Facebook Twitter Instagram
    India Art Review
    • Dance
    • Music
    • Art
    • Heritage
    • Theatre
    • Books
    • Films
    • Team
    Facebook Twitter Instagram
    India Art Review
    Home»Dance»How the documentary on dance guru C V Chandrasekhar was born
    Dance

    How the documentary on dance guru C V Chandrasekhar was born

    Vinu VasudevanBy Vinu VasudevanApril 10, 2021
    Dance Guru Chandrasekhar
    Dance Guru Chandrasekhar
    Share
    WhatsApp Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Telegram

    The documentary, ‘Nrithya Gandharva – Prof. C. V. Chandrasekhar, His Art & Life’, sketches the life of dance guru, choreographer and musician C.V. Chandrasekhar. A detailed description of its making.

    It was in the year, 2000, I first met legendary dancer and choreographer Padmabhushan Guru C V Chandrasekhar. I had heard a lot about this amazing artist from my friend dancer-musician Dr Rajashree Warrier. Chandrasekhar came for a performance at the annual festival of Kottakkal Viswambhara temple in the Malappuram district. The crowd was not that big. But a few people went to the green room and congratulated Chandrasekhar, who was in his early seventies, for his excellent show of pure, classical Bharatanatyam. This was a new experience for me. It also opened up a door for a warm personal relationship with the great master and his family, especially Jaya aunty, his wife, who is also an artist.

    Cut to 2012, we met again for a Bharatanatyam workshop at Trichur. It was organized by Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi. Between the intervals of the programme, we spoke at length about art and music. During our conversation, I informally asked Chandru sir about the possibility of making a documentary on him. His reply was very interesting. “Nobody asked me this before. Even I didn’t think of this until you mentioned it. I only want to dance.” – a nice smile appeared on his handsome face. 

    Idea to action

    In 2018, I went to Chennai to meet Chandru sir for a detailed interview for a publication. I spent almost a day with him. The interview was very casual. While returning home, I discussed this with my friend Dr Madhavi Mallampalli, an ayurvedic doctor by profession and a Kuchipudi dancer by passion. Madhavi expressed her willingness to produce the documentary. The very next year on August 15th we started the shooting of the documentary at ‘Attakkalari’, a performing space in Bengaluru, where Chandrasekhar was conducting a workshop. 

    Subsequently, we did shooting at Chennai, where he spent his childhood and Varanasi where his vibrant academic and creative career at the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) was bloomed. It was the most memorable experience in our documentary making. 

     We visited ‘Vasanth Kanya Maha Vidyalaya’ where he worked as a dance teacher and at the performing arts department of BHU. Though it was a holiday many of the students, teachers came there to see their loving Guru. Many dance scholars and his students shared their experiences with him. 

    Our next mission was to explore Chandru sir’s work at Vadodara. We shot at places such as M S University Bangalow (where he was spearheading the work of the dance department at the M.S. University, Baroda)

    After Varanasi and Vadodara, we met eminent Bharatanatyam exponents including Vyjayanthimala Bali, Padma Subramaniam, Chitra Visweswaran, the Dhanajayans and Leela Samson. And all of them talked with adoration and love to the great dancer.

    The preview

    The shooting was completed in March 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic delayed the post-production work of the documentary. We finished the first round of editing in December. From there we had to rush for the final cut and fix a date for the release of the documentary as the health condition of Chandru sir was a bit worse by that time.  

    It was a hectic period for Madhavi and me because we had booked the preview theatre for January 24th. A small gathering of 50 people was invited and the preview was highly satisfactory to all of us.

    I consider this was the destiny for me to do such a work on a great personality in the art firmament of the country. The opportunity came to me only because of Madhavi’s passion and her trust in the project.

    Bharatanatyam C V Chandrasekhar Documentary featured Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Kuchipudi
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Telegram WhatsApp
    Previous Article‘To desire is to suffer’- The Buddhist Concept that Inspired Artist Deedee Cheriel
    Next Article The Life and Music of Ustad Bade Gulam Ali Khan
    Vinu Vasudevan

      Related Posts

      Sita

      The Invincible Sita

      May 1, 2025
      Ramayana

      Saamarthya – Women of Ramayana

      April 9, 2025
      Ganga Tathwam

      Spiced by Scintillating Anecdotes

      April 3, 2025

      Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

      Author In Focus VK Karthika

      Pathaan

      Pathaan: A Triumph of Love Over Hate

      V K KarthikaMarch 31, 2023

      Pathaan breaks the typical stereotype of Islamic Terrorism.

      Avatar

      Eastern Ethos Lifts up Cameron’s Avatar Sequel

      V K KarthikaJanuary 31, 2023

      Eastern ethos and laws of the nature are set to get a new tech-driven meaning as Cameron is planning two more sequels.

      Yazh

      Reviving Yazh, the Indian Harp

      V K KarthikaNovember 28, 2022

      Without Tharun, Yazh, an ancient instrument would not have taken birth in modern times

      Tholppavakoothu

      Girl Power up in Puppetry

      V K KarthikaSeptember 30, 2022

      Rajitha Ramachandra Pulavar and her team gave a new meaning to Tholppavakkooth and the body politics went in for a change in 2021

      Nanjiyamma tribal singer of Attappady

      Why the National Award for Tribal Singer Nanjiyamma Matters

      V K KarthikaAugust 27, 2022

      India witnessed a debate on the ‘purity of music’ when tribal singer Nanjiyamma won the National Award.

      EVENTS

      Sooryakanthi festival

      Sooryakanthi Dance Festival From Nov 28- Dec 1

      India Art ReviewNovember 25, 2024

      Memorial Awards and Dance Performances in Chennai

      India Art ReviewNovember 25, 2024

      Tribute to Yamini Krishnamurthy

      India Art ReviewAugust 13, 2024

      Kuchipudi Drama

      India Art ReviewMay 24, 2024

      Have You Read These?

      Youth

      The Fountain of Youth

      Vineeth AbrahamMay 16, 2023

      What will happen when a bookworm set out to clean his library? One of the…

      The Elephant Whisperers

      Poetics of Fostering the Animal: The Elephant Whisperers

      Babu Rajan P PMay 1, 2023

      With the decline of natural habitats, human-elephant conflict has seen a surge, often leaving the majestic creatures as unwitting participants. “The Elephant Whisperers” documentary pays homage to the conservation endeavors aimed at preserving these habitats and raising awareness among communities about the perils of anthropocentrism.

      1899 and the Virtual Studio: Futuristic Filmmaking

      IAR DeskMarch 12, 2023

      1899, the new web series from the creators of German masterpiece Dark, will be filmed entirely in a virtual studio. Here’s all you wanted to know about ‘Volume’ and why it matters to futuristic filmmaking.

      Yazh

      Reviving Yazh, the Indian Harp

      V K KarthikaNovember 28, 2022

      Without Tharun, Yazh, an ancient instrument would not have taken birth in modern times

      A ‘Lyrical Dance’ Tribute to Edassery’s Poem

      G S PaulNovember 8, 2022

      Choreographic ingenuity of Vinitha Nedungadi created alluring visuals of the sublime poetic imagination of Edassery in Anthithiri.

      vijayakumar menon

      Vijayakumar Menon Taught Kerala How to Appreciate Art

      Renu RamanathNovember 3, 2022

      The only wealth Menon amassed during his solitary journey was that of art. When Vijayakumar…

      About
      About

      India Art Review is a dedicated digital journal of art and culture, based in Chennai and with representatives in Kerala, Delhi, the UAE, Canada and the US.

      We're social, connect with us:

      Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube LinkedIn Telegram
      People in Art
      Yuko Matoba: Vainika from the Land of the Rising Sun

      Yuko Matoba: Vainika from the Land of the Rising Sun

      March 18, 2021
      Carnatic Musician Geetha Bennett’s Battle with Cancer

      Carnatic Musician Geetha Bennett’s Battle with Cancer

      February 4, 2021
      Kalamandalam Satyabhama

      Remembering Kalamandalam Satyabhama

      September 13, 2021
      sunanda Nair

      Sunanda Nair on the Art of Learning and Teaching Mohiniyattam

      December 30, 2021
      Must Reads
      Mangad Natesan

      Remembering Carnatic Musician Mangad Natesan

      May 3, 2024
      P K G Nambiar

      PKG Nambiar(1930-2023): The Man who Redefined the Role of Vidooshaka

      May 10, 2023
      Kanak Rele

      Dr. Kanak Rele (1937-2023): A Revolutionary in Dance 

      February 22, 2023
      Pandit Shivkumar Sharma

      Adieu, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma

      May 10, 2022
      Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube RSS
      • Home
      • About
      Copyright © 2022. India Art Review

      Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.