Indian actress, writer, director, producer, dancer, and politician Hema Malini, fondly known as Bollywood’s “Dream Girl”, even at the age of 70, looks beautiful and breath taking. She has been in the entertainment industry since 1962. The gorgeous actress is also skilled in Bharatnatyam, Kathak, and Kuchipudi and she will be seen flaunting her dancing talents in an event on January 22 in Varanasi.
The event will take place on the banks of the Ganges for the Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas celebrations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with many political, industrial and other people from various fields will grace the event.
Talking about her dance theme ballet Ganga based on the holy river by the same name, she says, “The concept had been with me for a long time. I wanted to make it four-five years ago, but it’s finally happening now. It was Union Minister for External Affairs, Sushma Swaraj ji who told me, ‘Aap Ganga pe ek dance ballet karo.’ This was six-seven months ago. So, I thought, I better do it.”
She talked to length about the collaboration for her recital, she said, “I got Ashit Desai and Alap Desai to compose the music. The compositions are Indian music with fusion. The choreography is by Bhushan Lakandri, who has done all my ballets. He is excellent and has worked extremely hard on this one, too. Shekhar Astitwa, who is the late music composer and lyricist Ravindra Jain’s special man, has penned the lyrics. Writing mein sab ne help ki. Ram Govind has done the research while Devdutt Pattanaik is the consultant. Whatever I do, I will ask him, so no one criticizes me tomorrow. The concept and story are mine. I scripted it after speaking to sadhus and sanyasis, especially Swami Avdheshanand Giriji Maharaj, who lives in Haridwar.”
Hema informed, “The ballet will have a combination of many Indian dance forms. Of course, there’s a beautiful Kathak number performed by the troupe. It’s a lovely concept. I was so obsessed with this ballet that I kept thinking of it continuously and the idea struck me when I was falling asleep. To me, it felt that when Ganga is being brought down to Earth, she’ll flow with full force. Of course, Brahma says, ‘Let her come, I will catch her in my kamandal (water vessel).’ Vishnu tells him, ‘She is approaching with great speed. You won’t be able to control her.’
Brahma says, ‘Don’t worry, I will catch her.’ The lyrics are such that the track conveys it so aptly and amazingly. Shankar Mahadevan has sung it soulfully and wonderfully.”
Talking about her dream project she explained about the effort that has gone into it, with details. “It’s quite a challenge to project Ganga’s entry on Earth. Vibhore Khandelwal, who has worked on the Kingdom Of Dreams among several other shows, has done the VFX of this 90-minute ballet. His work is of high technical quality. The special effects are beautiful, the whole stage is filled with girls, performing Kathak. And they have dressed in such a way that it looks like a whole lot of water is splashing on stage. Of course,
Brahma can’t catch Ganga in his kamandal, he just stands there looking because of the force. Then Shivji catches her in his tresses.”
The Mathura MP stated, “So many millions of sadhus have come from all over (for Kumbh Mela). They will feel happy seeing the show. That’s why we are also presenting it in such a way that there’s nothing wrong with it right from costumes to everything else.”
She mentioned the hard works put in the ballet, “We have been working on the compositions for three months and kept on making several alterations. Just two days ago, we finalised the music. Now, there will be no more changes.”
The actress is quite excited to perform in front of the holy river Ganga in the city of Lord Shiva. Talking about the peaceful atmosphere, she said, “When you stand there, you get such a good vibe. I’m blessed and excited to perform the Ganga on the banks of the holy river.”