yakshagana

What about Yakshagana, the dance drama form (folk/semiclassical) that is unique to Karnataka? Surely such a cultural icon, especially with the colorful costumes and headdresses reminiscent of Kathakali, has shown up in various film songs. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find many examples. Sridhar's website says that he played a Yakshagana artist in Bannada Vesha (1989), a national award winning telefilm directed by the much-respected Girish Kasaravalli, but I couldn't find any more information or videos. Also said to be about Yakshagana, the 1978 film Maleya Makkalu directed by Shivarama Karanth is also MIA on the web in terms of additional information or videos. The only two videos I've been able to find are these:

The song "Nadhim Dhim Tana" from Gaalipata (2008) features a plethora of Yakshagana dancers; though they are mostly relegated to standing around and waving their arms, their presence adds a rich color and feel to the song.

The song "Kannada Naadina Karavali" from Masanadha Hoovu (1984), according to one of the YouTube commenters, sings the praises of the Karavali (coastal) region of Karnataka. The best part is the segment of Yakshagana artists near the end starting at 5:25. This song is precisely the sort of thing I was hoping to find- an example of Kannadiga pride in the land, people, and the art form Yakshagana!

Part 2 coming soon! (Prepare yourself for all the baaaaaaad dances!)

Vyjayanthimala and Padmini's Dance-off: Vanjikottai Valiban vs. Raj Tilak

2011-04-03T12:51:00.006-06:00

Thanks to the efforts of Tom Daniel and Mr. Naidu, the legendary dance-off between Vyjayantimala and Padmini in the 1958 Tamil film Vanjikottai Valiban (and it's Hindi remake Raj Tilak) are now available for viewing in excellent quality! I did not know there was a Hindi remake of "Kannum Kannum Kalandhu" until last week, and once I watched it the idea of doing another comparison like Bhookailasa/Bhookailas popped into my head. When the idea was suggested to me I figured I should go for it! Another nerdeshi pardesi enterprise, yay! (And I really nerded it up, see below.) I'm so happy that Tom and Mr. Naidu made these videos available because such a detailed comparison wouldn't be possible without this quality. Without further ado, here is the finished product (watch on YouTube for a bigger size):

Unlike Bhookailasa, these dances were incredibly difficult to sync together. The Tamil version runs a minute less in length because the Hindi version extends the verses in the middle (and often changes the melody to a minor-key which changes the whole "fun" atmosphere of the song). This is why you'll notice the Tamil version periodically freezes and dims while the Hindi version does it's thing for a moment (and during those times I bring in the Hindi music for a moment as well). Another frustrating roadblock is that the Hindi version is at a slightly-different tempo at various points of the song, so I had to compress or extend the time as necessary to match it to the rhythm of the Tamil version. The key to note is that the Tamil version and its music were not altered at all (except for the pauses) while the Hindi version has been altered slightly.

After watching it closely, I am 99% convinced that every single frame was remade for the Hindi version. At first, many of the dance-only segments looked identical, but when I paid close attention I noticed in every case there are differences. The giveaways are usually differences in how the pyjama fan between the legs swings or rises when the dancers spin or twirl, and also helpful are differences in how high the arms are held and the tilt of the dancers head. Some examples (click image to view full size):

Vyjayanthimala's pyjama fan swinging to the left vs. to the right

Looking down vs. looking up and leg height differences

I caught a mistake! They went to the trouble of ensuring the man shown seated from behind was the same man shown close up in the beginning (frizzy hair in Tamil, matted hair in Hindi), but when this seated shot is shown a second time near the end they reversed the frames!

Teeth vs. no teeth

So again, just as I posed in the Bhookailasa post, why did they go to the time and effort to reshoot the pieces that matched the music with no lyrics! I wonder if the limitations of filmmaking back then required this method? Perhaps all of the footage had to be shot on the same film reel or something to facilitate editing. In any case, I'm positive each version was shot at the same time due to how the jewelry, costumes, and background actors are all in the exact same positions which would be impossible to try to recreate later. It really is remarkable how similar everything is positioned; at least Gopi Krishna's dhoti and necklace moved a bit between Bhookailasa and Bhookailas as you would expect, but apparently Padmini and Vyjayanthimala's accessories were glued on, or something!

What the comparison also makes clear is that you are really missing out on some beautiful close up shots of Padmini and Vyjayanthimala if you don't see the Hindi version! Although the Hindi song itself in my opinion has the most whiny and annoying melody when it differs from the original.

But perhaps most remarkable of all is that Padmini and Vyjayanthimala were able to dance each version with such precision that it takes a frame-by-frame viewing to conclude each version was filmed separately!

Hamsa Geethe's Classical Dance Competition: Translation and Reflection

2011-03-30T20:36:00.005-06:00

The 1975 Kannada period film Hamsageethe (“The Swan Song”) contains one of my favorite classical dances in Indian films ever. Directed by GV Iyer and based on Ta Ra Su’s novel of the same name, the film tells the story of a carnatic musician and his missteps and personal growth on the path of devotion to god. The novel was based upon the supposed real life of the carnatic musician Bhairavi Venkata Subbiah who lived in the 18th century. UpperStall has a decent review of the film, and this blog post at the Ancient Indians - Satya Samhita blog lays out the basic plot illustrated with videos.

Midway through the film, Venkatasubbaiah is invited to witness the performance of a Tanjore dancer who has made the challenge that the kingdom has no dancers to equal her. She gives a beautiful Bharatanatyam performance and is then followed by a local dancer for whom Venkatasubbaiah lends his beautiful voice. The scene is shot at the lovely Chitradurga Fort.

The dance itself has no English subtitles unlike its speaking parts or the rest of the film which is most perplexing! In conversations with the ever-helpful blogger Ramesh, I learned that the Tanjore dancer is performing to lyrics from ashtapadis (stylized hymns) of the Gitagovinda. The Geeta Govinda (Song of the Cowherd) was composed by the 12th century courtly poet Jayadeva and is considered to be one of the finest examples of Sanskrit poetry. The work is a subject of much further discussion, but in sum it tells of the passionate love between Radha and the divine cowherd Krishna and echoes beliefs of the Bhakti movement in Hinduism.

Ramesh graciously offered to find and translate the Sanskrit lyrics into English which I have overlaid onto the video itself. Thank you Ramesh!! Sanskrit translations often are subject to debate, but I think the fairly literal translation here is priceless for non-Indians like me to understand the dancer’s expression and gestures. While I have always liked the scene for its aesthetic beauty, knowing the meaning behind the vocals has greatly enriched the viewing experience of one of the most pure and authentic classical dance numbers in Indian film. I am also mesmerized by the voice of the male singer accompanying the Kuchipudi dancer- what divine tone and ability! For your viewing pleasure…

With the translation displayed, it’s clear how the dancer’s abhinaya (mime) matches the poetic descriptions of things like honeybees, sandal paste applications, and yearning eyes. Lines are often repeated twice and the dancer usually performs the abhinaya slightly differently each time. I especially love the pure dance piece about halfway through. The second dancer, whom Ramesh tells me is dancing Kuchipudi, is clearly not as good as the first, though at the end she is awarded the post of “court dancer” by the king. Venkatasubbaiah is also awarded a gift and scholar-ship for his singing abilities which moves the story forward and ensures that the dance scene doesn’t seem out of place in the film.

Regarding the people who made this beautiful dance scene possible, the Tanjore dancer is enacted by Kalakshetra-graduate Jayalakshmi Eswar who still dances today and has authored some instructional classical dance DVDs. Choreography is credited to Radhakrishna and the famed guru Adyar K. Lakshman whom Padma Subrahmanyam called the “first freelance natuvanar [dance recital conductor and singer] in the field of Bharatanatyam.” He also is said to have taught at Kalakshetra and Vyjayanthimala Bali’s school Natyalaya. I also found another exquisite film dance of his that I will feature in an upcoming post about classical dances in Kannada films.

One thing I found especially interesting to learn was the deep effect the Geetagovinda has had on eastern India and Odissi dance. The Sri Geetagovinda Pratisthana trust explains, “Even today the influence of Geetagovinda is quite powerful on the culture of Orissa. Notably, Odissi dance, now enjoying great revival, derives many themes from Jayadeva’s songs and the famous Dasavataara song is a part of the repertoire of every Odissi dance.” This is clearly reflected on the website for Srjan, the gurukul-style Odissi dance repertory following the distinctive style of the late guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, which has DVDs of Kelucharan’s performances from the Geeta Govinda and some passage translations.

Reflecting upon the meaning of the Geeta Govinda, the trust notes, “What Krishna is enacting through this mystic love play is only to shower his Love and Grace on entire humanity.” I liked the way a reviewer of a paperback translation put it; that it’s not mere erotic poetry but rather “is written for liberated souls to relish.” Relish, indeed!

Another Kamal Hassan "Classical" Dance in Sanam Teri Kasam

2011-03-22T21:22:00.003-06:00

The 1982 Hindi film Sanam Teri Kasam went straight onto my never-ending "must find" list after I read on an online forum that Kamal Hassan's character was forced to dance Kuchipudi in a run-in with some hijras! Turns out there's not much "classical" dance in the scene, but it's still quite entertaining. Especially Kamal's svelte midriff-baring getup which I think takes the cake even over his tight trousers in Nizhal Nijamakirathu.

Kamal's "classical" part starts at 1:15 if you want to skip straight to it. And make sure to select 480p (anyone know how to force this on the latest youtube code incarnation?). I nominate Kamal for the best-bhangra-shoulders-ever! Edit: I just learned that the song Kamal performs to, "Raghuvamsa Sudhambudhi Chandra," is apparently a very popular classical song!

So my hopes of adding Sanam Teri Kasam to the list of films (Nizhal Nijamagirathu, Sagara Sangamam, and Maro Charithra) that feature Kamal's classical dance talents have been dashed, but at least I've got a smile!

Gopi Krishna’s Tandav Dance: Bhookailas vs. Bhookailasa

2011-02-22T21:10:00.003-07:00

I’ve long been hunting for Gopy Krishna’s tandav dance in the old Telugu film Bhookailas. When I finally got a copy of the DVD, I also discovered a copy of the old Kannada film Bhookailasa. At first I thought it must be a dubbed version of Bhookailas, but then I saw the DVD cover of the famous actor Rajkumar posing in the same iconic way as NTR. I was bemused! Was it a remake? Which one came first? And most importantly, did Gopi Krishna and Kamala have different dances in each version?

I watched each version’s dances with excitement! At first, they looked identical and as though the same footage had been used twice. But then I noticed a couple of things that made me second guess myself. So in true classical dance nerdesse, I decided to put the tandav dance side by side to make a determination once and for all. It turns out that each ‘version’ was recorded separately! See for yourself:

It becomes fascinating the more you watch it. The choreography is danced slightly different each time, and the editing in each version reflects different ideas of when to end shots and insert others. Just when you think a section is really the same, another dissimilar detail jumps out at you! I think my favorite difference is the cow that the Telugu version felt was so important to interject at 1:42. :) Gopi Krishna’s ability to retain such pitch-perfect rhythm yet put in a unique stamp on each version is a testament to his talents in dance. And that flexibility!

After doing a bit of research, it turns out that the Kannada version with Raj Kumar and Kalyan Kumar was released in 1956 and then remade in Telugu in 1958 with NTR and ANR. So Bhookailasa is the original! Oldies historian Randor Guy notes that many folks felt the earlier version was better. I don't think I can ever shake the idea that the Telugu version was the original!

The question remains: why was the dance remade? Especially since the song is instrumental with no lyrics to mouth to! It would have been infinitely easier to only remake the portions that have a clear difference, such as the character shots that are specific to each version. The mystery remains…

And in case you’re wondering about Kamala’s dances- her's are the same (looks identical but actually reshot) with the added twist that she does have different lyrics to mouth, but I had the most difficult time lining up the dance movements to be parallel and just gave up after some time. So apologies- no Kamala comparison!

Here's Gopi Krishna's dance in Bhookailasa all by itself , if you'd like to watch it sans comparison. And of course any opportunity to link to a Kamala dance must be taken advantage of! Here she is in Munneta Pavalinchu Nagashayana from the Telugu version.

Film Thoughts: La Danse De L’Enchanteresse (France, 2007)

2011-02-21T00:42:00.006-07:00

A few days ago I sat down to write a post about La Danse De L’Enchanteresse (The Dance of the Enchantress), a French-produced Mohiniattam documentary by the famed Adoor Gopalakrishnan and French Mohiniattam exponent Brigitte Chataignier. I was going to add it to my list of “Obscure Indian Films About Classical Dance” and whine and lament the fact that I would likely never be able to see it and forever be taunted by the trailer and select clips online. While searching for more information on the film I found, to my astonishment, that it has been posted online, full-length, with English subtitles, for free, and at a legitimate source. Really. The source is Culture Unplugged, a website/foundation that among other things hosts online, non-commercial film festivals that jive with its mission of connecting cultures and uniting humanity (and lots of other stuff). The video quality isn’t pristine, but beggars can’t be choosers can we!

The “documentary” is really a meditation on the beauty of Mohiniattam performance. There are no voiceovers, no musical score, and no strict narrative structure. The script is not concerned with intellectual analysis or historical lecture; one sees mostly pure presentation of artists relishing in their art and the way it makes them feel, a visceral ode to the peace and grace of a dance form inspired by its lush home and people of Kerala. The human yearning for beauty and oneness with the beyond takes center stage here in the form of dance scenes, each floating along the film's progression with a languid and leisurely pace, the camera often remaining motionless and true-to-life. Every so often, a short clip of lush scenery or earthy architecture punctuates a transition.

A wide variety of dancers, gurus, and locations are featured in the film. The dance segments range from informal practice scenes directed by gurus to performances in full costume by a solo artist or a group, all shot in varying distances, lighting, and atmosphere. Beyond the sounds of dance music and vocalized rhythmic syllables, only the sounds of nature remain, the soft chirpings of birds or the gentle pitter-patter of rain drops most prominent. The overwhelming feeling I had while watching the dances was an all-enveloping serenity and calm. Time seemed to stop as I watched what transpired on the screen. An experience of the divine, perhaps. This aspect of the film completely took me by surprise and is its greatest strength.

The subject of why humans enjoy practicing and gazing at coordinated movement and music has been studied, but on a gut level it’s clear. We feel joy and immense satisfaction, even fulfillment, when viewing a skilled performance of grace and rhythm. This film exemplifies this desire and its realization through the enchanted dance form, Mohiniattam. The viewer needs no previous knowledge or experience to understand the shared human longing the film gloriously highlights.

Every so often, a shot of a dancer staring over a lake or into the rain is lingered on for a few moments. The atmosphere is eerily quiet, the dancer completely isolated with only the sounds of the environment to keep her company; they seem to highlight the docile lives of the dancers and their propensity for moments of reflection. Perhaps these dancers are pondering the existential questions in life and their desire to seek something greater than themselves.

This existentialism was further explored in a stunning montage of gurus demonstrating for their students the emotions of the lyrics, "In this vast sea of worldly suffering, to us caught in its waves, you are the redeemer, Oh Lord!" Kalamandalam Kshemavathy’s performance is particularly stunning and made me feel chills! The other performance in the film that stunned me was the very last performance right before the screen fades to black and the credits roll; simply gorgeous.

Parallel to the presentation of dance scenes are short sequences highlighting the dancer’s assumed lives in Kerala. Many of them are placed directly before or after a dance practice or performance piece and are clearly meant to mimic life, whether the beauty preparations of a young girl mirrored in the dance of a woman readying herself in anticipation of her lover, or in the actions of a dancer lovingly swinging her infant, the baby's cries lingering from the previous scene of a young woman gazing out into the rain at night and suddenly hearing the cries of a sibling. Other sequences are inspired by the everyday mundanity of the dancers and musicians; a ride on a crowded bus, an auto ride cluttered by the sounds of honking horns and raunchy film music, or the noises of utensils and sizzling breads against cookware as a mother prepares dinner. It’s an interesting juxtaposition. At times the dancers find their performances echoing their life experiences, but in others the dance is a sanctuary from daily life and is removed from all its practicalities.

I found myself wondering if the slow pace of life presented in the film was supposed to be true to current experience or a deliberate nostalgic reference to a time in the past. According to an interview with Brigitte at this great review of the film at the Sacred Space blog, it appears to be the latter. Brigitte comments that she and Adoor "wanted to bring out the essence of Mohiniattam while also capturing a certain time period in India, a time which is quickly disappearing."

Many famous Mohiniattam gurus are featured in the film. I took the opportunity to use the credits to match each face with a name:

Kalamandalam Satyabhama

Kalamandalam Leelamma

Sreedevi Rajan (daughter of the 'grandmother of Mohiniattam', Kalyani Kuttiyamma)

Kalamandalam Kshemavathy

The film also features some well-known Mohiniattam dancers like Smitha Rajan (daughter of Sreedevi Rajan), Dr. Neena Prasad, Pallavi Krishnan, Usha Balaji, and other up and coming artists

To add to the sumptuous cinematography, many beautiful locations are utilized in the film. In this article from The Hindu, Adoor notes, "It was Maharaja Swati Tirunal who revived Mohiniyattom and other art forms at a time when they were fading into oblivion. And coming down to later generations, the credit should go to Mahakavi Vallathol. Considering this aspect, we have chosen palaces and places where their memories still linger." The credits list the following locations: Kerala Kalamandalam, Padmanabhapuram Palace, Kuthiramalika Palace, Koodalattupurathu Mana, Karippala Mana, Palunkil Sivanarayana Temple, and Tiruvattar Temple. The screencap below apparently is an iconic image of the Kerala Kalamandalam. I love how so many of Kerala's famed buildings and institutions have a low-key, earthy beauty to them. They are beautiful without being indulgences in excess and extravagance.

The film also serves as a nice introduction to the music of Mohiniattam and Kerala. I’m completely ignorant of carnatic music and its intricacies, but I could certainly hear clear variations from other classical dance music such as the drawn-out singing style and the use of Kerala-specific percussion. Due to the slow pace of Mohiniattam, the bells on the dancers feet serve more to match her steps with the gentle rhythms and have their own charm even though they don’t create rhythmic flourishes like in Bharatanatyam.

I did find some faults with the film. Some of the dances wore on me a bit due to their presentation. In a few performances, the camera was held so far away or the lighting kept so low that I could not see the dancers face or even clearly make out the details of the performance. Surely this was done deliberately, but it wasn’t clear to me why.

I also found myself wanting a bit more narrative and realism. Most of the real-life scenes are clearly contrived and staged as to produce a certain aesthetic. It's certainly beautiful, but quite romanticized. I suppose my expectation that the film would be following the real lives of dancers set me up to be slightly disappointed in this aspect.

As a white chick interested in Indian classical arts, I was very curious to learn more about Brigitte Chataignier, the French woman who fell in love with Mohiniattam, studied at the Kerala Kalamandalam, and founded a dance company in France dedicated to Indian performing arts, Compagnie Prana. She approached Adoor Gopalakrishnan to help her write the script for and direct Dance of the Enchantress, and she helped secure its funding and production company. By most accounts I've read it seems that Adoor largely shaped the final layout of the film, but Brigitte was its inspiration and support. I wish I could read much more about her, but I suspect most of it is in French and hidden from my googlefu. I assume that she dances in the film of her creation, but I couldn't see any of the dancers clearly enough to make an ID. The image to the left (from her company's website) made me think she was the dancer around 36 minutes in, but it's only the background that matches, not the dancer.

I'm thrilled to have had the pleasure of watching such a nuanced and powerful piece of art. Since my original viewing, I've gone back and rewatched certain segments many times. Whenever I need a moment of calm or find myself stressed, I will play this film and feel all of my concerns melt away into oblivion as the dance of the enchantress seduces my senses, and, my self.

Links:
Online Film Stream: Culture Unplugged
DVD (Region 2 Only): At Amazon.fr
Film Reviews and Features: Upper Stall, Sacred Space Blog, The Hindu
Brigitte's Dance School Compagnie Prana Website and Daily Motion Channel
Kerala Kalamandalam Website

Film Classical Dances of Sridhar

2011-02-10T00:20:00.002-07:00

Surely I’m not the only one who watched the male dancer matching steps with Shobana in “Oru Murai Vanthu” from Manichitrathazhu and wondered who he was and if he’d done any other film dances. The rare male classical dancer in film- always a treat! It wasn’t until I ran across a comment at Varnachitram that identified the dancer as the Kannada actor Sridhar that I finally had a name to search with! I was off to the races.

Turns out Shridhar was quite a popular actor back in the 80s and early 90s and apparently acted in over 60 films in five languages (majority Kannada). From what I’ve seen and read about, most of his films were either of the silly variety or mythologicals with a few award-winning films in the mix such as Santha Shishunala Shareefa in which he won the best actor award in Karnataka. He was apparently particularly beloved in his recurring roles as Lord Shiva and became a "household name" in Andhra Pradesh for his role in the Telugu serial Shivaleelalu. He had formal training in Bharatanatyam as a teen and went into films after college.

In the mid 90s, Shridhar decided to focus on classical dance and largely gave up his successful film career (save roles like that in the recent Swarabhishekham). He married a fellow dancer named Anuradha and the duo are still touring and choreographing today and sometimes even performing with their daughter who has also trained in classical dance. Apparently they are known as the "first dance couple of Karnataka." Sridhar established the Khechara Institute of Bharathanatyam, and he and his wife were recently chosen to be faculty at the “prestigious Natya Sangraham camp at Tamilnadu" which “puts the Shridhars in league with classical dance giants such as Kalanidhi Narayanan – the prima donna of abhinaya, Vyjayanthimala Bali, Chitra Visweswaran, and the Dhananjayans.” The couples dance performances are well reviewed; here's a few of nice articles on them at The Hindu (and another) and the Deccan He rald.

On a more personal note, I found the following interchange from this article at The Hindu about classical dance couples very humorous. Sridhar and Anuradha, after explaining how they met and married, are asked how they work together: "Answers Sridhar, “I take care of choreography and choice of pieces, with inputs from Anu, while she takes care of costumes.” Adds Anu, “Well, I also spend more time with our daughter and take care of our home.” That’s how they achieve their balance." Balance? I would want to have more than "input" if I was performing dance as my profession and passion, but whatever floats their boat! :) In any case, I find these classical dance couples adorable- such a perfect union of souls.

So anyway, I knew that there had to be more film dances of his out there in DVD land even though none of the online articles I’d read mentioned any of them other than Manichitrathazhu. Luckily, I found a bunch of his films at Kannadastore.com (and had a great order experience by the way- review coming later) and two of them had him in dance poses on the cover! I've listed below all his dances that I've tracked down or found online.

After watching his dances, I think that he's simply fantastic and probably my favorite of all the male classical dancers in Indian cinema. He has a way of dancing with a grounded center and effortlessly executes his movements joyfully even when sped up for filmy purposes. Graceful and flexible, he dances so beautifully and expressively while maintaining his masculinity. Clearly his classical dance training (and work on abhinaya) allows him to the ability to go ridiculously overboard with facial expressions and mannerisms- a trait that works to a charming advantage in silly films like Manasa Veena that I've posted clips from below. I find this so endearing, which is probably why he gets placed above Vineeth in my favorite male dancers list since I find Vineeth's facial expressions lacking at times. Shridhar just seems like a nice guy. And how can you not love his mop of hair back in the day! It's unfortunate that he doesn't appear to have been given much scope for quality, extended dancing other than his cameo in Manichitrathazhu (and to a lesser extent his dance song in Manasa Veena below). And clearly he's up to the choreographical task given his claim that he and Shobana choreographed "Oru Murai Vanthu" song themselves!

The List:

Manasa Veena (Kannada, 1996) – Not only is Sridhar on the DVD cover in a dance pose, but also this entire film revolves around his character as a classical dancer! Superb find!

Song (Unknown) – This is my favorite film dance of Sridhar’s after Manichitrathazhu. He is incredibly crisp and fast in the way he dances and has such a presence. I thoroughly enjoy watching him, and he clearly enjoys dancing. It's wonderful! The song also has the added side bonus of having ample faux-Veena playing by the heroine!

Here is the first 12 minutes of the film, which I’ve posted in its entirety because it is completely delightful. First is the credit sequence which features images of Sridhar in dance pose along with some short dance clips; next is the introduction of Sridhar’s character who is oblivious to his surroundings on a public bus as he practices expressions (2:02); soon after is a short sequence of him dancing outside (4:08); then later is an adorable scene in which Sridhar imitates through dance the movements of a woman getting water from a well (8:55); and finally don’t miss the yoga scene where Sridhar gets himself into an embarrassing situation in front of his love interest (9:55). It’s all so silly, and Sridhar has the most goofy expressions throughout. I’ve been won over! Cutest film ever!

Here's an interesting scene where Sridhar appears to be performing the “navarasas” (nine emotions) of Bharatanatyam in front of a man who’s nearing his end. Aren’t some of his facial expressions completely over the top? If you actually watch much of his acting in the film, it’s clear that his expressive skills have allowed him to completely inhabit silly characters like these. I really wish I had subtitles on this one as I’m not sure what the monkey dance at the end is about.

Last, a fight scene with dance battle imagery mixed in! Sort of reminds me of dances from Kerala. Sridhar saves the day, yay! Well, until the end, that is...

Manadhil Urudhi Vendum (Tamil, 1987) – According to this article at The Hindu, Sridhar landed his dance role in Manichitrathazhu based on director Fazil seeing his work in Manathil Urudi Vendum and also Shobana giving a nudging recommendation. Not surprising given the two songs below in which he dances with Suhasini (she can dance?!).

Sangatamizh Kaviyae -

Kanna Varuvaaya -

Shabarimalai Swamy Ayyappa (Kannada, 1990) – An example of Sridhar’s famed roles as Shiva, here he performs a tandav dance as Shiva with Parvati (I think). He’s brimming with understated energy when he dances, and check out the knee spins at 1:28! Wish the female dancer could have been better...

Another song from the same film filled with lots of Sringara. He gets much more dance time in the second half of the clip. Again, a more skilled female counterpart would have made this all the more enjoyable.

And that brings the list to a close. Unfortunate since I was hoping to have a bajillion songs as usual to clutter my post with, but I haven't been able to find any more! He does have a character role in K. Vishwanath's Swarabhishekham, but the dance song he's in only has him performing some unidentifiable moves for such a short time that it's completely wasted. I also excitedly read that he played a Bharathanatyam dancer in the recently-released Kalgejje, but a classical dance song I watched from the film has him just walking around and singing, so clearly a missed opportunity there! But hopefully I've been successful in spreading the Sridhar love to those who may not know of him. :)

Last, in a really strange coincidence, the male actor who danced Bharatanatyam in the Manichitrathazhu remake Apthamitra is also named Sridhar! Well, Sridhar Jain to be exact, and he is also a Bharatanatyam exponent and also from Karnataka. So Sridhar's role in the Kannada remake was done by...Sridhar! Weird! More info on him (Jain) at The Hindu.

Even More Rare Dances of Kamala!

2011-01-30T10:53:00.002-07:00

In my hunt to find every known copy of Kamala’s film dances, I’ve come across yet another goldmine! I was spurred on by a series of excellent article scans Kamala has posted on her dance school’s website from the “Indian classical music & dance magazine” Sruti, volumes 48 and 45/46 (for each of which she donned the cover!). The articles are Kamala: On The Silver Screen (parts one, two, and three) and “Excellence on the Filmic Grid (parts one, two). Each article discusses her film dances and has some tantalizing descriptions of songs and film titles that sent me armed with the knowledge to hunt them down! Here’s what I’ve tracked so far with the important exception of the two Sri Valli songs for which all thanks goes to cram who graciously found them and uploaded them! Note: Most of these songs contain the most irritating moving-watermark I have ever laid eyes on. What were these people thinking! Just try to ignore it if you can!

Sri Valli (Tamil, 1945) – Yes!! The Baby Kamala dances from the 1945 Sri Valli as pleaded for in my “Obscure Indian Films About Dance” post have been found and posted by the fabulous cram! Muchos gracias to cram!!

Yaarundnaippol Aadarippavar - Isn't she fabulous at such a young age? Just look at her facial expressions and the way she dances the classical-based choreography! What talent.

Dance #2 - The dance begins about 38 seconds in after a cute introduction. Just look at her beautiful Kathak hands and the flowing costume she's wearing! The song then transitions into a mythological dance where Kamala plays both roles and dances in a "twin" effect! Charming. Adorable. Awesome!

Jagathala Pratapan (Tamil, 1944) – This is apparently Baby Kamala’s famous “snake dance”! According to Randor Guy, Kamala was eight years old and the song was choreographed by her guru Vazhuvoor Ramaiah Pillai. Aren’t her facial expressions at the beginning endearing? For as much as I've read about this famed snake dance, it seems much less "snake-like" than I imagined.

Paarthiban Kanavu (Tamil, 1960) – The second half of this film contains an enchanting sequence in which Kamala gets to perform a whole bunch of dances in quick succession split only by short narrative sequences. From the articles: “Of Bharatanatyam-oriented pieces from the latter period, one has to mention the ‘Sivakamiyin Sabatham’ episode from the film ‘Parthiban Kavanu’ (1960). Three songs –out of which Anthi mayangudadi, asai peruguthadi, Kanthan varakkanane, can be done as a Virahotkanthita piece on stage any day—were made captivating by Kamala’s personal contribution: her execution of the choreography, which by this time had absorbed and assimilated a touch of the filmic; her costume and figure and hairdress, which made her look like a sketch by Silpi come alive out of an Ananda Vikatan Deepavali Malar; her total involvement merging into that character, making it unforgettable even to the majority unfamiliar with it.” Note: I posted the song "Anthi Mayangudadi" previously; the remaining three songs from the film follow.

Instrumental Dance Piece - While I'm not a fan of the tight-fitting costume she is wearing, I love the way her arms are held and moved with such precision.

Vadiveru Tirisoolam Tonrum Tonrum - A nice performance that appears to be about a social theme. Note: Video pixelates slightly around :35; will fix shortly!

Munnam Avanudaya Naamam Kettal - This song is so beautiful, mesmerizing, and enchanting that I feel chills watching it. A gorgeous religious number with a lovely instrumental section. As a bonus, there are lots of closeups of Kamala's face- isn't she such a chameleon? She looks so different in appearance from song to song- I'm thinking of doing a "Kamala screencap" post soon to point this out.

Veerakkanal (Tamil, 1960) – Silaiyodu Vilaiyadava – These next three songs show Kamala in a much different light- a departure from her mostly classical-based work into the frilly world of filmi dance and eroticism. The thrilling rhythmic portions of this song remind you of the "old" Kamala, but the majority of the song has her performing all the coy, teasing moves her contempories were masters at (here, in front of a drunken, woman-loving king!) It's interesting to see that she does just a good a job as the rest of them in this area! I do agree with the articles about her ability to pull this all of with grace: “With more of a Kathak turn, Silaiyodu Vilaiyadava and Siruthukonde from ‘Veerakkanal,’ are fine examples of Kamala exalting the near-mundane to the almost-exquisite. The flared costume reversing its flow just at the right split-second by her unctuous stop after a wind-whirl, gave a surging joy to the spectator. Of course the stauncher of Kamala’s stage fans might have been turned away by this character, a villain’s hand-maiden, so to speak."

Veerakkanal (Tamil, 1960) – Siruthukonde - I love the close ups in this song! She gets to be even more coy and coquettish in this number, which I can see would have upset her fans back in the day. From the articles: “Votaries of her art, uneasy at her dancing in films, felt more so when she took to acting in films later. They were particularly uncomfortable when she accepted roles in run-of-the-mill films like ‘Veerakkanal’ where neither the dance nor her acting was befitting her stature as an artist par excellence.” While Kamala takes the lower-brow material and elevates it at times with her skilled touches (such as the beautiful turns at 1:38), it still does seem beneath her and her phenomenal dance abilities.

Parasakthi (Tamil, 1952) – O Rasikkum Seemane – I think this is the first song where I have found Kamala positively sexy. She looks so sweet and beautiful here! A playful and light nonclassical number. Edit 10/3/11: Looks like this film was released in 1952, not 1958.

There are still songs that I'm hunting for from Kamala's film repertoire, such as her dance with "meticulous footwork" in Naach Ghar, her baby dances in Kanchan, En Magan, Ore Iravu, and "Theeratha Vilayattu Pillai" from Pavalakodi, her dance "Thoondil Puzhuvinai Pol" from Vedala Ulagam, her dances with her sisters Radha and Vasanthi in Kutrala Kuravanji... all referenced by reputable sources such as The Hindu or Randor Guy but difficult to find! I'll keep hunting...