''Dance Like a Man'' is a 2004 Indian English-language

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by Pamela Rooks based on the play of the same name by

Mahesh Dattani Mahesh Dattani (born 7 August 1958) is an Indian film director, director, actor, playwright and writer. He wrote such plays as ''Final Solutions'', ''Dance Like a Man'', ''Bravely Fought the Queen'', ''On a Muggy Night in Mumbai'', ''Tara: A Pla ...

. The film stars Shobana, Arif Zakaria and

Anoushka Shankar Anoushka Hemangini Shankar (born 9 June 1981) is a British-American sitar player and musician of Indian descent, as well as occasional writer. She performs across multiple genres and styles—Indian classical, classical and contemporary, acoust ...

in her acting debut. The film won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in English.

Cast

* Shobana as Ratna * Arif Zakaria as Jairaj Parekh *

as Lata * Mohan Agashe as Amritlal Parekh * Samir Soni as Vishal

Production

Shobana and

were cast in the film due to their expertise in

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.< ...

. After liking Arif Zakaria's performance as a eunuch in '' Darmiyaan'' (1997), he was cast in this film and underwent training in Bharatanatyam. The film was shot in Bangalore akin to the play. Shobana didn't watch the play because she didn't want to be influenced by it.

Reception

Critical response

Film critic Subhash K. Jha wrote that "Unlike Mahesh Dattani, who has deliberately denuded his film '' Morning Raga'' of the theatrical element, Pamela Rooks seems to revel in the staginess of the original material". A critic from '' Rediff.com'' and wrote that "''Dance Like A Man'' can be lauded for trying, though it could have done much better to rise above the bookishness that often hampers the script". Reviewing the film at its Chennai screening in October 2004, a critic from ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

'' wrote that "On the whole the story and the time zones lend themselves to visual poetry at times eventhoughthe dialogue is painfully studied. The director uses the past and present in alternating sequences to tell the story and the visual imagery contrasts and merges with the narration. Adding mood to the striking frames are the classically tuned background score by Ganesh-Kumaresh, which heightens the sense of time and ambience in an artiste' s environment. But this is the kind of film that will attract only a niche audience".

References

External links

* {{National Film Award Best Feature Film English Indian dance films Indian drama films Best English Feature Film National Film Award winners