Throughout all of my research on classical dance in Indian films, I've come across a number of movies that I am fervently eager to see but appear to be nearly impossible to find due to lack of commercial release or limited print existence/distribution. I've written out my list of "Holy Grail" films below with interesting tidbits and pictures, if available. It's lovely to have them all in one place, and I hope to come back and edit this page as I find new ones. My hope is that some kind soul will happen onto my blog and have a similar interest or know of where to obtain a copy. The internet brings us all together, so let's band together and track these obscure films down! :)
Showing posts with label Sudha Chandran. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sudha Chandran. Show all posts
Classical Dance Practice Scenes/Songs in Indian Films
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Below is a list of all 34 practice numbers I can think of in Indian films where the purpose of the song or scene is not "performance" but rather informal "practice" overall. It's interesting how many of them are from the 80s and 90s, the seeming "golden era" of this type of classical performance in film. The videos below are listed in rough order of awesomeness, favorites first. If you can make it all the way to the end, consider yourself a classical dance nerd like me! (Or maybe it's just list-making nerd?) Enjoy!
Film Thoughts: Nache Mayuri (1986, Hindi – Sudha Chandran)
Friday, February 5, 2010
It’s quite the story and perhaps one tailor-made for the movies. Despite the inspirational nature of the true story and the respect Sudha should be given, I thought the movie was not as great as I expected. First, I expected to see gobs and gobs of classical dancing with carnatic music and live musicians- you know, the real deal. In reality, the film features a handful of short scenes of Sudha dancing classically (or watching others dance) informally off-stage, and the longer on-stage dance songs in the film are of the “filmified” classical variety accompanied by Lata Mangeshkar belting out ear-piercing modern Hindi tunes. The performances were not "real" Bharatanatyam/Kuchipudi as I thought they would be. When there was actual classical/carnatic music used, it was presented devotionally and there was no dancing! During a scene of angst, I kept hoping Mayuri would dance with her crutches like Sandhya in Jal Bin Macchli Nritya Bin Bijli! The long dance sequences in the film were sweet enough and full of fun, kitschy costumes, but I was expecting more. According to the intro credits, Gopi Krishna choreographed all the dance sequences.
