Swapna Sundari Dancing in Kissaa Kursee Kaa (Hindi, 1977)

Today I was alerted to Anuj Kumar's days-old The Hindu article about the 1977 Hindi film Kissaa Kursee Kaa which reveals that the director used classical dance forms "performed by Swapna Sundari to anchor the narrative." Swapna Sundari! I always enjoy finding examples of famous dancers performing in cinema, and learning that the well known Kuchipudi and Vilasini Natyam dancer Swapna Sundari danced in a film was certainly surprising!

It's a controversial film for Swapna to have involved herself in. A scathing satirical and symbolic work spoofing the Indira Gandhi government, Kissaa Kursee Kaa (Tale of a Throne, aka Kissa Kursi Ka) was made during the turbulent period known as “the Emergency” when India's government declared a state of emergency ushering in a dark period in India’s modern history which saw basic freedoms and rights suspended. The print we see on YouTube is actually a remake of the original that was banned and never released and had all its prints destroyed by the government. After the Emergency was lifted, director Amrit Nahata reshot and released the film in 1977 (while The Hindu article and YouTube video list 1978, I've listed 1977 which is the date the Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema and many other articles list). The film has been in the news recently again after Nahata's son has demanded the original prints be returned or compensation be made. I would love to hear what Swapna's experience was in taking part in this film, but I've not been able to find any other mentions of it.

Raghavan?

While the dances are disappointingly underwhelming and brief (what a let down!), they are notable not only for being an uncommon example of South Indian dance being performed by trained dancers in a Hindi film but also featuring what looks like Kuchipudi dance movements. The male dancer is another rare sight whose identity I'm not sure of—according to a friend's translation, the film credits list Sudharshan Dheer and Raghavan as possibilities, and since the male dancer looks nothing like the late famous Kathak dancer Sudharshan Dheer, my guess is he must be Raghavan. I bet Sudharshan Dheer assisted with choreography especially the Kathak parts.

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8 comments Kuchipudi, Swapna Sundari

A Better Quality Bala AND Sanchari, Bamboo Flute, and Kuchipudi Revisited Posted Full Length!

What a coincidence!  I just discovered that not even a month after I had posted Bala (1976) on YouTube a much better-quality version was posted by the imagineindia channel which appears to be linked with the "Imagine India International Film Festival Madrid" that took place in May.  The quality of their version is excellent with no pixelation or compression, sound perfectly synched, and a rose-tinted sepia appearance.  If only I would have waited a few weeks it would have already been up online, amazing!  Oh 2012, my love for you has no bounds!

Update: Video removed/channel no longer available

Imagineindia's channel also has what I understand is another rare film of Satyajit Ray, Pikoo's Diary.  Other non-related channels have uploaded Sukumar Ray and The Inner Eye, both also quite rare apparently.

While that is quite awesome, I am even more excited to see that Sanchari, Bamboo Flute, and Kuchipudi Revisited are now all posted full length! I was so excited about the discovery of the full-length Bhavantarana on Monday that I didn't check to see if any other Indian Diplomacy hosted documentaries I blogged about had been posted in full!

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3 comments Alarmel Valli, Balasaraswati, Bharatanatyam, Documentary, Kelucharan Mohapatra, Kuchipudi, Leela Samson, Odissi, Swapna Sundari

Found: Bhavantarana (and other lovely dance-related documentary clips!)

I've found a 4.5-minute snippet from Kumar Shahani's documentary Bhavantarana ("Immanence," 1991) about the late Odissi Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra!  2012 is turning out to be the year of finding films from my obscure wish list post; last week I found Kann Sivandhaal Mann Sivakkum and this week has revealed a clip from Bhavantarana.

Here is the clip.  The first female Odissi dancer appears at 1:20 and then a young Odissi dancer can be seen starting at 1:42; the latter's performance is delightful! She dances while walking through a home until reaching the courtyard where her "guru" soon appears (guess who!). Kelucharan Mahapatra can finally be seen dancing at 3:32!

So why is the clip only 4.5 minutes?  The uploader is the "Public Diplomacy Division of India's Ministry of External Affairs" who created the channel to feature "a range of documentary films which have been commissioned by the Ministry of External Affairs over the last three decades. These documentary films showcase different facets of India..."  The reason the uploads are only excerpts is explained in the last line: "for purchasing full versions of the films shown here please contact mlf.core@gmail.com."  Turns out a trip to the Division's website [no longer online] reveals a link to the website of the distributor "Under Construction" [no longer online] where DVDs of these programs can be found!  The DVD of Bhavantarana can be purchased for $30.

But who can complain about partial clips when their very existence on YouTube is a blessing!  I'm guessing that these documentaries were/are probably shown every so often on Doordarshan or other TV channels but until now were difficult to view independently.

What I've been most excited to discover is that outside of Bhavantarana there are other dance-related documentaries and documentaries with dance-content among the uploads!  Here are all the ones I've found:

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10 comments Documentary, Kelucharan Mohapatra, Leela Samson, Shovana Narayan, Swapna Sundari