kathak dance from Ray's "Chess Players"

[ronniemac03]

Hey

[sam7748]

Loved the movie.

[amarita100]

exquisite!

[ragrathore]

maestro

[nisarkhan2008]

who was this performer , such mastery of expressions at such a young age!!

[ThakoreU]

she is shaswatiji, deciple of Maharaji

[ayondeep]

Saswati Sen

[jmdecombeyt]

I love this sequence. It would be nice to upload this again in higher quality. Much is missed here in the delicate facial expressions, finger movements, and footwork, because of the artifacts that result from the compression.

[khanputtur]

Nice performance

I suggest you to upload this video in dynamycdesi as well.this is a website to encourage talents like this.

nayazkhan

[juanbosco31]

dedico esto a Alejandra Bouza

[blackfoliage1]

WOW. What an amazing scene Ray captured here. Visually stunning.

[Vandertop]

One of the best scenes from this wonderful film. The acting is superb throughout! Does anyone know if it is available on dvd (Region 2)? I only have a poor quality video copy.

[david2857]

I'm sure it still is.I bought it a couple of years ago from Amazon in Canada. I hope that's of some help.

Regards

David

[Philotus1018]

I bought it from Amazon UK

[tamandocomando]

beuatiful performance; the costumes and scenery remind me a little of 'mughal-e-azam'. i just wish the audio wasnt so scratchy though. but thanks for the subtitles! those always help!!

[NurShazadi]

I love this dance, I would love to get a copy of this movie. Please tell me where I may rent/buy it. Thank You,

Nurshazadi

[rajendramishra1]

available in music shops at delhi

[sabbirsa]

Shatranj Ke Khiladi!!!!!!

[lemylus]

so these characters actually existed??

[sticky4rod]

this was the height of Indian culture(yes it was both hindu and muslim) and it was destroyed by the pirate turend low bred english race-we msut do back to them what they did to us.

enjoy the high culture of Awadh of that time

[timopathy]

The song is composed and sung by Pandit Birju Maharaj. The dance is directed by him. It says at the end of the film, if u care to read it. Where does this Bindadin come from? were u drunk when you wrote it?

[rchatto]

Actually, the composition is not by Birju Maharaj, but rather by his grandfather's older brother -'Bindadin Maharaj' who performed at the Nawab's court.

[timopathy]

What is the proof? And Pt Birju Maharaj himself said in an interview that Bindadin Maharaj was his uncle

[timopathy]

CAN U PROVE IT ?????????

[rchatto]

If you know anything about composition in Indian music or poetry the proof is self evident in the song. The composer always leaves their signature in the composition. In this case, the give away is:

"Binda" sunohe nahi mari..dekhe sab naari"

[timopathy]

I don't know whether to laugh or cry at your comment or just ignore it Mr wise Guy. The signature is written by lyricist..He does not necessarily have to be the composer...if that was so...all works of Kabir, Surdas, Rahim etc which are sung today would according to you be composed by them who wrote it. Use your brain before using your tongue/pen

[wotsinanaam]

homeopathy- if u had cared to read the credits, u would know that it only says that the dance was directed by Birju maharaj- noweher does it credit him with composing the song. kanha main tose haari is a Bindanin composition alright.

[timopathy]

What is the proof Mr Cinnamon???Can u prove that it is a Bindadin composition??? Or r u still in cloud cuckooland !!!!!!!!!!

[wotsinanaam]

homeopathy, u suck. u couldn't even come up with an appropriate spoof on my screen-name, and you're arguing with people over the genesis of this composition. you're asking for proof? how pathetic can you get? but since you're hell-bent, go ask any hindustani classical music exponent, or go get one of those music text-books that visharad students use in their course-work. you'll find this song there, with the actual composer's name attributed to it.

[timopathy]

and how did u get my name as homeopathy you smart ass???????? U r so miserable and big headed. I think u r psychologically deranged and a megalomaniac. u could not even answer my simple logical questions u silly stupid fool...just get lost....the world could do much better without scumbags like u

[wotsinanaam]

people who have commented here, have mostly done so on the basis of their general knowledge or their knowledge of hindustani classical music. you, on the other hand, are trying to act smart by making arguments based on what you saw (or didn't see, for that matter) on the film's credits-- failing miserably and exposing your own ignorance thereof.

[mymunnaboy]

Watch the camera as it moves along with facial expression of dancer.

[nandanighoshal]

an excellent Birju maharaj's composition

[timopathy]

YES>>>IT IS a Birju composition...unlike some smarties who claim it to be of Bindadin

[iodine999]

History has it that Wajid was also an ardent Krishna devotee, and would dress up as the lord while making his female courtiers/dancers and wives dress up as either gopis (milkmaids) or jogans (female ascetics) - yet at the same time he was also a devout Muslim who read the Qu'ran and prayed five times a day. Maybe he wasn't the strongest ruler, but he was an accomplished poet, a dancer - the consummate Artist. Truly an exceptional historical figure..

[deoman99]

Iodine.

your are making no sense what so ever.Just because the Nawab..danced indian dances and pretended to be lord krishna..doesn;t makes him an ardent krishna devotee.On the contrary he was an ardent shia muslim...again pooja is not a worship..pooja is celebration.and Yes many muslims celebrated along with the hindus.

[Wozzi7]

Deoman-

Pooja is definitely worship. It includes arthi to the murthi and many other aspects of worship.

Not contradicting what you said about Wajid Ali Shah but just explaining something to you.

[nangamujra]

Yes he was a shia muslim...He even wrote lots of marsias in praise of the grand son of the holy prophet.

[iodine999]

Wajid Ali Shah, depicted only as a witness to the dance here (in reality he'd probably be partaking in it) was truly a marvel: other nawabs, rajahs and rulers may have patronize Kathak, but how many were innovative dancers THEMSELVES? Wajid did more in his time to standardize Kathak than anyone else. When the British transferred him to Calcutta, he continues to set up a court and dance there, even in his old age!

[iodine999]

More important that the dance itself is the amazing cultural syncretism it indicates about Lucknow and Lakhnavi culture. All the people in this clip - and historical setting - were likely Muslim, but they are dancing to and singing the praises of the most popular Hindu god (Krishna)! Kathak was truly a hybrid: Indian but also Persian, Islamic but also Hindu, ancient yet also modern.

[holikarang]

I don't think you could even compare such kind of film to Bollywood...Bollywood is for the mass, while this kind of production has totally different target..

The dancer is very graceful, the piece is a thunmri for dance, composed by Bindadin (the singer??). This is not only a great piece of history and cinema,but also of literature... because the story is inspired by a short story by Premchand.

[gautamdeusa]

Beautiful song in Bhairavi raga enjoyed by Wajid Ali Shah... classic.

Its a great period film. Totally focussed, committed. May be not one of Satyajit Ray's best works, but considering the complete new environment and topic for the film, he did a great job. No wonder it won the Best Film Award by Filmfare in 1978. After all who the hell can compete with Mr. Ray in Bollywood? Bollywood can very well learn from this. Just big budget cannot produce a quality work - its time Bollywood learns now.

[damleyogesh]

1:34 - 2:01 - She's playing a milkmaid, who sets her churning pot, churns out butter and takes the pot on her head

2:07- She plays Krishna on the prowl.. picks up a pebble and hurls it at the milkmaid.

One chakkar there and she's transformed into the milkmaid... soiled with the pot broken on her head..

hear the instruments during this phrase!! Wow!! :) What chakkars she takes!! :O

[pushpanjali]

Her chakkars are amazing. Saswati is so beautiful here. Her pants are so long, I wish we could see her feet!

[sasuraal]

Reminded me of Madhubala's dance to Bade Ghulam Ali Khan's singing in Mughal-e-Azam, Setting is similar.

[scottybuddha]

Many Thanks to this uploader!!! never saw this dance by Shaswati, this should be more popular. specially the "mujra" scene in hindi movies..murders our Kathak dance...Blessings to the one who uploaded..

met Shaswati at a work shop with Birju maharaj at Alvin Ailey studios..for all who like her dance...she is just as quick & graceful at this age.

:)

[fantanshakthi]

Modern Bollywood-style classical dances seem too flamboyant or boisterous, sans grace and tempo like this good old piece. It's said that the director, Satyajit Ray, wrote the music for this film. Do you happen to know any other period film that Saswati Sen ever performed in?

[SuperTeddyfreak]

@fantanshakthi Shaswati sen is my neighbour in delhi she knows me quite well and i've been to almost all of her recent performances.

[SuperTeddyfreak]

@SuperTeddyfreak my father actually knows her and Maharaj ji for 20yrs!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Vandertop]

Thanks for uploading this. It's my favourite scene from "The Chess Players". I love this film and the acting is superb. The servant is sad because he knows the British are coming to depose the king.

[sakredfire]

brings tears to my eyes

[leahcar86]

Thank you for uploading this! I remember seeing a clip of it on TV a few years back.

[msomu2k]

hey whoever did this upload has done a gr8 jawb my salutations to thee. this is really a piece of history immortalized.

[pushpanjali]

Thanks for posting this. I have never seen this before. She is a beautiful dancer, very inspiring.

[minamanjari]

:)Yes, she was his student but also person who was giving him inspiration, and person who worked with him since beginning. Madhuri is different; Birju Maharaj made kathak coreography for Devdas..and that is it.. :)

[fantanshakthi]

Wow, thank you for the information. But what do you mean by muse? Was she a student of Birju Maharaj's, or in a closer relationship? Just wonder if Madhuri Dixit in Devdas could be said as a muse of Birju Maharaj.

[minamanjari]

Her name is Saswati Sen. Now she is much older of course, this movie was made in 1977. And she is not actress but very famous and gracious kathak dancer of Lucknow gharana. She is also famous of being muse of kathak legend Birju Maharaj!

[wotsinanaam]

Yes, and her sister Bhashwati is also a famous danseuse in her own right. She used to perform with Bhushan Lakhendri in the Ram Lila Kathak shows on Doordarshan. And if you know Saswati and Bhaswati, then you'll perhaps know Dhira Ghosh, as well.

[minamanjari]

woow!! beautiful!! saswati is pure grace!! and costume is great too!! thank you for posting!

[fantanshakthi]

Is she an established dancer? She does have youthful spontaneity in her dance.