A tribute to Indian cinema through classical dance and navarasas

Sanjay Shantaram, classical dancer and actor, is understood for his interesting productions onstage. This month finish, he'll present Nakshatra — a tribute to Indian cinema thru classical dance by which he will pay obeissance to the dancing divas of Bollywood. "Everyone thinks film dancing is easy. But no one realizes that there is a lot of effort that has been put in and most of our stars are trained classical dancers and have brought in the charm and grace through their years of practice," he says. "I've been an actor myself and I wanted to convey the idea of cinematic dancing being beyond just the common stereotypes," says Sanjay, who could have a team of just about 50 dancers perform on the event.

"We have selected actresses who are also trained classical dancers and have inspired and charmed us over the years. It begins with Vyjayanthimala — someone who has been my biggest source of inspiration. We then come all the way down to Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who is another fine trained dancer," finds Sanjay.

In reality, this performance additionally has an enchanting theme. "We have picked nine songs of nine actresses and through these nine songs, we will showcase the nine emotions, or navarasas, through classical dance," says Sanjay, adding that this event is open for everyone on January 30 at ADA Rangamandira. With the performance, he hopes to inspire other folks to take a look at classical and film dancing another way.