Casting Coup

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y Posted: May 02, 2004 at 0000 hrs IST y Discussion

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Querying in ganga ba... - By anita tripathiOil fields and gas f... - By g srinivasUp elections pose ch... - By Major ( Retd) Virendra SharmaTelangana - By Kantha RaoPrime minister - By Ajit LeoSychophant - By KrunalMature!! - By Srini TAT tat tat trika dhan dhana chant in time to the beats of a tabla. Coming from a small tiled room in a middle class colony, Mumbai model Aditi Gowitrikar is the reason behind this. In Pandit Veeru Krishnas home in Bandra, she spends an hour, five times a week, practising Kathak. Why? Because it will help her Bollywood careerhoning her dancing skills, expressions and building stamina. In a subdued salwar, chunni tied firmly around her waist by her guruji, and perspiration smudging the red tika across her forehead, Aditi goes through the moves. Now tukda number 13, he says. Yeh zameen pe girne wala to nahin hain na? she questions hopefully. But it is, and after a few movements, she throws herself on the floor. My knees are blue, she says with a rueful smile. But thats not stopping her. Aditi says she always wanted to learn an Indian dance form, so this seemed the obvious choice because the basics (25 tukdas and tihai, with a bit of a filmi twist) are taught here in three months. Shes a good student, informs her guru. Shes learnt plenty in just a month, he adds. Hes been teaching for 40 years, so he should know. Most of his current students are former beauty queens-turnedactors. I only take in the dedicated ones, he says. Youd expect todays Bollywood belles to relate to Beyonces swivelling hips more than Kathak, which frowns at pelvic movements. But the North Indian dance form has achieved a casting coup of sorts. Lara Dutta, Priyanka Chopra, Sameera Reddy, Neha Dhupia, Katrina Kaif, Yukta Mookhey, Riya and Raima Sen and singer Sophia Choudry, all seem keen to ditch filmi jhatkas for intricate footwork. Katrina, another of Krishnas shishyas, should be declared the brand ambassadress. She has shed all those bulges and is recommending Kathak to everyone. I picked it up a year ago thinking it might turn useful, but I had no idea what a fitness gift it was, she says. Besides helping her well-being, Kat also attributes her glowing skin and stamina to it. Others also wax eloquent. Sophia says that its made her hour-long, fully choreographed live shows smooth sailing. Kathaks given me that edge and Ive also picked up expressionsof the eyes, hands and feet. Neha feels it has eased her out in front of the camera. Now I dont think about a hundred things while dancingpractising Kathak takes care of graceful movements and expressions, she says. What Yukta enjoys most, however, is the workout. As the beat of the tabla increases so does the footwork, so there is lots of sweat and fun. It incidentally burns about 250 to 350 calories an hour, the same as taking a brisk walk, and the fact that Kathak has spirituality intertwined with it doesnt hurt either.

So what is this Bollywood connection? V Shantarams Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje, made in the 1950s, showcased the guru-shishya relationship, Vyjayanthimala immortalised Madhumati in Amrapali, while Madhubala ensured that K Asifs Mughal-E-Azam will be remembered forever. We also saw some pure Kathak in Satyajit Rays Shatranj Ke Khiladi, and Rekhas performance in Umrao Jaan got her a National Award. Recently it was Madhuri Dixits Kahe Chedhe in Devdas (choreographed by Pandit Birju Maharaj). KATHAK CALL Katrina 1 year Veeru Krishna Priyanka 2 years Veeru Krishna Lara 2 years Veeru Krishna Sameera 4 years Veeru Krishna Sophia 2 1/2 years Late Tulsidas Mangeshkar Neha 1 year Veeru Krishna Yukta 4 years Late Tulsidas Mangeshkar Aditi 1 month Veeru Krishna Masumi 9 months Roshan Kumari Choreographer Saroj Khan thinks that it is one Indian dance which teaches rhythm. In the industry, Ive noticed that our dancers know only one rhythmthe 1-2-3-4 beat, while Kathak teaches counts up to seven, 12 and 16, which dancers should get accustomed to, she explains. Though Kathak is not for everyone, according to TV actress Prachee Shah. She has been practising since she was four, and has done an MA in the dance form. I dont think anyone can say that they have been trained in Kathak if theyve just done it for six months and then given up, she says. But, just take a look at the resums of most of Bollywoods actressesthey do list it as an asset. Choreographer Vaibhavi Merchant says the reason for this Kathak euphoria is simple. Every newcomer knows that if they want to be an actress, they have to know how to dance. Kathak makes your movements more refined. Refined is probably not a word that Pandit Birju Maharaj, the present leader of the Lucknow gharana, would use of Kathak in Bollywood today. He says that the cocktail of dances is not very aesthetic. Waheeda Rehman, Madhubala and Vyjayanthimala did good Kathak, and more recently even Madhuri, who has been trained, he says.