Natyam - Interview with Sandhya Raju - Kuchipudi Dancer - May 2016Natyam - Interview with Sandhya Raju - Kuchipudi Dancer - May 2016 - Bhavanvitha Venkat Short film "Natyam" opened to viewers on youtube on International Dance Day, 29th April 2016. The film was directed by Sri Revanth Korukonda and narrates the story of Kalyani, an academically successful graduate from a top engineering college, and her silenced passion, dance. Through the film we follow Kalyani and see how she makes her choices, how people influence her journey, and her return to classical dance. Her emotions ultimately making her realize what she really wants. How does her family react to her? Revanth makes the short film unfurl and effortlessly brings out the subtle complications and delivers an important message. Revanth takes this plot, the experience of and artist unwillingly and unknowingly giving up dance after marriage and gives a creative and positive narrative of how to go about making a choice- to return to one’s passion. We can now keep the story to unravel on youtube and move on to speak about and to Sandhya who plays the protagonist, herself a dancer. Kalyani is played by Kuchipudi dancer Sandhya Raju, a student of Dr Vempati Chinna Satyam. Sandhya started learning Kuchipudi at Kuchipudi Art Academy at the age ten, this after watching Master's Ballet Ksheera Saagara Madhanam. From there to founding Nishrinkala Dance Academy, she has come a long way and loves to perform regularly. Presenting here to readers is an interactive with her about “Natyam”, her love for dance, and her future plan. Q: Natyam is about art, classical dance in particular, and how’s it doing a film where you actually get to play a dancer? In fact it's like reaching audience through a new media and possibly for the first time too.Natyam is my second film experience. Earlier I acted in Devasthanam directed by Kala Tapaswi Sri K Viswanath. About the film, initially Natyam was planned for about Ten Minutes, but then thankfully due to the support we got from our sponsor and the smooth flow of the narration, we extended it a bit more. The story of "Natyam" was looking for a dancer and came to me as the Director chose me after studying the profiles of dancers in the internet. I am glad I got the opportunity to play "Kalyani" and hope I justified myself in that role to the expectations of the audience and my director. I am happy that the number of views of Natyam quickly reached to about Two Lakhs (now it’s well past over half a million about six laksh thirty thousand). Q: How was it acting, that too where the entire film revolves around your character and hows it different from dancing?Yes, most importantly I came to realize how acting and dancing are different. When I perform as a dancer, I know the audience and direct my abhinaya, expression towards them, I pay all my attention to them. They are in front of me looking at the dancer on the stage. Acting I found is altogether different from this perspective. Here we act to the camera and there are many of them. Mind you it's not so easy to understand the positions of cameras and the unseen audience. That for a dancer is a totally new dimension. Thanks to the director I was able to quickly get to grips to this challenge and also I think Kuchipudi with the dance drama background helps to understand the characterization better. I love to explore into the wide scope of it. Q: How’s it working with the Director Revanth Korukonda and renowned dancer Alekhya garu?Revanth is a hands-on director, right from the costumes to the action and expression, the camera angles, and the elements of the lyric for dance, he was sure of what he wanted and to that extent his efforts are complete. I could improvise a bit in a couple of scenes like when as a house wife I try to arrange the items a couple of times. He not only knows what he wants from the scene, but also knows how to go about to get the desired result. So it's very good working with him. Working with Alekhya garu was in deed a wonderful experience. She's an amazing personality and highly accomplished. Also in the film as I approach her to continue my dance, I step into Nishrinkala as a new comer. That’s again a special feeling. Q: In short you enjoyed doing Natyam, so any chance that we would be able to see you in the sequel? It sure has the scope..Sequel..may be, I need to think of it and hope there will be an opportunity. Q: Now about Kalyani, the central character of Natyam, How do you relate to herI can relate to Kalyani to the extent that both of us are passionate. But as far as I am concerned, I am always sure that I would continue dance all through my life. Yes, the fact that I would continue to dance was informed even when I met my husband the first time. I am happy that I have the full support of all my family. Q: You choreographed the performance item that's in the climax, please tell me about it.. The lyric penned by Narendra Doddapaneni is quite intense and written so as to relate to the story?I did the dance choreography and the lyric was provided to me. It had all the elements for bringing out the nritta and abhinaya both together. Lord Shiva’s Tandava and Parvati’s Lasyam are both brought into the choreography. It turned out to be a very satisfying effort for me. Please watch the dance sequence again. Every portion that doesn't have lyrics and only jathi and music is completely filled with meaning. It's about Kalyani reuniting with Lord Nataraja and their unity is seen in the final bit with a combination of Lasya and thandava. There is even a step where he is dancing with the damaru and she is dancing to his tunes. Q: Are you at present working on something new now say a dance tour, a performance or new choreography?I am working on my own new Kuchipudi dance choreography. The item would be of about twenty minutes. The theme is very close to my heart. As she smiles and I wish her all the best, I am reminded of a dialogue in the film where Kalyani says.. Nanna, I now know the difference between just a smile and happiness. I can't but notice how magical it all was, a nice interactive session in the open air, with the beach in the vicinity and as the sky was full of dark clouds, the brilliant lightnings lighting up all around.. a perfect time for Lord Nataraja's cosmic dance. Bhavanvitha Venkat is a Kuchipudi dancer, writer, dance critic and a finance professional. He contributes regularly on classical dance - he can be reached by email - bhavanvitha@gmail.com
Thank you Sandhya for the interview. We wish you success and joy in all your future endeavours. And friends, here is the link to the short film Natyam * Credits & Keywords- Sandhya Raju, Revanth Korukonda, Interview, Natyam, Short-film, Bhavanvitha Venkat, Do Not Copy, Copyrights Acknowledged, PriyaLasya, Hamara, (C), MY16-24-1 |