Some Unique Dance Numbers from Bollywood

Many of our Bollywood heroines have waltzed into our hearts and minds based not only on their acting prowess but also owing to their knowledge of classical dance forms. The latter skill has enabled them to present some unique dances on the silver screen, with due support from their directors, music composers and choreographers. If some have been accompanied in their performances in the past by such stalwarts as Gopi Krishna, others have had the backing of legendary figures like Pandit Birju Maharaj.  

Allow me to share with you some dances which I would label as being unique. Either because these are based on classical or semi classical forms of Indian dances, or simply because the presentation as well as the sheer attention to detail leaves one awestruck. Quite a few are solo performances, backed only by instrumental music. Collectively, these present a vibrant rainbow of various human emotions, ranging from love and passion to a gutsy fury.

The Drum Dance (Nagada dance) here is the grand celebration of a royal marriage. It was well choreographed and presented in an era which did not have access to the kind of technology available these days. The story was about a feud between two brothers over their right to rule their father’s kingdom. Each of the huge drums acted like a Trojan horse, hiding soldiers from the rival’s camp. Apparently, it took six months’ practice to get this dance ready for the silver screen.

Chandralekha (1948)

Lead Dancer: T R Rajakumari

Music: S Rajeshwar Rao

Uday Shankar and Amala Shankar entertained us with quite a few classical dances in another movie released in the same year. It was the first film to present an Indian classical dancer in the leading role and was entirely shot as a dance ballet and a fantasy. Here is one gem of a dance which depicts Lord Shiva and Parvati gyrating to their heart’s content.

Kalpana (1948)

Lead Dancers: Uday Shankar, Amala Shankar

Music: Vishnudas Shirali

V. Shantaram’s offerings were invariably based on classical forms of music. Even the design of the titles was highly innovative, often summarizing the key message of the movie in a poignant manner.  

When Lord Shiva flies into a rage, he is believed to break into a special dance form: tandav. Part of this dance depicts the same. Eventually, a timely intervention by the feminine force of the universe – shakti – saves the day.  

Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje (1955)

Dancers: Gopi Krishna, Sandhya

Music: Vasant Desai

These are two unique dances. One speaks of the extent of imperfection in our lives. Another captures the playful spirit of Holi – the festival of colours – and even features an elephant trying to match the dancing steps of the heroine.  

Navrang (1959)

Dancer: Sandhya

Music: C. Ramchandra

Based on the classic play Abhigyan Shakuntalam from Kalidasa, this dance captures the feelings of a woman spurned in love.  

Stree (1961)

Dancer: Rajshri 

Music: C. Ramchandra

Here is yet another enchanting dance performance.  

Chhaya (1961)

Dancers: Baby Farida, Asha Parekh

Music: Salil Chowdhury

Many movies have depicted the folklore of love between Radha and Krishna. Songs like Hamen gop gwala kehte hain…(Navrang, 1955) and Mohe panghat pe…(Mughal-E-Azam, 1960) readily pop up in our minds.  Here is another such performance.

Phoolon Ki Sej (1964)

Dancers: Gopi Krishna, Vyjayanthimala

Music: Adi Narayana Rao

What we have here is a classic snake dance. A unique presentation, indeed, superbly crafted and rendered.

Guide (1965)

Dance: Waheeda Rehman

Music: S. D. Burman

Arthashastra of Kautilya mentions the grooming of visha kanyas (Poison Damsels) whose blood and body fluids had poisonous properties. They were used as assassins to eliminate powerful enemies of the state. This dance performance depicts one such case.  

Sagaai (1966)

Dance: Rajshri

Music: Ravi

When a proficient dancer gets challenged in a royal court, she leaves us spellbound by her dancing skills.   

Amrapali (1966)

Lead Dancer: Vyjayanthimala

Indian actress

Music: Shankar–Jaikishan

Yet another solo dance which leaves one mesmerized.

Chhoti Si Mulaqat (1967)

Dance: Vyjayanthimala

Music: Shankar–Jaikishan

A captivating dance performance by a multi-skilled actress who went on the become a member of the Indian Parliament.

Kinara (1977)

Dance: Hema Malini

Music: R. D. Burman.

Versatile directors like Hrishikesh Mukherjee had a knack of presenting character artists who are otherwise famous for their negative roles in a positive light on the silver screen. In this dance sequence, we find Shashikala joining hands with Rekha.    

Khubsoorat (1980)

Dancers: Shashikala, Rekha

Music: R. D. Burman

What happens when an introvert and shy person gets prodded by her well-wishers to showcase her dancing skills at a social gathering?

Chaal Baaz (1989)

Dancer: Sridevi

Music: Laxmikant–Pyarelal

This one is a temple dance by late Sridevi. Unfortunately, I am yet to trace the name of the movie.

Dancer: Sridevi  

Yash Chopra, known as the King of Romance, had a unique way of presenting his heroines at their sensuous best. His name always reminds us of the colour white and of gorgeous heroines draped in plain colour chiffon saris and sleeveless blouses, swaying to rhythmic beats composed by eminent classical musicians.

Chandni (1989)

Dancer: Sridevi

Music: Shiv-Hari

Lamhe (1991)

Dancer: Sridevi

Music: Shiv-Hari

A sophisticated way of telling the ruler to behave himself when it comes to visiting the ‘other woman’.  

Lekin (1991)

Dancer: Hema Malini

Music: Hridaynath Mangeshkar

This one captures the inner anguish felt by a woman who is part of a highly patriarchal family which tries to protect the name of a male member who, along with his friends, had gang-raped the maid servant.   

Damini (1993)

Dancer: Meenakshi Seshadri

Music: Nadeem-Shravan

Two more captivating dances from the stable of Yash Raj Films.

Dil To Pagal Hai (1997)

Dancer: Madhuri Dixit

Music: Uttam Singh

Dil To Pagal Hai: The Dance of Envy

Dancers: Madhuri Dixit, Karishma Kapoor

Sanjay Leela Bhansali is yet another director whose movies are lavishly produced and mounted on a larger-than-life canvas. Consider this song and dance sequence.

Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999)

Lead Dancer: Aishwarya Rai

Music: Ismail Darbar

Here is yet another offering from Bollywood based on the Radha-Krishna folklore. This version brings in the dancing skills of Madhuri Dixit, duly backed by Birju Maharaj’s choreography, music, and lyrics.

Devdas (2002)

Singers: Birju Maharaj, Madhuri Dixit, Kavita Krishnamurthy

Composer/Lyricist: Birju Maharaj

The memories of a distant past come flooding back when the passion for dance resurfaces after the dancer runs into an old love interest.

Dedh Ishqia (2014)

Lead Dancer: Madhuri Dixit

Music: Vishal Bhardwaj

A solo dance, sans lyrics, surely leaves the entire burden of a sparkling performance on the shoulders of the heroine. Our multi-talented divas have never failed us on this count.   

It is not that our heroes do not possess outstanding dancing skills. However, these are very few. The names of Kamal Hasan, Hritik Roshan, Ranbir Kapoor, late Sushant Singh Rajput and Tiger Shroff can be mentioned in this context.  

Here are two video clips which some of you may relish.

Ek Duuje Ke Liye (1981)

Dancer: Kamal Hasan

Music: Laxmikant–Pyarelal

(Courtesy Aman and Swasti Sharma) 

Lakshya (2004)

Dancer: Hritik Roshan

Music: Shankar, Ehsaan & Loy

These days, most male actors can also shake a leg or two, though the trend is towards disco, break-dance, and such newer forms of dances as hip hop, lyrical, freestyle, and fusion.

Gaining proficiency in any form of art needs talent, passion, mentoring, and years of continuous practice. What we get to see for a few minutes on our screens is the culmination of a long-drawn-out effort towards conceptualization, synchronization, persistence, and hard work by all the crew members. One is filled with a feeling of reverence towards all the directors, choreographers, artistes, and technicians who bring such unique offerings to us.   

Recently, at a private party, some youngsters had to work assiduously for about two hours to eventually come up with a dance sequence which ran into merely 53 seconds!

One can well imagine the magnitude of effort artists, choreographers and directors put in to come up with unique dance sequences which keep us enchanted. Imagine creating something as elaborate as, say, Pyar kiya to darna kya… (Mughal-E-Azam, 1960), Hothon mein aisi baat… (Jewel Thief, 1967) and Dola re… (Devdas, 2004). The mind boggles!  

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REMEMBERING YASH CHOPRA

Some Songs Close to My Heart! (Part 1 of 2)

Some Songs Close to My Heart! (Part 2 of 2)

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REMEMBERING YASH CHOPRA

ashokbhatia

When we think of gorgeous heroines draped in plain color chiffon saris and sleeveless blouses – swaying to rhythmic beats composed by eminent musicians and lip-synching soulful lyrics penned by proficient poets – with the magnificent Alps as a backdrop, the only name that comes to our minds is that of Yash Chopra!

The producer and director showed us the value of pure romance sans vulgarity in times when the only mantra to box office success appears to be “the lewder and cruder, the better”. He passed away last year. He has left behind a rich legacy of social comment through the wide-ranging themes of movies he produced or directed.

But the king of romance acquired this sobriquet by a very interesting process of evolution, through a long and arduous journey of making socially relevant movies which reflected our society’s challenges of their respective times. Like other popular directors of…

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Black is also Beautiful!

ashokbhatia

Nina Davaluri, a dark beauty of Indian origin, recently got crowned as Miss America. She ended up eliciting a backlash of xenophobic and racist comments. Yet again, this brought to the fore our predisposition to judge people by the color of their skins.

We tend to forget that the pigmentation of our skins is a work of nature. To be able to judge people better, we have to look a little deeper. Their character, their attitudes and the qualities of head and heart are some of the attributes which define the real person behind the veneer of skin which could be of any hue or grain. Irrespective of the color of the skin, those who have true talent and a pure soul continue to outshine all around them in a very natural manner.

In marketing parlance, we live in times when the packaging appears to be more important than the…

View original post 572 more words

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Black is also Beautiful!

Nina Davaluri, a dark beauty of Indian origin, recently got crowned as Miss America. She ended up eliciting a backlash of xenophobic and racist comments. Yet again, this brought to the fore our predisposition to judge people by the color of their skins.

We tend to forget that the pigmentation of our skins is a work of nature. To be able to judge people better, we have to look a little deeper. Their character, their attitudes and the qualities of head and heart are some of the attributes which define the real person behind the veneer of skin which could be of any hue or grain. Irrespective of the color of the skin, those who have true talent and a pure soul continue to outshine all around them in a very natural manner.

In marketing parlance, we live in times when the packaging appears to be more important than the product. But this is a myopic view of things. If the product does not perform to the satisfaction of the customer, it will eventually fade away. Likewise, irrespective of looks or the color of one’s skin, if a person has what it takes to be successful in a career, he/she is bound to get noticed sooner or later.

The Not-so-fair Divas

We have several examples out of tinsel town where gutsy divas are known to have clawed their way up to success despite having a skin tone which could be called anything but fair. Here is a quick look at some of those who continue to be heart throbs of millions of movie buffs all over the planet. Most of them have a multi-dimensional personality. Just to rustle up the memory cells, a single movie for each one of these divas also finds a mention. Admittedly, there are several others for which they are remembered.

Angela Bassett

(What’s Love Got to Do with It, 1993)

Bipasha Basu

(Corporate, 2006)

Deepti Naval

(Chashme Baddoor, 1981)

Deepika Padukone

(Love Aaj Kal, 2009)

Halle Berry

(Die Another Day, 2002)

Jennifer Lopez

(Maid in Manhattan, 2002)

Kajol

(Fanaa, 2006)

Konkona Sen Sharma

(Mr. and Mrs. Iyer, 2002)

Nandita Das

(Earth, 1998)

Rekha

(Khubsoorat, 1980)

Shabana Azmi

(Saaz, 1997)

Smita Patil

(Mirch Masala, 1985)

Sridevi

(English Vinglish, 2012)

The Perks of Being Chocolate-hued

All those who feel disheartened by the prominence of the fairer amongst us may take heart from the fact that most of them support a multi-billion industry which churns out fairness creams, thereby creating employment opportunities for many of our denizens.

Some orthopaedicians are of the opinion that those blessed with a dark skin have stronger bones because they end up absorbing much more Vitamin D from natural sunlight. Hence, they face lesser risk of being afflicted with either osteopenia or osteoporosis!

The Yearning for a Dark Tan

There are an equal number of fair skinned ones who would go to great lengths to acquire a darker tan. This yearning makes people pack up their bags and head to the nearest sun-bathed tropical beaches over most weekends.

In one of the immortal songs penned by lyricist Gulzar for an old Hindi movie ‘Bandini’ (The Imprisoned, Director Bimal Roy, 1963), the fair skinned heroine expresses her yearning for a darker complexion thus:

‘Mera gora ang layi le, mohe shyam rang dayi de,

Chuup jaoongi raat mein, mujhe pee ka sang dai de.’

(Take away my limbs so fair, give my skin a dark hue,

So I may hide in the dark night, grant me the company of my beloved’)

A Festival to Dispel Darkness

As we get ready to celebrate the Festival of Lights in India, let us be aware that the real darkness to be dispelled is that of some of our belief systems and prejudices. In some regions, these take the form of apartheid; in some areas, these manifest as exploitation of the disadvantaged; whereas in some others these come up as harassment of the delicately nurtured.

The diversity of homo-sapiens – whether in terms of race, caste, creed, ethnic origin, monetary status, sex and the hues of the skin – is a wonderful fact of life which simply deserves to be celebrated. The brown and black beauties and celebrities from Hollywood, Bollywood and elsewhere are living examples of the fact that merit ranks supreme in any walk of life!

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REMEMBERING YASH CHOPRA

When we think of gorgeous heroines draped in plain color chiffon saris and sleeveless blouses – swaying to rhythmic beats composed by eminent musicians and lip-synching soulful lyrics penned by proficient poets – with the magnificent Alps as a backdrop, the only name that comes to our minds is that of Yash Chopra!

The producer and director showed us the value of pure romance sans vulgarity in times when the only mantra to box office success appears to be “the lewder and cruder, the better”. He passed away last year. He has left behind a rich legacy of social comment through the wide-ranging themes of movies he produced or directed.

But the king of romance acquired this sobriquet by a very interesting process of evolution, through a long and arduous journey of making socially relevant movies which reflected our society’s challenges of their respective times. Like other popular directors of Bollywood – Raj Kapoor, Subhash Ghai and others – he had a unique ear for music, which was a hallmark of all his movies. The lyricists he associated with were accomplished poets who invariably came up with relevant and meaningful verses.

Evolving Into a King of Romance

Partition, Secularism and Peace

If ‘Dhool ka Phool” (1959) was about illegitimate children, ‘Dharamputra’ (1961) touched upon religious intolerance in days when the term Hindu fundamentalism was not part of our vocabulary. The story of a Muslim bringing up a Hindu boy tugged at one’s heart-strings. The scenes of partition were hard-hitting, leading to a backlash at the time. That was perhaps the reason he never ventured to make a film on a political theme again during his lifetime.

However, he did come up with a clear message on peace and unity with his ‘Veer Zaara’ (2004). Not even a single bullet was fired in the film, but the message was loud and clear – that India and Pakistan share a common culture and a strong bond – by implication, both countries deserve a chance to be together again, pooling their scarce resources to alleviate poverty, hunger and disease, instead of war mongering.

Family Values, Wealth and Bigamy

‘Waqt’ (1965) was his last movie where he worked with his elder brother Baldev Raj Chopra. It was the first one to have had a multi-star cast, a practice which is followed till today. It also spawned several other movies in the lost-and-found genre, popular ones being ‘Yaadon ki Baraat’ and ‘Amar Akbar Anthony’. The movie also depicted the lavish styles of the rich, conveying that acquiring wealth is not necessarily evil.

Then he formed Yash Raj Films, his own banner, and came out with ‘Daag’ (1973). The issue of bigamy was handled with his trademark elegance and suavity.

The Angst of the Youth

This was followed by two angry-young-man-phase movies, capitalizing on Amitabh Bachchan’s recently acquired image in ‘Zanjeer’. It started off with ‘Deewar’ (1975) and was followed by ‘Trishul’ (1978). In ‘Mashaal’ (1984), he cast thespian Dilip Kumar who portrayed an angry old man. Much to the glee of middle class audience struggling with rising aspirations and astronomical living costs, the means were no longer important; ends were.

Elegant Romance

With ‘Kabhie Kabhie’ (1976), he introduced a poetic touch into the art of commercial movie making and set the box office registers tingling. This trend continued in his subsequent movies like ‘Silsila’ (1981), ‘Chandni’ (1989) and ‘Lamhe’ (1991). The angst eventually mellowed down and human emotions acquired center stage. All the characters in these movies were from an affluent background. In each venture, the canvas only got larger. In each, candy-floss romance was in the air, backed by melodious music and soulful lyrics that would remain etched in our collective psyche for a long time to come.

His style of depicting romance was muted, elegant and refined. The main protagonists were invariably civil and dignified, following the norms of propriety. It was devoid of lewd dialogues, coarse lyrics and vulgar scenes. Even in ‘Darr’ (1993), we had an anti-hero stalking the heroine, but never in bad taste.

Social Values and the Indian Diaspora

He produced ‘Dilwaale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ (1995), which was directed by his son, Aditya Chopra. The movie set new records and Indians world over could readily connect with the superiority of family values it espoused. A daughter brought up in UK needs permission from her overbearing father for a vacation in Europe; a hero refuses to get persuaded by the heroine’s mother to elope with the heroine; instead, the couple works towards getting an approval of the match from the heroine’s father, come what may – these were market savvy master strokes in the script which made the movie immensely popular with all age groups.

Musical Romance

Very few directors have ventured to work on a theme with music as a backdrop. ‘Dil To Pagal Hai’ (1997) did precisely that. All the main characters had a different perspective on love, and the movie was about the transformation of their belief systems. It was beautifully built around music and dance, elevated to a level where soul-mates discover each other.

We live in terrorism infested times. It is not surprising that his last venture, ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’ (2012) used this as a backdrop of a triangular love story.

An Ear for Music and Rich Poetry

While supporting his brother, B. R. Chopra, Yash Chopra got to work with music directors like N. Dutta and Ravi. However, once on his own, he first worked with Lakshmikant Pyarelal for ‘Daag’, and then with Rahul Dev Burman for ‘Deewar’. Khayyam was his choice for ‘Kabhie Kabhie’ and ‘Trishul’. All through these movies, he worked with Sahir Ludhianvi as the lyricist.

Yet another master stroke was his persuading legendary classical musicians Shiv Kumar Sharma and Hari Prasad Chaurasia to compose the music for several of his movies. Together, they created a rich legacy of music in such movies as ‘Silsila’, ‘Chandni’, ‘Lamhe’ and ‘Darr’. The classical dance sequences performed with aplomb by  Sridevi in ‘Chandni’ and ‘Lamhe’ remain as fresh today as they were when captured on celluloid. ‘Silsila’ and ‘Veer Zaara’ had lyrics by Javed Akhtar, whereas all others had poetic inputs from Anand Bakshi.

For ‘Dil To Pagal Hai’, he turned to Uttam Singh, who came up with mellifluous compositions for the movie. His best was, however, reserved for ‘Veer Zaara’, which dug up old compositions of the legendary Madan Mohan, revived by the latter’s son Sanjeev Kohli.

In his last offering, ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’, he teamed up with A. R. Rehman, with lyrics by Gulzar.

Setting New Benchmarks

Undoubtedly, he set new benchmarks for the film industry. Several trends that we take for granted today were initiated by him. He set the template for future Bollywood directors who continue to ape his technical gloss but lack the depth of romance and human emotions captured by him. He was among the first to push the industry into professionalism. Working with classical musicians and accomplished Urdu poets, he has left behind a rich repertoire of music for all of us to savor for a long time to come.

He would always be fondly remembered for a certain elegance and refinement of language which many of the current breed of Bollywood dream merchants sadly lack. Also, for the unique brand of secularism, peace and unity he propagated through his movies.

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