“Bharatnatyam being held hostage”: Dancers react to Ananya Pandey’s viral film scene

Ananya Panday has found herself in the middle of an online debate after a dance sequence from her latest film ‘Chand Mera Dil’ went viral on social media. The clip shows the actor performing a Bharatanatyam fusion routine while co-star Lakshya watches her mesmerized. It has drawn sharp criticism from several Instagram and X users, especially from the members of the classical dance community.

Ananya’s classical fusion- a hit or a miss?

The scene from the film shows Ananya’s character Chandni, the daughter of a Bharatanatyam dancer portrayed by Charu Shankar, choosing to present a fusion performance that blends Bharatanatyam with hip-hop and locking instead of a traditional recital. While fusion interpretations of classical dance are not new, many social media users argued that the sequence failed to do justice to the art form.

Among those reacting to the clip was noted Bharatanatyam dancer and Sangeet Natak Akademi Award recipient, Anita R Ratnam. Sharing her views on X, she wrote, “Watching this clip felt like Bharatanatyam being held hostage by a catastrophic misunderstanding of the form. Somewhere between the flailing arms and random camera moves, the dance quietly packed its bags and exited the building.”

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She further added, “Bharatanatyam is built on technique, control, tradition, geometry, musicality and emotional depth. This clip treats it like a wedding sangeet filmed during a mild earthquake. The tragedy is not that it is BAD. Bad can sometimes be charming. The tragedy is the complete confidence with which it bulldozes through centuries of sophistication, training, dedication and devotion while appearing utterly unaware that ADAVUS are not optional suggestions. This is choreography by algorithmic panic - and Lord Nataraja is suffering this abomination.”

Another dancer, Krithika Sivaswamy, also criticised the performance, writing, “Ananya Pandey's 'Bharatnatyam' shows how the industry is insensitive to classical arts, how they mock it and the audacity to put it up publicly on a screen. Unfortunately, in India there is no mechanism to sue those who mock classical arts. It’s very fluid which makes anyone do any crap with it.

What the crew has to say about this

Amid the backlash, assistant choreographer Ananya R Kurup defended the actor’s efforts by sharing behind-the-scenes moments from the rehearsals. In her post, she praised Ananya, writing, “@ananyapanday you are truly one of the sweetest person I know!! It was such a lovely experience teaching you Bharatanatyam, and you’ve absolutely nailed your performance in Chand Mera Dil.” The actor responded with heart emojis.

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Directed by Vivek Soni and co-written by Soni and Tushar Paranjape, Chand Mera Dil, produced by Dharma Productions, is currently running in the theatres. The film got released on May 22 and has received mixed reviews.