Wowing West End

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">When Mahesh Dattani wrote his superlative <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Dance Like a Man, </span>the dedication read U.S. Krishna Rao and U.K. Chandrabhaga Devi, his Bharatanatyam gurus.<br />Little wonder then, that when he directed the play, he cast their grandaughter Anjali to essay the role of Lata, the young dancer.<br />``For me that was the turning point, for even though I was trained as a dancer, my love was the theatre. My father U.K. Jayadev had acted in a number of plays and I had been fascinated with all those elements that go to make theatre.''''<br />These days Anjali Jay is making waves on London''s West End. Soon she''ll be on BBC. "I bagged a dramatic part in an episode of the Inspector Lynley Mysteries directed by Tim Leandro. I completed shooting earlier this month and came to Bangalore to visit my parents."<br />Anjali studied in Sophia''s High School and both danced and acted in many a production. She later joined Mount Carmel College for her BA and went to England six years ago on a Charles Wallace Scholarship for her Masters in Dance Theatre at the Laban Centre.<br />"London is so exciting. I can''t even begin to explain its creative ethos, its work ethic...it''s always so electrifying."<br />The Shobana Jaysingh Dance Company signed her on for a season of contemporary dance and "I found myself an agent."<br /><span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Genesis, 2001- A Ramayana Odyssey, Mappamundi </span>and last year''s <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Ghost Dancing </span>won her very good notices.<br />It was at a party celebrating the sucess of <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Ghost Dancing </span>that Anjali met Ayub Khan Din who wrote the original play <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">East is East </span>and the screenplay for the movie adaptation that proved a box-office hit. Ayub and his wife called an agent Claire of International Creative Management and she in turn got her the BBC role.<br />Four years ago, Anjali married her long-time sweetheart, a doctor fondly known as Rusty. They make their home in Hampshire County, south of London. "But Bangalore has always been home. Every time I come here I sense a new energy...''"<br />Anjali proudly carries her Equity card issued by the theatre union of London. It simply means she''s been accepted as an actress.<br />We out here realised that long before. </div> </div>