''Bala'' is a 1976

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

made by

Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, author, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligraphy, calligrapher, and composer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influ ...

, about a

Bharatanatyam ''Bharatanatyam'' is a Indian classical dance form that came from Tamil Nadu, India. It is a classical dance form recognized by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas of Hinduism and Jainism.< ...

dancer,

Balasaraswati Tanjore Balasaraswati, also known as Balasaraswati (13 May 1918 – 9 February 1984), was an Indian dancer, and her rendering of Bharatanatyam, a classical dance style originated in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, made this style of ...

, fondly known as "Bala". The film was jointly produced by

National Centre for the Performing Arts National Centre for the Performing Arts may refer to * National Centre for the Performing Arts (China) The National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) (), colloquially described as The Giant Egg (巨蛋), is an arts centre containing an opera ...

and

Government of Tamil Nadu The Government of Tamil Nadu () is the administrative body responsible for the governance of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Chennai is the capital of the state and houses the state executive, legislature and head of judiciary. Under the Const ...

. The thirty-three-minute documentary features the life and some of the works by Balasaraswati in the form of narration and dance, starring herself. At the age of fourteen, Ray had seen a performance of Balasaraswati in

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

, then known as "Calcutta", in 1935, when she was seventeen years old. Ray had initially planned to make a film on Bala in 1966, when she was in her prime, however he could not start filming until 1976. Though Bala was often called "a revolutionary Bharatanatyam dancer", she had never been filmed till she was 58 years old, in spite of having a career spanned over four decades. Ray decided to make the film on Bala, "the greatest Bharatanatyam dancer ever" according to him, to document her art for future generations with the "main value as archival". When Ray filmed the then 58-year-old Bala for the documentary, she wore the same pair of anklets which she had worn more than fifty years before for her debut performance, at the age of seven. Ray is reported to have said about the delayed filming of the documentary that "Bala filmed at 58 was better than Bala not being filmed at all." The film's script was included in a book named ''Original English Film Scripts Satyajit Ray'', put together by Ray's son

Sandip Ray Sandip Ray (born 8 September 1953) is an Indian film director and music director who mainly works in Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali cinema. He is the only child of the famous Indian director Satyajit Ray and Bijoya Ray. Life and education San ...

along with an ex-CEO of Ray Society, Aditinath Sarkar, which also included original scripts of Ray's other films.

Background

Tanjore Balasaraswati, fondly known as Balasaraswati or Bala, was born on 13 May 1918 in

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

, then known as Madras. Seven earlier generations of her family worked predominantly in dance and music, Bala started her

training at the age of five, under Nattuvanar Kandappa Pillai and made her dancing debut in 1925, at the age of seven, at

Kancheepuram Kanchipuram (IAST: '; ), also known as Kanjeevaram, is a stand alone city corporation, satellite nodal city of Chennai in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu in the Tondaimandalam region, from Chennaithe capital of Tamil Nadu. Known as the ''Ci ...

at the

Kamakshi Amman Temple The Kamakshi Amman Temple, also known as Kamakoti Nayaki Kovil, is a Hindu temple dedicated to the goddess Kamakshi, one of the highest aspects of Adi Parashakti, the supreme goddess in Shaktism. The temple is located in the historic city of Ka ...

. Her mother, Jayammal was a singer who encouraged Bala's musical training and was her accompanist in the dance concerts. Bala continued to do stage performance around the world along with her brothers,

Mridangam The ''mridangam'' is an ancient percussion instrument originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is the primary rhythmic accompaniment in a Carnatic music ensemble. In Dhrupad, a modified version, the pakhawaj, is the primary percussion in ...

player T. Ranganathan and

flautist The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

T. Viswanathan. Bala and her famous contemporary

Rukmini Devi Arundale Rukmini Devi Arundale (née Sastri; 29 February 1904 – 24 February 1986)Sharma, Shoba and Gangadean, Ashok (January 31, 2004 Naatya.org. Retrieved on 10 December 2018. was an Indian theosophist, dancer and choreographer of the Indian cl ...

are often called as revolutionary Bharatanatyam dancers. She was awarded the second highest civilian honour given by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

, the

Padma Vibhushan The Padma Vibhushan ( , lit. "Lotus Grandeur") is the second-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service". All persons w ...

, in 1977. Bala died on 9 February 1984, at the age of 65.

Synopsis

The film begins with the introduction of

since its inception. It also explains the various hand gestures, known as

Mudra A mudra (; , , "seal", "mark", or "gesture"; ) is a symbolic or ritual gesture or pose in Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. While some mudras involve the entire body, most are performed with the hands and fingers. As well as being spiritual ges ...

and Bala demonstrates one of them, "Mayura Mudra" ("Peacock Mudra"). Narrated by

, the film describes Bala's lineage and her debut performance in 1925, at the age of seven, at

at the

. A noted

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

scholar and musicologist explains Bala's dancing style and an Indian dancer,

Uday Shankar Uday Shankar (born Uday Shankar Choudhary; 8 December 1900 – 26 September 1977) was an Indian dancer and choreographer, best known for creating a fusion style of dance, adapting European theatrical techniques to Indian classical dance, imbu ...

talks of his association with Bala. The film then showcases Bala's "one of the most acclaimed" performance ''

Krishna Ni Begane Baaro Krishna Nee Begane Baro is a widely known classical song in Kannada language. It is composed in Raga Yamunakalyani by Vyasatirtha. The Tala is ''Misra chapu''. Composer and Singer Vyasaraya Tirtha or Vyasatirtha (1460–1539) (also known as Vya ...

'' in the background of the ocean. It mentions that Bala got international acclaim through "The Festival of Arts,

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

" in 1963, where other Indian artists also performed like

Sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in 19th-century India. Khusrau K ...

player

Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitar, sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known expert of Hin ...

, classical vocalist

M. S. Subbulakshmi Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi (16 September 1916 – 11 December 2004) was an Indian Carnatic singer. She was the first musician ever to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour and also the first Indian musici ...

and

Sarod The sarod is a stringed instrument, used in Hindustani music on the Indian subcontinent. Along with the sitar, it is among the most popular and prominent instruments. It is known for a deep, weighty, introspective sound, in contrast with the sweet ...

player

Ali Akbar Khan Ali Akbar Khan (14 April 192218 June 2009) was an Indian Hindustani classical musician of the Maihar gharana, known for his virtuosity in playing the sarod. Trained as a classical musician and instrumentalist by his father, Allauddin Khan, ...

. She performed eight solo recitals at the festival. The film showcases her daily routine with her brothers,

player T. Ranganathan and

T. Viswanathan, and her only daughter Lakshmi Knight, also a Bharatanatyam dancer. The final segment of the film showcases Bala's solo performance of a pada

varnam Varṇam is a type of composition in the Carnatic music system that encapsulates the key features of a raga, and considered as a foundational element in the learning path. Varnams capture the essence of the ragam in terms of typical swara patt ...

, which is based on

Carnatic music Carnatic music (known as or in the Dravidian languages) is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and southern Odisha. It is o ...

, known as "raagamaalika" (garland of

raga A raga ( ; , ; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. It is central to classical Indian music. Each raga consists of an array of melodic structures with musical motifs; and, fro ...

s). For this performance, Bala uses the same pair of anklets she had used for her debut performance at the age of seven.

Credits

Cast

* V. Raghavan *

V. K. Narayana Menon V. K. Narayana Menon (Thrissur Vadakke Kurupath Narayana Menon) (1911–1997) was a scholar of classical Indian dance and Indian classical music. He was one of the prominent art critics of India and a Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship. Educati ...

Crew

* Sound designer: S. P. Ramanathan, Sujit Sarkar, David * Production designer: Anil Chowdhury, Bhanu Ghosh, R. Ramasi * Laboratory Processing:

Prasad Studios Prasad Studios and Prasad Film Labs are motion picture post-production studios headquartered in Chennai, India, founded by Prasad Group in 1956. The production house has produced over 150 films in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi ...

Eastmancolor Eastmancolor is a trade name used by Eastman Kodak for a number of related film and processing technologies associated with color motion picture production and referring to George Eastman, founder of Kodak. Eastmancolor, introduced in 1950, was o ...

: Gemini Color Lab * Mixing: Mangesh Desai

Music

* K. Ramaiah ( Nattuvanar) * M. S. Ramadas (Vocal) * T. Viswanathan (Flute) * T. R. Murthy (Flute) * V. Tyagarajan (Violin) * T. Kuppuswamy (

) * T. Janardan ( Tambura) * T. Ranganathan (Mridangam)

Restoration

After the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...

awarded Satyajit Ray an

honorary Academy Award The Academy Honorary Award – instituted in 1950 for the 23rd Academy Awards (previously called the Special Award, which was first presented at the 1st Academy Awards in 1929) – is given annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scienc ...

in 1992 for his lifetime achievements, the

Academy Film Archive The Academy Film Archive is part of the Academy Foundation, established in 1944 with the purpose of organizing and overseeing the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' educational and cultural activities, including the preservation of mot ...

, part of the Academy Foundation which mainly works with the objectives as "preservation, restoration, documentation, exhibition and study of motion pictures", took an initiative to restore and preserve Ray's films. Josef Lindner was appointed as a preservation officer and the Academy has successfully restored 19 titles. However, the Academy could not restore ''Bala'' yet as the negative of the film was not found.

References

External links

* * {{Satyajit Ray Films directed by Satyajit Ray 1976 films Documentary films about entertainers 1976 short documentary films Indian short documentary films Documentary films about dance Bharatanatyam Documentary films about women in India 1970s English-language films English-language Indian films English-language short documentary films Documentary films about women in the arts