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Bollywood’s young and glamorous actress Ananya Pandey is in the news these days for her recently released film ‘Chand Mera Dil’. Actor Lakshya Lalwani is seen in the lead role with her in this film and since its release, the film is getting mixed response from the audience. But meanwhile, Ananya Pandey has come under the target of netizens on social media regarding a particular scene of the film and she is being trolled badly.
In fact, people have objected to a Bharatnatyam dance scene performed by Ananya in the film and have seriously accused her of making fun of this ancient classical dance style. Now the country’s well-known Bharatnatyam dancer and Padma Vibhushan Dr. Sonal Mansingh has entered this controversy, who has expressed her displeasure in very strong words on the performance of the actress. Seeing the growing controversy, Ananya’s father and veteran actor Chunky Pandey has also come to his daughter’s defence.
“Nataraja must be crying on Shiva Kailash…” Sonal Mansingh’s anger on Bollywood
In this clip of the film which is going viral on social media, Ananya Pandey is seen performing a fusion piece of Bharatanatyam and Western dance. After watching this, Dr. Sonal Mansingh gave a sharp reaction and said, “This latest film clip going viral on social media, where Ananya Pandey is doing so-called Bharatnatyam, is a strong reminder to the film makers that they should learn to maintain the dignity of our ancient traditions.”
He further raised questions on the functioning of Bollywood and said, “Don’t unnecessarily dabble in the art which you don’t know about or which you don’t want to learn in depth. I have seen in Hollywood films that only completely trained artists are given a chance for classical dances on screen, they don’t make any ordinary actor dance. I have always had a lot of complaints with Bollywood in this matter.”
Sonal Mansingh further shared her personal pain and said, “Being a dedicated Bharatnatyam dancer, I am deeply mentally distressed after seeing this scene. Even Lord Nataraja Shiva must be crying on Kailash after seeing this performance. Have some decorum, dignity and modesty! Seeing Ananya Pandey dancing like this, it felt as if she was distorting this sacred art form and using it as a film prop only. Bharatnatyam is not a social media. It is not a trend, it is a 3000 year old sacred art, which has been nurtured by centuries of hard practice and penance. You are openly making fun of it. If you had to have such a scene in your film, you should have cast an actress who is proficient in this dance.”
Father Chunky Pandey came to the rescue of his daughter, gave a befitting reply to the trollers
Seeing his daughter Ananya Pandey being surrounded from all sides, Chunky Pandey has finally come forward and broken his silence on this entire controversy. During a media interview, she responded to Sonal Mansingh and critics by saying, “People are completely misunderstanding this dance performance and making statements without knowing the context. The dance shown in that scene of the film was never completely pure or traditional Bharatanatyam. It is just a fusion performance, as college students usually do for fun in their annual cultural programs or fests.”
Acknowledging the importance of classical dance, Chunky Pandey further said, “I believe that it takes about 20 years of hard work, dedication and strict discipline for a person to learn real Bharatnatyam. It is a very technical, difficult and precise art. But the dance shown in our film is just a combination of traditional and western dance styles.” Along with this, he appealed to the audience and critics not to form their opinion just by watching a short clip, but first watch the entire film and understand the story and context behind it.
