Over the last few days, the Indian classical dance fraternity has voiced outrage over actor Ananya Pandey’s dance in the movie, Chand Mera Dil. Pandey has drawn the ire of the Bharatnatyam world for performing a melange of hip-hop, popping (a street dance form involving stiff, jerky movements) and what is alleged to be Bharatnatyam. Several well-known practitioners of the dance form, apart from ordinary social media users, have aired their criticism of the treatment meted out to the classical dance. A viral meme goes, “Bharatanatyam was founded in 200 BCE and ended with Ananya Pandey in 2026.” Pandey’s dance has been disparagingly termed “nepo-natyam”, invoking the perception that nepotism has allowed mediocrity to be rewarded.

The criticism is centred on lack of technique, ignorance of centuries-old traditions of the dance form, use of Nataraja (the dancing Shiva) in the background for such a piece, etc.........

© hindustantimes