Kamala's Peacock Dance Found! (and some other "new" Kamala, Padmini, and Lalitha dances)

Wow! AP International's YouTube channel has some pristinely-preserved songs and scenes from 1940s and 50s Tamil gems—many of which have been MIA online for quite some time!  They've got Penn, Sri Valli, Vedhala Ulagam,Vazhkai, Parasakthi, and more!

But the most exciting random find was a new Kamala dance I've never seen or read of before: her four-part sculptor-deer-PEACOCK-dancer extravaganza in the 1962 Tamil film Sumai Thaangi!  Yes, the Kamala peacock dance that a commenter had mentioned a while back exists!  Many a dancer in Indian cinema has done a signature "peacock" dance (see this post/comments at Richard's blog for a great collection), but until now I never knew that Kamala had one as well. 

Sumai Thaangi (aka Sumaithangi, 1962, Tamil) - "Malaiyai Padaithavan" - This is not your standard Kamala dance number! Kamala's dancing portrayal of a male sculptor is brilliant and lifelike, and the rest of the number supposedly depicts the effects of the enchanting deer and peacock sculptures on Kamala who reacts with a joyous dance.  It's the most unusual and quirky of Kamala's film dances that I've seen, especially as she jumps, prances, and rapidly spins in deer costume (with deer mudra) to sound effects!  The peacock dance is introduced with a beautiful shot, and the musical orchestration is appropriately splendid.  What a dance number!  According to online folks, in this song Gemini Ganesan is trying to win his female companion (Devika)'s affections—I wish the song spent less time cutting to their annoying banter and stayed focused on the important part, Kamala! The camera gets quite shaky at times too, but the print is so lovely and well-preserved.  Good job AP International for actually knowing how to properly encode and size video uploads!  1962 was the year that Kamala's big dance film Konjum Salangai released, and it was also the same year she divorced her first husband R.K. Laxman at age 28, so in adding this dance number to the mix 1962 was quite a year for Kamala!

Continue Reading >>>

10 comments Kamala, Lalitha, Padmini

Rare 1930s Tamil Film and 1950s Padmini Dance Footage from Ellis Dungan’s Collection

Hiding in the most unlikely of places, the West Virginia State Archives in the US, are documentary films and video footage shot/directed by the late Ellis Dungan, an American who made a number of Tamil films in South India from 1935-1950. In the collection are two incredibly-rare videos with footage I assume has not been available publicly until now.  The first video is “Inside India,” a documentary on South Indian village life that has an extended stage dance sequence by "Travancore Sisters" Padmini and Lalitha. The second video is a compilation containing footage Ellis took while directing the Tamil films Sati Leelavati (1936), Seemanthani (1936), Iru Sahodarargal (Two Brothers, 1936), and Ambikapathi (1937), and it reveals rare images of film stars and technicians and gives a visual glimpse into how Tamil films were made in the 1930s.  The thanks for unearthing these videos goes to a wonderfully-knowledgeable online contact, Sreenivas Paruchuri, who sent these links to me.  Thank you! 

Inside India - Featuring a Padmini/Lalitha Dance (at 7:39)!

This documentary at first appears to be just a montage of scenes from village life in South India with a staid, explanatory voiceover. But at 7:39, an audience and stage appear as the voiceover explains, “There are numerous dramatic troupes that travel from village to village in Southern India and evening performances are given in the streets.  Here the people in the village witness one of the most popular musical dramas, Mathura Veeran, the story of Princess Bommi being wooed by Veeran, a commoner.” As the curtain withdraws, the performers are revealed to be Lalitha and then her sister Padmini! The duo doesn't perform much abstract dance and instead focuses on enacting the lyrics of the story for their first act. In their second act, the sisters appear in horse costumes in what looks like a Poikkal Kudirai Aattam “dummy horse” folk dance! Isn't Padmini absolutely luminous here?  The legend the voiceover refers to is that of the folk deity Madurai Veeran, which was the subject of the 1956 Tamil film of the same name which Padmini acted and danced in (and it has a Lalitha/Ragini dance too).  RajVideoVision just recently uploaded a legal copy of the whole film on YouTube!

What remains unknown is when this documentary was filmed. My guess for the dance portion, based on Padmini’s facial shape and appearance, is around 1950-1952 or so given the similarity to her early film appearances from this time. While Dungan is said to have returned to the US soon after his hit film Manthiri Kumari released in 1950, he made frequent trips back to India and made his last film there in 1962, so Inside India conceivably could have been filmed right before he left or when he returned later. I wonder why he didn’t identify the famous sisters by name in the documentary. Surely Dungan would have known who Padmini and Lalitha were given that they danced in Manthiri Kumari and he was familiar with the Tamil cinema world. I also wonder if this is really an “authentic” drama stage performance or if it’s been manufactured for the documentary. Were Padmini and Lalitha in performing drama troupes at this time?

Footage from 1930s Tamil Cinema Sets/Filmings

While the West Virginia Archives calls this video “15 minutes of Dungan’s home movie film of movie-making in India,” it is no simple home movie! It is incredibly rare, silent footage of the movie making process in South India in the 30s and features many shots of actors, technicians, musicians, and producers of the time period as well as the filming and set technology. It also shows Dungan himself and in action! It is very likely that this is the first extant video footage available for some of the lesser-known people in the shots. And to my absolute delight, there are two short dances!

Continue Reading >>>

13 comments Documentary, Lalitha, Padmini, Rare Find

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

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 and the book "Indian Films in Soviet Cinemas: The Culture of Movie-Going After Stalin" by Sudha Rajagopalan. 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.

Continue Reading >>>

14 comments Padmini, Research, Roshan Kumari, Western Films

New Kamala and Padmini/Lalitha Dance Finds!

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.  Updated March 2013: Embedded better-quality version! 

Continue Reading >>>

13 comments Kamala, Lalitha, Padmini

My Favorite (Black and White) Spectacle Film Dances

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!

Continue Reading >>>

14 comments Kamala, Kathakali, Manipuri, Padmini, Ragini, Sadhona Bose, TR Rajakumari, Vanaja, Vyjayanthimala

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

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:

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. 

Continue Reading >>>

11 comments Padmini, Vyjayanthimala

Rare Dance Songs of Kamala, Sai-Subbalakshmi, Padmini, and More!

I was beyond delighted to come across a number of seemingly-rare or hard to find dance songs from the 1950s and 60s featuring dances by Kamala Lakshman, Sai-Subbalakshmi, Padmini, Lalitha, Ragini, Vyjayanthimala, and a lovely duo whose identity I do not know.  Yay!  Without further ado, I present this fantastic little collection:

Continue Reading >>>

17 comments Bharatanatyam, Kamala, Lalitha, Padmini, Practice Dance, Ragini, Sai-Subbulakshmi, Vyjayanthimala

My Favorite "Twin" Dances in Classic Indian Cinema

I was first introduced to what I call "twin" dances when I saw the song "Aduvome" in Naam Iruvar some time back on the Dances on the Footpath blog. In the song, a young Kamala Lakshman is shown dancing twice in the same frame through some special effects magic.  The film released in 1947 (way before Hollywood's similar effect in The Parent Trap) and I'm intrigued by just how they did it!

As I've been watching more and more classic Indian films I've noticed the "twin" dance, a dance featuring two young women (or one superimposed twice) who perform the same dance movements, was a popular presentation style. In my opinion, the best "twin" dances are those based on South Indian classical dance forms because the crisp moves look stunning when seen in parallel.  I suppose I could call these dances "dancing duos" or something similar, but since they have the specific characteristic of each dancer following similar movements close to each other, I'll stick with "twin dances."

Continue Reading >>>

17 comments Bharatanatyam, Kamala, Kathak, KumKum, L Vijayalakshmi, Malayalam, Mohiniattam, Nimmi, Padmini, Sai-Subbulakshmi, Twin Dance

My Favorite (Black and White) Classical Indian Film Dances

I have spent the last month or so on a mission to find each and every single instance of Classical Indian Dance in Indian films.  Given my enjoyment in making long, meticulous lists, this has been a most satisfying adventure!  Guided by some fellow bloggers posts, friends, loved ones, and sheer Google-Fu, I’ve discovered some beautiful dances and even a few seemingly-rare gems along the way.

Commencing with this post today, my next series of posts will be about classical dances in Indian cinema: lists of my favorites, twin dances, informal practice scenes, humorous dances, dances featuring men, Tandav dances, lesser-seen dance forms, spectacular dances in general, and more! This is actually what I originally envisioned my blog to be but never had enough time to explore until now.

This post focuses on my most favorite classical film dances from black and white Indian films.  There are many dances that I enjoy (and that will be highlighted in future posts!), but this post focuses on my top 11 that I love to watch repeatedly and that either keep me spellbound or immensely entertained. Old black and white films are such a pleasure to watch because I feel as though I'm discovering “lost” treasures and songs nearly forgotten.

Continue Reading >>>

18 comments EV Saroja, Kamal Hassan, Kamala, L Vijayalakshmi, Minati Mishra, Padmini, Roshan Kumari, Vyjayanthimala

Padmini: The Eternal Dancer (Galatta Cinema Article)

After my post about the "Child Artistes and Tamil Cinema" article from Galatta Cinema Magazine, I noticed that each issue tends to feature a "Nostalgia" section about yesteryear stars and films. Thus, my next showcase is this fantastic set of scans from the nostalgia article "The Eternal Dancer" in the November 2007 issue. The pictures of Padmini are simply stunning, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading some brief information about her films and getting some more recommendations of what to watch from her filmography. I had no idea that she also acted in some Malayalam films or that she essayed mother roles. Just look at that last, de-glammed picture of her! I was also stunned to read that later in her life she ran a classical dance institute in the US that is apparently still in operation now even after her passing (the Padmini Institute of Fine Arts, apparently). Her out of this world dance in Vanjikottai Valiban is duly mentioned in the article as well, for certainly it would be a crime not to! Enjoy! Click on the thumbnails below for larger versions (ETA: Fixed scan quality).  Courtesy Galatta Cinema magazine.

Continue Reading >>>

4 comments Padmini