Kathak maestro Pandit Birju Maharaj's love for dance has only blossomed with age. Now in his late seventies, he has choreographed the kathak sequence in the Tamil film, Vishwaroopam, where he spent a lot of time training actor Kamal Hassan.
"Kamal is eager to learn and would check with me every time he completed a sequence. Despite being such an accomplished actor, he is humble and open to criticism and feedback," says Birju Maharaj who was in the City recently for a performance.
Age has caught up with Birju Maharaj but he says when music and rhythm get the better of him, kathak naturally takes over and then nothing else matters. "When rhythm and music hit my mind, the art takes over. I feel it's not me dancing but the divine power working through me," he says and confesses that innovation is the key to keep the art form alive.
Recollecting his younger days, Birju Maharaj says, "Kathak first took shape in a small village in Uttar Pradesh and we always considered it as a link to the spiritual world. But now, kathak and all the other classical dance forms have been sidelined and neglected. They aren't being given their rightful place."
Birju Maharaj holds a lot of admiration for today's generation but he thinks they aren't too serious when it comes to promoting and popularising classical art forms. "Cricket continues to be worshipped, but people like us, who have literally dedicated our life to the arts, don't get the recognition we deserve," he adds.
He also adds that Madhuri Dixit's dancing skills are beyond comparison. Recollecting the days of rehearsal with Madhuri, during the shooting of the song Hum Pe Ye Kisne Hara Rang Dala… for Sanjay Leela Bhansali's much-talked about film Devdas, he observes, "There's so much emotion in her eyes when she dances and even after all these years, she's still very beautiful."
Birju Maharaj has fond memories of Bangalore. "I've lost count of the number of times I have performed here but the City isn't the same with its crazy traffic," he signs off.
"Kamal is eager to learn and would check with me every time he completed a sequence. Despite being such an accomplished actor, he is humble and open to criticism and feedback," says Birju Maharaj who was in the City recently for a performance.
Age has caught up with Birju Maharaj but he says when music and rhythm get the better of him, kathak naturally takes over and then nothing else matters. "When rhythm and music hit my mind, the art takes over. I feel it's not me dancing but the divine power working through me," he says and confesses that innovation is the key to keep the art form alive.
Recollecting his younger days, Birju Maharaj says, "Kathak first took shape in a small village in Uttar Pradesh and we always considered it as a link to the spiritual world. But now, kathak and all the other classical dance forms have been sidelined and neglected. They aren't being given their rightful place."
Birju Maharaj holds a lot of admiration for today's generation but he thinks they aren't too serious when it comes to promoting and popularising classical art forms. "Cricket continues to be worshipped, but people like us, who have literally dedicated our life to the arts, don't get the recognition we deserve," he adds.
He also adds that Madhuri Dixit's dancing skills are beyond comparison. Recollecting the days of rehearsal with Madhuri, during the shooting of the song Hum Pe Ye Kisne Hara Rang Dala… for Sanjay Leela Bhansali's much-talked about film Devdas, he observes, "There's so much emotion in her eyes when she dances and even after all these years, she's still very beautiful."
Birju Maharaj has fond memories of Bangalore. "I've lost count of the number of times I have performed here but the City isn't the same with its crazy traffic," he signs off.