Paramita Bhattacharyya is a passionate and internationally renowned kathak performer who has learned the dance form from the legendary artist late Pt. Birju Maharaj Ji. Based in the USA, Pramita every now and then has been seen keeping the Indian classical dance form alive through her shows. She is also working on a web series based on the work of Pt. Birju Maharaj Ji.

 

In an interview with ETimes she mentioned how excited she is about the project. Further, Paramita has always been appreciative of Maharaji’s work in Bollywood and the presence of kathak in Indian cinema. However, with time she believes the essence of the dance form is getting a little lost.

Speaking with us exclusively she said, “while residing in the USA, I noticed people both Indian and non-Indian get confused with Bollywood dance and kathak, and consider kathak as Bollywood dance.”

“What we see in Bollywood, is not purely kathak. We can call it a semi-classical performance of the artists. Nevertheless, in many movies, the filmmakers try to keep the essence of kathak intact in their songs. For instance, the 1932 film ‘Indra Sabha’ had elements of kathak, ‘Nartaki’ a 1940 movie, was inspired by the historical tale of Roop, who was a dancer of the Sunga period. Another piece I can recall is a traditional kathak performance by Gopi Krishna and Choubey Maharaj in V. Shantaram's 1956 film ‘Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje’,” added Paramita.