Celebrity Interview - Actress/Danseuse Shobhana 2011

One look at in Shobana, and it's obvious that she was born to be a dancer. Even without make-up, her large dark eyes grab your attention; her features are exquisite and her smile, charming. She is beautiful, but refuses to let me take a picture of her in loungewear.
Shobana is used to being called a 'Dancer/Actress'. “I accept it because that is what I am,” she says matter-of-factly. She started learning dance from the tender age of 3 and has been acting since she was 9. As the niece of Lalitha, Padmini and Ragini, the famous South Indian Dancer/Actress trio of yester-years, one can say that both the art forms run in her blood. She has excelled in both fields, winning numerous awards including 'Natya Mayuri', 'Yuva Kala Bharathi' and 'Nadana Mamani' for her Bharatanatyam performances and another endless list for acting, including two National Awards for Best Actress -- for the Malayalam film 'Manichitra Thazhu' (1994) and 'Mitr -- My Friend' (2002). She runs a Bharatanatyam dance school, Kalarpana, in Chennai and soon plans to open a branch in Muscat. She is now concentrating on her roles as a dancer and teacher, and has limited her acting to occasional meaningful roles.
Shobana is currently on a hectic US tour (covering about 30 cities in less than two months), presenting her latest production 'Sampradaya – From Myths to Modernity'. She spent a few days in Houston, conducting a dance workshop for the students of Anjali Center for Performing Arts, before her performance on October 17th. Here are excerpts from an interview taken the day before her concert.


Shobhana What is Sampradaya all about?
Sampradaya is a kind of Margam presented in a different way. A Margam is a repertoire that involves all the traditional items of a Bharatanatyam performance – the hot-blooded varnam, the tillana… because I like that. I think the Margam is designed to take the audience on a kind of journey. Our dancing is traditional Bharatanatyam, but we're also using modern musical energy to give it a prop. We've been working on this production for a year. We have four dancers -- my students -- and 4 musicians. We have come with a lighting person because this particular program is also about presentation.
What do you mean by 'modern musical energy'?
The music is within the traditional structure… we are not messing with the raagas or mixing them. The rendition is pure, but it is packaged with modern music. For some music, we have tracks and we have used some keyboard and chords. It's very difficult performing with tracks because we have to be totally in sync.
Have you performed this particular piece in India?
We had a preview at the Music Academy in Chennai. We had rave reviews. People in India are a little more open because everything is previewed there. So many artists come and perform, so people are used to seeing many different things. India is not narrow-minded, in fact, it is the opposite because there is so much being shown. The more traditional stuff comes out here.
Is the NRI audience so particular about tradition?
I think the NRI audience has not been given a chance. How will they know unless people take the risk and show it to them? This [presentation] is what I believe in. If somebody believes in something, it really works, because then you go out 100% to make it a success.
What has the response been to your shows so far?
We have done four concerts till now. We've packed three out of four and people want us back. We've had people standing and giving us the American kind of applause, which is stamping on the floor, whistling and shouting. There are a lot of Bharatanatyam students in the US now, because you have so many teachers all over the country. They are all coming for the shows, and they love it. I guess it's also a kind of motivation for the kids to probably continue in Bharatanatyam. They realize that it need not necessarily be a rigid discipline and that they can have fun with this art form
Have you learnt any other form of dance?
No. I feel that to master even one art form, it takes more than a lifetime, and I have always insisted that I will not do any other art form. I have been trained in Bharatanatyam for 20 years. So, since I'm so deeply rooted in traditional Bharatanatyam, I'm quite secure to venture into all these kinds of experiments. I've been taught by my classical guru, Smt. Chitra Visweswaran, and I myself have been teaching for 10 to 12 years. So when you teach, it is a process of relearning. I can't forget the principles. But I'm so strong in it that I can afford to experiment confidently.
What kind of experiments have you ventured into?
A kind of fusion that I have worked with in the past is performing with other great artists. I'm probably the only dancer of my generation who has been invited to perform by artists of high caliber like Sudharaniji, Dr. Padma Subramanyam, Jasrajji and Bhimsenji. At the same time, I've also worked with great musicians like Mandolin Srinivas, just with the mandolin. That was a challenge. I've worked with Ganesh-Kumaresh, great percussionist masters Vikkuji, Selvaganesh, Zakhirji, Bikram Ghosh, Vijay Ghate and Valayapatti Subramaniam. All these have been a learning experience. Every experiment with the musicians has been different. If I have to do the Pancharathna krithi with the violin, it is so different from doing the same with the mandolin, because a mandolin is more staccato. I've worked with drums, with Shivamani… so all these have technically been fusion performances.
Do you think music is sidelined in a dance performance unless, of course, if you are performing with a maestro?
I don't think so. Not in mine. In my performances, I think the music has been given a little more importance. I'm really into music. I cannot sit and perform to average and substandard music. So, all our musicians are solo artists. Rajesh Vaidya, Vikkuji's son-in-law Ramakrishna and Sivaraman -- none of them usually accompany dancers.


Shobana with her dance group How is it that they perform for you when they do not with others?
I have a good rapport with them and give their music a lot of respect. It's not that other dancers don't, but I get them to be involved a lot, contribute a lot and they feel that they are not silent. That's the bottom line. I understand the music and I'm able to guide them. You need to know what you are working with and be on top of it. Since I've worked with many masters, I have a good feel for the instruments, especially percussion. Obviously, it's a learning experience for them, otherwise they won't be doing it. They themselves admit that performing with dancers helps them improve a lot in certain aspects.
Do you like to be known as an actress or a dancer?
I cannot differentiate between the two. I belong to the genre of artists who are both -- like Hemamalini, Vyjayanthimala and my aunt, Padmini. Everybody looks at me as both an actress and a dancer.
Did winning the National Award make a difference in your life?
(Shrugs) When I won the first award, I was much younger. I was very excited. There was a lot of publicity and people took me more seriously. Now, it's more of a responsibility to see that I associate with good films. I don't do whatever comes my way. After the first award, it wasn't like that. I went ahead doing anything I wanted to. Now I've also toned down in my mind. I cannot do just anything. I get bored. I'm also creating so much in my dance that everyday is quite productive. So, when I go into films, I want it to be the same way. I had taken a sabbatical and I've got used to so much of freedom. For five years, I was doing only my dance and teaching. It was kind of a solo effort. In films, it's collective. You need so many people around you to work towards something. I prefer working with good technicians so that I learn and my time is put to


What movies are you working on now?
I did Pamela Rooks' 'Dance Like A Man'. It hasn't been released yet. It's showing in the New York Indian Diaspora Festival.
Are you doing 'Spice Boys' with Naseeruddin Shah?
I don't think Naseer is in the movie any more. I think it's Anupam Kher. It has not started yet. It's a big project. They are shooting in London with a British director. These things keep changing. I'll know when the time comes.
What happened to your plans of producing your own movie?
I was supposed to do a film with a very dear friend of mine, Sharada. But at that point of time, I got so busy that I realized I just couldn't go on with it. In Production… you need to spend a lot of time. It's an art. You have to oversee everything, otherwise your film won't be shot. It's a big financial burden. So we've got another friend, Padmini Ravi, to produce.
Will you be acting in it?
No. The entire thing has got postponed.
So what will be your role in it?
Confidante! (laughs) There's no role for me. I don't have the time. And I think its good for them if I step out of it. Running around me and my dates are not good for them. Not good for those who want to do it as quickly as possible.
I've heard you were into writing. Is that true?
Yeah, it's just an extension of my creativity.
Have you written anything so far?
I'm writing with a hope that somebody will read it someday. I can't speak about it. It's not much. It's been published in the Indian Express. They liked it, so let's see. It was an excerpt from a book of mine. The book is still under production. I don't know what it's called. I don't know if it is going to be written totally. That's why I'm not divulging too much. It's sitting there in my mind. I think I've got the right to be ambiguous, and have contradictions.

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