Elegance personified

She breezes in, greeting you with an outstretched hand even as she perches on the sofa. Before you can gather your wits, you are face to face with Shobana, the dancer-actor who has swept the Indian film firmament with her superb talent. Her intelligence is something that strikes you as a surprise package as this ingredient is not common in a non-academic arena like movies and dance. A pragmatic and professional artiste, she oozes confidence.

We knew Shobana the actor first and later the dancer. Was the shift from films to dance or vice-versa? “In my case neither can be said to be the first. My family (the Travancore trio: Lalitha , Padmini, Ragini) was into films and dance decades ago. To me the arch lights were too familiar a sight and so was dance. Though I should say my arangetram was rather late, at 18. I was learning dance as I was performing on stage and I continue to do so. There was never something called the shift from one field to another. I have just completed a Malayalam movie. I will act as long as I feel the script and role are appealing to me.”

Unlike many South Indian actors, she never made a relocation to Hindi films. “I did some as I did a few English movies made by Indians too. The Malayalam industry kept me so busy (more than 200 films) that I hardly found time for others.”

Of late though, her tryst with Bharatanatyam has brought her into the top league of classical dancers with her thematic productions. The expressive aspect of dance is what sets such presentations apart. Did her acting experience help her on the emotive front on stage too? “Films and dance are two diverse forms of communication. In the former, you hardly emote. Your director takes care that the end product appears convincing to the audience whether or not there was genuine emotion while the scene was shot. But on stage it is more challenging. It is accuracy with footwork, mime plus facial expressions. Dancers are trained communicators. Nothing can go wrong in a performance as there are no retakes!”

Thematic productions are her forte. And the latest to hit the dance floor is Maya Ravan. “This is a musical of mine, the first venture of its kind. It is based on the Ramayan where I used the idiom of classical dance, theatre and film with voice-overs of Naseeruddin Shah, Mohanlal, Tabu, Jackie Shroff, Revathy and Suhasini Mani Ratnam. We propose to release the DVD of the show in the market shortly,” she is thrilled at the project whose live shows received good reviews in Chennai and other metros. Ask her take on the classical dance scenario and she has a lot to say. “I see a lot of kids these days. Everybody seems to be bending backwards to make art happen — television shows, fusion music/dance and youth festivals (in Kerala they are a rage). Once they make it to the winning post, they should not rest contended. They should pursue it if not as a singularly consuming profession (I know the difficulties), at least as a parallel to academics. For this we need dedicated teachers of dance too.

The government, I feel, should make a sincere and serious attempt to fund performances and extend monetary support so that real classical performing arts do not just fade away. It’s not enough to sit back and declare that our art culture should remain intact. Single entities or individuals cannot sustain performing arts on a permanent basis. I’m a Chennai-based Malayalee working in Kerala for most of my movies. While the latter is an art hub, the academic sustenance for performing arts especially dance and music is in Chennai even today. You need intellectual challenges to enhance your performance levels like an art appreciative audience and this comes only when arts are given their due like educational qualifications. And it is for those who run the country to take care of the tradition and culture,” she concludes.