Recent Film Classical Dance Finds

And...I'm back! :) Some personal matters have kept me away for a long time, but a moment of inspiration and deciding that my posts don't all have to be lengthy mini-dissertations led to a new post finally, yay! I've gathered a collection of some new classical dance finds in Indian films from the past few years as well as the exciting posting of some songs from Sringaram! Enjoy...

Sringaram (2007, Tamil) - It's been ten years since the devadasi period film Sringaram released, and while there is still no DVD or online release of all the songs or the whole film, director Sharada Ramanathan gave us a yet another glimmer of hope on her Facebook page this past March and June when she said that due to continued interest in the film it would be "out in the public domain soon" and "soon be with a main global network for all to see" with directions to "watch this space" to be informed when. Back in 2015 she had announced a summer DVD release after a Doordarshan telecast brought great interest in the film, but nothing materialized. But this time around, I'm apt to believe something will happen given the appearance online in the last few months of songs and dances from the film. For a throwback to my past posts about Sringaram, I reviewed the film back in 2010 (note that I need to replace all my photobucket-hosted photos on my blog, ugh!) and also wrote about its dance sequences.

"Three Seasons" - Posted to Sharada's YouTube account in April, "Three Seasons" features Saroj Khan's unusually on-beat choreography that is characteristic throughout the film, and trained Bharatanatyam dancers Aditi Rao Hydari and Hamsa Moily perform the Bharatanatyam and Odissi sourced and inspired movements beautifully in elegantly simple practice saris. I find it mesmerizing...

The lovely group procession dance sequence made an appearance last fall on Facebook as well here:
https://www.facebook.com/padminiravidance/videos/439542313099885/

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9 comments A White Chick, Aditi Rao Hydari, Anushka, Hamsa Moily, Kamal Hassan, Lakshmi Gopalaswamy, Manisha Koirala, Meghana Raj, Rukmini Vijayakumar, Sandhya Raju, Trisha, Vineeth

Classical Dances from the film Sringaram (Tamil, 2007)

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!

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10 comments Aditi Rao Hydari, Hamsa Moily, Manju Bhargavi