Malayalam films' dance heritage goes back to the '60s: Vineeth

This International Dance Day, we reached out to actor-dancer Vineeth Radhakrishnan, who spoke to us about the evolution of dance in Malayalam cinema over the years.

"In Malayalam cinema, I'd say the journey started in the '60s, mainly with the Travancore Sisters. Both Padmini amma (actress Padmini) and Ragini aunty (actress Ragini) were classically trained exponents who became actresses. Back then, the choreographers wouldn't edit dance unnecessarily. My guru Padma Subrahmanyam's brother Balakrishnan sir once said that if the artiste is a good dancer, the camera should be steady and just capture it. But if the artiste is not a trained dancer, then the camera should start dancing," he says.

Recalling films like Unniyarcha and Palattu Koman, Vineeth says, "Chandana Pallakkil from Palattu Koman is one of the memorable dance performances from Ragini aunty."

He further says, "Then, we had Srividya amma, who was a trained classical dancer, but she didn't pursue it much after a while. Later Sheela chechi and Jayabharathi chechi among others did very good dance numbers in Malayalam." He also notes that most of the Vadakkanpattu films of that time had good dance numbers.

Speaking about classical dancing, Vineeth says, "There were other types of dances that changed the game back then. But from a classical dance point of view, I feel the biggest impact of classical dances in Malayalam came through Shankarabharanam, which was dubbed from Telugu. Manju Bhargavi's dance moves were iconic and people even accepted it as a Malayalam film."

"Then came Kamal Haasan's Sagara Sangamam, which was also dubbed from Telugu. He showed masculine energy through traditional dance. He made it so macho and a lot of youngsters, including me, were inspired by Kamal sir's performance, and went on to show that traditional dance is not just for women," he says.

Talking about the 1992 Mohanlal- starrer Kamaladalam, in which he was also part of, the actor says, "The pieces were more semi-classical. Lalettan did Anandanadanam with Monisha so well despite not being a trained classical dancer. There was a mixture of Bharatanatyam, Kathak and folk in it."

Mentioning another instance of dancing brilliance, he says, "Shobana's dance in Manichitrathazhu is unforgettable. Shobana's brilliant execution makes it stand out and ordinary people are able to relate to dance through it." He goes on to add, "Apart from classical dance, in the Kamal Haasan-Seema-starrer Eeta, there is a rain song — Thullikkoru Kudam Pemari. It's a highly energetic dance number with so many elegant moves in it."

Vineeth also shares his hopes for future. "Nowadays, we don't have many dance numbers. But I feel they will come back because the current generation is more welcoming of anything that's academic and classy," he says.

'Kambhoji was enriching personally'
"On a personal note, Kambhoji was an enriching experience. I had choreographed the song Chenthar Nermukhi in it using Kathakali and Mohiniyattam techniques. I had gone to masters and researched the dance forms. The concept of the song was of the art forms falling in love through two characters (played by Vineeth and Lakshmi Gopalaswamy). And the director wanted the technique to be authentic."