So tonight I fell down the rabbit hole of Kamal Haasan (aka Kamalahasan, as we call him down South) videos on YouTube. It is totally mesmerizing ... everything from the sublime ("Nada Vinodamu" from Sagara Sangamam) to the ridiculous ("Ae Unnai Thaane" from Kadhal Parisu).
We had some minor discussion of his films on twitter amongst the usual suspects, and titles such as Saagar, Sadma, Vikram, Indian, Ek Duje Ke Liye and Hey Ram were all mentioned.
So I posed the question whether people might be interested in doing a Kamal Haasan themed blogging project and am happy to say that I received some pretty positive feedback! I'm thrilled to announce that we'll be doing KAMAL KAMAAL (translates to: Kamal Greatness)days in November 2012, to coincide with his 58th birthday on November 7th. So pull out those DVDs when the time comes and let's have some thoughtful discussion about this brilliant actor, or just enjoy the glitter and tight pants of his disco numbers.
The lovely Nicki of Hmong Chick Who Loves Indian Cinema and I were tweeting back & forth about our favorite dancers in Indian Cinema, which got me thinking about my favorite CLASSICAL dancers in Indian Cinema ... and since list-making is my favorite thing EVER, of course I had to compile a list and share it!
Now though the people on this list have legitimate Classical Dance training, it's rarely represented in their films. There's Classical Dance, and then there's FILMI Classical Dance, which is usually a slightly grotesque version of the real thing with exaggerated movements and expressions. Filmi Classical also always has a generous helping of hip-shaking and unnecessary hand/finger flourishing. I get annoyed by it, and yet, I seek it out. It's always nice to see Classical Dance represented in films, but then when it gets tarnished or cheapened I get angry.
Still, there are some Actors and Actresses that always show that little extra skill in dancing, and it is indeed because of their Classical Dance training. Here are some of my favorites:
1. Kamal Hassan
He's definitely my #1 favorite because he was SO compelling and strong when he danced. Also Bharatanatyam is made for a male body (Nataraja was the Lord of Dance after all), and it falls more naturally on the male structure. Kamal Hassan definitely made it look effortless and graceful yet 100% masculine. Here he is in a gorgeous item from Sagara Sangamam:
2. Shobhana
I think Shobhana is one of the most spectacular classical dancers from films. She is utterly elegant and beautiful. I do have ONE problem with her and that's that she doesn't complete her movements, but I fault the choreographers and film directors that try to make her dance so fast. Her dance style is also REALLY different from the kind I learned - hers is more flowy and influenced by ballet, but one of my best friends also learned from Smt. Chitra Visheshwaran (Shobhana's Guru) in Chennai and she dances with this same style, so I gained a great appreciation for it. Shobana won the National Award for her performance as the possessed dancer in Manichitratazhu (the Malayalam original of Chandramukhi and Bhool Bhulaiya):
3. Vyjayanthimala
I gained my love for Vyjayanthi from my mom who was an uber-fan and used to prance around Mumbai spouting her dialogues at 'roadside romeos' that tried to tease her and her friends. But she is indeed a spectacular dancer and unbelievably gorgeous in full Bharatanatyam costume. She is also incredibly versatile and has one of the most expressive faces in Indian Cinema! Check out her display of dances from all over India, ending with the Thillana in Bharatanatyam from Ladki:
4. Vineeth
I haven't seen a TON of Vineeth, I'll admit. I remember him from Kadhal Desam, most famous for the Rehman song "Mustafa Mustafa Don't Worry Mustafa". It wasn't till much later that I realized he was a classical dancer! As well he should be, since he's related to late Actress/Dancer Padmini and Shobhana as well. He's a student of Dr. Padma Subramanyam and has that more flowy style associated with the Vazhavoor style of Bharatanatyam. You might recognize him from the Rajnikanth blockbuster Chandramukhi and it's Hindi remake Bhool Bhulaiya. I get an instant crush on any man that can do classical dance and maintain the masculinity of it (it's rare these days). And he also looks like a young Kamal Hassan. Whenever I mentally choreograph classical-based film duets, I always picture Vineeth as my partner. Here he is strutting his stuff in a live performance:
5. Madhuri Dixit
I don't even need to explain Mads. Everyone knows that she is one of the most brilliant dancers in recent Bollywood years. Her Kathak training is evident in every kind of dance she does, but she has also had ample opportunity to show off her Classical Dance skill. I always remember her joy and exuberance in the Kathak practice scene from Dil To Pagal Hai, but I think her Magnum Opus is definitely her grand scale performance in Devdas said to be composed by the great Pandit Birju Maharaj:
6. Padmini
Padmini Aunty was a regular visitor to our house in my childhood as my mother was very close with her family. My mom is always saying that I remind her of Padmini or her sister Ragini when they were young. Since I'm the youngest of three sisters, my mom used to often call us her own Lalitha/Padmini/Ragini. But before she was the gravelly-voiced, laughing Aunty at our house, she was a featured classical dancer in many, many films. I always feel that the choreography they gave her was absolutely ridiculous, but she certainly gave it her all! A student of the famous Vazhavoor Ramaiah Pillai, she had some very solid training behind her. One of her most famous roles was in the Tamil movie Thillana Mohanambal in which she played a noted dancer (*the video below does not feature the original singer) -- points if you spot Manorama as "Jillu Jillu Ramamani":
7. Meenakshi Seshadhri
I miss the 80s. And Meenakshi was an actress that actually had a strong background in Classical Dance but very, very rarely had an opportunity to showcase it. One of the moments where she got to show off what she could do was her Tandav Dance from the amazing movie Damini. Incidentally, she currently runs a dance school in Texas somewhere. Here she is performing "Madhuban Mein Radhika" at a live performance in Dubai:
8. Waheeda Rehman
Waheeda Aunty was another friend/colleague of my mom's and I of course love her dancing because she learned from our same Gurus in India - the one and only Gurus of Sri Rajarajeshwari Bharata Natya Kalamandir in Mumbai, particularly Guru Mahalingam Pillai who I was lucky enough to study under in the early 90s. Though my favorite performance of hers was much later (Mahaan - 1983), her earlier films have wonderful displays of dance that really show her talent. You can see her dance training shine through in items from Neel Kamal, Guide, and Teesri Kasam. Here she is in Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja (1961):
9. Komal Mahuvakar
She's virtually unknown, but I totally LOVED this girl. She couldn't have been more than 15 when she starred in the Rajshri film Payal Ki Jhankar which was ALL about dance (and therefore is one of my favorite movies of all time). I never saw her in much after that, though she had a small role as one of the household children in Khusboorat (she briefly dances in "Piya Bawri"), and I vaguely remember her in Nagina. I guess she moved down South later and starred in Tamil films like Michael Madana Kamarajan under the name "Roopini". But Payal Ki Jhankar is definitely her career highlight. The dancing is filmi-classical for sure, and often sloppy or odd-looking, but there is some definite training behind it. I loved her in "Dekho Kanha Nahin" (she's not the girl dancing at the beginning, you have to forward a bit to get to her part), and you can see her schooling her co-star in the Jugalbandi Dance-Off "Kar Singar". Check her out, looking extremely pretty in pink:
10. Hema Malini
Hema Malini may be a bit of an obvious choice, being well-known for being one of the best classical dancers in Bollywood. I've seen her classical dance productions on stage when they toured in the U.S., and I have to say I was less than impressed. However she's done enough beautiful work on-screen for me to appreciate her, and I also appreciate the work she does to promote Classical Dance. She also got some of the best classically-based songs in Indian Cinema,in movies such as Mrig Trishna, Mehbooba, Abhinetri, Kinara, Lekin and so many more. Here she is dancing with her daughters in a live stage performance (does anyone else think Esha looks like Deepika Padukone in Odissi costume?):
11. Aishwariya Rai
Ash is also slightly obvious, though I don't necessarily LIKE her as an actress or consider her one of my favorites otherwise. I do always appreciate her dancing. She is trained in Bharatanatyam and I remember reading somewhere that she had trained up to arangetram level (professional debut) but didn't complete it. She is a natural dancer and lovely to watch! I always love seeing her dance and wish they would really showcase her full ability like they did for Hema Malini and Madhuri Dixit. Umrao Jaan gave her a great opportunity to show her classical training, as evidenced by many of the clips in this fan-made video on YouTube (v. well done!). Here she is in my absolute favorite Aishwariya movie, the Tamil film Kandukonden Kandukonden (inspired by Sense and Sensibility):
12. Prabhu Deva
Prabhu Deva may seem like an odd choice, but he IS indeed trained in Classical Dance and quite skilled at it. It's probably what gives him such an edge over other amazing dancers like Lawrence and Vijay. We almost NEVER see it, although there is the number "Saravanabhava" from the HILARIOUS movie Kadhala Kadhala (also starring Kamal Hassan) - which I can't find anywhere on YouTube unfortunately. But here's a clip from Kadhalan in which his character is trying to learn Bharatanatyam to win over his ladylove:
Of course I should mention that there are many more famous Classical Dancers in Cinema, such as Kamala Lakshman, Gopi Krishna, Bhanupriya, Jaya Prada, Anjali Devi, Bombay Meenakshi etc. They certainly deserve credit for their brilliant work. My mom particularly loves Kamala Lakshman, and she performed with Gopi Krishna all over India and North America. But I just had to list my personal favorites!
For more on Classical Dance in Indian Cinema, I definitely recommend you visit the fabulous Minai's blog - her stuff is just brilliant!
Just a quickie post guys - was thinking about the powerhouse combination of Kamal Hassan and Sridevi that we Southies got to enjoy in the 80s, but Hindi movies only really got to experience with the AMAZING Sadma.
Kamal Hassan is definitely one of my favorite comedic actors, and may very well be my all-time favorite actor if I really think about it. And when he and Sridevi got together, it was just pure comedy gold!
Just wanted to share two examples of how amazingly funny these two were together ...
The first is from one of my favorite tamil movies, and one that I hope to do a recap of soon - Meendum Kokila. In it they play a young married couple whose happy home life is threatened by the husband (who is a lawyer)'s client - a beautiful, unmarried and lonely actress named Kamini. This is a dream sequence that Sridevi's character has, and in it they play the roles of Radha and Krishna - though the Krishna is a bit ... alternative, shall we say? But it's just the kind of humor I love - subtle and totally silly.
My fave moments:
- Don't you just love Krishna's silver satin jacket and matching hat (with the peacock feather).
- Right away I love at 0:56 when she hits him too hard.
- At 1:02 when she stops him from opening his jacket - LOL!
- 1:28 when he plays the flute to magically draw her to him!
- 1:47 when he falls, and then at 1:59 when something is under his back.
- 2:29 when he almost drops her!
- 3:27 when he trips on the stairs.
Needless to say, she is totally gorgeous and SO young in this!
The next one is from Hare Radha Hare Krishna, which I believe is a dubbed movie - the original is Okka Radha Iddaru Krishnulu. I had a tamil copy on VHS once, but lost it long ago, before I had a chance to watch it. It is available on YouTube though, so I might try to watch it one of these days. This song is HILARIOUS though.
EDIT - I could only find the Telugu song on YouTube, so here's Madura Murali -
Thoughts/Fave Moments:
-Sri looks AMAZINGLY gorgeous in traditional South Indian paavadai-dhaavani.
- Love the giant flute Kamal is lying on right at the beginning
- Look at her face at 0:53 when he gives her the flute!
- The 1st music interlude at 1:09 where he CHURNS her and they make butter, which he holds like a proud father - LOL!
- 1:43 when he steps in something ... unsavoury ...
- 1:51 when he throws his angavastram and dust comes out & he sneezes, hilarious and SO random!
- The whole sequence at 2:11 when he gives her the flute and her face falls, and then he accidentally hits her in the eye ... haha!
- 2:42 when he checks his watch and tells her to meet him later
- the whole ice cream sequence starting at 2:47 when Sridevi is making a MESS and then Kamal drops his and starts eyeing hers!
- 3:14 when he thinks he's being held up.
- 3:23 when he hurts his finger playing raas
- 3:32 when she gets up all ungracefully
- 3:52 when she almost falls off the bench and the moments after, until the end when they can't figure out how to hug each other with the raas sticks ...
LOVE IT!
I saw this interview recently where Kamal Hassan describes his relationship with Sridevi as being like siblings ... they certainly had a chemistry that is very different from the kind of romantic tension you see between Amitabh and Rekha ... there's a comfort that is more along the lines of Shah Rukh and Kajol. Whatever the case may be, their comedy together was unbeatable, and that makes them one of my favorite Jodis! If you only watch one of their movies together, I definitely recommend the Hindi movie Sadma or it's Tamil original, Moondram Pirai.
More Sridevipalooza posts to come, keep an eye on my Delicious and Tumblr links!
Today's Song of the Day is definitely a Shameful Classic. From the Telugu hit movie "Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari" starring Chiranjeevi and Sridevi, in which she plays an Apsara. Just check out this plot description from Wikipedia:
The story revolves around Raju (Chiru), a guide and caretaker of 4 young orphans. One day he comes upon a magical ring in the Himalayas, where he had gone to search for a cure for one of the children, who was accidentally injured. The ring belongs to a celestial being, Indraja (Sridevi), the daughter of Lord Indra.
She comes back to Earth to retrieve it. During her earthly voyage, she becomes close with the orphans, she is kidnapped by a sorcerer who wants to sacrifice her to become immortal, is rescued, and eventually finds true love, Raju. She, at the end, throws away her ring and goes to her love to live a mortal life instead of returning to her heavenly abode.
The shame is liking the picturization of this song DESPITE the fact that it's fantasy/love song stemming from the fact that Chiranjeevi SLAPS Sridevi across the face. He SLAPS her. And that makes her fall in "lowwe" with him.
Ugh. I mean, just, UGH.
And yet, this song is just amazing. Is it awesome enough to overcome the totally inappropriate slap and the subsequent glorification of it?
I've been watching Bollywood movies ever since my consciousness set in, which was roughly around 1981-ish. I have a lot of Bollystalgia and I just wanted to share it. I'm also a Bharata Natyam Dancer, a singer, an avid reader, and a Harry Potter freak. I wish that life had a soundtrack. You can also follow me on Twitter or check out my Tumblr account.
