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First, the Recap:
The language of movement, the poetry of music, and the beauty of expression. Throughout the ages, the arts platform in all its forms teaches us about cultures from past to present, a visual and audible history of a people’s heritage and, ideally, ongoing legacy to be carried on by all generations that follow. The medium of dance in particular has always found its place amongst the natural progression of societies around the world, each nation, each community, each ethnicity bringing their unique incarnation to bear, creating vivid and impactful visual illustrations that aim to resonate throughout one’s entire being with the messages intended to be conveyed.
When it comes to national pride, it is often the case that a given country’s national athem/song stands as that standard which reverberates through all who sing it, all who truly feel the majesty of what the lyrics mean, and experience that sweel of comfort, delight, and unwavering confidence that it does justice to what their nation stands for. But, what if said country’s song is further expanded on, visualized through beautifully artistic gestures, with every motion, large or minute, having meaning and substance? Could there not be an even grander sense of emotional connection and patriotic loyalty in hearing and seeing the heartbeat of a motherland through it? Such is the case here. Welcome to the new rendition of India’s national anthem, “Vande Mataram”.
Next, my Mind:
An offering included in the shorts programming with an emphasis on the arts at the 2019 Dallas Fort Worth South Asian Film Festival sponsored by Toyota USA, this 6-minute film introduced a contemporary, refreshed variation on India’s national song, creatively arranged and produced by Sai Ganesh Nagpal and visually brought together by director Swapna Maini. Utilizing a wonderful array of dancers ages 9-16 years old and touching on traditional dance styles including Bharatanatyam, Odissi, Kathak and Kuchipudi, it is always heartening for this critic to witness how evocatively music and dance speaks in Indian cinema, becoming characters in themselves, here accompanying Nagpal’s voiceover giving life to the anthem’s ancient Sanskrit texts, sweeping us away into another realm of feeling, emotional engagement, and pure entertainment.
What constantly strikes me as well is the sheer intricacy of each and every movement presented in the dances, more so knowing that it all has specific meaning as the performers interpret what they are hearing through the music and words. Plus, there’s the entrancing fluidity of the music as well that promotes said dances to equal the same measure of flow and precision, which is executed so deftly through Maini’s choreography and students who make it come alive. Additionally, there is also the magnificence of the costuming, an always consistent element in Indian culture, with radiant color, eloquently detailed designs, and other aesthetics which only make the visual presentation that much more enriching. Filmed at, quite literally, ancient locales in Rajasthan and Khajuraho temples thousands of years old, it all lends itself to being tangibly transported back in time to experience the storied history of one of the earliest cultures in the world.
The film features the following, wonderfully talented artists: Mohika Shankar, Arushi Kishore, Anya Chugh, Iishita Kohle, Sahira Chugh, Aanya Khanna, Aaraynaa Lohia, Ahana Sur, Ananya Pandey, Anaya Khandelwal, Anoushka Sardana, Divisha Vats, Diya Srivastava, Eesha Bhanot, Eesha Bhatia, Ishita Yadav, Mansvi Tokas, Prisha Aggarwal, Samaa Manhandru, Shreya Srivastava, and Tanvi Neb. In total, “Vande Mataram-A Dance Tribute” was a fully imaginative piece of indie filmmaking that so passionately and stirringly evokes the mind, heart, and soul of a nation who is proud of its heritage and desires to remain strong in its place in this world. I give total marks to Maini and Nagpal for being an integral part in showcasing that film IS art, here so meaningfully, poignantly portrayed in such an abbreviated timeframe as to prove the skill and ingenuity found in the independent film community.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
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