Dream girl gets real

Hema Malini during her performance in the city

By Ketaki Latkar

The diva, the spellbinding danseuse, actor and Member of Parliament (MP) from Mathura, Hema Malini left no stone unturned in captivating the audience at the inauguration of the annual cultural extravaganza Pune Festival, which entered its 26th year this time. Having created an inseparable association with the festival, Malini has been consistently been enthralling Puneites with her performances at the event for 23 years now.
Speaking about “the undying spirit of the event” and what keeps bringing her back to the stage every year, she says, “First and foremost, it is my unconditional love for classical dance that motivates me to go the distance and make it to the city. Also, the joy of performing on stage is more fulfilling than shooting for the cinema screen.”
Her forte is her expertise and passion for Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi and Odissi dance forms, wherein she is particularly lauded for her fusion performances, in addition to her spectacular choreography and presentation of the interpretation of Durga, one of the most formidable goddesses of the Hindu pantheon. “The choreography is based on the charitas (stories) from the Devi Mahatmaya and also from the common folklore of Sati, Parvati and Durga. Putting together the understanding, devotion and sentiments from the stories, I have designed ballets on the theme. So far, the response has been great,”she says.
For Malini, Pune Festival has become more of a custom than commitment. “From the time of its inception, till date, I have actively been a part of the festival. It was only twice that I could not attend it, since I was out of the country. But for all the other years, I have always performed at the festival,” she says.
Talking about the evolution of the festival over the last two decades, she adds, “There is definitely an increasing pool of budding artistes and talent that I have seen in all these years. Over the years, art has started to become methodical, which has its own advantages and shortcomings. But I must admit that professionalism has gone up. Even the audience is more accommodating.”
She feels that traditional dance styles like Lavani need to be encouraged and promoted on a greater scale. “It is a beautiful dance form and needs to be taken up by dance enthusiasts, not just in Maharashtra but also in other states,”she says.
Though she got chatty on a range of topics, she preferred to reserve her comments about her forthcoming film Shimla Mirchi, which reportedly tells the story of a single mother and her daughter falling in love with the same man, wherein Malini plays the lead role of the mother.
The film is directed by Ramesh Sippy, who is working with Malini after over four decades, with their last project together being the cult classic Sholay (1975).