Showing posts with label Chiranjeevi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chiranjeevi. Show all posts

Tandav Dances in Indian Cinema

Sunday, October 10, 2010


One of my favorite forms of dance in Indian films is the Tandav dance.  When I first saw the dance form, I was amazed by the passion and energy displayed despite the choreography appearing simplistic at first glance.

The dance's origin comes from Hindu mythology, a subject which I am so pitifully unknowledgeable about that I'm going to borrow a few sentences from Wikipedia to help me out:  "Tandava or Tandava Nrtya, the divine art form, is a dance performed by the Hindu god Shiva. According to Hindu mythology, Shiva’s Tandava is a vigorous dance that is the source of the cycle of creation, preservation and dissolution. While the Rudra Tandava depicts his violent nature, first as the creator and later as the destroyer of the universe, even of death itself; the Ananda Tandava depicts him as the enjoyer of his creation - the universe. Shiva as Nataraja (lit. "Lord of dance") is considered the supreme lord of dance. [...] No doubt the root idea behind all of these dances is more or less one and the same, the manifestation of primal rhythmic energy."

Chiranjeevi's Classical Dance Debut in Subhalekha (1982, Telugu)

Sunday, August 22, 2010
When I first heard that the megastar Chiranjeevi had performed a Kuchipudi, Kathakali, and Kathak set in the 1982 Telugu film Subhalekha, I just HAD to buy the DVD and see such a gem!  Sure, Chiru can dance the modern stuff alright, but Classical Indian Dance?

His performance turned out to be immensely entertaining (i.e. silly) as I expected-- primarily because Chiranjeevi is clearly not classically trained, but he gives an endearing performance in which he is obviously giving his best effort.  Out of the three styles, I think his Kathak is the least cringeworthy and actually shows some skill in the quick moves department!  I might even say I'm slightly impressed by it! I'm curious how this song was received back in its day.  Was it considered a laughing stock worthy of ridicule, or were awed fans blinded by Chiru's moves?  If anyone knows, please do comment.

Highlights:
  • The "deer and cowboy lasso" move at
  • The random ads interspersed throughout (apparently in the film the dances are part of a commercial being taped)
  • The evil smirk and general "I'm just trying to dance under the weight of this headpiece" physicality
  • The kathak-hand-swirl - go Chiru!
Video starts at14:18

Powered by Blogger.
Back to Top